SeaSon 2 Legion
Weapon Perplex
UK Broadcast Fox, finished US Broadcast FX, finished Episodes Reviewed 2.01-2.11
“apparently on Legion…” Has a show ever been more self-aware? That’s how one season two episode opens, in lieu of the usual, “Previously on…”. The next episode goes further: “Ostensibly on Legion.” Basically, it’s the show pulling the rug out from beneath anyone criticising it for being “weird for the sake of it”. “Yeah,” it’s saying. “And your problem is…?” Because “weird for the sake of it” is what Legion does. And it does it exquisitely well.
The series is loosely based on the comic book character who’s Professor Xavier’s incredibly powerful but mentally ill son. Season two starts with David Haller in an uneasy alliance with mutant-hunting organisation Division 3. Farouk, the evil mutant who was parasitically living in David’s brain in season one, has escaped into the world in a new body, and Division 3 must take him down. Except David receives a message from the future saying that this must not happen.
If that sounds straightforward enough, then what you need to know is that season two delights in taking comic book staple plots – “Days Of Future Past”, “What if…?”, alien invasions – and warping them into strange new shapes. Sometimes it’s not obvious how, er, obvious what’s going on is until a last-minute reveal; and that’s usually followed by another piece of weirdness to stop you feeling quite so certain. Weird vignettes, animated battles, upside-down sets, femmebots with moustaches and giant pink plugholes are thrown at you with mischievous glee. And it all looks absolutely ravishing.
It’s frustrating at times, and (like many Netflix shows), a little too slow-moving and in love with its longueurs. And we miss the big musical numbers from season one (there are only a couple this time). But there are so many individual scenes which leave you reeling that it’s worth putting up with its indulgences.
And don’t make the mistake of thinking that Legion is all style and no substance. The last few episodes deliver a twist that makes you fundamentally reassess David’s character. It’s probably a safe bet that in season three he won’t become the supervillain predicted here... but equally, he’s proving to be not quite the innocent victim he’d like to project himself as. It’s rich, thoughtprovoking stuff. And amid all the weirdness, there’s also a very human story. Dave Golder