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Legion 2.1 Review – ‘Chapter Nine’
Loading... The season premiere of any returning show has a big task—which is probably why this episode ran 20 minutes long. Still, we didn’t get any sort of “previously on,” montage. If you didn’t rewatch last season, (or at least reread the reviews here at 411Mania) you might be feeling a little lost. Spoiler for “Chapter Nine” follow, which should surprise no one.
Lenny and Oliver continue their whirlwind adventure. You’ll recall that Amal Farouk skipped town in Oliver’s body—devastating Melanie Bird and dashing the entire concept of lost loves returned. Lenny, ostensibly the Shadow King, realizes that the pair are trapped. Trapped in a maze. Oliver has been trapped someplace for as long as we’ve known him, so this is not exactly new news. Next up, a flood of cool dated fashion and tales of a maze in a desert. Once you’re in the maze, you’re in. No getting out. Welcome to madness. Like most Legion episodes, this one combines intense character work with abstract, disjointed scenes that we can’t fully understand until we get more information. Hawley’s unreliable narrators and ambiguous timing keep us on our guard even as we’re compelled to figure out where it’s all going. We see flashes of what looks like Clockworks, and Summerland. But is it? I notice that some of the camera work is similar to that on “Agents of SHIELD.” I’ll have to check and see if there’s any overlap in the photog crew.
Did Syd switch bodies with that cat? Had she given up on David by the time they found him? After all, she did ask “Who” when Kerry came by with the news. Cary has difficulty bringing David back around, but finally manages. David not knowing where he is isn’t surprising. But the fact that they’re now working with Division Three is. Division Three is bad, kill-happy—everybody knows that. It’s the “tip of the spear” which means it’s the stabby part. Somehow though, between Cary and Ptonomy, we get the idea that Division Three (including last season’s Interviewer, who now looks far worse for the wear) is on board with finding the Shadow King. He’s the real enemy. This is true and all, but again, they’re pretty killy.
Ptonomy mentions “the Lazarus affair.” I won’t go into details for anyone who wants to avoid comic spoilers. But Lazarus is a mutant, one who has connections in the X-men universe and to our foul-mouthed buddy Deadpool. I notice later in this ep that Haller’s pyramid shirt looks more like Deadpool’s eyes logo than it did last season. I wonder why that would be? It’s not as if we’re expecting a crossover with Deadpool. Is that as intriguing as the brunch river where plates of waffles float by on little boats? Maybe. Meanwhile, Syd has finally come to her senses regarding the deliciousness of cherry pie. Her hair is longer, which is the first real clue as to how long David has been gone. I guessed 1 year based on the length. In fact, it was only 362 days, so I guess I don’t win the jar of jellybeans. LOL Before long, Syd and her fella are off to the White Room to get their giggity on. That’s actually one of my favorite Rolling Stones songs, so I was glad it wasn’t a cover.
We may expect Syd to be delighted that David is finally back. Now things can return to…whatever normal is for these supremely powerful mutants employed or taken hostage by a government in mortal fear of them is. But a few moments with Melanie reminds us that a loved one’s return may not be all it’s cracked up to be. It appears that she’s hella depressed, hasn’t been working, and has developed a taste for…is that Vapor? Uh oh. Melanie talks about how vacant lots are the saddest ever, but she doesn’t exactly say why. There’s a doc around named Fukyama, and he wants to talk to pretty much everyone. She’s afraid David will leave her again. He gets that, and gives her a stunning compass that always points to him. Awww.
“Chapter nine” gets super interesting once we start talking about delusions. Egg metaphors abound as we discuss that with eggs as with humans—it’s what’s inside that matters. In the context of Legion, that’s even more apt. Zhuang Zhou fell asleep and when he woke, he didn’t know if he was a man or a butterfly. Pro tip: Always be the butterfly. From there we talk about Ideas, and harken back to the voice on the loudspeaker admonishing patients to beware of any ideas that aren’t your own. Is that sage advice, or propaganda? Eggs aren’t really identical, but they might be more or less uniform. Again—the inside. We all have ideas, most of which become nothing. But sometimes, rational ideas are rejected or destroyed and delusions “blossom” and take hold. They may destroy all rational thought and become a straight-up psychosis. Or maybe you really did need to saw your own leg off because it actually belonged to someone else. Whew!
We’re well past the halfway point of this extra-long ep when we’re finally set up for the season’s big conflict. Amal Farouk’s conscious mind is looking for his mutant body. If he finds it, that’s bad news for everyone. Fukyama can help with his trio of mustachioed chicks, but they’re gonna kill Oliver too. It’s a race to find the body. Enter Cary Loudermilk’s amplification chamber. Not sure how anyone thinks that’s safe after last season, but okay. This leads to a dance number. It’s classy and visually appealing, reminding us that Legion is chock full of theatricality, fly dance moves, and abstract content that can be interpreted in any number of ways. Aubrey Plaza moves like a magical sylph sent to Earth to seduce us all with whimsy and infectious insanity. And I want to let her. Even Cary ends up shaking his stuff—and many a rug was cut that day. But what does it mean?
By the end of the episode, we’re given a few more answers—or at least something that points in that direction. Syd and David agree that they won’t keep secrets from each other (we’re supposed to ignore that shifty-eye, right?). We also see that it was Syd who sent the orb that kidnapped David. She needed to tell him not to stop Farouk, but to help him. We know she’s from the future because she was already wearing the compass David just gave her. The next time the pair are in the White Room, we see that delusion has found its way inside. But no one sees it but us. What the hell is the Arrow of Time? Does it refer to the theory that time is asymmetrical? Because that could certainly throw a spanner into the works of people like David and Ptonomy.
Okay, I’m feeling pretty well set up for what’s to come on Legion this season. I predict new locales, more dancing, and for Melanie to get worse before she gets better. I don’t like our team cooperating with Division Three, and don’t really trust that Interviewer either. The chattering teeth people were unnerving, and I need to see a lot more Lenny Busker before the season is out. I hope Kerry kicks more ass rather than just threatening to. We’re getting two more episodes this season than last, so there’s plenty of time.
See you’s next week!
