Luke Ellis, a 12-year-old genius, is kidnapped and awakens at The Institute, a facility full of children who all got there the same way he did, and all of whom possess unusual abilities. Former police officer Tim Jamieson's story and Luke's are destined to collide.
kidnapped childpsychic powerssecret government facilitychildren with abilitiesexperimentation on minorsconspiracyescape attemptcoming of age under duresssmall town law enforcementparallel storylines
I'm on the fence whether I should tune back in... I give this season 6/10.
by proteinnerd posted 8 months ago
sula wrote:
Honestly, I'm in the same boat as some of you — I'm caught up to episode 5 and while the premise still has me interested, I can't shake the feeling that the characters are undercooked.
The pacing is very Stephen King in the sense that it simmers slowly, but in a TV format it sometimes feels like we're spending too much time on atmosphere and not enough on making the characters feel layered or believable.
That said, I am curious to see if they stick to the book's ending or try to surprise us. Right now, I'd say it's a decent watch if you're patient with slower builds, but it hasn't reached “must-see” territory yet
I haven't read the book yet but its on my kindle. Would you recommend skipping the TV version and reading the book first? Will spoilers ruin the experience of the book? or is it not strong enough of a story to worry about that sort of thing?
by sula posted 8 months ago
Honestly, I'm in the same boat as some of you — I'm caught up to episode 5 and while the premise still has me interested, I can't shake the feeling that the characters are undercooked.
The pacing is very Stephen King in the sense that it simmers slowly, but in a TV format it sometimes feels like we're spending too much time on atmosphere and not enough on making the characters feel layered or believable.
That said, I am curious to see if they stick to the book's ending or try to surprise us. Right now, I'd say it's a decent watch if you're patient with slower builds, but it hasn't reached “must-see” territory yet
by sasilik posted 8 months ago
I'm up to 5th episode and even when story is not bad all characters are kinda weird/lacking something/not developed... Can't express it exactly but they make me feel weird. Can't even say that I like it but it's somewhat ok.
by OneOzzy posted 8 months ago
I found the book it is based on very... un-edited Stephen King. It was good, but really just something King wrote on flight watching a few old episodes of twilight zone.
The tv-show tightened up the storyline, and as far as episode 5, is a better tvshow than the book was.
People who think it is slow or even boring, doesnt reead a lot of Stephen King. King uses time to build up the mood, almost to the most boring degree. But there is always something keeping you to read more. The Institute is good, not GREAT, but its good, if you like slow shows that builds the storyline over time.
BUT, I am not sure how they are supposed to end this story. Will they follow the book, or take another direction?
by graybags posted 8 months ago
Moze wrote:
LuC wrote:
I just downgraded from 5 stars to 4. The supposed super smart kid just left someone who helped him vulnerable. When the cleaning lady, Maureen, helps Luke escape and already let him know they'd kill her if they found out, he lingers where she last left him and pulls the mask equipment off of Iris in the back half. He left it that way leaving an obvious clue. Tomorrow (in the drama tomorrow, if not sooner) they'll have learned that he's gone missing and clues such as that will point to the cleaning lady's involvement, putting her life at risk. I honestly don't like them painting him as extremely intelligent when he's anything but when it comes to common sense.
Aside from that, it's kind of fun and there are characters to root for and hope they succeed. It's basic good vs evil plot.
edited
Well, the character can only be as smart as the people writing the show. It's quite clear they are not smart at all.
I'm not sure I'd say that Stephen King wasn't smart.
by graybags posted 8 months ago
lighton wrote:
The show is okay... I had hoped for more. :cool:
Me too. It's just full of Stephen King tropes and cliches.
by Moze posted 8 months ago
LuC wrote:
I just downgraded from 5 stars to 4. The supposed super smart kid just left someone who helped him vulnerable. When the cleaning lady, Maureen, helps Luke escape and already let him know they'd kill her if they found out, he lingers where she last left him and pulls the mask equipment off of Iris in the back half. He left it that way leaving an obvious clue. Tomorrow (in the drama tomorrow, if not sooner) they'll have learned that he's gone missing and clues such as that will point to the cleaning lady's involvement, putting her life at risk. I honestly don't like them painting him as extremely intelligent when he's anything but when it comes to common sense.
Aside from that, it's kind of fun and there are characters to root for and hope they succeed. It's basic good vs evil plot.
edited
Well, the character can only be as smart as the people writing the show. It's quite clear they are not smart at all.
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https://deadline.com/2025/08/the-institute-renewed-season-2-mgm-plus-stephen-king-1236495374/
I'm on the fence whether I should tune back in... I give this season 6/10.
The pacing is very Stephen King in the sense that it simmers slowly, but in a TV format it sometimes feels like we're spending too much time on atmosphere and not enough on making the characters feel layered or believable.
That said, I am curious to see if they stick to the book's ending or try to surprise us. Right now, I'd say it's a decent watch if you're patient with slower builds, but it hasn't reached “must-see” territory yet
I haven't read the book yet but its on my kindle. Would you recommend skipping the TV version and reading the book first? Will spoilers ruin the experience of the book? or is it not strong enough of a story to worry about that sort of thing?
The pacing is very Stephen King in the sense that it simmers slowly, but in a TV format it sometimes feels like we're spending too much time on atmosphere and not enough on making the characters feel layered or believable.
That said, I am curious to see if they stick to the book's ending or try to surprise us. Right now, I'd say it's a decent watch if you're patient with slower builds, but it hasn't reached “must-see” territory yet
The tv-show tightened up the storyline, and as far as episode 5, is a better tvshow than the book was.
People who think it is slow or even boring, doesnt reead a lot of Stephen King. King uses time to build up the mood, almost to the most boring degree. But there is always something keeping you to read more. The Institute is good, not GREAT, but its good, if you like slow shows that builds the storyline over time.
BUT, I am not sure how they are supposed to end this story. Will they follow the book, or take another direction?
Aside from that, it's kind of fun and there are characters to root for and hope they succeed. It's basic good vs evil plot.
edited
Well, the character can only be as smart as the people writing the show. It's quite clear they are not smart at all.
I'm not sure I'd say that Stephen King wasn't smart.
Me too. It's just full of Stephen King tropes and cliches.
Aside from that, it's kind of fun and there are characters to root for and hope they succeed. It's basic good vs evil plot.
edited
Well, the character can only be as smart as the people writing the show. It's quite clear they are not smart at all.