'The Institute' Episode 2 Recap & Ending Explained: Is Stackhouse A Turncoat?

In The Institute episode 1, the concepts of fronthalf and backhalf candidates were introduced. Basically, all the telepathic or telekinetic kids who had been recently kidnapped were categorized as fronthalf. They were allowed to stay in rooms that resembled the bedroom they had back home. They were given decent food. They were allowed to roam around in the playground, at day and at night. They were tested upon in order to bring out the full potential of their powers. And then the process was repeated all over again. Luke, along with Kalisha, Iris, George, and Nick, is what would be considered a fronthalf. And it seems like they are going to get through this whole ordeal together, but Iris’ time is up, and she “graduates” to the back half after a sordid party thrown by Sigsby, Tony, and Maureen. The rest try their best to console Iris, but nothing can stop her from crying her heart out. Also, while all this is going on, Kalisha takes the opportunity to point out that Iris is in love with Nick, she herself is probably in love with Nick too, and she also keeps kissing Luke without any warning. I understand that the writers are trying to create “drama” between the characters, but there’s a time and a place to do it, and this wasn’t it. Anyway, Iris is taken away to the back half and put down like Old Yeller… I’m just kidding. Based on the opening credits, she’s probably going to be taken into a dormitory-type room where she’ll be hooked up to some sort of digital contraption for reasons that aren’t clear yet. But does episode 2 of The Institute actually shed some light on the facility’s goals? Let’s find out.

Spoiler Alert

While heading over to the station, Tim shares a cute moment with Norbert’s pet bearded dragon (I’m sure Ben Barnes is going to love this scene). Before beginning his shift, Wendy informs Tim about the fact that there are some criminals going from one town to another causing all kinds of mayhem (this comes into play later). And she asks him if he’ll feel safer doing his nightly rounds with a gun. Due to Tim’s past experiences as a “big city cop,” where he had to deal with a drunken gunman, Tim politely rejects the request. Wendy probably reads that as a sign of his arrogance and continues to antagonize him. Tim is unfazed by that; in fact, he wins her over with his charm. Yeah, if it’s not clear already, the writers are propping these two up for a romantic affair, and, largely due to Barnes and Hannah Galway’s performances, this feels like a “ship” worth sailing on. Anyway, while heading to the diner recommended by Wendy, Tim notices Annie harassing a member of the Sloane family. 

Tim tries to calm Annie down, but Officer Drew shows up, acting like he has won the policeman-of-the-year award 20 times in a row (this matters later in the episode too), and threatens to arrest the old woman for acting erratically. Annie doesn’t make any promises she can’t keep and heads out. Before parting ways with Tim, she warns him about the imposters in Dennison River Bend. According to her, the town is infested with skinwalkers who look and act like humans, but they aren’t; and the only way of differentiating between a human and a skinwalker is by looking at their pinky toe. If it’s normal, it’s a human, but if it’s bent out of shape, it’s a skinwalker. On that note, Annie departs. Meanwhile, Drew, still acting incredibly rude and arrogant, orders Tim to keep an eye on Annie and make sure she doesn’t harass the Sloanes (who are apparently reeling from the loss of a child that Annie claims wasn’t an accident). 

At night, before beginning his patrol, Tim has a brief chat with Wendy about his family, which transitions into a conversation about a spot called the Red Steps, which is where the Sloane kid, Zoe, died by drowning. She confirms that there are doubts about the true reason for her death, but, whatever the reason may be, everyone is advised to not swim near the Red Steps because it has a killer undercurrent. That said, when it comes to Annie’s analysis of that place and the involvement of skinwalkers, Wendy says that she might be off the mark by a few miles. They table the discussion for the time being as Tim heads out for his nocturnal duties. Tim makes a pit stop at a convenience store and strikes up a really sweet conversation with the manager, especially due to his expertise in finances. So, later on, when the store is robbed by the aforementioned criminals, and the manager is grievously injured, Tim’s concern for him feels authentic. As soon as the criminals make their escape, Tim rushes in to stop the manager from bleeding out with the help of what looks like adult diapers, Vaseline, and tape. 

Drew finally shows up to the scene, and that’s when you get to see all the overconfidence that he had shown earlier in the day just crumbling to pieces. The man can’t even convey the instructions that are being given to him by Tim. He is a police officer, and he is shaken by the sight of blood; that’s what happens when you build your whole persona around bullying the weak and the old. In stark contrast to that, Tim is calm and composed in the face of danger. On top of that, when Chief Ashworth shows up to take stock of the situation, Tim is gracious enough to give the credit of arranging an ambulance for the store manager to Drew. I think he sees through Drew’s hollow exterior and understands that he is so insecure and rude because he has never achieved anything in his life. Hence, he hopes that getting a pat on the back for doing his part in saving a man would boost his morale and motivate him to do the right thing. Who is Tim? Is he actually Superman?

In the first episode of The Institute, Luke assumed that Sigsby was the top dog in the facility. But it was revealed to the audience that she was just a pawn, with a kink for self-flagellation, who was following orders. Episode 2 further proves that everyone in the facility answers to a guy (whose face is yet to be revealed) who is apparently religious and has photos with politicians like Ronald Reagan. This pretty much sets the stage for a reveal that conservatism, dogmatism, and fanaticism are the real enemies here. One other thing that becomes apparent through this conversation is that maybe this anonymous guy that Sigsby and Stackhouse are talking to is also not in the house. The guy talks about being answerable to some committee. So, I suppose whoever is heading that organization is the real deal. But that’s for later episodes, I guess. For now, we see both Sigsby and Stackhouse on a voice call with their boss, where they are trying to “glaze” him while also highlighting each other’s shortcomings, especially when it comes to the Michelle incident and Kate’s role in all this. 

The boss-man basically orders Sigsby to be more efficient about kidnapping “special” kids, instead of complaining about being short-staffed, and he essentially tells Stackhouse to ensure that Kate gets the promotion she needs in order to stay loyal to their cause. Once the call is over, Sigsby and Stackhouse bicker a bit about acting so selfishly in front of the boss before going back to doing their respective jobs. Elsewhere in the facility, Tony takes Luke to Hendricks to partake in a set of chemically induced experiments that are supposed to test the potential of his telekinetic powers. I know that this is supposed to be traumatic and horrifying, given a bunch of adults are tinkering with the mind of a kid. However, the way the whole thing is shot, written, directed, and edited, it just feels boring, to be honest. Unless things get better, this currently feels like a low-budget amalgamation of The New Mutants and Stranger Things. Once the test is over, Luke is taken to the dining room by Maureen, who seems to be relatively more sympathetic towards the kids than the rest of the employees of the facility. I’m sure she has her reasons.

Luke, Nick, George, and Kalisha discuss the grueling ordeal—something called the “dream box” is apparently the worst, as it conjures your worst nightmares and plays them like a horror movie—that they’re being put through for a cause that they know nothing about. We briefly see Sigsby meeting up with Hendricks in the storeroom of the facility to have sex. If they would’ve directed that energy into monitoring the kids, they would’ve heard them making their escape plan. After ruling out the schemes with the highest chance of failure, Nick and Luke zero in on finding a really powerful telepath so that they can scramble the minds of guards and keep them busy long enough for the kids to get out of the facility. Since that’s a pipe dream, Luke inquires about the factory right outside the main building whose chimneys are spewing black smoke. Nick says that nobody knows what it is, but apparently the factory does that periodically; I won’t be surprised if it’s revealed at the end that The Institute has been burning backhalf kids who fail to be of use. 

For now, we see the front-half kids going about their day. Luke sees the room that used to be Iris’ being repainted to welcome a new candidate. Since Kalisha and Nick are busy conversing in the hall, Luke decides not to disturb them and chooses to talk to George instead, who is busy exploiting his telekinetic powers to extract the maximum amount of soft drinks from the beverage can dispenser. Then he goes over to Nick and Kalisha as their discussion has veered into the most important topic at hand: causing one of the employees in the facility to defect and help the kids escape. Due to Maureen’s empathetic nature, Kalisha thinks she is the best candidate, but Luke is of the opinion that she is putting on an act so that the kids can trust her, and she can then expose their ulterior motives to her higher-ups in order to get a promotion or some other kind of reward. So, Luke opts for pinning their hopes on the new kid, Avery, who is being brought in, and praying that he is powerful enough to manipulate the minds of the staff.

At the end of The Institute episode 2, when these kids find Avery crying in the corridor, they get a small hint that their prayers have been answered, because Avery is apparently capable of projecting his thoughts into Kalisha’s mind. Now, I don’t know if he managed to do that just because Kalisha is also a telepath or if he is actually powerful enough to do the same to any mind, regardless of the fact that they’re a mutant or a normie. Well, Avery better be the latter, or else the kids’ escape plan will go up in flames even before it begins to take shape. Amidst all this plotting and scheming, we get a scene between Hendricks and Stackhouse where the latter is convincing the former to poach some of the kids from this facility to several private entities with big pockets (I am speculating here, because their conversation is really vague), especially if they exhibit the ability to become something more than what the cause needs them to be. Hendricks is skeptical about this move, but Stackhouse continues to persuade him while walking back to their quarters. 

Hendricks thinks that even if he agrees to work with Stackhouse on this side hustle of sorts, Sigsby might end up becoming a roadblock. Sigsby seemingly overhears this discussion from her house after she is done lying to her dad about her “teaching job,” thereby laying the foundation for some intense workplace politics. Given how Sigsby is desperate to impress her boss, while Stackhouse is hellbent on betraying said boss, there’s a good chance that she’ll try to warn her higher-ups about whatever Stackhouse is planning to do. In that case, both Stackhouse and Hendricks will be fired, and Sigsby will get to run the institute anyway she wants, without any kind of interference. There’s also a good chance that Stackhouse is conducting a test on Hendricks and Sigsby. Yeah, there are no private entities looking to poach the Institute’s kids. Stackhouse probably just wants to see whether or not Hendricks is a turncoat. If he does cave in, he’ll probably have Hendricks killed, just like he killed Michelle. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on the ending of The Institute episode 2. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.