I quickly grew tired of all the CW and ABC/CBS superhero attempts at creating a show with substance, as they mostly just fail to deliver anything else than cheesy relationship clichés with a superhero skin on top of it. Netflix'd Marvel shows are on top of that but are still not really offering what some non-superhero/supernatural shows can.
I was psyched when I ran across Legion by accident as it breaks up the genre completely by putting strong images and ideas into your mind, coupled with a surreal plot as much as its entangling soundtrack. It's not really about powers and the cliché superhero god complex like in other shows, it's more about what mark a single idea can leave on an individual, or, even better, on a group, and that's what every episode of Legion is wildly offering.
If you want to follow a straight line and see static movements, you're wrong here. Legion likes to upset order and structure with every episode, which is what the human mind tries to attach to in order to understand and feel comfortable. I can only recommend to let loose and embrace getting confused, and you will be rewarded with creative stories and stunning visuals which do not have to embrace big battles in order to impress.
Easily the best show right now as other great shows seem just too "traditional" anymore in direct comparison.
You can really feel this show's wanting to stretch its creative limbs. It wants to bring a certain respectability to the superhero genre and does it fairly well, by way of a focus on mental illness and society's misunderstanding of people who suffer from them. But weirdly that same focus on mental space, memories lends the show an almost nebulous grounding, making it difficult for this viewer to connect to what I'm seeing when the borders of the characters feelings are with each episode becoming increasingly complicated and harder to pin down. ( this is usually David)
Also, each characters specific beliefs on mutant rights are either altogether ignored or layed by the wayside to deal with David's growing instability with his massive psychic ability . This wouldn't be such a problem if I was interested in the characters when they weren't looking after David, if they had unto themselves some strong charisma.Whenever a character does veer off into more personal unrelated territory, the awkwardness of the show does bleed through.
There's also the problem of writing about psychic or mental abilities. That power specifically when it's the focus requires delicate explanation. You could almost say it saves the writers from getting ahead of themselves but it also also lays far too many roadblocks for the show to truly gallop
The shows strengths are it's deft execution of dread and horror and it's willingness to experiment visually with untreated material. Sadly, though the shows thematic focus does nearly get lost in its own logistics. 7/10
Review by DanBlockedParent2017-03-24T17:52:27Z— updated 2018-04-05T17:19:57Z
Finally, a Marvel show about the X-Men universe! This is already better than the best seasons of the best ever Marvel shows (S02+ of Agents of SHIELD and Daredevil)... and certainly much better than the Iron Fist or The Defenders!
SEASON 1:
Be warned, the show is extremely confusing - being from the perspective of a mental patient - and has a bit of a slow start, though it picks up significantly in E03, at which point it upgrades to merely "very confusing" until the penultimate episode. Sadly, this resulted in my wife loosing interest before getting to that point, so be sure to stick with it.
I love the chilling glimpses - and brilliant soundtrack accompaniment - of the antagonist: the "monster." They are by far the best representation of this creature/character, ever!
Also, there are subtle hints as to how this show, and its protagonist, tie in to the story of the better-known X-Men.
This takes place in the past, similar to X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: First Class, so it shows some interesting prototypes of well-known technology and even appliances (Espresso, anyone? ;).
I am sad to see there are only 8 episodes, with it ending just as soon as things start to come together and make sense.
When Season 1 ended after finally explaining (a few) things, I thought Season 2 would finally be less confusing...
WRONG!
SEASON 2:
S02 jumps forward an unknown amount of time, we have to peice together what happened in between.
Not only am I not sure what is reality, at times, but even if I'm watching a TV show anymore.
At times it turns into an International Indie Film (complete with Chapter titles, and Interludes), a Nature Channel animal documentary, and even a Hip-Hop Ballet (though a good one!).
Wow!
SEASON 1 RECAP (for SEASON 2):
Here is a recap of the ending of Season 1 to help get you started, to make things (slightly) less confusing:
https://screenrant.com/legion-season-1-finale-mid-credits-sequence-explained/