By Shivam Das | October 12, 2026
Is Tom Sweet’s Jim Hawkins the strongest part of MGM+’s new Treasure Island—or does the series keep its young hero waiting too long for his own adventure? The premiere introduces Jim as a clever, unusually observant teenager whose photographic memory could become a genuine survival advantage. But early reviews suggest the character’s potential is clearer than his personality so far. The result is a performance and a character concept worth watching, even if the first episode does not give Jim every moment he needs.
Spoiler note: This review discusses the premiere’s setup and character dynamics, but avoids a scene-by-scene recap.
Tom Sweet’s Jim Hawkins: What Works in Episode 1?
Sweet has a useful challenge: this version of Jim is not simply a curious boy who stumbles into a pirate story. The series gives him an extraordinary photographic memory, and the premiere establishes that ability through a wager at the Admiral Benbow Inn. Jim can study a passage and repeat it with striking accuracy, turning his mind into a source of income for himself and his mother, Bess Hawkins.
That detail gives Sweet a clear acting problem to solve. Jim needs to communicate intelligence without making every scene feel like a demonstration, and vulnerability without making him seem helpless. The strongest idea in the writing is that remembering information is not the same thing as understanding people. Jim may retain details perfectly, but he still has to learn which adults are lying, what danger looks like, and when knowledge alone cannot protect him.
Ready Steady Cut’s premiere recap notes that Sweet and Hayley Atwell carry much of the early dramatic weight before Long John Silver’s arrival shifts the atmosphere. Jim is central to the plot, but the premiere also asks him to share the spotlight with Bess and the adults competing over the treasure.
Strength No. 1: The Photographic-Memory Hook Gives Jim a Purpose
The memory ability is the premiere’s most distinctive change to Jim. It is not just a quirky character trait: it affects how the Hawkins family makes money, how the treasure map can remain important after its physical form is threatened, and why Jim may be valuable to people with very different motives.
As a storytelling device, it creates suspense in a more interesting way than simply making Jim “the smart one.” If Jim remembers a map, the information becomes an asset that can be protected, traded, exploited, or stolen from him. The tension is no longer limited to who holds a piece of paper; it also concerns who controls Jim and what he chooses to reveal.
The risk is that the ability can become a shortcut. If the story lets Jim solve every problem by remembering a detail, the character could feel less like a growing person and more like a plot tool. The show will need to make his choices—and the consequences of those choices—matter as much as his recall.
Strength No. 2: Sweet Has Room to Play Intelligence and Fear Together
A coming-of-age story needs a gap between what a young character can do and what he is ready to face. Jim’s memory makes him exceptional, but it does not automatically make him worldly, physically safe, or emotionally prepared for manipulation. That contrast gives Sweet a potentially rich performance lane.
It also makes the relationship with Long John Silver intriguing. Silver is a persuasive, dangerous adult whose charm cannot be taken at face value. Jim’s ability to remember words and details may help him notice contradictions, but reading a person’s motives is a different skill. Their dynamic could become the series’ most compelling education in trust: Jim has to learn not only what happened, but why someone wants him to believe a particular version of it.
Weakness No. 1: Jim Can Feel Like a Supporting Character in His Own Story
The biggest concern in the early criticism is not that Sweet lacks promise. It is that the adaptation gives so much oxygen to the adults around Jim that his own inner life can seem underwritten. RogerEbert.com’s review argues that the premiere’s larger reinvention—especially Bess’s expanded role—leaves Jim feeling under-characterized, even while the later trajectory suggests room for growth. The Guardian’s review is similarly critical of the way the series’ changes can diminish Jim’s charm and narrative presence.
Those are critical judgments, not universal audience verdicts, but they point to a specific dramatic issue. A protagonist needs more than a useful skill. Viewers need to understand what Jim wants beyond survival, what he fears losing, and what kind of person he hopes to become. If the show delays those answers for too long, the audience may understand Jim’s importance without feeling closely connected to him.
Weakness No. 2: The Show Must Make Jim More Than a Human Map
Jim’s memory is an efficient plot engine, but it can overshadow the ordinary qualities that make a classic coming-of-age hero relatable: impulsiveness, loyalty, insecurity, courage under pressure, and the capacity to get something wrong. If everyone around him mainly reacts to what Jim knows, he risks becoming an object everyone wants rather than a character who drives the story.
The fix is not to remove his unusual memory. It is to give him moments when the ability is insufficient—when he has to ask for help, make a moral decision with incomplete information, or accept that a remembered fact does not tell him whom to trust. Those scenes would let Sweet play growth rather than competence alone.
How Jim’s Version Compares With Robert Louis Stevenson’s Classic
In Stevenson’s 1883 novel, Jim is a first-person narrator whose curiosity, bravery, mistakes, and retrospective storytelling shape the adventure. The television version changes the emphasis by making his memory an explicit superpower-like advantage and by giving his mother, Bess, a much larger role. That shift can refresh a familiar story, but it also changes the balance of the coming-of-age arc.
For viewers who want a faithful young-Jim adventure from the opening minutes, the premiere may feel more focused on family survival and adult schemes than expected. For viewers open to a broader ensemble drama, Jim’s slower emergence could be groundwork rather than a flaw—provided later episodes let him make decisions that change the outcome.
What to Watch for in the Next Episodes
- Agency: Does Jim make a decision that changes the course of the voyage, rather than simply respond to adult plans?
- Emotional specificity: Do we learn what he wants for himself, separate from his loyalty to Bess?
- Limits to his memory: Does he face a problem that cannot be solved by recalling details?
- Silver’s influence: Does Jim learn to distinguish a useful lesson from a manipulative offer?
- Consequences: Do Jim’s mistakes carry real costs and help him mature?
The official series overview from Playground Entertainment describes Treasure Island as a coming-of-age thriller charting Jim’s journey from sheltered boy to emboldened young man. That promise gives the character a clear destination; the key question is how convincingly the episodes bridge the distance between those two versions of Jim.
Verdict: A Promising Concept That Needs More Jim
Tom Sweet’s Jim Hawkins has a strong foundation: an unusual memory, a precarious family situation, and a voyage where information can be as dangerous as a weapon. The premiere’s weakness is that the premise sometimes speaks louder than the person. Sweet has room to make Jim thoughtful, frightened, stubborn, and increasingly independent, but the writing needs to put his choices at the center.
Bottom line: Jim’s photographic memory is a smart reinvention, but the real test is whether Treasure Island lets Tom Sweet turn that ability into a full coming-of-age performance. The first episode plants the idea; the remaining chapters need to make Jim—not just the treasure map—the reason to keep watching.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who plays Jim Hawkins in MGM+’s Treasure Island?
Tom Sweet plays Jim Hawkins in the 2026 six-part adaptation of Robert Louis Stevenson’s novel.
What is different about Jim Hawkins in the new Treasure Island?
The series gives Jim a photographic-memory ability that becomes important to the treasure-map plot and to the way he and his mother survive at the Admiral Benbow Inn.
Is Tom Sweet’s performance being praised or criticized?
Early reviews are mixed about the adaptation overall. Some see potential in Jim’s journey, while others argue the premiere gives the adults around him more definition than Jim himself. Those are critical interpretations rather than a consensus audience score.
Does Jim’s photographic memory come from the original novel?
The explicit photographic-memory trait is a change made for this adaptation, rather than a defining supernatural-like ability in Stevenson’s original novel.
Where can I read more about the series?
See the official Paramount+ series guide, the Playground Entertainment series page, and early reviews from RogerEbert.com, The Guardian, and Ready Steady Cut.
Related reading: Treasure Island Episode 1 ending explained · How Jim’s photographic memory changes the treasure-map story
