Despite closely adapting many aspects of an original Stephen King novel, a new sci-fi show based on the author’s book surprisingly deletes a terrifying villain’s role. Book changes are sometimes necessary for television shows because not all story beats from novels translate well to the screen.
Owing to this, when TV shows and movies based on Stephen King’s books take creative liberties, even the author often agrees that they were necessary. Some Stephen King adaptations, like 11.22.63, even end up significantly changing the source but still manage to land in viewers’ and critics’ good books.
A new show based on a six-year-old Stephen King novel, however, seems to take a massive risk by completely removing one character. In the original book, the character in question is easily among the worst and most horrifying villains Stephen King has written. Yet, the antagonist is not featured in the TV adaptation.
Stephen King’s The Institute Adaptation Cut The Book Villain Gladys
Gladys Is Described As A Truly Sinister Antagonist In The Original Book
In Stephen King’s The Institute, Gladys Hickson is introduced as one of the main staff members working in the titular facility’s front half. When the main character, Lukas, first meets her, she comes off as a sweet, caring woman who almost treats the kids in the facility like toddlers. However, the more Luke learns about her and the facility, the more he realizes how evil she can be.
As Gladys’ story progresses in the novel, it becomes evident that she cares little about the children’s well-being and would not even think twice before killing them. Her backstory also reveals that she has had a troubled past and has often landed in serious trouble because of her temper.
The central facility in the Stephen King story allows Gladys to secretly channel her worst tendencies without facing any consequences. Surprisingly, even though she is one of the most terrifying characters in the book, MGM+’s adaptation of Stephen King’s The Institute does not feature her at all.
The Institute Show Waters Down Some Of The Book’s More Gory & Sickening Aspects
The Show Tries To Appeal To A Wider Audience
The MGM+ show not only cuts some of the worst offenders from the staff of the central facility but also makes the children much older. Even some of the methods adopted by the Institute to torture Luke and his friends and experiment on them are significantly watered down in the Stephen King adaptation.
The Institute has a critics’ score of 65% and an audience score of 70% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Many of these changes to the source material make the show far less scary and disturbing than the original novel. Even though this makes the show less hard-hitting than the Stephen King book, it makes sense that the source’s sickening aspects were deleted. With this approach, The Institute appeals to a wider audience instead of only being targeted towards adults.
