‘Legion 2×10’ Review
The end of season two of Legion is in sight, and we are now at the penultimate episode. With the confrontation between Amahl Farouk (Navid Nagahban) and David (Dan Stevens) getting ever closer, just who is the monster set to destroy the world?
David finally finds his way to the monastery, but Syd (Rachel Keller) has gone missing. Getting an education into what is going on in David’s mind, Syd has to question just what he is becoming and what must be done to save him from himself.
Throughout this season the hints have been there that David’s evil side is something that he finds pleasure in. We’ve seen comparisons between him and Farouk, and it isn’t surprising that they are similar because the Shadow King has been part of him for so long. The problem with this of course is that David may be the hero, but does that make him the villain as well? The opening of the episode does hint at not only his power, but also what side of David we are set to see.
While the big confrontation is being built up between the two Godlike mutants, this doesn’t mean that we don’t get to enjoy some time with the other members of the cast. One highlight for me is that we see Kerry Loudermilk (Amber Midthunder) kick some ass. The fact we also get to see Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) and Syd pushed something interesting in this episode, and that was the female heroes of Legion.
We’ve seen them kick ass in the past, but in this episode while David is off searching for Farouk and the Shadow King is looking for his body, it is left to the others to take centre stage. This allows Kerry to show just what a badass we already knew she was, and for Syd to rise to the task of not only battling the Minotaur we’ve seen in previous episodes but also make it clear that she has to stop David becoming a monster.
What feels important about Kerry and Syd’s battles are that it puts these characters to the forefront of the action and shows allows them to have focus for a change instead of the continued struggles of David and Farouk. With the battle between the two, the focus is often away from the fact that the other characters are superheroes too with their own powers. For me personally, anytime Kerry is set free to fight is a good thing, especially this season when it feels like many of the characters like her have been pushed back a little so the stranger stories could take more of a focus. This is the episode when it feels like all restraint is removed and it is time to go to war. Even if the war is still an episode away.
This episode did a good job of setting up the huge confrontation that is coming next week, and what I found impressive was the fact that it felt like a true comic book style build up between two Godlike mutants. It is the charisma of both Dan Stevens and Navid Nagahban that creates the feeling of excitement as the scene is set, and the season finally gets down to business.
Legion season two has been somewhat slow at times, and there has been a feeling that the story has been a little stretched to extend over more episodes than it needed, but now we are at the end, things are starting to feel epic. Now for the battle between David and the Shadow King which may finally decide once and for all the fate of David’s nemesis.
***** 5/5
Legion airs on Fox TV in the UK on Tuesdays.