Legion Season 1 Review: I'm Gonna Get My Mind Back

I'm finally getting around to reviewing the rest of season 1 of "Legion". See my first review here "Legion" airs on FX. Season 1 is also currently available on Hulu. For those unfamiliar, in the Marvel comics source material Legion is the son of an important "X-Men" character. You can guess who. There are plenty of clues.

"Legion" is an acquired taste since you're never sure what is real and what's not. It takes place in a mental hospital after all. If you like to be spoon fed your TV, this is NOT the show for you. There are multiple time lines, shape shifting, trippy scenes and astral planes. "Legion" doesnt even make much sense until the back third of the season. We're also never sure WHEN the show takes place but there are lots of 60's elements. Gotta love those track suits.

David Haller is "Legion". His official diagnosis is "paranoid schizophrenic". We follow his routine at Clockworks Asylum. He has numerous interactions with patients and staff. He falls for a girl named Syd (played by Rachel Keller). She cant be touched or bad things happen. There's also Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) who is David's trash talking BFF. David has disturbing flashbacks about his childhood including sister Amy, dog King and some creature called "Devil with Yellow Eyes".

There's also "The World's Angriest Boy In The World" which is from a children's book. It's about a child who chops off his mother's head. Errr, probably not the best option for young readers.

Syd and David kiss and change bodies. Syd has a difficult time controlling his powers. They eventually return to their selves but this will be important for the story later.

David escapes the asylum and is taken to Summerland. Dr Melanie Bird (the always wonderful Jean Smart) works with other mutants there. They include Cary Loudermilk and Kerry Loudermilk. The younger girl (Kerry) lives inside the older man (Cary). Each is specialized. He's all sciency while she's all action. Interesting concept!

David secretly heads back to the hospital to free sister Amy. Syd and the others arrive to view the carnage. Many Division 3 soldiers are killed including a number that are fused into the ground. We get our best view of the Devil with Yellow Eyes to date. I'd scream too if I saw him coming. Hideous.

At the end of episode 5, all the characters (including Dr Bird) are patients back at the asylum. Lenny (Dr Brusker) is now their psychiatrist. Uh oh. Memory Artist Ptonomy Wallace (Jeremie Harris) and Leste/ the Eye are also there. Melanie continues to have visions of her husband (Oliver). Remember we previously saw him in a big block of ice in the astral plane? Oliver (Jemaine Clement) always appears in a deep sea diver outfit and sadly has no memory of his wife.

Finally! Here's the scoop on what's really going on...thanks to a data dump from Syd and Cary. The Shadow King (Amahl Farouk) is the parasite that attached himself to David's consciousness during childhood and has been feeding off of him ever since.

Now for the next part of the reveal. No one is actually back at the hospital. Their bodies are frozen in time in David's childhood home. Remember back in season five, they were under attack. If they dont figure a way out, they're all about to die. Fourouk is masking itself as Lenny. Oliver creates glasses that will the wearer to perceive reality. Syd distributes them to the group. Kerry will use his halo device to help David get rid of the evil mutant.

David has a little chat with himself and, thanks to the use of a big chalkboard, figures it all out. The Shadow King's plan is to get revenge on David's real father and take over the world.

And because their lives cant be easy, in episode 8 a half burned Clark (remember him from episode 1?) arrives with lots of gun toting Division 3 guys. And in a flashback, we see his family and his struggles while recovering. Oh great, now I feel sorry for the guy. Curse you "Legion"!

SK (Shadow King) and David battle it out. Right when he's about to kill David, Syd runs in and kissing David, thus transferring the entity to herself. Then it passes to Kerry. That was a fun slow mo fight sequence. In the all the good guys survives. But where is Oliver? Oops. Guess who has SK now? Oliver and Lenny head on a road trip. They've off to someplace warm as "Children Of The Revolution" plays on the radio.

And we think it's the end of the season... but nope. In the post credits, an orb approaches David and Syd as they have a late night talk. It absorbs a screaming David. Say what? Looks like those Division 3 jerks are at it again.

Grade: 4 1/2 Monsters (out of 5). "Legion's" special effects, writing, sets and acting are all stellar. "Legion" is MUCH better than your run of the mill superhero series. Dan Stevens does some extremely heavy lifting as the troubled David. And extra kudos to Aubrey Plaza as Lenny. That girl definitely has star potential. She is very compelling to watch.

"Legion" requires some (read MUCH) thought. The show is more akin to "Doctor Strange" than "Thor". After sticking with it, I really enjoyed the season. But dont take my word for it. Check out "Legion" for yourself. With just eight episodes, it's a quick watch. And good news! "Legion" has been renewed for a season 2.