45 years after a classicStephen Kingnovel introduced a fictional evil organization, a new sci-fi TV adaptation of the author’s work seems to feature a revamped version of it. The evil corporation in question has different names in both the 45-year-old book and the newStephen King TV showthat adapts another six-year-old novel.
However, subtle parallels in their questionable motives, inhumane methods, and shadowy influence on the people they hold captive make it hard not to believe they are two incarnations of the same sinister force within King’s overarching horror universe. Given howStephen King has a massive body of work, it would not be surprising if many other similarities emerged between several other villains.
The narrative overlaps between the two evil organizations in question, though, seem a little too evident to be ignored. Even the themes Stephen King hopes to capture by introducing the two in two distinct stories seem to converge, which raises many questions about their potential connection.
The Institute’s Titular Organization & The Shop In Firestarter Are Very Similar
Both Organizations Unethically Experiment On “Gifted” Humans
InThe InstituteandFirestarter, the central organizations are introduced as shadowy forces that operate outside the public eye. In the name of scientific research,both organizations, The Institute and The Shop, go to extreme lengths to achieve their goals. As seen inStephen King’sFirestarter, the subjects held by The Shop are injected with a compound called Lot Six.
Firestarter’s Lot Six is described as a drug created by Dr. Wanless that unlocks latent psychic abilities in its test subject. The Institute does not give a specific name to the drug its evil corporation uses on children to enhance their telepathy and telekinesis. However, the show does reveal that the strange compound was created by the evil Dr. Hendricks.
The drug experimentation in both narratives leads to disastrous consequences. While manycharacters inFirestarterperish after being injected with Lot 6, several young ones fromThe Institutebecome violent after being experimented on. Both organizations are also located in hidden places, and the authorities that run them justify their actions by claiming that they are serving the great good.
Are The Institute & The Shop Connected Within Stephen King’s Universe?
Stephen King Does Not Establish Any Explicit Connections Between The Two
BothThe InstituteandFirestarterunfold as standalone tales, with no explicit connections between their narratives. Stephen King even avoids drawing any subtle connections between the two by ensuring that both focus on a unique set of characters. However, owing to the similarities between their central villainous organizations,many viewers have theorized that they unfold in the same universe.
Interestingly,even the Breakers' storyline fromStephen King’sDark Towerseriesfeatures a similar organizationand shares many parallels withFirestarterandThe Institute. However, like the two novels, even theDark Towerbooks barely draw any direct connections with otherStephen Kingbooks.
The Institute
A kidnapped prodigy with special abilities, Luke, ends up at The Institute, while Tim, a former cop, seeks a new life in a nearby town. Their fates are inevitably linked.
