The first two episodes of new MGM+ series The Institute became available on the streamer today, available via the app and through linear airings on the MGM channel. A new supernatural horror show based on Stephen King's novel of the same name, The Institute introduces newcomer Joe Freeman as telekinetic teen genius Luke Ellis who is promptly kidnapped and placed inside the fortress-like facility known as the Institute alongside other psychically gifted teens.
Our introduction to Luke immediately establishes that he's special, even without his psychic abilities. His first scene shows him taking a test amongst other students, only for him to finish the whole thing within moments. It quickly becomes apparent that he's outgrown his high school and is destined for greater things, like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).
But it doesn't take long for Luke to get kidnapped—sorry, recruited—to the Institute, and that's where the show really begins. Developed by Benjamin Cavell and directed by Jack Bender, The Institute starts off with a pretty strong opening episode, albeit one that falls into some predictable trappings.
The Institute premiered with two episodes, but I've chosen to break up our reviews into two separate pieces, so let's dive into the series premiere. We also published a full season 1 review here. Beware FULL SPOILERS for Episode 1 ahead.
The Institute episode 1 review
As mentioned, The Institute begins by giving us character-establishing moment for Luke. He's a genius and his school can hardly keep up with him. His own parents are struggling to figure out what to do with him, especially when Luke reveals he's had conversations with his principal about transferring to MIT. The MIT thing is important to keep in mind, as it comes into play a little later in the episode.
From Luke's setup, we jump to our other protagonist, Tim Jamieson (Ben Barnes). A former police officer, Tim is sort of going whereever the wind blows, and the wind blows him to the fictional town of Dennison, Maine, (because of course it's Maine, this is a Stephen King story).
Upon arrival in this picturesque small town, Tim applies for a job as a "Night Knocker" with the local police force. A Night Knocker is a King term and basically means a patrolman who walks around at night to make sure everything is okay, except they don't get guns and cannot make arrests.
The interview between Tim and the police captain reveals more context for Tim's character and how he went from being a Boston cop to hitchhiking in Maine. Yes, he has a troubled past. Tim once shot a 16-year-old kid carrying an assault rifle at a mall. He feels tremendous guilt over the incident because he was off-duty at the time and under the influence of a few beers. He claims he didn't know if the kid would actually have gone through with whatever he planned. There's clearly more to this story, but I'm sure we'll revisit it later. Tim is a character in King's novel but his role has been expanded for the series.
Most of Tim's storyline in this episode is about setting up how he will eventually cross paths with the Institute and become entangled in its many mysteries. In town, he meets an eccentric woman (Mary Walsh) who believes the Chinese government is spying on people through trackers implanted in dental prosthesis. Initially it sounds like she's just touting conspiracies, but then she manages to tell Tim something she couldn't have known without being telepathic or super keyed in to some spyware. She knows more than she's saying, anyway.
But let's get to the meat of this story: the Institute. Luke is promptly kidnapped from his bedroom after returning home from the pizza place. He wakes up in an exact replica, except there are bars on the window and he notices that his Timberwolves jersey no longer has a hole in the armpit.
The Institute itself is a shady facility run by the mysterious Ms. Sigsby (Mary-Louise Parker). According to her, all of the teens there are really recruits and should be proud they've been chosen to work on something vital to saving the world. She explains that Luke will first do work in the facility's Front Half. When he's done, he'll get moved to the Back Half. From there, he'll have his memories wiped and be send on his merry way. Hmm, I doubt it.
Ms. Sigsby makes it clear to Luke that things can be smooth sailing for him here so long as he does what he's told. The recruits are treated like adults, meaning they have access to alcohol, no curfew, and can eat anything they want. But that treatment comes with a price, like real consequences when they choose to disobey. What kind of consequences? So far, violence. Luke refuses to let one of the staff members put a chip in his ear and receives a brutal slap in the face for it.
The other aspect of the Institute that will become important is the social element. We get to know some of the other teens Luke will be spending time with. The first girl he meets, Kalisha (Simone Miller), gives Luke the rundown on the place. People are either TPs (telepaths) or TKs (telekinetics.) Kalisha is a TP while Luke is a TK.
Later, Kalisha introduces Luke to the others, including Iris (Birva Pandya), fellow TK George (Arlen So), and the typical "bad boy" Nicky (Fionn Laird), who doesn't believe in the "fairytale" of them one day getting to go home. By episode's end, Nicky has shown his interest in Luke, making it clear that he wants to escape this facility and hopes that Luke is smart enough to assist.
There's another little narrative that runs through the episode concerning one of the Institute staff members, Michelle (Elise Bauman), and a journalist named Kate (Jordan Alexander). Michelle is one of the people responsible for kidnapping Luke, a job we later learn did not go according to plan. Normally the Institute is meticulous about choosing its recruits and setting up the kidnapping, but because Luke was considering an MIT transfer, the kidnapping crew had to do a rush job to prevent him from leaving.
Michelle later meets Kate at a bar. The pair hit it off and spend the night together, but Michelle cannot help feeling guilty about the secretive nature of her job, especially after she almost witnesses a family getting brutally murdered for trespassing when they take a wrong turn and wind up in front of the Institute's gates. It gets to the point where Michelle intends to expose the Institute to Kate, in the hopes she or one of her fellow journalists can break the story on a national level. But the second Michelle opens her laptop, Kate shoots her in the back of the head, revealing her status as an Institute agent employed by Ms. Sigsby's scary right-hand man Trevor Stackhouse (Julian Richings).
Verdict
The premiere episode of The Institute does everything that it needs to do as an opener. There's nothing particularly flashy here, but it prepares us for the remaining episodes. Thus far, I'm most compelled by Parker's performance as Ms. Sigsby, which isn't surprising because Parker is always magnetic onscreen. It's also nice to see Barnes playing someone who isn't obviously evil for once. In short, this episode doesn't dazzle, but I still enjoyed it. It's efficient and I think it was smart for the writers to move us to the actual facility fast without falling into the trap of too much slow exposition about Luke's life before.
By the end of the premiere, we know more or less what the stakes are, who the main characters are, and the general thrust of the plot moving forward. There is one interesting tidbit at the very end: Ms. Sigsby is shown partaking in a self-harm habit involving burning her leg with a hot piece of wire. A form of self flagellation? Something else? Not sure, but it's unnerving.
On the acting side, the younger stars are some of the weaker elements of the show. Freeman and Miller are standouts. I can see why Freeman landed the job as Luke, he's well cast and Miller is plucky and charismatic as Kalisha. The others sometimes feel a tad over-rehearsed in their movements, but I'm cutting them some slack because it's the premiere and I'm hopefully things will feel more natural as the episodes progress and they're given more to do. No one is bad, there's just an awkward stilted air in one scene in particular.
There are also quite a few tropes at play so far, like the potential romance or love triangle between Luke/Kalisha/Nicky and Nicky's rebel persona. And the whole side storyline with Kate and Michelle was too predictable, though I understand the need to establish just how cutthroat the Institute really is.
Episode Grade: B
More Sci-Fi TV Shows and Movies
To stay up to date on everything fantasy, science fiction, and WiC, follow our all-encompassing Facebook page and Twitter account, sign up for our exclusive newsletterand check out our YouTube channel.