Written by: Kevin Berge
Dan Stevens is way more scary as an American schizophrenic than a massive English beast. (Image Courtesy of: hulu.com)
Quick Take: Legion Season 1 shows the flexibility of the superhero genre, combining its wild ideas with an exploration of mental illness that creates a slew of wild and crazy moments that question the fabric of reality. Engrossing, unique, and entertaining, it is some of the best modern TV has to offer.
***This review is an introduction to the series Legion and will not contain spoilers beyond basic story set-up in the first episode. Those who have not seen the show can read ahead without worry.***
Going into Legion, I did not realize the series was created by Noah Hawley, known best for Fargo. It took half an episode to see his fingers all over the show. As much as Legion is a superhero series, it is a Hawley series with all the wild and bizarre that comes with that label.
Unfairly, this show will likely be isolated from the same praise that Fargo gets due to its X-Men logo, but it is almost as good as Fargo. In time, it could be better or worse based on how the show evolves, but right now it is standing near to a series that is one of the best on television.
The series focuses on David Haller (Dan Stevens), a powerful psychic mutant, who is living in a mental hospital to treat his schizophrenia alongside his friend Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza). He meets Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller) who he instantly falls for despite her refusal to touch anyone. Then everything goes wrong.
That's about all that can be said without spoilers. This show is dense, packed with story in a way most series would scoff at. Each episode is its own adventure, building up an often frightening and tense cohesive tale that goes in directions that may take multiple watches to unpack.
This show is impressively vibrant in every way. Its color palate is consistently eye-catching. It takes wild visual turns that are often disorienting at first. The story never feels the same throughout its run. It is an incredible landmark of memorable style.
In many ways, it is Hawley at his finest even if he's sometimes struggling to get through the central narrative to get to the wildness in-between. There's slow motion galore, musical interludes, scenes that seemingly echo yet are never quite the same, and action that is often the most humorous aspect of the show.
Going into Legion, I did not realize the series was created by Noah Hawley, known best for Fargo. It took half an episode to see his fingers all over the show. As much as Legion is a superhero series, it is a Hawley series with all the wild and bizarre that comes with that label.
Unfairly, this show will likely be isolated from the same praise that Fargo gets due to its X-Men logo, but it is almost as good as Fargo. In time, it could be better or worse based on how the show evolves, but right now it is standing near to a series that is one of the best on television.
The series focuses on David Haller (Dan Stevens), a powerful psychic mutant, who is living in a mental hospital to treat his schizophrenia alongside his friend Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza). He meets Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller) who he instantly falls for despite her refusal to touch anyone. Then everything goes wrong.
That's about all that can be said without spoilers. This show is dense, packed with story in a way most series would scoff at. Each episode is its own adventure, building up an often frightening and tense cohesive tale that goes in directions that may take multiple watches to unpack.
This show is impressively vibrant in every way. Its color palate is consistently eye-catching. It takes wild visual turns that are often disorienting at first. The story never feels the same throughout its run. It is an incredible landmark of memorable style.
In many ways, it is Hawley at his finest even if he's sometimes struggling to get through the central narrative to get to the wildness in-between. There's slow motion galore, musical interludes, scenes that seemingly echo yet are never quite the same, and action that is often the most humorous aspect of the show.
Are all psych ward this yellow and orange? I don't think I could handle something that bright all the time. (Image Courtesy of: rollingstone.com)
The cast are all well chosen with several returning to work for Hawley from Fargo. However, the biggest standout is Aubrey Plaza (Safety Not Guaranteed). The roles she plays in this series evolve over time into an absolutely unforgettable bombastic performance in episodes six and seven.
Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) has a tough role to play in the story, selling David's often fractured mindset, and it's impressive throughout. He can switch from sweet and confused to sinister and wild at the drop of a hat, and he carries some of the better humor in the show.
My main complaint about the show is that it can get so wild and unwieldy, similar to Fargo, that it can be hard to invest in the plight of the characters. The relationship between David and Syd never feels entirely real. In fact, the world sometimes does not feel real in the sense that it is hard to tell what is actually happening and what is illusion.
This is not a show build on satire or black humor, but it can feel at times like it relies on those concepts all the same. The visual overload is arresting but distracts from the main story. It should be far easier to root for David than it is not because of Stevens' performance but because there's no time to see him be genuine.
When you pack so much into a series, there's no time to breathe. This makes the show stand out but not always for the right reasons. Perhaps this comes down to the length of the season at a mere eight episodes. The show does more in those eight than many shows do in 23, but it might have been better stretched out over 10.
However, there's too much here to enjoy to linger on what weighs it down. No one makes television like this right now. The visual splendor, the imaginative structure, the top notch acting, it all blends together into an experience I'll be unraveling for months and years to come.
Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey) has a tough role to play in the story, selling David's often fractured mindset, and it's impressive throughout. He can switch from sweet and confused to sinister and wild at the drop of a hat, and he carries some of the better humor in the show.
My main complaint about the show is that it can get so wild and unwieldy, similar to Fargo, that it can be hard to invest in the plight of the characters. The relationship between David and Syd never feels entirely real. In fact, the world sometimes does not feel real in the sense that it is hard to tell what is actually happening and what is illusion.
This is not a show build on satire or black humor, but it can feel at times like it relies on those concepts all the same. The visual overload is arresting but distracts from the main story. It should be far easier to root for David than it is not because of Stevens' performance but because there's no time to see him be genuine.
When you pack so much into a series, there's no time to breathe. This makes the show stand out but not always for the right reasons. Perhaps this comes down to the length of the season at a mere eight episodes. The show does more in those eight than many shows do in 23, but it might have been better stretched out over 10.
However, there's too much here to enjoy to linger on what weighs it down. No one makes television like this right now. The visual splendor, the imaginative structure, the top notch acting, it all blends together into an experience I'll be unraveling for months and years to come.
