4.5/5 Stars
While not as good as its predecessor, 2017 was still one of the best years for television in a very long time, seeing the birth of over a dozen new, original, but most of all creative TV shows. Probably nothing encompassed that more than “Legion,” the X-Men series spinoff that aired on FX that kind of, not really, took place in the X-Men universe. The series was created by Noah Hawley (“Fargo”) and starred Dan Stevens (“Beauty and the Beast”) as David Haller, a schizophrenic who discovered he was actually an extremely powerful mutant with telepathic and telekinetic powers. The series was a brilliant mix of storytelling and an almost David Lynch-esque shooting style, with very whimsical dialogue, some of the best cinematography and editing ever put to a television series, and overall something that fans have been clamoring for: a fresh, new way to tell a superhero story.
After being renewed for a second season almost immediately, the show returned on April 3 and proved to be just as trippy, just as different and arguably weirder than the entire first season. Within one episode, Hawley was able to prove not only has he not lost his mojo with this show the way he did with the third season of “Fargo,” but he has got a whole new story and set of visuals to throw at the audience.
Every single minute of this show feels like a test, but in the best way possible. The show really is weird above all else, but it takes such a whimsical approach. The characters are so lovably odd and so different from every single type of superhero trope put to both the big screen and the small screen at this point that it never once feels tiring to watch them. Stevens was immediately the perfect actor to play this role, simply because he is just trying to figure out what is going on, both in his head and in the real world. Despite having finally figured out the mystery regarding both himself and the world around him, he is still on a quest to discover himself. He just has to save the world in the process.
The supporting cast returns to play as well, and they are just as lovable, goofy and insane as they were the first time around. Rachel Keller (“Fargo”) as Syd is still the perfect balance to David. It was nice to see Jeremie Harris (“The Get Down”) and Bill Irwin (“Interstellar”) return as Ptonomy and Kerry. While Jean Smart (“The Accountant”) and Aubrey Plaza (“Ingrid Goes West”) did not have as much screen time this time around, one could already tell that they are setting them up for something great, especially Plaza, who arguably gave the best performance of her entire career in the first season as Lennie, aka The Shadow King. It was also nice to see the return of season one guest stars Jemaine Clement (“Moana”) and Hamish Linklater (“Fargo”) as Oliver and Clark, as they both excelled in their tiny roles and now have been upgraded to main star status.
Granted, this show is definitely going to have its fair share of haters and people who just do not understand it, but for fans of the show and just fans of something different when it comes to superheroes and television, this show is back. It might as well have never gone away in the first place. This season has two more episodes, upgrading the full episode count to 10, so here’s to more goofiness, more trippy imagery and overall just some more great creativity from one of the best new shows and one of the best television networks.
Image from FX Network via YouTube.com
