Legion S02E11: Chapter 19 – What the hell was that?

To compare and contrast Legion’s first season with its second it helps to think of each as an album. Season one was the television equivalent of a concept album, a tightly constructed one at that, with a focus that puts every aspect into creating the whole. Season two has felt like a strong collection of songs, something that a new band would produce: with many different styles, tempos, and genres as they are searching for their defining sound. Much like Westworld, Legion has been supremely enjoyable from episode to episode, but as a full story, it has left a lot to be desired. There are still so many plot threads left dangling: Ptonomy is still trapped in Division 3’s supercomputer, Cary and Kerry are still separated, and Amy may still be haunting Lenny. In this sense, Legion needs to tighten up its story-telling for season three.

That’s what Chapter 19 left out in order to focus on the story that both shocked and horrified me. Thanks to me being based in the UK I was already aware of the fact that the finale took a controversial turn, even if I didn’t know the details. This meant that I was literally ready for anything the show could throw at me, and I’ll admit that David’s new, thoroughly deserved status as a rapist took a while to take in. I understood the show’s motives for this darker more hateful take on the character, and I think that the episode handled this plot rather well, but that doesn’t mean I have to like it.

Legion has never been a show to hold your hand and spoon-feed you, and the very clever plot from Farouk to make David recognize the monster inside himself, crucially through Syd’s eyes, made for an excellent confrontation between these two God-like mutants. Farouk used Melanie and David’s own actions to sow the seeds of distrust between himself and Syd. The magic to this is that, despite the fact that David has spent a good portion of season two saving the members of Division 3, by the time Syd is pointing that gun at him I believed it too. David’s expression as he was torturing Oliver, bashing Farouk’s head in, is the exact same expression on his face when he killed an entire building worth of Division 3 lackeys while maybe being under Farouk’s control.

The idea that David is the real villain of Legion has been at the back of my mind from the beginning of the show, and that idea comes to fruition here. From the opening where he turns his showdown with Farouk into a The Who singalong directed by someone who loves The Killers’ Americana music videos, to Lenny’s perfectly placed shot to activate the Choke, David’s true nature breaks through. The good guy in a superhero show doesn’t bash the villain’s brains in, never mind looking so happy about doing so. With Farouk all but defeated the most important part of Chapter 19 begins.

Legion has a strange relationship when it comes to consent, and that idea has been communicated mostly through Syd. David’s relationship with Syd has been peppered with incidents where David hasn’t respected Syd’s right to agency over her own body. The first example of this is in the show’s first episode: I which David goes for the romantic goodbye kiss as Syd is leaving Clockworks despite the fact that she hates to be touched. Even if she didn’t have powers leading to her being trapped in David’s body and accidentally killing Lenny, David would still have crossed a line. The first season of Legion never made David feel culpable for that mistake, instead, he was rewarded with a love story with Syd. Syd has her own mistakes in this department when she used her powers to have sex with her mother’s boyfriend in her mother’s body. This not only destroyed her relationship with her mother, the boyfriend was arrested for statutory rape. All of which is to say that Noah Hawley’s choice to go down this path with David and Syd doesn’t come out of nowhere.

The fact remains that the protagonist of this mind-bending superhero show is now a rapist. While I think that this is a bold choice for the show, and something that David can never come back from, I have to take my critic hat off for a moment and speak to you as a fan of the show. The reason I love Legion is because I related to David Haller as a character. I’ve had my own battles in regards to mental health, including a stint in hospital and the fact that the show dealt with those aspects of diagnosis, therapy, and the road to recovery, in an exaggerated form, was both comforting and sometimes revelatory.

David’s actions here make sense in context, his heroic façade is being brought down by Syd, the person who helped build it in the first place, so in an act of desperation he committed a terrible crime by wiping Syd’s memory, and the show does its best to underline how wrong David’s actions were. Yet as someone who has such a personal connection to this show and its main character, I have to deal with yet another show about the mentally ill that use that illness as a reason for their bad behavior. David’s actions happen due to his powers grouped with his mental illness. All of a sudden Legion has become as tone death as 13 Reasons Why.

5/10 – A finale that has my critical faculties split down the middle. I enjoyed the episode but feel let down by the resolution. I’m sure I’m not alone in this.

Season grade: 7/10

COMMENTS

Please read our Commenting Policy before you join in with the discussion.

Note: If you have email notifications enabled, please check your email spam folders to ensure emails are not missed.

5 Comments

Inline Feedbacks

View all comments

PegasusOrgans

2 years ago

Why is no one bothered by the whole set up of Syd no longer trusting, and even hating him. It began with her getting skewered by a large fish hook, pulled into a giant drain, and then dragged for a long time by the hair till she wakes up in a strange room with Melanie. Right away, she does exactly ONE thing that a normal, sane and real person would do, she tries to leave, but after that failing, all plausibility goes out the window. She finds a VERY different Melanie, but never wonders or questions A: Why is she… Read more »

Has the revolution started?

Reply to PegasusOrgans

I agree with you on most of that. I felt betrayed as I imagine David felt during that last scene. Farouk brainwashed Syd into saying David was the villain and then she tried to kill him? Seriously? The man you’re supposedly in love with you try to kill because the parasite who used to live in his mind, and have him kill people, tells you he’s bad? And then David erases the brainwashing Farouk did to her (which is similar mental help to what he did earlier, I might add, when Syd was trapped in her own mind). Then they… Read more »

Frozone

I agree with the author, mental illness isn’t an excuse for bad behaviour. David’s character development is so sad but it does take us closer to David’s comic book persona. Still, it’s hard to watch and at times can be a bit cringey.

MidNight

I’d like to praise the battle between David and Farouk. It was strange and crazy, but not exactly in a bad way. The ending, on the other hand, is a lot more complicated. David’s darkness is created by the ones who make him good. I think that’s also why his assault disappoints me so much. He sends himself further down the spiral of evil, and I can’t imagine any way up.

Reply to MidNight

Being compared to serial killers(without any real evidence whatsoever) by the woman you love might’ve helped that happen.

Cookie	Description
_pxvid	This cookie is used for detection of the browser and distinguishing whether it is a real user or malicious bot.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-analytics	This cookies is set by GDPR Cookie Consent WordPress Plugin. The cookie is used to remember the user consent for the cookies under the category "Analytics".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-non-necessary	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Non Necessary".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance	This cookie is used to keep track of which cookies the user have approved for this site.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-preferences	This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Preferences".
cookielawinfo-checkbox-uncategorized	The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Uncategorized".
CraftSessionId	This cookie name is associated with the Craft web content management system, where is functions as an anonymous session identifier.
csrftoken	This cookie is associated with Django web development platform for python. Used to help protect the website against Cross-Site Request Forgery attacks
DSID	To note specific user identity. Contains hashed/encrypted unique ID.
JSESSIONID	Used by sites written in JSP. General purpose platform session cookies that are used to maintain users' state across page requests.
PHPSESSID	This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed.
viewed_cookie_policy	The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data.

Cookie	Description
b30msc
btc
CMST
cref
d
gpl
i
icts
ig_did
mdata
na_rn
na_sc_e
na_sr
na_srp
session_depth
visitor-id

Cookie	Description
__gads	This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites.
__stid	The cookie is set by ShareThis. The cookie is used for site analytics to determine the pages visited, the amount of time spent, etc.
_ga	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, camapign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assigns a randoly generated number to identify unique visitors.
_gat_gtag_UA_60765351_1	Google uses this cookie to distinguish users.
_gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
ad-id	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content
demdex	This cookie is set under the domain demdex.net and is used by Adobe Audience Manager to help identify a unique visitor across domains.
DigiTrust.v1.identity	Registers data on visitors’ website-behaviour. This is used for internal analysis and website optimization.
dmvk	This cookie is set by DailyMotion who display videos, it registers statistical data of visitors' behaviour on the website.
gid	This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the wbsite is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages viisted in an anonymous form.
GPS	This cookie is set by Youtube and registers a unique ID for tracking users based on their geographical location
is_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
sc_is_visitor_unique	This cookie is set by StatCounter to determine how people are using the website
v1st	This is set by DailyMotion to display videos.

Cookie	Description
__asc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__auc	This cookie is used to collect information on consumer behavior, which is sent to Alexa Analytics.
__qca	This cookie is associated with Quantcast and is used for collecting anonymized data to analyze log data from different websites to create reports that enables the website owners and advertisers provide ads for the appropriate audience segments.
_cc_aud	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_cc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_dc	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_cc_id	The cookie is set by crwdcntrl.net. The purpose of the cookie is to collect statistical information in an anonymous form about the visitors of the website. The data collected include number of visits, average time spent on the website, and the what pages have been loaded. These data are then used to segment audiences based on the geographical location, demographic, and user interest provide relevant content and for advertisers for targeted advertising.
_kuid_	The cookie is set by Krux Digital under the domain krxd.net. The cookie stores a unique ID to identify a returning user for the purpose of targeted advertising.
_px2	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxff_tm	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
_pxhd	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
ab	This cookie is generally provided by agkn.com and is used for advertising purposes.
ad-privacy	Provided by amazon-adsystem.com for tracking user actions on other websites to provide targeted content to the users.
ayl_visitor	This cookie registers data on the visitor. The information is used to optimize advertisement relevance.
bafp	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bafp_t	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_pl	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rf_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_rt_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_t_8b2087b102c9e3e5ffed1c1478ed8b78	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bfp_sn_td_2d31c94105a0aa6d1ceaea0c86c6b656	This cookie is from Media.net and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
bito	This cookie is generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bitoIsSecure	This cookies are generally provided by bidr.io and is used for advertising purposes.
bsc	The cookies is set by ownerIQ for the purpose of providing relevant advertisement
CMID	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPRO	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
CMPS	This cookie is linked to advertising and tracking the products users were looking at.
dc_id	This cookie is used to deliver adverts more relevant to you and your interests. They are also used to limit the number of times you see an advertisement as well as help measure the effectiveness of the advertising campaign. They are usually placed by advertising networks with the website operator's permission. They remember that you have visited a website and this information is shared with other organisations such as advertisers.
did	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
didts	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
dpm	The cookie is set by demdex.net. This cookie assigns a unique ID to each visiting user that allows third-party advertisers target that users with relevant ads.
eud	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
euds	This cookie is from Rocket Fuel and is used to deliver targeted advertising across their network sites ensuring users see relevant advertising.
everest_g_v2	The cookie is set under eversttech.net domain. The purpose of the cookie is to map clicks to other events on the client's website.
evo5_popin_instance	Prevents an interaction from reoccurring for visitors not accepting 3rd party cookies.
id	This cookie is set by DoubleClick (which is owned by Google) to build a profile of the website visitor's interests and show relevant ads on other sites.
IDE	Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile.
io.narrative.guid.v2	This cookie is generally provided by io.narrative.io and is used for advertising purposes.
KADUSERCOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
KTPCACOOKIE	This cookie is generally provided by pubmatic.com and is used for advertising purposes.
matchliveramp	This cookie is provided by w55c.net and is used for advertising purposes.
mc	This cookie is associated with Quantserve to track anonymously how a user interact with the website.
mxpim	This cookie is generally provided by mxptint.net for advertising purposes.
na_tc	This is a Social Media sharing tracking cookie.
NID	This cookie is used to a profile based on user's interest and display personalized ads to the users.
nnls	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxrc	The purpose of the cookie is to identify a visitor to serve relevant advertisement.
pxvid	This cookie is set by PerimeterX who provide security analyst oversight.
rlas3	The cookie is set by rlcdn.com. The cookie is used to serve relevant ads to the visitor as well as limit the time the visitor sees an and also measure the effectiveness of the campaign.

Cookie	Description
__jid	Cookies set on the website by the third-party commenting platform Disqus.
cookielawinfo-checkbox-functional
disqus_unique	These cookies are set by Disqus so that users can comment on website/platform.
G_ENABLED_IDPS	The cookie is used by Google and is used for Google Single Sign On.
mid	The cookie is set by Instagram. The cookie is used to distinguish users and to show relevant content, for better user experience and security.
na_id	This cookie is set by Addthis.com to enable sharing of links on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter
ouid	The cookie is set by Addthis which enables the content of the website to be shared across different networking and social sharing websites.
ov	This is a generic functional cookie that provides enhanced functionality and personalisation.
ts	This cookie is generally provided by PayPal and supports payment services in the website.
vuid	These cookies are used by the Vimeo video player on websites.

Legion S02E11: Chapter 19 – What the hell was that?

Season grade: 7/10

You might also like

FIND THE TOPICS YOU WANT...

Recommended for you