NEW YORK, Nov. 9 (UPI) — Season 1 of The Institute ended with the shocking revelation that psychically gifted children were being drained of their energy in an effort to prevent global disasters.
The big questions that followed then are, is this true? and, even if it is, is it worth torturing and killing kids for a “greater good” determined by a shadowy government agency?
Ben Barnes attends the Primetime Emmy Award at the Microsoft Theater in downtown Los Angeles in 2018. File Photo by Christine Chew/UPI
Deciding the human cost is too high, former police detective Tim (Ben Barnes) rescues several teens held captive at the show’s titular Maine facility.
Season 2 of MGM+’s Stephen King book adaptation kicked off Sunday with Tim and the kids on the run, but trying to find a journalist who will believe their story and help them free others being experimented on.
Alfie Allen arrives at the Tony Awards Meet The Nominees Press Day in 2022 at the Sofitel New York. File Photo by Gabriele Holtermann/UPI
“What you’re looking for in the protagonists in a series like this are characters who will always question the tactics of those in power and, I think, in this instance, obviously, the kids represent the next generation. They represent innocence,” Barnes, 45, told UPI in a recent Zoom interview.
“It fields interesting questions through the series that the characters kind of dig into of doing the right thing for the greatest number of people, versus protecting the people that you care about and the people that you love,” he said. “It’s kind of an age-old story. There’s always a president with a daughter who’s been kidnapped. He’s got to make that kind of decision.”
The group forms a found family as they try to gather evidence about what is going on, while staying off the grid so the authorities can’t find them.
“Season 2 is very physical and exciting and they’re also being hunted. So, it’s a question of are they evading and hiding, or are they going to strike back against the powers that be?” Barnes said.
“The more interesting story is always going to be finding a way to use what they’ve got to fight back.”
Joe Freeman, 19, plays Luke, a teen with the gifts of telepathy and pre-cognition.
“We are the next ones up and we’ll have to fix the problems that were caused,” he said.
Even though Luke and Tim are very close, they aren’t always on the same page, particularly when Luke is reading Tim’s thoughts without permission.
“There’s a bit of a rift that divides us, unfortunately,” Freeman said.
Barnes added: “There was one line a couple of episodes into the season where the kids are using telepathy to speak to each other and Tim is still not about that. Tim is like, ‘Hey, if you’re going to speak,[do it] out loud!'”
This season also sees the addition of Game of Thrones alum Alfie Allen as tech giant Nolan Reeves.
“I was very excited that Alfie Allen was joining the cast. Having known him for a long time, I am a big fan of his acting and I thought he was a great choice to represent the man behind the man behind the man behind the money,” Barnes said.
“He was very safe. He, obviously, knew what to do and that made my job a lot easier and he is a good laugh,” Freeman added. “I like him a lot. Great guy.”
