Legion is beginning to make even more sense as we move further into the show’s mythos. The mutant prison break at the end of episode 1 showed that Legion isn’t afraid to stretch its muscles as far as upping the superhuman abilities on screen. The first episode had the perfect balance of mixing character and throwing in those fun superhuman abilities to keep things interesting. The show continues the trend with this nicely crafted second episode.
Where Do We Go From Here?
In episode two, simply titled “Chapter 2,” we find David Haller (Dan Stevens) with his new found companions after his escape from Division 3. Melanie Bird (Jean Smart), the leader of our ragtag group of mutants we saw at the end of the first episode, is now trying her best to teach David how to control his powers. More than that we discover that most of the mutants under Melanie’s tutelage all have some kind of psychic ability. This in no way means there isn’t individuality in terms of the powers these other mutants possess. We learn early on about Ptonomy and his ability to go inside a person’s memory. Dubbed “memory art” the power is utilized to get into the nitty gritty of David’s past and how he ended up going crazy in the first place.
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Once Upon a Time
We also get a glimpse of David’s father, a man who died a year before the events of the show, and presumably a trigger for whatever trauma David experienced in his past. This episode of Legion was all about backstory and it provided plenty of it. We were introduced to David’s old therapist Dr. Poole (Scott Lawrence) and even got a glimpse of the ill fated Lenny (Aubrey Plaza).
We then see Ptonomy once again as he explains the intricacies of his abilities (The remembering of being born isn’t a particular memory I’d be all that fond of, But Ptonomy makes it sound pretty damn intriguing). The memory wizard then goes on to reference what they saw during David’s memory of his father. The book, “The World’s Angriest Boy In The World”, seems to either be an actual bed time story that his father used to read t David or, more likely, references something else that’s occurred in David’s dark past.
Who is This Guy?
What’s great about this episode, like any good piece of fiction, is that the writers do a great job of slowly unveiling what lies beneath our main characters. Ptonomy is thoughtful yet relatable in terms of his abilities in conjunction with David’s. “I’m not the talking guy, I’m the memory guy.” The line sums up Ptonomy’s character as an individual who likes to get to the heart of things rather than placate David. We also learn more about Syd (Rachel Keller) and how her vulnerability as well as her strength. She was able to get a glimpse inside David’s mind and come out the other side still mentally strong despite the fact that she was responsible for Lenny’s death. We also learn that Syd’s use of David’s power while they swapped places is the reason Melanie as well as Division 3 came hunting for him in the first place. It really must be annoying for Syd and David to care for each other so much and still be unable to express those feelings.
The self destructive lifestyle that David was living before, drugging it up with Lenny, shows what lengths he was willing to go to defeat his “demons.” While the memory work with Melanie and her team seems to be an effective method of getting deeper into David’s psyche, it could even be the first steps towards a cure for his illness. Despite that, you can’t help but feel that something more sinister is bubbling underneath. While Melanie seems to have good intentions on the surface, you never know. She could just be trying to utilize David’s incredible abilities.
Legion Season 1 airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on FX. Want more news? Like the BuddyTV Facebook page.
(Image courtesy of FX)
Contributing Writer, BuddyTV
