Resistance is futile. While many decry its ascension, “superhero” has become a cinematic genre. Like any other genre, that means there is a whole lot of regurgitated garbage out there, and a few unheralded gems that manage to squeak through the stacked studio system.

There are people among us who blindly reject superhero media as a whole, and their viewpoint is understandable if they’ve only seen mindless algorithmic fodder like Wonder Woman 1984 or Tom Jane’s Popeye-ish take on The Punisher. Most assuredly, no one can say that all superhero movies and TV shows are the same after they have seen Legion.

Legion is set in the X-Men universe, so some basic familiarity with their mythology does give the whole thing more context, but it is far from necessary to enjoy this show on its own merits. Created by Noah Hawley of Fargo and soon-to-be Alien fame (a prequel series expected at some point in 2023), it is like nothing else. With its psychedelic imagery, dense technological rigamarole, warped time-play, interesting characters, epic musical sequences, and dramatic playfulness, Legion is a trip that keeps getting trippier.

Before I continue, the following article does discuss certain characters and plot points that do get ahead of the game somewhat. I have attempted to keep spoilers to a minimum, but I highly recommend watching the show for yourself now, if you haven’t already. It’s good fun to get sucked into this world, try to guess where it’s going to go, and be fooled, to get the complete emotional experience. Maybe even watch some, then come back to read some more if you get lost.

Plus, much like a British series, it’s entire three season run only amounts to 27 episodes. You can knock it out in a few good binge sessions if you really go down the rabbit hole.

Given the series’ title, Legion centers on a relatively minor character from Marvel lore, but one of unparalleled power that could bring about the end of the universe as we know it. He actually did so in the comics, inadvertently bringing about the Age of Apocalypse during a misguided attempt to alter the past for the better, so the precedent exists on paper.

The show is about David Haller, played by Dan Stevens of Downton Abbey fame. In the comics, Haller has multiple personalities, each of whom with their own name and distinct mutant ability. In the series, Haller is initially diagnosed as schizophrenic, and the story begins with him receiving treatment in a mental hospital.

Mental health has been a recurring theme in superhero media. Consider the PTSD of soldiers explored in Netflix’s The Punisher or the substance abuse and sexual trauma in Jessica Jones. More recently, the MCU canon series Moon Knight introduced a hero who suffers a similar vexation as David Haller, a heroic case of dissociative identity disorder with cosmic consequences. Throughout Legion, most of the characters go through some form of therapy, repeatedly being exposed to their greatest fears and re-examining their worst mistakes.

The series is primarily viewed from Haller’s perspective, and he is an unreliable narrator. In episode recaps, he even says things like “ostensibly” and “evidently on Legion.” As such, the viewer is never completely sure what the ultimate truth is within the context of the show. In the fourth episode, Sydney “Syd” Barrett states that her mission is to decipher what is real, and it is never confirmed if that mission is truly completed. Even Haller’s own memories seem to fight against him, but everyone is the hero of their own story.

The writing is bold and imaginative, pairing the acerbic wit of *Guardians of the Galaxy *with the retro-futuristic mad scientist bureaucratic nerd porn of Fringe. Think Days of Future Past on acid. The effects enhance this untethered delirium. The producers mixed practical, real-world effects and tastefully employed CG to ground the absurdity for the actors and the audience alike. Utilizing a kind of ominous stop motion animation like the weeping angels from Doctor Who to stage their powers, the ominous presence in season three is a bunch of goggled weirdos that look like Blue Meanies from Yellow Submarine. The tangibility and tension makes for far more compelling drama than is capable from the glossy gummy-bear zombies from I Am Legend or the giant CG drone battle from Iron Man 2.

When Legion begins, most viewers would expect the standard duality of good versus evil. This is implied by the war that Melanie Bird believes she is losing, and the dark government agency that seeks to either control or destroy David as well as anyone remotely like him. As the series progresses, it becomes apparent that David himself is more committed to this duality than his perceived enemies, but if you seek vengeance, you dig two graves.

In the first season, Oliver Bird opens the fourth chapter with a monologue that concludes, “Violence… is ignorance.” In the same episode, memory mutant Ptonomy Wallace quotes Sun Tzu, saying “Hence to fight and conquer in all your battles is not supreme excellence; supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” Given this is a “superhero” series, these quotes seem mildly absurd at the time, but they appear to be the ultimate point of the show, to question the necessity and nature of violence.

Granted, the comparably lengthy second season, produced during the peak of Trump’s sociopathic presidency, primarily examines the development of mass psychosis care of Jon Hamm’s sinister guiding narration. By the time the series hits season three, the anti-violence lesson becomes more nuanced. Melanie herself, happily trapped in the astral plane with Oliver, teaches the youthful disembodied consciousness of Sydney Barrett the idea that, “It’s not us or them; it’s us and them.”

The attempt to villainize heroes and empathize with enemies was a core theme to Grant Morrison’s seminal comic series The Invisibles. The personal evolution of a major character revolves around a random background henchman who gets casually shot as the heroes escape from an evil organization’s lair. Morrison wrote about how that hench came to be the flamed-out jarhead that he was, how he took the job to help his struggling family, and how that decision led to his death. Might does not always make right, but an eye for an eye makes everyone blind.

Of course, there is an obvious physical element to Legion. The mutant Kerry Loudermilk is motivated almost entirely by action, and she gets her fair share of it. Performed by Amber Midthunder (Roswell: New Mexico), Kerry is a young indigenous warrior woman who shares a body with Cary Loudermilk, an old scientific white guy like the Professor from Gillian’s Island with a shade of Walter Bishop from Fringe.

Cary is played by Bill Irwin, famously known as serial killer “Nate” Haskell during the Lawrence Fishbourne years on the original CSI.* *Kerry and Cary can separate into two different people at will, and Kerry doesn’t age when she exists outside of Cary. They balance each other in so many ways.

Generally, when characters go on murderous rampages, its depicted and reflected upon as heinous, even if there is singing and dancing involved. Refreshingly, Legion tends to escalate to a series of dance routines, musical numbers, and measured discussions rather than epic yet forgettable mob fight scenes. Though many are framed humorously, they are not frivolous.

So many stories in the superhero genre climax with a bunch of masked thugs or possessed people or some other faceless mob getting stabbed, shot and/or kicked off ledges until the hero finally gets to the big baddie, then typically leaves them disabled or dead. Beautifully visualized and performed by the cast, the musical numbers are as integral to furthering the plot of Legion in ways that have rarely been achieved since the famed musical episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, “Once More, with Feeling.” They create moments to allow characters to express their truths without breaking the fourth wall.

Syd and David lead a Bollywood routine in the first episode set to a Serge Gainsbourg track, which may represent their most innocent and joyous time together. The Shadow King and David turn The Who’s “Behind Blue Eyes” into a synth-laden duet at the denouement of season two, seemingly indicating their inherent similarities, and in the third season, David sings an emotionally resonant take on Pink Floyd’s “Mother” with his mother that may be their only positive interaction, albeit only suggested.

The music is another way in which the era of the show is obscured. The series is vaguely set in the late ‘60s/early ‘70s… Or the ‘80s and ‘90s… Or in the present day. Hawley actually wrote the show thinking it was now, but it’s also primarily written through David’s perspective, and his memories are a blend of nostalgia, blue vapor, and darker influences.

The fashion, music, and design aesthetic contain clear references to the dubiously-titled Summer of Love era, like how Syd Barrett is named after the famed ‘60s acid casualty from Pink Floyd. Yet, Syd sings the intro to Talking Heads’ “Road to Nowhere” at the beginning of the second episode, which came out in 1985. “She’s A Rainbow” by the Rolling Stones plays when David befriends Syd in a mental hospital, but then somehow a little taste of Jane’s Addiction appears in a flashback in the same episode. Oliver Bird bought Summerland as a horse farm in the ‘40s, yet Ptonomy’s mother sang “99 Luft Balloons” when he was a child, which wasn’t out until ‘83.

In the third season, Switch’s search for David amidst a kaleidoscopic maze of rolling racks full of dope threads essentially leads to music video for “Something for Your M.I.N.D.” by Superorganism, featuring the Domino-signed indie-pop band itself performing the mind-blorging track from their 2018 self-titled album. Perhaps time was inherently broken, not only David’s memories? In any case, it makes for an incredibly far out soundtrack.

The casting throughout the series is spot-on as well. Hawley poached a few actors from his long-running dark comedy anthology series Fargo. Jean Smart and Rachel Keller were both on season 2 and Hamish Linklater was in season 3.

First seen onscreen in Groove, a 2000 renegade rave flick featuring John Digweed and some of the worst drug-acting ever filmed, Hamish Linklater has a recurring role on Legion as Clark Debussy. He is an interrogator for the secretive government task force Division 3, which seeks out and assesses mutant threats.

A regular on Designing Women for five seasons, Jean Smart plays Melanie Bird, who we meet as the head of a revolutionary group at Summerland, which helps and protects mutants such as Sydney Barrett, performed by Rachel Keller. Syd has a Rogue-like touch-based ability to swap bodies, and therefore briefly assume their powers. Jeremie Harris, who plays memory mutant Ptonomy Wallace, would go on to appear in season 4 of Fargo after Legion completed its run.

Fresh from playing the Sultan in the live-action Aladdin film, Navid Negahban was poured into the role of Amahl Farouk. Joining the cast in season two, he is introduced as a parasitic nemesis, but one must remember that Haller hates him, and he is basically telling the story. The truth may be nearer the middle. Plus, in the second season, Farouk quotes “Two Tribes” by Frankie Goes to Hollywood, and Frankie says relax.

Uproarious comedic actors like Jemaine Clement from Flight of the Concords, Katie Aselton from The League, and Aubrey Plaza from Parks & Recreation also add their particular flare to the dramatic production. Interestingly, a time-traveler with superlative taste in music and fashion, performed with weight by illustrator Lauren Tsai, essentially becomes the main character in its third and final season, and certainly helps to tie the whole series together.

Basically, every character on this show is insane on some level, but their deep and diverse performances humanize them, making it easy to become invested in their arcs, how much they change throughout the course of the show either physically, mentally, or both. Most of them become completely different people by the end, if they don’e disappear altogether, but no matter what does or doesn’t actually happen on this show, no one is the same after this trip.

Arthur C. Shore

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