‘Legion 1×06’ Review
Stars: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Jean Smart, Mackenzie Gray, Scott Lawrence, Katie Aselton, Tatyana Forrest, Jeremie Harris, Bill Irwin, Amber Midthunder | Created by Noah Hawley
Legion had a definite theme this week, and that is about holding back. Whether it is David (Dan Stevens) being held back by Lenny (Aubrey Plaza), or the bullets that are set to ruin everybody’s day.
While an episode which is set back in the mental hospital may put the fear into many fans that this would be a weak episode, there really wasn’t anything to worry about. What we see is David being put in a protective reality, just a shame it is Lenny (or as we now know her, the Devil with the Yellow Eyes) that appears to be in control. What is interesting about the setting of this episode is how David’s reality uses a lot of repetition of previous events that he’s already been through. It almost feels like the show wants us to question which reality is really real, but thankfully that never goes too deep. The constant hints of different realities and mind palaces says it all.
While David may find himself secure in the hospital, Syd (Rachel Keller) definitely does not. It may be because she is closest to David that she realises that something isn’t right. If you are like me though and hate stories about little progress being made, get ready to be annoyed with this episode.
The fact is, everything is about holding back. The only one celebrating the situation is Lenny, and the highlight of the episode has to be Aubrey Plaza and her dance. Another is the confrontation between Lenny and David, where the masks slip and the revelations about what the parasite is up to comes out. It is interesting that David’s father is mentioned, and we are teased about who that is. If this follows the X-Men lore, we know that this is of course Xavier. The fact that Lenny says that David’s father had him adopted to hide him from the creature is interesting. If the father is who we think he is, will we see him make an appearance?
While this episode is mainly about David, Syd, and Lenny the other characters also get their own fun with David’s little made up reality. My favourite duo Cary (Bill Irwin) and Kerry (Amber Midthunder) are super cute in this episode, as they show some reality to their situation. The way they act in the hospital is interesting to watch because of how well it is handled. You could almost imagine that this is their real situation instead of being two people merged into one.
What I wasn’t happy about with in this episode with Cary and Kerry was the danger that we see Kerry be put under with The Eye (Mackenzie Gray). While we don’t see her fate, I won’t be happy if she is killed. While Cary was doing important things, it still doesn’t feel right that he would leave her unguarded while he was off on his travels (won’t go into the spoilers).
In all the weirdness, this was still an episode that managed to reveal things about the secondary characters, and further fleshed out the world being created in Legion. Thankfully it still isn’t being pushed towards being an average superhero show, it is still the Legion we know and love. The fact that a second season is coming is also good news for where the show is going.
I will admit that this episode did annoy me somewhat, because as already mentioned it was all about holding things back. Hopefully next week we’ll be out of the hospital and things can get moving again. Though there has to be more dancing, that is a must. The dancing is what helps to make Legion stay my favourite superhero show currently on television (and yes, that includes the Netflix shows too).
****½ 4.5/5
Legion can be seen in the UK every Thursday on Fox at 9pm.
