In the breakneck, penultimate episode of its first season, the dangling laces of Legion are looping tighter and tighter. Beginning (again) with the mischievous Walter whistling and following his prey down a Clockworks hallway with red and flickering lights, it doesn’t look like there’s anywhere to hide — from The Eye or the yellow eyes that seem to appear in new places each week. Luckily, Kerry Loudermilk will soon be a fighter again.
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Legion as well as and FX has earned acclaim for its opening sequences each week — and moved to the No. 6 placement in the ComicBook.com User Ratings — so it is fitting that the seventh chapter is is the scariest yet; taking over the tv screen to the sounds of Jeff Russo’s pulsating “David”.
Divisions between the characters on screen are only increasing and the source is finally indisputably clear. The Devil with the Yellow Eyes and Dr. Lenny Busker appear as one being, defining their territory and compelling Amy to give up the true story of the Hallers’ adoption of David.
After last week’s Clockworks-centric episode, there’s a lot of defrosting that the audience needs to be caught up on. The diver, Oliver Bird (musician/comedian/director/actor Jemaine Clement in a much welcomed reappearance) greeted Cary Loudermilk on the Astral Plane but the metaphysical details of the conversation finally land tonight.
The full reveal of the Shadow King’s role in the series may still be forthcoming, but thanks to Oliver and Cary, the audience finally has a common language.
It’s taken a while… but what’s longer than hours?
As Oliver and Cary stumble over each other in trying to explain there is a parasite — or separate consciousness — that attached itself to David at a young age, and has been using his (David’s) power to feed its own.
More of the understanding comes later, but first Cary recognizes the hidden evil of Amahl Farouk — to the terrified glee of X-Men and comic book fans everywhere. As has been slowly unfurled over the last six chapters, David’s childhood dog, King, is not merely “imaginary.”
Like the Devil with the Yellow Eyes, it’s simply another manifestation of David Haller’s most formidable foe in his comic history.
In this singular edition of the Legion story, the Shadow King (with a big helping hand from The Eye) has manipulated David and all of his closest friends into a near-certain death situation in his childhood home. Yet at the moment, David is locked in a corner of his mind.
Now that everyone is fully briefed, Legion returns to where Cary (in Jules Verne’s smashing suit) woke Syd Barrett from what may be the most elaborate nightmare ever devised at the end of last week’s sixth chapter.
Cary takes Syd where the Shadow King can’t hear to tell her about the wicked fantasies in the (mentally projected version of the) hospital, but Syd knows more than Cary expected. There are layers on top of the layers, and Syd needs to escape from Lenny while Cary uses his “halo” to free David from his parasite, allowing him to escape from his corner and stop the bullets from reaching their target.
For Syd and her friends, the way out is via special glasses that allow them to see through the illusion. The escape from Clockworks sequence is amongst the most inspired of Legion‘s first season, but it’s interrupted by an incredibly necessary and meaningful explanation of the state of events from David’s rational mind — whose voice is much more soothing.
David is having a so-called “stress response” but the rational mind allows him to imagine an empty lecture hall with all the blackboard and chalk he could ever need to break down what’s troubling him — then erase it once and for all.
Since David was adopted and ALSO has been haunted by shadows since his earliest memories, it seems reasonable to think these two things might be connected. And since Lenny was revealed to be responsible for his present situation in the horrifying alternate-Clockworks seen… plus she knows who David’s mysteriously powerful mutant father is… you can possibly see where this is going.
It’s when Syd enters David’s picture that the song begins to change. It seems he’s finally realized their relationship is what can free him from the Shadow King, so he has all the knowledge he needs to rescue her and the rest of the Summerland gang.
The striking sequence of rescues and escapes shows off what Legion does best — drawing from the rich history of storytelling in whatever format. Cary’s glasses allow Syd, Kerry, and Rudy (also aided by Melanie) to see the layer of Clockworks where they can confront Lenny while David storms through his haunted “memories” — and Oliver conducts a groovy tune with the frozen bullets.
[MORE LEGION: Would Patrick Stewart Reprise Professor X in Legion?]
Lenny, showing that shadow kings can be queens just the same, crosses through all layers, wreaking havoc on Walter and Oliver to send the bullets speeding faster towards their intended targets.
The twisted battle finally ends when Cary places his halo on David, who saves the day for the entire team, glowing in a purple light. Summerland seems a heck of a lot safer than it was last time around…. at least for a moment.
The scenes of Oliver preparing a delicious meal and reciting Allen Ginsberg are a joy to witness, even if lingering issues remain between Cary and Kerry. David and Amy are thankfully on level terms again, on the other hand. Without a doubt, she’s been David’s most trusted ally, and the secrets about David’s haunted reality are as surprising to her as anyone else.
Just when you thought that was a wrap on Legion‘s primary story, an old voice that fans surely recognize comes back into the picture. The Interrogator who tormented David and fell victim to an unexplained explosion that wiped out Division 3’s pool building (and more).
A recapper’s instinct is often to decode, but through seven chapters Legion has proven impenetrable. We’ve been in and out of Clockworks too many times to keep organized, and there’s no telling what the first season finale (airing next week) will hold. But if it means returning to see the day room incident from the first chapter in a new light, it’ll certainly be an interesting ride.
The union of the X-Men brain trust and FX’s building success in creating original television has produced a series as unlike the competition as Aubrey Plaza is in her one-of-a-kind performance as Lenny Busker — possibly a supervillain for the ages.
- Marvel Comics’ 1991 “Muir Island Saga” (written by Chris Claremont and Fabian Nicieza), featuring an epic confrontation between the Shadow King, Legion, and all his closest friends and family, is a story that fans will soon be returning to again and again.
- The cast of Legion is a true embarrassment of riches, but Jemaine Clement stands tall in a performance that perfectly fits into the Legion method of creating something unique from its beloved points of reference. Though Oliver Bird is markedly different from any of Clement’s previous roles (comedy or otherwise), it’s already impossible to imagine any other voice speaking his lines.
The seventh chapter marks Jennifer Yale’s first writing credit on the series and is the first hour of Legion directed by Dennie Gordon. While previous eight-episode series on tv have sought for a consistent vision (in writing or direction), Legion has shown that a shorter season offers an incredible opportunity to toy with fan expectations with a striking shift in tone each week.
— Zach Ellin will provide coverage Legion coverage for ComicBook.com throughout the entire season of the show. Follow him on Twitter for more of his insights.
EPISODE RECAPS: Episode One | Episode Two | Episode Three |Episode Four | Episode Five | Episode Six
