Legion Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Chapter 2
Ron Gilmer
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Do the work. We heard that a lot in this episode, and it not only means something to the folks on the show.
This show demands that the audience to do the work as well, since it's so damned hard to follow at times!
At the beginning of Legion Season 1 Episode 2, we see David being taken by boat to the well hidden, idyllic Summerland camp, where Melanie Bird and her crew attempt to fix David.
The tone of this one is much different than the wild, visually stunning Legion Season 1 Episode 1 premiere, but it's just as trippy in it's own way.
Things move slower, and this episode has a more dream-like quality: less frenetic, at least at the beginning.
The exposition is helpful since Melanie lays out what the deal is in a pretty straightforward manner.
Melanie: David, your whole life people told you that were sick. What if I told you that's a lie? What if I told you, every memory you have of mental illness: voices, hallucinations, was just your power? And what if I could do more than just tell you? What if I could show you? Help you re-write the story of your life?
The whole "Memory Work" therapy is a good vehicle to try and delve into David's mind, since it gives a little more order to the chaos.
The show still whips back and forth between memory, hallucination, and reality, but the effect is a little less jarring, since Melanie and "Memory Artist" Ptonomy are there to guide David (and us, thankfully) through the rat's nest that is David's mind.
David has trouble handling this, as you can imagine. The way Melanie talked David into turning down the voices was right out of the movie "Scanners," except they didn't use drugs.
It's tough sometimes to get a handle on a show that has the "unreliable narrator" thing going on.
It can be frustrating and cause people to check out, but I think they are doing the best they can here to try and keep the audience from being totally confused.
This is a show that you need to see more than once in order to catch all that's going on.
And here's a prime example of that. So, we are to believe that the guys are inside David's mind, sorting through his memories, right? Does that mean he was friends with Lenny before the nut hut Clockworks?
They never seemed to have a relationship beforehand judging by the pilot, or maybe I didn't get that. The whole stove for drugs scene sure doesn't look like it could be real, right? It's too absurd and off the wall IMO.
And in the scene where they get high and Lenny turns into the yellow-eyed dude, Melanie is adamant that everything they are seeing is real. That rings hollow to me.
The yellow eyed guy may in fact be real and not an illusion (I have not read the comics), but I don't trust that Melanie is being totally honest here.
Ptonomy: Melanie thinks you're the key.
David: To what?
Ptonomy: To winning: the war, and other things.
Division 3, who are supposed to be the baddies, are probably bad, but is Melanie's group truly good? I think there's more going on here.
The only thing that really grounds David to reality is Syd, so Melanie using her to bring David in line is not that big of a stretch.
The talks they had here were very cute, especially the part where he read her mind.
David: We're having a romance of the mind.
Syd: I like that.
The whole "Freaky Friday" body switch seemed to genuinely bother Syd, because of the fallout regarding the death of Lenny.
I think she loves David, but the fact that they can never touch makes it a real problem.
The tension from that can only last so long, so hopefully they will work out a way for them to actually have a relationship, or this will get old in a hurry.
David, I think I killed your friend. I'm so sorry.
Syd
The scope of David's powers is coming into focus, and they seem to be very formidable.
We know right now that he is telepathic and has telekinesis, which is pretty rad, wouldn't you say?
But they also uncovered that he can hear people's thoughts, and he can do remote viewing, since he could see his sister Amy being taken by Division 3 in real time.
The obvious parallels to Jean Grey are inevitable, so will David go to the dark side as she did?
One thing in the press (but hasn't been told in the show yet) that most people already know is that David it the son of the big daddy himself, Charles Xavier, the leader of the X-Men.
So we've probably seen only the tip of the iceberg as far as what powers David has or will develop.
The cliffhanger at the end sets up the next mission: David wants to rescue sister Amy from Division 3, but Syd doesn't think he's ready yet.
Is it too early for David to be used as a weapon? I think so, but David seems to get what he wants, considering his powers and all.
I don't know how long they can keep him at bay, but he needs to develop and control his powers, or he could kill them all in the process.
David: How do you know they won't kill her?
Syd: Because she's bait.
I didn't like this one as much as the pilot, but it's still got enough going on to keep my interest. There wasn't as much humor in this one, but there were a few funny lines.
Cary: You have an extremely large amygdala.
David: Thanks.
And for you drinking game aficionados, I bet they said the name "David" at least 100 times – enjoy!
I especially liked the Thomas Dolby song "Hyperactive" in the credits: perfect!
So tell me what you think: did you like this one? Do you think the "unreliable narrator" story structure can work long term? Will we tire of the unrequited David\Syd romance?
And remember, you can watch Legion online as many times as you need to, just to make sure you don't miss anything, right here on TV Fanatic.
