Legion- A
Retrospective
I’ve been putting off writing this for a while now, Legion
Season Two was the first ever review I wrote on this blog and the whole show
has been an influential part of my life since the pilot aired in February of 2017.
Noah Hawley’s mind-bending, convention-breaking and creatively-refreshing show
based on the obscure comic book character of David Haller has mesmerised me
throughout it’s bizarre three seasons of content. I’m going to break down what
made ‘Legion’ the show I have religiously watched and loved for it’s
fascinating three year run by looking at some of my favourite moments of the
show.
The Entirety of
the Pilot
‘Chapter 1’ of ‘Legion’ is still one of my favourite
episodes of the show, Hawley isn’t afraid to immediately establish how off the
walls insane this show is going to be with the mind-bending Pilot. David is a
mentally ill man in an institute called Clockworks but when he meets Syd and
falls in love, everything changes, maybe. Nothing feels quite real in this
episode, the barriers between reality and dreams are played with as memories
and identities overlap and disorientate the viewer. Whether it be the Bollywood
dance sequence, the subtle hints at The Devil With The Yellow Eyes or demonstrating
the power of David Haller, every second of this pilot is outrageous and
entertaining. Hawley demonstrates that this show is going to be about our own
limited perspective, that there should never be an easy way to demonstrate something
and that due to the fact our protagonist believes he’s insane, why can’t we let
go of reality a bit?
Aubrey Plaza as
The Shadow King
Throughout Season One Aubrey Plaza plays a supporting
character that steals every scene she is in, initially as the crazy Lenny in Clockworks
but then in the big season reveal that Lenny isn’t real and is in fact The
Shadow King she comes into her own. Her reveal in ‘Chapter 5’ is insanely entreating
and this sadistically entertaining character is formidable. Plaza demonstrates
range, as she indulges in playing the group’s therapist and her iconic dance
sequence is so entertainingly evil it is almost mesmerising. She creates this
personality that you can’t help but love even when she is at her most evil, as
the show goes on she becomes more and more sympathetic as we see the real Lenny
trapped in the mind of Farouk. Her reunion with David in Season Two is
emotional and Plaza really sells this character as something else, as a real
person and her death in Season Three is melancholic and upsetting. She really
comes into her own as The Breakfast Queen in Season Three, with moments of
authenticity coming from this outlandish character as she falls in love and deals
with losing her own child, Plaza really deserved an award of some sort for her
work in the show.
Season One’s Pacing
and Structure
To many, Season One is the perfect season of television and I
would have to agree, the way the entirety of the first season is structured and
put together is amazing. Things like the stellar appearance from Jermaine
Clement as Oliver Bird giving this wonderful monologue leading into his
important appearance and revelation around the Astral Plane. What you see may
not make sense now, but it will later. The narrative keeps moving and moving but
at no point does it ever feel exhausting or rushed, when you look at actual plot
points of the season it seems simple and short, but it is how the Season
approaches these events which add to the characters and themes. I think that a
lot of the season really takes it time in introducing every element, there is
this real sense of planting the seeds for what is to come, exploring ideas that
Hawley clearly planned to pay off throughout the three-season arc.
Jon Hamm’s Conceptual
Monologues
‘A delusion starts like any other idea, as an egg’. Season
Two introduced these lectures by a mysterious narrator about several ideas
revolving around the concept of delusion. Exploring societal flaws in patterns
and the disturbing implication around group thoughts and ideas, such as the increasingly
disturbing cheerleader allegory. Although, when watching the season as a whole
it is unclear as to what these short monologues allude to, the payoff is
fantastic and the ambitious twist at the end of the season wouldn’t have been as
impactful at all. It offers this thematically ambiguous conclusion; do you believe
in the idea of group delusion? or is it a man’s single delusion? or maybe it’s
just both. I can’t begin to really understand the extent of what Hawley is
trying to demonstrate with these monologues, but their visual aesthetic and
thematic ambition is simply something I have never seen before in television.
The Real Amahl Farouk
I was insanely excited to see the real face of Amahl Farouk
come Season Two and I couldn’t ask for a better portrayal of this complex
antagonist than Navid Negahban. Negahban emits charisma and intelligence that breaks
down this previous idea of The Shadow King as this unsympathetic villain, he is
in fact a person. There is this undeniable class to Farouk, he emits wisdom
with evil and compared to David’s erratic and anxious persona they have this fantastic
chemistry between them. The fact that he commits acts that are genuinely
disturbing yet with this fantastic level of composure makes him an incredibly
memorable and complicated villain that took me by complete and utter surprise throughout
the majority of Season Two and Three. Of course, it is the finale to Season
Three that really shows Negahban’s skill as an actor, the genuine care and complex
emotions he feels towards David are fascinating and he makes that finale feel
like something unique and exciting.
Syd’s Redemption
Throughout the majority of Season One, I wasn’t a big fan of
Syd’s character, I found her to be a bit too willing and lack a sense of
independence or any real charisma however Rachel Keller still delivered a
fantastic performance. But come Season Two, she becomes exciting, sympathetic
and really the show’s true protagonist. Syd is ambitious and forthright in the
entirety of the second season, her conversations with Melanie give her agency
and a running compelling arc for her character. ‘Chapter 12’ is still one of
the most surprisingly genuine and needed episodes in the show, exploring her
past was a much-needed revelation and it will hit you like a train in those
emotional closing moments. Everything makes sense for her character after this
episode, her fear of opening up, her desire for intimacy playing at constant
contradiction with her absolute fear of the consequences of her intimacy. And
equally important is ‘Chapter 25’ which shows her being reborn and growing up
under the helping guidance of Melanie and Oliver, here Syd learns empathy and understanding
of other perspectives as priority before judging people’s intentions, it is an
incredible progression and it is essential in those closing moments between the
two characters.
Chapter 14
Legion gets criticized a lot for its disregard for plot
momentum as moments and whole episodes are almost completely conceptual and don’t
advance the running narrative at all, ‘Chapter 14’ is one of those episodes.
However, I would definitely argue that this isn’t a bad thing, in fact for ‘Legion’
it is essential on moments of thematic and emotional weight. ‘Chapter 14’ is
completely a conceptual look at the multi-verse theory but from David’s
perspective, we explore several versions of David from arrogant billionaire to disturbed
homeless man in this incredible feat of television. The episode has this
disturbingly melancholy tone to it, Hawley emotionally demonstrates the possible
lives David could have lived however as it progresses the audience slowly realises
the point of this episode, David always needs Amy, his sister. After the events
of last episode revealing the death of Amy Haller, this episode is the sad
realisation that the darkest timeline is the one where David doesn’t have Amy
and it is an emotionally ambitious episode that I love every second of it.
The Turn of David
Season Two has the difficult job of the entirety of the
season being a vehicle of revealing that David is in fact mentally unwell and
dangerously psychotic, to the point of delusion. It was a very slow burn
throughout the season, but every element comes together to reveal its purpose
is showing how a man turns evil. The character work throughout the season is fascinating,
revolving around trust and distorted perspective it makes the whole season feel
tense and uncertain. Division 3 slowly turns into madness due to the mysterious
Admiral Fukuyama, the group become progressively more suspicious, but David is
quick to find the problem and defeat the delusion, revealing that Division 3
turning on David isn’t a delusion. Melanie’s talks about men taking advantage,
David losing Amy, Syd revealing a past of mistrust and Future Syd’s warnings
about David are all pieces in the puzzle that compels the reveal of David’s
true nature. The tough assault scene on Syd was a daring choice by Hawley but
luckily throughout Season Three David remains delusional and it is his ego that
ultimately undoes him.
Charles and Gabrielle
Xavier
My god was it a treat to witness these two in ‘Legion’, from
the beginning I was unsure if Hawley would ever show us David’s parents and
their history but ‘Chapter 22’ did not disappoint. The inclusion of time travel
in Season Three gave us the nightmarishly uncomfortable episode exploring David’s
parent’s past and it was beautiful. In typical ‘Legion’ fashion, time jumps around
and nothing quite makes sense, we witness their meeting in a mental hospital
that worryingly and disturbingly mirrors David and Syd. The episode has this
fantastic colour palette to it making the whole thing feel cold and distant as
well as this excellent inclusion of Captain Fantastic’s ‘Wot’ creeping in
whenever David is near. Harry Lloyd makes you forget that James McAvoy ever
played the iconic character, he is suave and likeable and has a real human touch
to him. However, Stephanie Corneliussen as Gabrielle is the Season’s standout
performance as David’s mother as her performance is genuine and emotional,
compelling the Season’s ambitious arc. Charles’ confrontation with a younger Farouk
is glorious and the way these characters fit so well into the show is mind-blowingly
impressive.
The Time Demons/
The Blue Meanies
This was definitely an unexpected inclusion into the climactic
season, and it was a very welcome one at that. The Time Demons were some of the
most inventive villain’s I’ve ever seen in my life and the show took complete
advantage of every creative possibility they could have with these creatures.
Their design is creepy and unnerving, but the visual effects work is just
outstanding, creating this pseudo stop motion feeling to them where the frame
rate increases if more of them are in the frame thus meaning they move faster. It
is beyond impressive and I can’t even imagine the effort that went into creating
these creatures. I couldn’t have asked for a better apocalypse than this and
Hawley really let loose with these new creatures. I still can’t believe they
included a clip from ‘The Shield’ to disorientate the viewers, played with shot
composition and editing to the extent where the entirety of their appearance is
an absolute highlight.
Press Button to
Start Again
Three seasons of ambiguous and ambitious big idea creative
sci-fi surely can’t stick a realistic and satisfying ending, but ‘Legion’ does
and it pulls the rug from underneath you and creates a finale that is beautiful.
Life is complicated, life is uncertain and what influences the person we are is
a factor we have very little control over and this episode reveals that it isn’t
as simple as Good and Evil. It is about learning to understand other perspectives,
what the show has been exploring for its entire run is the importance of a
positive helping hand and care from others. Maybe it is the support from a sister,
a mentor or a mother but whatever it is, it is valuable and arrogance towards
caring for other people is a dangerous thing. Ultimately, these characters are
granted a poetic and earned ending that resonates with me, hey, maybe I am looking
into this finale way too much or projecting my own beliefs, but it is
definitely a stellar emotional concept to base your finale around and I love it
to bits.
The Entire Soundtrack
and Score
This is a bit of a cop-out but thanks to ‘Legion’ I have
fallen in love with so many new bands and artists as Hawley well occasionally
seems to be throwing stuff onto the screen with an amazing soundtrack and I don’t
disagree. The use of music has undeniably made so many scenes and moments
absolutely memorable and iconic in my mind. The show opens with ‘Happy Jack’ by
The Who and closes with the exact same song and I remember bursting into tears
when I heard the song again because of its association to the show. I first
heard The Velvet Underground with the inclusion of ‘Heroin’ in ‘Chapter 13’
which is a band that I have become obsessed with of late. Song choices such as ‘The
Daily Mail’ by Radiohead, ‘Behind Blue Eyes’ by The Who or ’22 (Over Soon)’ by
Bon Iver are amazing inclusions that elevate the emotional impact of some of my
favourite scenes. Jeff Russo also composes a glorious score to the entire show
that compels psychedelia with opera to an amazing extent, he cleverly uses certain
musical stings to signify themes and ideas that are so quick you could miss it.
It’s Always Blue
I could write for hours upon hours about ‘Legion’ I’m truly in
love with every element and idea that the show has presented. I said this in my
review of the second season, but for all its critiscm from frustrated fans and
confused critics, I can’t really fault it at all becomes of the amount of
creative ambition that goes into every single episode. The outstanding and
downright insane attention to detail in the production design compelling fans
to work out charts revolving colour coordination in order to understand the
themes and ideas is something I haven’t seen before in a community around a TV
show. Every performance feels committed and excited to be there, it is a collaborative
project of creative people enjoying pushing the boundaries of artistic expression
and well, it’s also a pretty good superhero show.
Thanks for reading!