Although I could tell that a lot of work and love was put into the episode, it just felt as if this chapter could of been cut short.
This episode featured Sydney and the return of Oliver and Melanie Bird. After last episode’s climactic events, Sydney’s mind is transported to the Astral Plane. Inside of this strange place, Melanie and Oliver find the mind of baby Sydney.
Here we get to see Sydney grow up in a much different way compared to what we have seen previously with her character. Unfortunately, this episode doesn’t give us anything new about the her. We already know that Sydney is a fighter and will do anything she can to fight for the greater good.
Chapter 25 felt more like a motivational episode for Sydney herself rather than appealing to the audience that already knows Syd’s character and what she is capable of.
As we watch Sydney grow up, we see the same character traits that have always defined her throughout the three seasons. The audience is treated to a strange take on the classic “wolf” that appears throughout several fairy tales that we all know and love.
Sydney grows up in the Astral Plane and begins to wonder about the real world. Her temptations only worsen as she tries to avoid the wolf, or Jerome, throughout her entire childhood.
Sydney even gets a new sister, Cynthia, that is also lost in the Astral plane. Cynthia isn’t as strong as Syd and she quickly falls into the wolf’s trap and falls into the temptation of sin in regards to drugs, alcohol and other societal “sins.”
As Sydney grows up in the strange world of the Astral Plane, she has dreams of the events we have seen throughout LEGION. Melanie and Oliver try to confront her about the dreams, but Syd feels like she has to go into her past life and resolve something she feels she needs to do.
Syd continues to grow and at age 16, she runs across her old sister, Cynthia. Syd can see what the wolf has put her through by allowing her to fall into the temptation of sin. However, she is struggling because she wants to help Cynthia and feels as though she can't.
Sydney eventually convinces Melanie and Oliver to help her rescue Cynthia from the wolf. They agree to help her because they know that the real Sydney needs to escape from the Astral Plane and fulfill her destiny of stopping the man she once loved, David.
Although I wasn’t a fan of this particular episode, I can’t deny how powerful the music of LEGION is. Every time the amazing soundtrack starts, I immediately get pulled into the scene because I want to embrace the fantastic music.
And this is what makes LEGION so great. Even if one aspect of storytelling is lacking, (which it rarely is), the rest of the show makes up for it. Whether it is through sound, design, practical effects, or any other production aspect, the emotion and passion are obvious.
If you remove the music and put generic music in the scenes throughout the episode, I wouldn’t be nearly as invested.
Although I think this is one of the weaker episodes of LEGION, I can’t deny that the creators of the show still gave it absolutely everything they had. There is obviously so much passion behind this show and that is what makes it exciting to watch.
Back in the Astral Plane, Sydney, Oliver, and Melanie try to rescue Cynthia from the wolf. They try to convince her that she deserves love and goodness, but she is lost just like other people in the Astral Zone.
After an epic rap battle, Cynthia is still not able to be saved. But, the fact that we got to see a rap battle in the show makes up for it. Three seasons in and LEGION is still fresh as ever and creating new ways to keep us interested.
In the end, Cynthia sides with the wolf and Sydney realized that not everyone wants to be saved. This theme was built up throughout the episode and we finally transition to the real world. Now Sydney knows David can’t be saved and she needs to take extreme actions to stop him from destroying the world.
Now it is a race against time as David goes back to the past to change the present. However, Sydney, Kerry, and Cary all chase after him to fulfill their destiny.
Overall I enjoyed the weirdness of the episode, but the pace slowed the entire season to a dead stop. The episode feels out of place and I feel as though this storyline would have been perceived better as short story rather than an entire episode. I guess we will just have to wait until the next episode to see how LEGION’s amazing 3rd season will continue.
Written by James Philbrick, LEGION Beat Writer
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