Originally written July 3, 2018

Legion has been a really interesting show so far. As far as superhero shows go, it definitely stands among its contemporaries for being so artistic, visually striking, and abstract. It’s not your typical comic book show by any means, but I don’t know how much I like that sometimes. Two seasons in now, and I’m still not entirely sure how I feel about this show. Sometimes I think it’s absolutely brilliant, and other times I think it’s kind of just senseless noise.

I think the main issue for me winds up being that I don’t always know what the actual story is supposed to be in Legion. It’s like, I usually understand what’s happening while I’m watching it, but if you ask me to explain it to you later on, I’m not really sure how to explain it. The absolute basic story of season 2 of Legion is that the Shadow King is trying to find his body, and so David is trying to stop him before he destroys the world. He winds up communicating with Syd from the future, who tells him that he actually needs to help the Shadow King find his body in order to save the world. This leads to some interesting avenues, but sometimes it’s a bit of confusion getting there.

I believe I said this in my review of season 1, but it still holds true that it really isn’t the story of Legion that keeps me watching. Rather, it’s the presentation and visual style. The show is absolutely stunning to look at, and its presentation of all of its visual distinctions is what makes it so captivating. Just as an example, season 2 does some bits spread throughout the season where we’re shown segments that almost look like infomercials or classroom videos, where we’re being taught about a condition of the human psyche. It’s presented with a narration, and these segments are just absolutely brilliant. It serves a lot of the themes of the season, but doesn’t necessarily progress the plot any further. However, these are the kinds of moments I like the most about the season. So…that’s kind of the thing. The thing I love most about Legion is how abstract and unique it is, but because of its style it becomes difficult to follow the real story, and so I kind of lose interest in it. I love watching it, but I don’t get invested in what’s really happening, if that makes sense.

However, there are certain times where Legion is genuinely enthralling. These kinds of moments more happen with the ideas and themes that are presented, though. For example, there’s an episode around the mid-season point that plays with the idea of the multiple universes theory, where we see all of the different situations and paths David could have taken if he made different choices in life. Times like this are really interesting, but it’s brilliant for its ideas more than anything. Also, in general, this season really plays with the theme of good vs. evil by asking the viewer who is truly righteous. There are moments where it’s very direct and in your face with this theme, not-so-subtly asking the question “so are you saying the hero is the villain and the villain is the hero?” However, overall the show handles this theme with a delicate touch, and so it becomes really interesting. The comic book character of Legion is an antihero of sorts, and the first season never really portrayed David as a villain, so it was interesting to see them tip the scales a bit more in that direction this season. The final episode winds up being really shocking in this regard.

As far as David’s journey is concerned in this season, I got a huge Breaking Bad vibe from it. However, the twist is that as opposed to a stable, regular guy that we follow descending down a dark path, in Legion our main protagonist is a super-powered man that’s mentally unstable. This provides the series with an interesting direction, so I’m curious to see where things go in season 3.

Overall, season 2 of Legion is another solid entry into the series, if it’s the kind of show you like to begin with. I can definitely recognize that this show isn’t for everyone, and to be honest sometimes it doesn’t feel like it’s even for me. I tend to bounce back and forth between feeling “meh” on the show and thinking that it’s absolutely brilliant. It’s weird, but it comes with the nature of a show like this. I love it for its visual style, abstract nature, and handling of its themes, but sometimes I’m just not into the story that much. Season 2 adds another 11 episodes into the series, bringing us 19 hours into this really strange journey. I’d say that it’s about on the same level of quality as season 1. You’re either gonna love it or hate it.

4/5