David takes Admiral Fukyama, Ptonomy, and Sydney away from D3 as a distraction for the Shadow King. Oliver and Lenny then raid the D3 base and kill any guards who stand in their way, all while dancing and singing.
This was a great scene and, as always, the lighting of the set is done extremely well. It was also shot as a fun and uplifting scene, even though people were dying — against David’s wishes. LEGION goes against typical rules like shooting villains from a higher angle and it works so well with the strangeness of the show.
Oliver goes to visit the victims of his psychic infection and he does not seem to have any remorse for them. Cary then notices Oliver is roaming the halls and he tries to talk to him, but the Shadow King attacks Cary’s mind and his power. Kerry is now the outside body and living in the real world.
During the chaos in the D3 base, Oliver comes to Melanie for help. He is looking for a monk of the Mi-Go order and he believes he is in the facility. However, Fukyama says it is impossible that the monk is there because the Mi-Go order was wiped out by someone (or something) called The Miser Sunday.
A monk from that order would be able to tell the Shadow King where his body is. Admiral Fukyama believes David is working with the Shadow King because he led them to the field as the Shadow King broke into their facility. In total, 11 men were killed and one was turned into a pig.
I absolutely love the display of Fukyama. The set design is very trippy and unique. I appreciate how they split up Fukyama’s lines so each strange man has his own time to talk. When they do talk, they are displayed as either a strong council or individuals trying to get into someone’s head.
David wants the amplifying tank that Cary created to be modified so he can secretly talk to future Sydney. David lies to Cary and says it is so he can track the Shadow King without him knowing. Inside the machine had some average special effects. There were lots of flashing lights and laser that were just for show, but the most impressive effect was the water around David. The water seemed to defy the laws of gravity as it moved unnaturally around him and it was fascinating to watch. During this scene, laser and the distortion of David’s face were heavily used and it was a disappointment compared to how creative the show usually gets with psychic and science fiction scenes.
The editing in the next scene was fantastic and purposely done so it looks like a glitch in the video. It makes you uncomfortable while watching the scene, but it displays the theme that something isn’t quite right with the whole situation. David awakes to find himself in a strange room with future Sydney. David figures out from context clues that something bad happens to him in the future, but when he tries to read Sydney’s mind, he is unable because she is from the future.
Sydney explains that in her timeline David killed the Shadow King. David brutally killed him a week from the current present. However, she and a handful of survivors from around the world are in hiding from something and Sydney will not tell David what, or who, it is. She only tells him they need the Shadow King to stop whatever happens in the future. The lighting in the room is purple, but when shined on David’s head there is a hint of red, which leads me to believe that future Sydney is withholding important information and can’t be completely trusted.
The next part of the episode is a narration, much like the narration in the last episode. This narration explains how people can have different realities and we as the human race must agree on what is real. For example, we all agree green means 'go' and red means 'stop.' The narrator says humans are the only species that go insane because their perspective on reality is different than others. I love these short breaks from the show because they are very unique, adventurous, and thought provoking.
David and Carter meet up again to discuss the attack on D3 and their interaction is intriguing. They have a complicated past and you can tell Carter absolutely hates David for burning his face and making him and his family go through a painful recovery process. Now he is being forced to work with David and their conflict with each other is something I am looking forward to, especially when, or if, Carter discovers David is actually helping the Shadow King. I really love how Carter waits until David left to drop the intimidation act. As soon as David went around the corner, he signed in relief, frustration, or both.
David goes to talk to Shadow King and wakes up in a field next to a fortune teller booth with a crystal ball sitting on it. There he meets the real Shadow King’s form and he is very intimidating. He also sounds very manipulative as he talks to David about how they are gods. David’s frustration leads him to a psychic battle with the Shadow King until the Shadow King promises there will be no more killing.
I can’t get over the creativeness of the show and how the writers come up with a new way to display old ideas. For example, David and the Shadow King fight, but it is completely different than the first time. It keeps the show very fresh and unique.
Inside the astral plane, we learn Lenny is indeed Lenny, or at least her mind and personality. She has been trapped with the Shadow King as a psychic puppet to hide behind and even though her body is dead, her mind lives on. Lenny tries to convince the Shadow King to let her go and to give her a new body, but he lets her know she will be trapped in a psychic state forever.
Melanie tells David his ability isn’t a gift; it is an obstacle to happiness. She also tells David he should leave with Sydney so they can live a happy life and not deal with mutants like Melanie did. She regrets spending her whole life living out Oliver’s dream rather than her own. Melanie proceeds to tell David, “We all die eventually. The real tragedy is forgetting to live.” This line stuck with me after the episode ended and I think it is a fantastic quote. It is very relatable and very connected with David’s story.
David goes to talk to Sydney and tells her all the secrets he has been hiding. Sydney agrees to help David and they begin to search for the monk, who seems to be among the mass crowd of infected people with chattering teeth.
This episode had so many great moments that I couldn’t stop thinking about once the episode ended. It is nice to see that Legion has returned just as strong, if not stronger, than the first season. I was worried the continuation of the Shadow King would get old, but the writers do an amazing job of keeping the show fresh and engaging.
Written by James Philbrick, LEGION Beat Writer
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