Legion Season 1 Episode 4 Review: Chapter 4
Ron Gilmer
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What do you get when you combine an invisible dog, a frozen man in a diving suit, and a gender bending shocker? One kick ass show, that's what!
On Legion Season 1 Episode 4, answers are FINALLY being given, and boy, are we in for a wild ride going forward. In addition to telling us what the deal was with Kerry and Cary Loudermilk, we are finally drilling down to what's REALLY going on with David.
I was starting to get frustrated with the "unreliable narrator" model being used so far, and maybe the show-runners realized you can't build an entire series that way.
Thankfully, they fixed it in one fell swoop.
Melanie, finally figuring out they were spinning their wheels, sent the Scooby gang out into the real world to suss out just what was real and what wasn't. Thank you, Jesus!
Syd: What was real? That was the mission. We had seen things: heard things. But could we believe our eyes? Could David?
I saw the flash of the Loudermilk body convergence in Legion Season 1 Episode 3, and wondered out loud if we'd find out soon what that was all about.
Seems the two Loudermilks are mutants that inhabit one body, except when they separate.
Pardon my Freud, but kickass Kerry is the id to Dr. Loudermilk's ego, since she craves the action and he's all about the science.
The fact that he feels what she feels means he's probably the one in charge, but I loved how he was rocking out when she was getting her fight on.
The biggest head scratcher was the introduction of Oliver.
It was one weird, loopy way for us to get to know him, but that's what this show does, right? Makes you go WTF, and then explains itself (sometimes).
He is one off the wall dude, but his scenes were very funny. Why is he in the old fashioned diving suit? Hmmm.
Why ask why? We will get told eventually: or not. Complete answers are probably too much to expect at this point.
Oliver: There's good news, and there's bad news. The bad news is, it's not the drug. You're here, in the astral plane. You went too far in the make believe and got lost in your mind, consciousness, and now you're trapped in this, no place. Where every day is the same, where you can imagine yourself a kingdom. but nothing is ever real.
David: And what's the good news?
Oliver: I'm not alone anymore.
I kinda knew what was going on with David's noggin, but it was good to finally be told he has the ability to create a whole existence inside his head to help him cope.
So, as a way to advance the plot, bringing Oliver in was a good choice.
It also explains why Melanie wants David so bad. It's purely selfish. She wants her hubby back. And who can blame her?
Everyone is blind about what they want, and don't mind throwing others under the bus to get what they want.
One very valuable nugget was what Ollie told David about good ol' Yellow Eyes.
Oliver: I wouldn't go out there. It's waiting: the monster. It's waiting. You brought it in here, and now it's hunting you.
David: There is no monster, It's just me. I know that: it's my psychology.
Oliver: Monster as metaphor: I like it, but wrong. It's part of you, but not like a symptom. More like a parasite.
Yellow Eyes is probably a mutant as well, and he's the one who's monkeying around with David's memories, trying to avoid detection.
Now we know why only Syd and David can see him, since she WAS David for a short time.
What I didn't see coming was the reveal that the Lenny inside his head is the manifestation of Yellow Eyes.
If you think about it, Yellow Eyes having an internal dialog with David is a natural thing, much like Norman Bates' mother having a battle of wills with Norman in "Psycho."
We know who won that battle, so it will be interesting to see who will come out on top in this one.
Having Lenny as the devil on his shoulder at the end means we're probably in for some evil times ahead.
The whole Lenny/Benny thing gave me headache. Are we ever going to see the real Benny, other than a few flashes here and there? Or is it just for shock value?
Lenny was killed for real in Clockworks, right? So it would follow that Lenny exists, or am I missing something?
Can Yellow Eyes, or The Eye for that matter, make people THINK they are seeing Lenny, but in fact the dead person in Clockworks is Benny?
They got some 'splaining to do.
While we're at it, what the hell is the deal with The Eye? He's obviously a powerful mutant, since he can appear to look like anyone. Bullets go right through him, too.
And he saw the astral projections of David and Syd previously.
Was he REALLY there the whole time in the lighthouse? Can he project an image of himself when he has a fancy to?
He touched Ptonomy and Syd, so we know he had to be corporeal at least some of the time.
I want answers, dammit!
It's random, but the whole Oliver scenario reminded me of the movie "2001: A Space Odyssey," from the mysterious diving suit visions, to the scenes in his '60s ice palace bachelor pad.
I was disappointed to not see the Star Child boogie on some neon shag carpet! Oh well, maybe next week.
Since it took the combined power of Yellow Eyes and David to come back to the real world. I wonder how much is David and how much is Yellow Eyes?
My guess is Yellow Eyes will be exerting more control over David now, and that makes for some dangerous times for the Summerland crew.
This might be the first time Yellow Eyes is actually in this plane of existence, so he might go hog wild.
I felt the show stubbed it's toe a little last week, but this one pivots us to a new direction for the story, which is a very good thing.
I don't think we're ever going to get a purely linear show as far as plot goes, and that's great, but they moved the needle more towards standard storytelling, and that can only help.
I got enough answers to satisfy me, so I'm stoked for the back half of the season.
Tell me your thoughts: did you get at least some of the answers you were looking for? Did this one make the show not as damned confusing? Sing out in the comments section.
Since I think it's a good idea to watch Legion online more than once to pick up what you may have missed, then by all means do it here on TV Fanatic!
