With Legion, Noah Hawley creates magic with one of the most impressive, compelling pilots to come along in years, while also acting as a unique take on the superhero formula
“All I’m saying is what if your problems aren’t in your head? What if they’re not even problems?”
If you’re not in love with this series after the opening montage that kicks it off, just shut the show off and get on with your day. There is such extreme creativity and magic that is flowing out of this show’s opening minutes that I’d argue it’s impossible for this material to not grab you, shake you violently, and scream the message “WATCH THIS SHOW” directly into your brain as if it was one of the many voices in David’s head.
Legion attempts to tell the emotional, complicated story of David Haller (Dan Stevens), a man who has been plagued with hearing voices his entire life and is currently dealing with his problem by being locked up in a mental institution. Legion introduces an idea that’s certainly not new to narratives that are set inside insane asylums, that David is in fact not crazy. However, the series then goes one step further with all of this by insinuating that not only is David not crazy, but that those voices in his head are very real and are actually a superpower. Because David is a superhero. Or supervillain. You’re sort of along for the ride to figure that out for yourself.
A lot of this first episode is spent introducing you to David’s world at Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital, but also the unique perspective in which he experiences everything. Through all of the paranoia and tension that David experiences, he ends up bonding with a fellow patient at Clockworks, Sydney Barrett (Rachel Keller). David falls head over heels for this Earth Angel and in a rather short amount of time the series is able to effectively paint this sweet, earnest romance in bloom. It doesn’t hurt that Stevens and Keller have ridiculous chemistry, too. This love story very much becomes the core of the episode’s first half as well as David’s saving grace through everything. Syd is afflicted with her own unusual set of problems, making a relationship between the two of them even more difficult than it’d already be, and yet their optimism in the face of all of this is really touching. The shot of them holding the fabric together because they can’t hold hands is so sweet it could make me cry. Once David and Syd get closer, that’s when the real bonkers stuff begins to go down. Like the idea that she might not have ever really existed in the first place.
It’s not long before David’s “powers” go beyond that of hearing voices and begin manifesting themselves in psychic, telekinetic freak-outs that Clockworks is not able to ignore. David’s treatments intensify and he finds himself meeting with some suspicious individuals that are more than a little curious about his history and ailments. The direction that the back-end of this pilot goes in is truly mind boggling and makes for a tense, action-filled conclusion to go with the more emotional, psychological introduction to all of this. Hawley juggles all of this like a goddamn pro and it’s easy to remember that this is the guy that added UFOs to Fargo’s second season and made it work.
On that note, just like Fargo has been one of my favorite series in recent memory, Legion is by fay my favorite show of this year by a long shot. Every single element of it is supercharged with passion and care. There’s a moment where a choreographed dance sequence goes on within David’s mind and I just couldn’t believe what I was watching, yet also so, so excited for what’s coming up next. It’s difficult to be genuinely surprising in television these days and this is a show that continually keeps you there.
There’s been a considerable amount of fanfare in Legion’s marketing about its connection to the X-Men universe, but this is a series that’s not concerned about how it fits in as some X-Men tie-in (In the comics, David Haller is the son of Charles Xavier). Hawley has said that he wants to “earn” the connection before relying on those things, but honestly the X-Men cinematic franchise would be lucky to have this show want to invite the comparison. There’s a psychic shoot-out that concludes the first episode that’s one of the most beautiful, thrilling superpower battle scenes I’ve seen out of any superhero material, television or film, and that’s including those all-star brawls from the Avengers pictures. There are three separate set pieces in this pilot that are simultaneously the coolest things that I’ve seen all year. Legion does not mess around.
It’s also appreciated to see that this show approaches superpowers like nothing else, with Hawley’s take on the material being extraordinary. This doesn’t feel like a superhero show—and it’s not—it feels like a psychological, supernatural drama unlike anything else. Just like David feels like he’s losing his mind and unsure of what’s real, the episode makes the viewer feel the same way. Visual tricks adorn this show to make reality fluid. Things are going on in the background that you don’t know whether they’re real or not because David doesn’t know if they’re real. It’s incredible to watch both David as a character and Hawley as a storyteller navigate through this material. There’s an elegance and structure to the composition of everything here that it almost feels like Wes Anderson is being spliced with David Lynch in something really special here. The show explores the idea of “memory” in some utterly fascinating ways and they look like they’re one of the main ideas that Legion is interested in playing with.
Legion utilizes masterful cinematography paired with quick, frenetic edits that allow you access into David’s mind. This is a series that’s not afraid to bombard you with information that doesn’t make sense at the time, but will a few episodes later. It’s almost overwhelming to get hit with as much as you do, but the point is to make you feel as frail as David is at the moment. At times it’s often unclear where you are in the story with linear storytelling being an elastic concept here. This first episode wants to get you inside David’s brain and show you how it works and it’s crazy how well the editing and filming compliments that. The score and soundtrack selections are delightfully on point, too. This show also has the best lighting and sound design that I’ve seen in a show in ages. This series is a cotton candy colored burst of madness that cannot be ignored.
Finally, the performances in the show are all amazing with everyone doing great work. Dan Stevens is the obvious standout delivering a very layered performance, but Aubrey Plaza is also so perfectly cast here as the unhinged Lenny. She’s giving the performance of her career in a role that allows her to get as hyperbolically weird as she wants to be. Every line of dialogue she has is a revelation. Hawley’s done a good job at assembling such an eclectic group of actors that work together rather than clashing.
Legion’s first episode will inevitably leave you wanting more, but it at least offers up what feels like a very full pilot. You’re not just introduced to these characters and situations, but it feels like you really get to know David and the universe that you’re operating in. As someone that’s seen the first three episodes of the show, I can attest that things only get more interesting and the magic brought forward in this premiere is not dying out anytime soon. Here’s to an angry, explosive season of mind powers.
5/5
Legion’s first season begins airing Wednesday, February 8th at 10pm on FX
