The Institute (2025) s01e08 Episode Script

1
Previously on The Institute
We are in trouble,
and we need your help right now.
Alright. If you had seen
what was on that drive
[Wendy] The drive you left
in the Chief's pocket,
the one that would prove everything!
[Avery] He's not strong enough
to talk back to me.
But me, I'm strong.
I'm a lot stronger than they know.
At the moment, we need him,
so we Gork him.
He conducts tonight,
goes straight to Recovery.
He can power The Hum indefinitely.
Hey! Let her go now!
Let her go right now, man!
- [Wendy grunts]
- [gun firing]
- [Tim yelping]
- [firing]
- [yelping]
- [gun cocking]
You're using us to commit
the perfect crime,
murders with no physical evidence.
I'm sure you've seen by now
Luke has some rare abilities,
low level, but there's another ability
more rare, more important, precognition.
Like telling the future?
The PC track.
It's bullshit.
It's It's fucking bullshit.
Well, what would you do?
What would you do?
What would you do to save the world?
[dramatic music]
["Shout" performed
by The Lumineers plays]
♪♪♪
Shout, shout ♪
Let it all out ♪
These are the things
I can do without ♪
Come on ♪
I'm talking to you ♪
Come on ♪
In violent times ♪
You shouldn't have to sell your soul ♪
In black and white ♪
They really, really ought to know ♪
Shout, shout ♪
Let it all out ♪
These are the things
I can do without ♪
Come on ♪
I'm talking to you ♪
Come on ♪
♪♪♪
[dramatic music]
You know what?
I want to hear you give
that long-ass speech
to the real FBI, see what they say.
Whoa, whoa.
[Wendy] Luke, are you okay?
So, this is Sparkler Night, Avester.
These can be tough.
[Avery] I know what they are.
Luke explained it to me.
[Kalisha] What did he say?
There aren't going to be
any more Sparkler Nights.
You've been talking to him?
A little. He's sometimes hard to hear.
- [faint] He's sometimes hard
- Luke, are you okay?
I see we're all eager to get going.
Avery Dixon will be
our conductor tonight.
Uh, there
Avery gets to go home early.
Lucky boy.
Thank you all for your cooperation.
Uh, this is an easy job, Avery.
Just drive the car off the road,
like falling off a bike.
[tense music]
[humming]
[tense music]
That's way stronger than normal, right?
I predicted it would be
with Dixon conducting.
Good thing I insisted on doing this now.
[Avery] I wish Luke were here.
He told me how to do all this.
Luke.
There are levers.
Avery, just use the levers
like I taught you.
[Avery] Luke, I see the levers.
No more Movie Nights.
No more Sparkler Nights.
Remember when Luke said
there would be a time to fight?
[Nicky] Hell yeah.
[Avery] Form a circle.
♪♪♪
Tony, what what the hell is this?
They're spiking early.
- [electricity buzzing]
- Uh, oh, don't!
You'll break the connection.
We're at Key Hole.
[tense music]
[Luke] Now! Avery, now.
Just think of the sparklers.
Just think of the sparklers.
[Avery] Think of the sparkler.
Think of the sparkler.
[kids] Think of the sparkler.
Think of the sparkler.
[voices whispering indistinctly]
[tense music]
[voices whispering indistinctly]
Why aren't they triggering?
[groaning]
♪♪♪
The sparklers!
[buzzer sounding]
It was supposed to crash!
- [buzzer sounding]
- [voices speaking indistinctly]
[boy speaking Swahili]
- [voices speaking indistinctly]
- [speaking Mandarin]
- [girl in English] Hello?
- [boy] Where are you?
- [grunting]
- [electronic chirping]
Tony, break this! Stop them!
- [taser powering up]
- [Tony grunting]
[taser crackling]
[grunting]
[Nicky] Hey, Tony.
Ever wonder how it tastes?
[Tony grunting]
[tense music]
[The Hum intensifying]
[taser crackling]
[The Hum increasing pitch and intensity]
[taser crackling]
- [Tony grunting]
- [taser crackling]
- [yelping]
- [The Hum continuing]
[taser crackling]
- [taser crackling]
- [choking]
[The Hum subsides]
[stammering]
- [clicking]
- [alarm blaring]
Come on.
Are you okay? You're okay?
- Yeah, I'm good. Thanks.
- Yeah? You're good?
[Avery] Yeah.
- You okay?
- Yeah. Are you?
[Nicky] Yeah.
[blaring continues]
Come on, Sha.
Aren't we getting out?
Luke said first we'd need more power.
We're gonna get them out.
[Tim] You okay, pal?
Back with us?
Fine.
Even with everything that's going on,
you're still running missions.
You're saving the world,
you don't get to wait
till it's convenient.
No. No.
We need to get him to the feds
and get you to a hospital.
Why don't you want us to know
about the others?
- The others?
- The other Institutes.
I don't know what you're talking about.
You guys fucked up.
- [alarm blaring]
- Attention.
- [microphone feedback]
- This is not a drill.
Lockdown. Lockdown!
This is not a drill.
Shit. Shit.
[blaring continues]
Shit! Shit! Shit!
You know what's back there?
I think I always saw them,
but I didn't understand what they were
until Luke told me.
What who were?
[blaring continues]
- [beeping]
- [lock clicking]
Okay. Okay.
Let's just
Yeah.
[tense music]
- Holy shit!
- [Kalisha] What?
[Avery] Luke said they're the battery.
We can use their power.
[door squeaking]
- [beeping]
- [lock clicking]
[door closes]
- [Nicky] Let's go.
- [beeping]
Goddamn.
Zeke, shut down the power to Back Half.
- What?
- The tunnel, shut it down now.
Uh, yes, sir. I can try.
We've never really done this.
Just do it.
[door thudding]
- [Nicky] Shit.
- [Avery] What's going on?
- I don't know.
- Okay. Let's go.
- Let's go. Let's go.
- Yeah, okay.
Got you.
We're stronger together.
[tense music]
Bust that lock, Avester.
It's not locked.
It's dead.
We've managed to confine them
to the tunnel.
Yes, sir. Glad I could kill the power.
[Stackhouse] Of course, this is
only a temporary measure.
Suppose we needed,
to use an unjustly vilified phrase,
a final solution
concerning those residents.
Are you asking
if you could make them inert?
Make safe.
Let's say I am.
Easiest thing in the world, sir.
You get some bleach,
some toilet bowl cleaner.
Housekeeping's got tons of both.
Mix 'em up, right ratios.
Hey, presto. You've got chlorine gas.
Dump a few buckets of that stuff
into the tunnel intake ducts.
Then let's get the ingredients ready
and stand by.
Just a contingency, you understand.
Yes, sir.
Stay there.
Hope you're taking this in.
All the trees,
the green, the air.
You're gonna want to remember this
when it all turns to ash.
I don't expect the kids to get it.
I don't even really expect
most adults
- Just stop it.
- to understand.
- Just shut up, alright? No.
- But you should.
Just shut your fucking mouth!
Do you know how much evil
is done by people
in the name of saving the world?
We are saving the world.
No. No. You're killing children.
[stammers] A few.
- Few. Few.
- Who die heroes.
- Few.
- And opposed to what?
Dying alongside the rest of us?
Watching everyone they love burn,
the skin peeling off
- Shh.
- [Sigsby] like rags.
No. A handful of kids
to prevent all of that.
You don't think that's worth it?
- No.
- You don't?
You don't think that's worth it?
- No, I don't.
- Well, that's insane.
- You're insane.
- Yeah, I'm insane.
Hey, you got it all wrong.
Yeah? Then I'm glad to disappoint you.
Luke's trying to tell me something,
but it's too far.
I can't hear him.
- Can he hear you?
- I don't know.
We better fucking hope so.
[Avery] Luke? Can you hear me?
Come on, Luke.
[car door closes]
[engine starting]
- Stop! Stop. Stop.
- [tires screech]
- [Tim] What? What? Why?
- We need to go back.
- We need to go back.
- Luke, we have
to get you to the FBI.
The sooner we do
- No. There's no time for that.
- [Wendy] Hey!
- [Tim] Whoa, whoa, whoa! Luke!
- [Wendy] Hey!
We don't have time for that now,
okay? They still have a chance,
- but we need more power.
- Luke!
And Avery needs to answer
that Big Phone,
and he can't
he can't do that on his own.
I've been trying to tell him,
but my TP's not strong enough
to hold the connection.
So I need to get close.
I need to go back.
Everything you did to get out,
now you wanna go back in?
My friends are trapped,
and Stackhouse is going to kill them.
- How can you know that?
- Because I just do, okay?
Alright. Well, here's what we know.
Going back there is suicide.
We need to get to the outside world
as fast as possible,
ride back with the cavalry.
- No.
- Come on. You're a smart kid.
- You know I'm right.
- That'll take too long, okay?
If there's a chance to save them,
then it's now, okay?
- We need to get help.
- Luke! Luke! Look.
I don't know what the right
thing to do here is, man,
but I know that I believe you.
So whatever you wanna do,
whatever you decide,
as long as I am fucking breathing,
I promise that I will do
whatever it takes to make it happen
Tim, you can't make that his call.
- He's just a kid.
- Why not?
It's the grown-ups who fucked it all up.
Yeah.
[phone ringing]
[beeping]
We've had a situation here.
Happily, I've got it contained.
Hope you can say the same thing.
No such luck.
Mr. Jamieson.
Mr. Stackhouse.
My colleague, the one
that phone belongs to, is she alive?
- I'm here, Trevor.
- Thank God.
And the Ellis boy,
is he with you as well?
I'm here.
I assume your friends
have kept you abreast
of the spot they're in.
- They have.
- Good.
That makes this conversation simple.
You know about chlorine gas.
Reacts with water
and makes hydrochloric acid.
Think about all the moisture
that coats your throat,
your lungs.
Now imagine how it would feel
if it all turns to acid inside of you.
I want you here, Luke.
Otherwise, that's how
your friends will die.
Avery.
Nicky.
Kalisha.
And if I do come back, then what?
You'll wipe their memories as usual
and agree to send them home?
I know about the chimneys,
Mr. Stackhouse.
They die anyway.
Not necessarily.
There's an area of our work
that doesn't require
damaging the subjects.
Right. Precognition.
Ms. Sigsby has been talkative.
What else has she told you?
She told us there's
only a handful of precogs
that have ever been discovered.
What are you saying,
that my friends
are all worthy candidates?
No. You're the only precog of the bunch.
Then I don't understand.
Did Ms. Sigsby happen to tell
you how PCs are treated?
Like kings.
Like gods.
So you think if you promise
to treat me like a god
that I'll be willing
to let you use up my friends?
I would imagine,
for a genuine PC,
we could make some accommodation.
We have a deal, Mr. Stackhouse,
and just remember, if you
do anything to my friends,
I will know.
And you won't see me again
until you watch me on 60 Minutes.
You have my word.
[phone beeping]
You know it's a trap.
Of course it's a trap.
I'm not coming to him.
We are coming for him.
Is she Is Ms. Sigsby dead?
Why do you ask?
I've never seen anyone
sit in her seat before.
Not dead. Certainly incapacitated.
Frankly, she's been tested and failed.
She's no longer mission-critical.
[Fellowes on radio] Mr. Stackhouse?
Yeah?
- Where are we?
- Mixed an abundance.
Figured you'd want to have
enough to be sure.
Industrial disinfectant
from Housekeeping,
stronger than bleach,
mixed with a product
called Micro Sterile.
Contains nitric and phosphoric acid.
Should be enough
to sweep the tunnel clean
of anything organic, even the microbes.
You might wanna let
any remaining personnel
in Back Half know
it's gonna be extremely fragrant.
Good. Stand by and wait for my signal.
Uh, Fellowes,
the children may attempt
to influence you.
Make sure you ignore
all distracting thoughts.
I always do, sir.
[Hendricks] Why am I here?
I should be prepping the labs
for the burn, preserving my data.
You and I have a phone call to make.
[dial tone buzzing]
[tense music]
[Luke] Avery
[Luke's voice distorting]
- Avery
- [voice distorting]
Can you hear me?
Luke's on his way.
He's got something he needs to tell me.
I can feel him trying.
Tell him to hurry. I can feel
- I know.
- I can feel it, too.
You're in my head?
Uh, yeah, but not going through
your mental underwear drawer.
[Avery] We're all
in each other's heads now.
[Kalisha] Avery
What's the Big Phone?
Yeah. Why am I thinking that?
I don't know.
It's part of what
Luke's trying to tell us.
He wants us to work together,
but I don't know what the Big Phone is.
Big Phone.
Big Phone.
[tense music]
[voices speaking indistinctly]
- [children in Zulu]
- [children in Twi]
[Wendy] Not much of a plan.
Well, it's what we have time for.
That day at the Westfield mall,
woman runs out,
tells you there's a guy with a gun.
You remember what you thought
in that moment?
Something like that there's,
uh there's your life before
and life after.
Honestly, I didn't stop
to think anything.
You wanna believe
you wouldn't think twice.
Chance to save some kids.
Bet everyone believes that
till it's time to actually do it.
Okay. Slow down. We're getting close.
We've got them. Inbound.
[man on radio] One in front, two behind.
Looks like the night knocker's driving.
Copy that.
I really don't understand
why I need to be here.
I'm a scientist, not a soldier.
You need to be here, Doctor,
because I'm not letting you
out of my sight.
[tense music]
[gate clanking]
♪♪♪
That's far enough.
[lighter clicking]
You're injured.
- I'm fine.
- First things first.
Let Ms. Sigsby go.
How is that first?
No. Sigsby stays in the car
until I'm satisfied
that you're playing it straight.
And if you're not,
Luke puts a bullet in her head.
And believe me.
I've had to hold him back several times.
How would you suggest we begin?
Give me those kids
that you're about to gas.
Come, come, Mr. Jamieson.
I can go back to the car, step
out. We can start this again.
Perhaps I should speak with Mr. Ellis.
No. You talk to me.
Just in case you've got a sniper.
You gotta make some kind
of good-faith offer, man.
Let some kids go.
[Stackhouse] I'm fully prepared
to do that.
[Tim] Stop.
[Stackhouse] We have
some children ready for releas,
but what are you gonna
offer us in return?
We're here, aren't we?
I think perhaps
I should talk to Luke myself.
Have him step out.
- Not without some assurances.
- [static hissing]
[man on radio] I have eyes
on Sigsby and Ellis.
Be advised, if we move
without neutralizing Ellis,
there's a significant likelihod
Sigsby will be collateral damage.
Understood.
So, Mr. Jamieson,
please accept our gesture of good faith.
Now.
[Tac 1] Move! Go!
Move in!
Let's go!
Cover!
[Tac 2] This way!
Get outta the car now! Now!
[Tac 1] Let's go.
Too bad, Stackhouse.
I really took you for a trustworthy guy.
You can trust me, Mr. Jamieson,
to always do what's right.
[Tac 1] Clear!
Welcome, Mr. Ellis. We missed you.
Who's that?
Where's the boy?
[suspenseful music]
[grunts]
[ominous music]
- He's going back.
- Hands on your head!
[Stackhouse] To die with his friends?
He's going to tell Dixon
about the other sites.
He needs to get close enough.
You told him about the other sites?
No, I fucking didn't tell him
about the other sites!
Un-cuff me!
If Dixon can figure out
how to connect to the other sites,
he might be able to conduct them all.
I thought you said that wasn't possible.
It shouldn't be, but
I begged you not to give him the tank.
You gave him the tank?
- Drop the gas.
- No!
- You're all monsters.
- We're realists.
Conducting that much power,
there's no telling
what he'd be capable of.
We wipe out that crop,
we might as well gas ourselves
along with them.
With me.
Bring them.
- Where's your car?
- Behind the guardhouse.
We have to go to my office.
If any of those sites are compromised,
he's gonna want to know.
We called him.
Them. Upstairs.
I'm
How could anybody so smart
be so fucking stupid?
Stackhouse is gonna kill you.
He's gonna tell any story he wants.
[stammers] No. He needs me.
The program need needs me.
[tense music]
[breathing deeply]
[gasping]
- [crashing]
- [gasping]
[beeping]
[grunting]
Avery!
Avery!
[grunting]
[grunting]
Kalisha!
Anybody!
Avery.
- Luke's here.
- What? Where?
[Avery] Are you there?
[Luke] I'm trying. I'm trying.
I am trying.
[Avery] We need you.
[Luke] They're out there.
You can feel them.
I know you can.
♪♪♪
[typing]
Get everyone up.
Get everyone up.
When it happens, we have to go fast.
When what happens?
[Luke] When you talk on the Big Phone.
- Okay. You good?
- Talk to who?
There you go. There you go.
Iris? Hey, can you hear me?
Okay. Um, let me get your legs.
Yup, yup. There we go.
Come on.
Wait. They have They have guns
out there, Avester.
[Avery] Luke?
[Luke] We're almost there.
It's time.
Avery, we have to open the connection.
[dialing]
Fabienne, how
No. No. Uh, don't put my dad on.
Um [clearing throat]
I think I, uh, uh
I have to go away for a while.
Um
Look.
Try to keep him away from the news,
and, uh
if he asks about me, just, um,
just keep playing him
that that message
I left on his birthday, okay?
Yep. No.
Thanks.
[beeping]
♪♪♪
[Luke] First we make the sparkler.
[Avery] First we make the sparkler.
[Luke] And then we talk
on the Big Phone.
[Avery] Hello? Hello?
Do you hear us? Are you there?
[children speaking Swahili]
[children speaking Mandarin]
[children in English]
Yes, we can hear you.
[Luke] We can do it now.
Avery, we're connected.
We can do anything.
We can do anything.
[lock clacking]
[thudding]
[cracking]
[rumbling]
Everybody get back!
Everybody get back now!
- Okay! Okay! Go! Go! Go! Go!
- Get back!
[Nicky] No. It's dead, man.
I just tried it.
- [grunts]
- Luke, it's dead, man.
- [Luke] No, it's not!
- This one's heavier.
No. We we we can do this, okay?
I can help you.
[cracking]
[rumbling]
Drop the gas.
[rumbling]
[cracking]
Drop it now!
[rumbling]
[metal clanging]
♪♪♪
[vents hissing]
[glass shattering]
♪♪♪
- Come on. Come on.
- [Nicky] Shit.
We don't have much time.
[grunting]
Avery, what are you doing?
Come on. Let's go.
[Avery] I'm the only one who can
keep the connection open.
They can't leave.
I have to stay with them
to see this through.
- No.
- [Avery] To finish.
- You can't! We're gonna stay!
- No! No!
We're gonna help you!
We're gonna stay! No!
[Avery] No!
[Luke] I'm sorry. It's not up to you.
[Kalisha grunting]
Stop. No. Please! Avery, please!
[Avery] I'm sorry too.
Thanks for being my friends.
I loved having friends.
Don't! Don't! Avery!
[all shouting]
Whoa! Whoa!
[rumbling]
[ominous music]
[rumbling]
George? George, come on.
We're getting out. Let's go.
- What? What?
- Go! Go!
[glass shattering]
[Kalisha yelping]
[rumbling]
[yelping]
[rumbling]
[glass shattering]
[rumbling]
[thudding]
- This way!
- [Kalisha] Okay.
- [gasping]
- [rumbling]
[yelling]
- [thudding]
- [grunting]
[dramatic music]
[rattling]
[rumbling]
[tense music]
[cracking]
Here, you break a rule,
there's a grown-up consequence.
[Hendricks] Keep looking at the screen.
If you look away once,
Tony will slap you.
If you look away a second time,
he'll shock you.
- [taser crackling]
- [screaming]
[Herb] You know what they say
about the abyss, right?
You look into it,
it looks right back into you.
[Avery] Thanks for being my friends.
I loved having friends.
[dramatic music]
[rumbling]
[The Hum resonating]
[The Hum increases]
[rumbling]
[rumbling]
[The Hum increases]
[The Hum stops]
[crashing]
Easy.
[Tim] Keys. Now.
[grit falling]
[tense music]
[children laughing distantly,
shouting indistinctly]
- [beeping]
- [line ringing]
[children laughing distantly]
I need a burn team. Full clean.
Call me when they're on-site.
[children laughing distantly]
[beeping]
[ominous music]
[children laughing distantly]
[children laughing]
[boy] You're not gonna get me!
You're not gonna get me!
[children shouting indistinctly]
[door opening]
[children shouting indistinctly]
[door closing]
[Lisping Man] Hey!
[boy] Grandpa! Grandpa! Grandpa,
you're finally done your work!
Hide and Seek! Hide and Seek!
- I count? You hide.
- [boy] Yes!
[Lisping Man] Okay.
Here we go. Let's go!
One! Two! Three! Four! Five!
[boy] No! That's my spot!
[Lisping Man] Six! Seven! Eight!
Avery.
He would've been Gorked.
And what he did,
maybe he thought he was better off.
It would have stripped him.
Luke, now what?
Tim will know.
I hope.
You okay?
Yeah. You okay?
- Hi.
- Tim, these are my friends.
Uh, George, Kalisha, Nicky, this is Tim.
Hi, everyone.
This is Wendy.
- Hey.
- Hi.
I told them that you'd know
what to do next.
First we gotta get out of here
before their reinforcements arrive.
Let's go.
- Come on. Let's go.
- Come on.
[Kalisha] Okay.
Then where do we go?
Don't worry about it. I got a plan.
No, you don't.
Hey, get out of my head.
[ominous music]
[brakes squealing]
Come on now.
Thank you.
[tense music]
♪♪♪