Legion Season 2

So, uhhh, nobody watching season 2 yet? 

I only got around to doing a season 1 rewatch last week, then dove straight into season 2 afterwards and am now all caught up just in time for the season finale that airs tomorrow. 

Gotta admit, though, I'm not as over the moon with the new episodes as I was with season 1. A few impressions:


(Small spoilers ahead; massive ones will be tagged!)


- Never thought I'd say this, but I reeeallly wish the season had had fewer episodes! The increase from eight to eleven did not do the flow or the tension of the plot any good and as of right now, you can even skip episode six entirely without missing anything. So, yeah, unless there's gonna be some call-back in the finale to the plot of that episode, I already know that I'm gonna skip it in my next rewatch. 
Also, the whole 'David needs to figure out something from Sid's past' took waaaaay too long. Another example of where the writers clearly had too much time to fill on their hands.

- There's a weird monster/insanity sub-plot that seems entirely detached from the main story. Still waiting to see if there's going to be some connection there. 

- Amahl Farouk is a total bastard, but I'm having an incredibly hard time identifying him with the monstrous villain in season one. Sure, lots of that was the influence of David's imagination and Farouk using Lenny's persona as a disguise post-Clockworks, but still, it seems almost unbelievable that that's supposed to be the same character. 

- The Division 3 leader and his... uhm... "guards". Now they're just trying to be weird on purpose, right? 

- Bad mask/effects for the devil with the yellow eyes. That character looked so creepy/menacing in season one, now it just looks like a bad Halloween mask. Well, at least it was just a small appearance.

A few positive notes after all the complaining:

- The main plot. Starting with the revelation of who took David in that capsule at the end of season one, the main plot is the real highlight of the season, as it should be. Admittedly, the time jump doesn't make sense to me, plot-wise, but as it allows for a lot of world development, I'm willing to just go with it. 

- The characters. David continues to be amazing and even though his season one issues are gone, now that the Shadow King is no longer inside his mind, season two throws a lot at him to deal with, so the character never gets stale. I also must say that I really enjoy just how powerful he is. Fiction mostly avoids having characters be too powerful, so they don't end up overpowered and therefore boring (*cough* looking at you, Superman *cough*), since they can just solve all the problems right away, but so far Legion manages to avoid that while still having David be nearly omnipotent at the same time. Great job here! 

Sid annoys me a bit at times, but she always did and overall I enjoyed the development of her character and her relationship with David.

Cary and Kerry. Entirely. Fricking. Awesome! 'Nuff said!

Melanie. Slow burn, big pay-off. Worth it!

Ptonomy. Sadly a hug let-down imo. Much less useful than in season one and part of the disjointed sub-plot I mentioned earlier. So far I'm left with a massive question mark in regards to that character.

Clark. Fantastic addition to the main cast! Loved the guy in season one and I'm super happy he stuck around. His discussion with David about each of them perceiving the other as 'the bad guy' at the start of the show really struck a nerve. 

Lenny! Not as much crazy fun as in season one, but her plot line is one of the best of the season. Aubrey Plaza always kills it!

Oliver. Driving around the devil in a convertible. Sounds better in the job description. I just hope he gets to fulfil his promise in the end. Someone has to! 

Amahl Farouk. Self-righteous, evil, manipulative, two-faced smarmy bastard! In other words: Great villain!

- A combination of plot and character, really, but I think this deserves a special mention: David's predicament throughout the season about what to do, who to help, who to trust feels entirely genuine and very relatable. Honestly, I wouldn't want to be in his position and it's no wonder that it has the repercussions that it does.



So, all in all, I think season two of Legion has a few massive issues that mostly could have been averted had they stuck with the smaller episode number, but it still has enough great stuff going on to make it well worth the watch!