With some time before The Defenders (or after if you’re finished and looking for some more Marvel TV), it’s time to review Legion, season 1. Spoiler free.
Legion is a weird show. It’s strange, confusing and most of the time; a straight-up mind-fuck. And I LOVE it.
Legion tells the story of David Haller and his crazy. I’m not going to spoil the story beats, because if you haven’t seen it already, you really need to just watch it. It’s one of the more interesting shows I’ve seen, ever.
Here’s the gist; David is in a mental hospital. Since he was young, he’s had multiple personalities. He’s seen weird things, hears voices in his head and gets pumped with a lot of drugs. Since you see the story from David’s point of view (for most of the series), you can never really tell what is going on, what or who is real and what’s in his head, because he doesn’t know. it’s a nice way of telling the story since it really keeps you on your feet. You’re trying to figure out what the hell is going on, just as David is.
A lot of time is spent digging deeper into David’s psyche; trying to figure out what exactly is going on. That journey and the answer are all a fantastic roller coaster ride. What is really nice, is the season actually wraps up the questions that they ask, in its 8 episodes.
This is definitely a super hero show, but it’s different. There is not a lot of action (there is one scene in the first episode which is actually laughably terrible), but it doesn’t matter. This isn’t supposed to be an action show. This is about David Haller. Sure, there’s a love story with a crazy twist (ie. David’s love interest can’t touch people because she swaps bodies with you). One of characters can dive into your memories and bring you and others there, to physically walk around and investigate. When I think Legion, I think Inception meets Twin Peaks meets X-Men.
If you didn’t know already (I had to look it up), in the X-Men universe, David Haller is the mutant son of Professor Charles Xavier. David is an Omega level mutant. Basically, he’s one of the strongest kinds of mutants out there. There are some hints about mutants in the series, but nothing that would outright tell you the X-Men exist (the X in the logo?). This does not take place in the X-Men Cinematic Universe.
I really love this show and the portrayal of David Haller by Dan Stevens (he’s fantastic in this role). Watching Logan got me into comic books and watching the Marvel Netflix shows. While those shows are fantastic (Daredevil and Jessica Jones), I think I like Legion even more; with it’s weird 60’s fashion, slight horror vibe and alternate realities. I think I’m going to watch this season again, after I devour The Defenders. I highly recommend you check this show out. It’s a shame it was removed from Hulu, recently.
5/5
Have you seen Legion? Let me know what you think? Do you like it better than Daredevil?
Make sure to also check out my Ranking of The Defenders separate Netflix Seasons here!
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