Legion 1.03 Review
Picking up right where the second episode left off, “Chapter 3” begins with a montage of the torture and the questioning of David Haller’s sister Amy. But David, having been persuaded to stay at Summerland to train, to learn more about his powers, is still going through his memories in order to learn what turns on and turns off his abilities. And though he does indeed learn that he has a telekinetic ability (we all knew this from the start, didn’t we? The kitchen scene?), he learns more than that. We do receive some answers, but by the time the episode’s through, I found that I was left with even more questions.
What’s interesting is that Dr. Bird has now admitted that they are in the middle of a battle (presumably with Division 3), and that the ‘bad’ side seems to be winning. And with David’s power, he could tip the scale in their favour — or against them. As for what Dr. Bird herself wants? She says she wants David to be better. She wants him to realize his potential. But her endgame is that she wants to use him. Her secrets have secrets, and that may not be the whole truth, but it’s certainly not a good start for this multi-faceted character.
But David, as most heroes seem to, only cares about his sister. He only cares about getting her back, and it’s Amy that he focuses on as he learns to gather his abilities — and he even witnesses a moment or two of her being questioned, which almost seems like she knew something about him that he didn’t. Now, I don’t think she ever had any intent to hurt him, she seemed to just want what was best for him, but…it did seem a little like she had known that maybe he wasn’t just…’sick.’ Oddly though, despite David’s own original expression of betrayal, he’s more sure than ever that he needs to rescue her.
On the other hand, though, we see him doubt his sanity yet again. Since arriving at Summerland, he hasn’t seemed to put too much thought into it, just believing what these people have told him. But when he still sees the man with the yellow eyes and the others do not, despite being inside his mind, he begins to doubt — which, really, is only natural. What if he is crazy, what if — in addition to having these amazing abilities — he does have some sort of mental illness? That’s not entirely outside the realm of possibility, after all. Powers and mental illness aren’t mutually exclusive.
Towards the end of the episode, they enter into David’s mind yet again — and there we see the reappearance of the “Angriest Boy in the World,” the sadistic child’s book that David’s father apparently read to him as a bedtime story. (Of course, this man is probably 90% not his biological father, if you’re familiar with his comic background.) Things go wrong, as everything seems to, and by the end of the episode, David is lost inside his own mind, still out cold while the others stand over him.
So what does any of this mean?
In the comics, David’s powers are just as inconsistent as Scottish weather. He ended up creating over two-hundred different personalities inside his own mind just to control certain abilities. We’ve seen about…three or four abilities in the show, so far, and what he can do is far beyond what any of their technology can do, and more powerful than anything Dr. Bird and the others seem to have encountered. What does that mean for David? Well, it only proves how powerful he is, and he’s not even close to reaching his full potential.
We’ll learn more about what he’s capable of in further episodes, I’m sure, but until then, as a long-time fan, I’m vastly curious about how this fits into the current X-Men movie universe that we’re all familiar with. Because unless I’m very much mistaken, it is supposed to fit. (Okay, so maybe I’m hoping for a guest appearance from our favourite paraplegic, telepathic mutant professor.)
At the very least, Legion is shaping up to be a darker, more adult version of the X-Men, and it seems so far to be living up to our expectations.
As always, let us know what you think!
Legion airs Wednesdays at 10 pm PT/ET on FX.