‘Legion 2×05’ Review
Legion, especially in season two has focused on the characters and how they are broken. That is why with the return of Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) things are getting interesting. A supposedly dead women victimised by Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban) just why has he set her free?
With the return of Lenny, David (Dan Stevens) must unlock the truth behind her return. The more he learns though, the closer he gets to a revelation that will hit him closer than he realises.
While Lenny was the face of Shadow King for the first season of Legion she has been somewhat of a hanger-on now that Farouk has Oliver (Jemaine Clement). Begging for freedom, she now has it, and the wounds from her past life and the one spent with Farouk are on full show. This is yet another broken character in a fractured world.
To go too deeply into her return would of course be a spoiler, and would lessen the emotional impact of this episode, but the obvious question that has been raised in previous episodes is answered here. We are dealing with the return to life of a dead person, which should be impossible. The answer to this problem just shows how evil and calculating Farouk is.
The ambiguity as to whether David is working with Farouk is finally answered this week too, with the actions of the Shadow King being calculated to hurt David as harshly as possible. In doing this he also hurts other people, and that includes Lenny. It is all about treating people as puppets to entertain Farouk, and the results are never good for the people under control.
In Chapter 13, we also get to see how Oliver (Jemaine Clement) is surviving his time with Farouk. While it may have seemed, he was quite enjoying his time, his laid-back nature hides the hatred he appears to have for the Shadow King. The fact he reveals he has a plan to kill Farouk shows that. It is good to see more of Clement in this episode, as in previous episodes it does feel like we’ve not really seen him enough. For those wanting him featured more, you are in luck with this episode.
What is noticeable with Chapter 13 of Legion is that it is one for horror fans. A dark and very emotional episode, in some ways we as the audience are not ready for what is to come. Just as the revelation at the end of the episode hurts David, the audience can’t help but be affected too. In some ways we are not ready for what happens, and while there is a little hint about what is to come, we are not ready for when it actually happens.
Another episode of Legion to push the spotlight onto Aubrey Plaza, she really excels in the role as Lenny. Very different than the one we saw in the first season, we are seeing the real her here, even if the way she has returned is a somewhat complicated one. It will be interesting to see if she features more or will be hidden away now the secret of her return is revealed. Hopefully this won’t be the case.
While in the previous episodes we’ve seen Legion be a bit more experimental in telling the story, this week there is a more traditional structure to the storytelling, to make sure there is more emotional impact. An important episode to set up the rest of this season, this is yet another episode you can’t miss, especially since it will have such a huge impact on David’s character.
Legion airs on Fox TV in the UK on Tuesdays.
