This article contains spoilers for The Institute Season 2, Episode 2, “The Sanctuary”
In the first season, The Institute suffered from long stretches where the leaps in logic it asked the viewing audience to take were just too big. The Season 2 premiere had some of the same issues. However, in The Institute Season 2, Episode 2, “The Sanctuary,” the show manages to curb that a bit by showing some common-sense scenes where actions have real consequences, which helps elevate the episode beyond what the premiere gave us.
“The Sanctuary” starts with a bang when the new institute housing the older gifted children, called precogs, is attacked by an unknown armed force. Almost everyone is killed, including precogs, doctors, technicians, and security, except for a handful of people. Two of the survivors are the leader, the strongest precog, Annie (Mary Walsh), and Dr. Daniel Hendricks (Robert Joy), who somehow always manages to survive. Suffice to say, the shady Director of the institute (Jeff Fahey) is not too pleased. They now need at least one more precog to continue their plans to “save the world.”
The Institute Season 2 Forces Luke and Ms. Sigsby Into an Unlikely Alliance
One thing Mary-Louise Parker brings to the show as Ms. Sigsby is a weird sense of humor. Coupled with her own survival instincts, she is an interesting character, a fact that was on full display in the scene where she was held at gunpoint by Luke (Joe Freeman). After the drive, Luke is after the evidence they need, and Sigsby has it, but she destroys it and takes the gun from Luke.
However, after turning the gun back over to Luke in an interesting but confusing back-and-forth, they realize they need each other. They head off to meet the others at a destination Kalisha (Simone Miller) provides via telepathy.
There are always issues with these plans, the first of which involves Tim (Ben Barnes) giving himself up to the cops to help the others escape by train to the safehouse that Luke and Ms. Sigsby are now headed to. As an ex-law enforcement employee, Tim lays it out for the cops holding him, explaining that the FBI is going to show up, claim jurisdiction over the case, and take him away to be interrogated and then probably killed.
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No one believes him, but Tim is no fool and a good man at heart. He refuses to put anyone else at risk by revealing the truth, instead taking the blame for crimes he didn’t commit.
Of course, he wasn’t wrong about what was going to happen, just some details. Luke and Sigsby arrive at the hotel hideaway, and Ms. Sigsby is not well received when Nicky (Fionn Laird) pulls a knife and lunges at her. Eventually, a truce is reached, and they plan to rescue Tim. The plan involves Ms. Sigsby posing as an FBI agent and Kalisha using her telepathy to fool the desk officer into rubber-stamping the paperwork and releasing Tim into Ms. Sigsby’s custody, just before the real FBI shows up.
With everyone back together, including Ms. Sigsby, it’s time to devise a plan to get evidence from the inside. Tim and George (Arlen So) leave in the morning, as planned. After a quick camera shot of the bathroom showing Ms. Sigsby no longer in her cuffs, men storm in and subdue/gas Kalisha and Nicky, but not Luke. Whatever plan they’ve concocted, Luke has once again taken a big risk that not everyone is on board with.
The Institute Season 2 Finds Its Footing With Stronger Storytelling
There were some solid moments in the episode, with Mary-Louise Parker and Ben Barnes showing off great acting chops in different scenes. While the show continues to ask the audience to take a leap of faith, it’s not as prevalent as in the first episode. It also maintained good pacing and presented some interesting storylines. Heightened mental abilities don’t mean you aren’t still human, and with this group also being so young, they make mistakes we have all made while trying to do the right thing, which works well.
Definitely a step up from the premiere, “The Sanctuary” lays out some ideas and sets the stage for yet-to-be-unveiled plans now in motion. While not perfect, it was entertaining and well done throughout, making it a fun episode to watch.
The Institute Season 2, Episode 2, “The Sanctuary,” is now streaming on MGM+.
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