Arrow: “The Sin-Eater”

Jim’s Thoughts

After the disaster that was last week’s awkward “issue” episode, Arrow needed to come back strong. When I saw Cupid returning as one of the villains, I didn’t hold out much hope. With that said, this was a better episode than other Cupid appearances have resulted in, but nowhere near what was needed to right the ship.

The “Sin-Eater” theme was played heavily across the various storylines, and it’s beginning to look like the show has lost all interest in subtlety. This week, I think it was, more than anything, an attempt to tie the flashback scenes with the present, and kick sand over the fact that neither plot moved much.

If there’s any movement to speak of, it’s Ollie’s cover up being leaked to the press. On the one hand, it could be refreshing to see realistic consequences brought to the show, but they’re still leaning far too heavily on suspension of disbelief for that to work. Isn’t Quentin still deputy mayor? Why is he wielding a gun and fighting alongside Team Arrow unmasked? Ollie’s girlfriend has been fired and ruined because of Felicity hacking her? Wouldn’t an affair with the mayor already constitute a conflict of interest and seriously discredit her in the journalistic world? If they want to bring any realistic consequences to the table, these are questions they can’t keep answering with, “It’s based on a comic book.”

Maybe the biggest problem with the show is characterized by the preview for next week. Vigilante comes back, and it’s been so long since the show has had any focus, I’m having a hard time remembering where we were with that character.

It’s not the worst episode we’ve seen this season. Last week set that bar so low you could only hope to trip over it, but it’s more of the same.

Kyle’s Take

At least we can say “The Sin-Eater” wasn’t as bad as last week’s Arrow. The quality of CW superhero shows declines the later in the week you watch them, so I’ve been dreading Arrow. Jim saw this episode first, told me it was a Cupid episode, and I shuddered. Fortunately, it was easily the best Cupid episode. But that’s not saying much.

I vaguely remember Liza Warner and I don’t recall China White ever gracing the screen, but they managed to keep Cupid grounded. That’s a good thing. They were also over-the-top and, like Jim said, not subtle with the “Sin-Eater” theme, especially with Warner. That’s not so good. What’s worse is that if “The Sin-Eater” progressed the Prometheus storyline, it did so at a crawl. Prometheus’s mom sides with Prometheus. Big shock.

I’m still not convinced Prometheus is this season of Arrow’s end-game, but “The Sin-Eater” reinforced the notion that Arrow had to drop its flashbacks seasons ago. These flashbacks may as well feature McBain’s Radioactive Man (The Simpsons). The goggles, they do nothing.

And the flashbacks haven’t done anything in a while. Arrow’s flashbacks went from disorienting the viewer (okay) and putting them in Ollie’s mindset (good), to setting up Deathstroke (brilliant), to explaining any plot device (poor), to not serving any purpose and straining the present-day story to relate to them on a cursory level. Awful.

I laughed aloud when Arrow explained how Dinah had to wear Black Canary’s mask because she had to protect her identity and five minutes later Quentin Lance fought alongside the Green Arrow unmasked. You’ve gotta love Arrow’s situational logic. At least when the original Ghostbusters warned its characters against crossing their streams, it was done for comedic effect and the characters were still nervous when they were forced to do the thing they weren’t supposed to do. It’s bad when a comedy offers more realism.

If Arrow wanted to make Cupid a more palatable character, mission accomplished. But it hasn’t picked up enough speed for its finale.

Thanks for reading.

Flash: “Attack on Gorilla City”

Jim’s Thoughts

To get the negatives out of the way, this two-episode Gorilla City arc doesn’t appear to be doing much to advance the main plot of the season. Yes, there’s mention about changing the headlines in the future, so they’re not ignoring the main plot, but the connection feels tenuous.

Taking the episode at face value, it’s an entertaining start to the story. Grodd forces the show to dig deeper into its comic book source material, and that’s what got me into the show to begin with. Seeing Earth 2’s Harrison Wells was a nice throwback, and seeing him contrasted against “HR” had a nice payoff to it.

The action sequences were well executed, as was Gorilla City itself. Some of the shots looked like they could have been pulled from the panels of the comics themselves.

If I’m going to nitpick anything else from the episode, it’s got to be the lack of clarity in the powers between Barry and the dual Gorilla threats in the episode. To keep the fights competitive, they seem to be either nerfing Barry or overpowering his enemies a bit here.

There are a few plot points to pick on here, but this week gave us an entertaining installment. They’re still leaning too hard on romance stories, pairing off Wally and Jessie, Julian and Snow, but I’ve begun to expect that from The CW. All things considered, I think they accomplished an interesting setup for next week’s big showdown.

Kyle’s Take

“Attack on Gorilla City” was fun. If nothing else, it can hang its hat on comic book nostalgia and exciting action. I’d temper the praise with the main storyline not advancing, romance bubbling up in odd places, and a nebulous “something” dampening Barry’s powers. But this is the usual CW midseason lull and Grodd’s a great way to fight the doldrums. Unlike most episodes this time of year, this week’s Flash was enjoyable.

If I had to nitpick one other thing from the episode, it’d be the length of Grodd’s story. The visuals and narrative are ripped from the comic book, but that same comic took multiple issues to get through the story; Grodd gets two episodes. Grodd also plans an all-out invasion of Central City, much like Zoom last season, and Grodd still gets two episodes. Zoom received eight times as many episodes for a similar invasion. This story isn’t at warp speed, it’s at ludicrous speed.

I like how Flash kept Caitlin/Killer Frost in the forefront. It’s easy to do when Caitlin returns to Earth-2, but viewers are invested in her wellbeing and could maintain a level of tension with her wellbeing threatened.

The two Harrison Wells played off each other in interesting ways. The payoff was priceless.

I’ve come to accept the CW throwing in romance as much as it can, but Wessie (Wally and Jessie pairing) is bothersome. Flash suggested Wally and Jessie as a couple over a year ago, and hasn’t done anything with them. Why should we care about these two when Flash hasn’t cared about them for more than a year? There’s a right and wrong way to handle romance. How Flash handled Wessie is more the latter.

That sounds like a lot of negative, but I did enjoy “Attack on Gorilla City.” It’s one of the better CW superhero episodes that air this time of year, and I credit Grodd. Like Jim said, Grodd forces Flash to dig deep into its comic book source material. That’s usually a great thing for fans.

Thanks for reading.

Supergirl: “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk”

Kyle’s Thoughts

We were spared Mon-El and Kara hooking up for one week by Mr. Mxyzptlk dropping in on the two before they could express themselves. “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” was filler but it wasn’t as bad as I thought it might be. A lot of that comes from Mon-El and Kara making out at the end of this week’s episode. I don’t like the coupling. It’s forced, but at least Supergirl put in the time and I couldn’t stand the show wasting valuable closing minutes on Monra. Crap or get off the pot. It looks like crap but at least Supergirl can work through this Monra nonsense.

Who am I kidding? It’s the CW; Monra has just spread its wings.

I still like how Alex and Maggie’s relationship is being handled. Their romance is one of the best, if not the best, relationship on the CW. Maggie not liking Valentine’s Day had me concerned, but there’s a good reason for it that’s rooted in who she is as a character. I’m impressed with this aspect of Supergirl’s writing. Forget Monra. We need a name for Alex and Maggie. They’re both government employees who go by their surnames: Sawyer and Danvers. Go, Sanvers.

J’onn J’onnz didn’t have a huge part to play in “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk,” but Supergirl worked him in well. A sage piece of advice J’onn gave Kara played a role in the episode’s conclusion. I’m not going to say much else for fear of spoilers, but it’s a nice moment. I also liked how Supergirl kept M’gann relevant. If Arrow has shown us anything, it’s how a CW show can go months without a pivotal character and drop them in on a whim. Take a note from Supergirl, Arrow. It doesn’t take much to work in characters on a semi-weekly basis. J’onn missed M’gann and sent her a message. The exchange J’onn had with other characters worked on multiple levels.

Winn hooking up with an alien felt out of place, at first. He doesn’t strike me as the kind of guy who would do that and Supergirl shies away from bed hopping, but how the scenario played out rang true. It was more the alien female being forward with Winn. I liked how Supergirl didn’t sex shame the alien but it did show that a deeper connection is more rewarding. It’s a tightrope walk and the show handled it better than I would’ve expected. But still, it’s another romance. The CW has never met a romance it didn’t like.

Speaking of romance and getting back to Mxyzptlk, “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” focused on Mxyzptlk’s love for Kara. It’s a superficial love. I’m not sure Mxyzptlk could love anyone but himself and come to think of it, I don’t think Supergirl explained how he fell in love with Kara, besides saying the too easy he watched her from afar. It was nonsensical. But the trickster Mxyzptlk is nonsensical.

So, the Mxyzptlk story worked, for the most part. Mon-El hid how to banish Mxyzptlk from this plane, get him to say his name backward. That wasn’t out of character for him, but Supergirl didn’t do a good job of explaining how Kara could overlook Mon-El’s bloodlust. He wanted to kill Mxyzptlk. I also thought how Kara tricked Mxy into saying his name backward was too obvious, but the same can be said of many times Superman tricked Mzyzptlk. And the bigger takeaway is that Kara, not Mon-El, dealt with the problem.

There were plenty of visual treats in “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk,” too. Mxy pretended to be Superman and Aaron Burr, the man who killed Alexander Hamilton. Who knew there’d be a Hamilton reference? In fact, there were plenty of sly references about pop culture and comics throughout the episode. There was even an odd cameo by an ice sculpture Jor-El (Russell Crowe). “Mr. & Mrs. Mxyzptlk” stretched the boundaries of what the CW can do and had fun.

I’ve been on record as not liking Monra (for all the reasons I mentioned before) but if Supergirl can stop ending every show with a Monra update, I’m okay with the coupling. Even if Supergirl can’t, the show is still the best CW superhero show going this year. And it’s not even close.

Thanks for reading.

Bob’s Burgers: “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Don’t look know but “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” was a Gayle episode. I’ll be upfront and say I don’t like the Gayle character. She mooches off her family, never tries to grow up, seldom thinks of anyone but herself or her cats who are just extensions of herself, and her voice is the most irritating voice on a show that has a mess of irritating voices. That said, there are few good, and even great, Gayle episodes. “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” isn’t one of them.

I’ll start my analysis of this week’s Bob’s Burgers with something I liked: Bob connecting with Gayle’s cat Mr. Business. This isn’t the first time Bob spilled his soul to an unlikely source. He has a habit of projecting his feelings onto inanimate objects (like a turkey baster), but Mr. Business may be the first, unlikely, living being with which he’s had a heart-to-heart. It worked for me. I especially liked it when Bob got through to Mr. Business, changing the cat’s behavior. Mr. Biz disobeying Gayle at the end of the episode was fun, and more character progression than I’ve seen from Gayle in six seasons. But I guess Mr. Biz’s ten minutes add up to a lot more in cat minutes.

The kids and Linda’s storyline of eating cat food was relatable. Who hasn’t tasted one kernel of pet food or a pet snack? I don’t know of too many people making it a habit. Linda and the kids are making quasi drug deals at the end of the episode. That wasn’t as much funny as it was uncomfortable. To be fair, I was laughing.

Have I mentioned I don’t like Gayle as a character? Well, I don’t for all the reasons I mentioned earlier but she grates on my nerves more than other recurring characters, because she takes over episodes. Sometimes it’s funny. But she always overpowers an episode. What’s worse in “There’s No Business Like Mr. Business Business” is that she has a moment to make a change as a character and doesn’t take it. Oh! It’s as bad as my dog hacking up something and swallowing it. I winced at that moment. It physically hurt.

What makes Gayle’s failure to change even worse is that last week’s Bob’s Burgers had moments where Louise grew as a character. It’d been some time since Louise played something other than the mischievous child, but I would’ve traded dozens of Louise character building moments to not be subjected to the agony of Gayle. But hey, I may be in the minority or Gayle may be the character everyone loves to hate. Whatever the case I’m looking forward to not seeing Gayle next week. And even with a less than stellar episode this week, Bob’s Burgers this season is as solid as ever.

Thanks for reading.

Legion: “Chapter 2”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Legion is stunning. FX has done a great job presenting the show. The acting, direction, and writing are good to great and the story gained a modicum of clarity from the show’s pilot last week but it’s by no means clear. The story has gained focus and that matches the main character’s mental state so Legion does a fantastic job of capturing the character’s essence.

Most shows with superpowers give viewers a chief antagonist for the season and/or future, and Legion does have the non-descript District 3, but David is his own antagonist. That’s something I like a lot. It forces the show to be character driven. The audience zeroes in on David’s closest friends and family. I like that a lot, too. Again, we’re given concrete characters, even if we don’t know how they fit in within the larger world. But the first season may be spent finding out how David’s powers work and that could prove problematic.

I like the breath Legion is taking with its title character. Some folks may not like a character-delving first season, but it allows the character to stretch their arms and legs. Legion has also done a great job of changing the mental illness vernacular. Multiple characters have told David that he’s not sick, his voices and visions are who he is. That’s beautiful. I don’t want the show to lose that language. And that’s where David’s power origin might prove problematic. Some of those characters say he’s not schizophrenic and in the comics, David isn’t schizophrenic, he has multiple personalities.

At the very least Legion could be setting up viewers who’ve never read the comics for a gotcha moment. I don’t care for gotcha moments. Reliance on such moments both built and destroyed M. Night Shyamalan’s career. What’s worse is Legion could lose that beautiful language, regarding mental illness. Those characters who say you’re not schizophrenic, your visions and voices are who you are could change their tune if David is diagnosed with dissociative identity disorder. I hope not. It’s a long shot that the writers of Legion would resort to this but there’s still that danger. I’m okay with a multiple personalities reveal, so long as it’s handled well (no gotcha moment) and David isn’t stigmatized. But that’s looking well into the future. Let’s get back to “Chapter 2.”

I like that the audience got a better idea on what’s real and not real. The episode ended strong, if not a little clichéd, and David has the impetus to fight his inner demons. Hopefully, we’ll discover more about District 3. They need to be more than a nebulous government agency, but I can wait. I’m enjoying the ride on the super, fun, happy, slide that is David’s mind.

Season’s Take

Legion is one of the more interesting Marvel characters. I’m not familiar with the comics so the TV show introduced me to David Haller.

Like Kyle, I too enjoy the aspect of having David as his own antagonist because that’s not something that Marvel Studios uses very often, if at all. David’s inner turmoil and his path to discover himself take center-stage, and the show reveals these things like a puzzle.

I like the image of “The Angriest Boy in the World” children’s book in David’s memory. It may give some insight into the origin of the devil with yellow eyes. He bears a lot of significance to David, especially when he starts to get irritated or confused. I’m excited for “Chapter 3” and I’m looking forward to Legion painting more of David’s picture.

Thanks for reading.

Arrow: “Spectre of the Gun”

Jim’s Thoughts

I’ve been really hard on Arrow lately. Kyle and I were talking recently about how the show has never really hit the heights it did in season 2, and I was beginning to wonder if it was time to adjust my expectations. Maybe this isn’t a slump the show has been in, but a new direction the series is pursuing. With that in mind, I prepared to go easy this week, to try to evaluate the episode without comparing it to what it was three seasons ago. I went in with the best of intentions, and then I saw “Spectre of the Gun.”

This was a long, ham-fisted public service announcement at best, and a desperate attempt to use headline fodder for relevance at its worst. Regardless of what side of the gun control debate you come down on, there is no denying this episode added nothing to the dialogue. Every point made for and against tighter gun control is one you’ve heard a thousand times. No one says anything surprising or original. Even Wild Dog’s backstory is as paint-by-numbers as it gets. What could have been a good opportunity to give his character much-needed depth was spent on a cliché.

Maybe the most ridiculous element of this episode was the expectation that we’re to believe this would be the first time any member of Oliver’s team would have been faced with the problem. Five years of fighting crime in Star City, and Oliver is just now pondering gun control? Is this even the first time the mayor’s office has been shot up? It’s that very point that prevents me from seeing this as an earnest attempt to address the issue, and to consider it a shameless exploitation of the political climate.

Maybe as the show’s final insult, the plot is resolved with a heart-felt speech from Oliver to the mad gunman, and a set of ordinances drawn up by Oliver and Wild Dog (who took opposing sides) off-screen to solve the issue and make everyone happy with a compromise. This is disingenuous tripe, and I have to take The CW to task for it. It’s an attempt to cash in on gun control without actually addressing the issue.

Oh, yeah, and still no movement on Prometheus. Can you tell I’m out of patience yet?

Kyle’s Take

I wouldn’t call “Spectre of the Gun” a public service announcement. Those are designed to raise awareness or change public attitudes/behavior. Most people have heard the arguments for and against gun control. This episode regurgitated those arguments.

“Spectre of the Gun” also didn’t offer a solution to the problem. Sure, characters on opposite sides of the issue made compromises but we don’t know what those were or how we’re supposed to achieve them besides buying off someone with political favors. If the episode tried to change public behavior, it’d be how people talk, or even scream, at each other when they discuss politics or any volatile subject. Perhaps a lot of people in our country don’t do enough listening.

But that’s giving Arrow too much credit. The dialogue was so familiar I wouldn’t be surprised if the writers room plagiarized newspaper articles or television spots on the matter. No one talks like the characters in this episode, not even when they discuss the Kareem Abdul-Jabbar article they read about gun control. Put it in your own words. Better yet, say something new.

Arrow’s desire to tackle a tough subject in “Spectre of the Gun” is true to the comic book character. The Green Arrow often tackles difficult subjects in a pseudo, public service announcement fashion but the Arrow TV show has never expressed any desire to flex its social conscience muscle. Why start in the middle of season five? It’s disingenuous.

The only good thing I can say about “Spectre of the Gun” is that I’m glad there was a sensitive material warning before the episode began. If the CW starts each Arrow episode that chooses to go the public information film route with that warning, I can skip Arrow that week.

Thanks for reading.

Supergirl: “Luthors”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Luthors” had plenty of rough spots but it did a lot to progress this season’s main antagonists Lillian Luthor and Cyborg Superman.

Dialogue for most CW shows isn’t a highlight but it must’ve looked like I had a tic with all this week’s cringe-worthy moments. Jimmy waxing poetic about his shield was particularly awful; I’m sure Cap has never expressed that much love for his shield, at least not in public. “Luthors” shoved as much background info it could multiple monologues. Winn had to tell us exactly what he was doing and how, and Lillian spoon fed us Lena’s history. It wasn’t a stellar week for dialogue.

I also didn’t care for how Metallo was handled. He’s Lillian’s stooge and I fear Cyborg Superman could go down a similar path. “Luthors” also felt like a way to stick a pin in Metallo for the near future. That’s not a bad thing but I don’t want Cyborg Superman as a stand-in for Metallo. It’s okay for Lillian to take center stage but both of those classic Superman villains need more development.

Lena’s relationship with her mother worked, despite Supergirl’s crutch of dialogue to convey their history. “Luthors” could’ve used more flashbacks to show us but there’s a danger of using too many flashbacks and the ones “Luthors” had were effective. I liked the note “Luthors” hit during Lena’s final scene.

And I hope Supergirl continues to play with Lena and Lillian’s mother-daughter relationship. “Luthors” may have been rough around the edges but I’m okay suffering a weaker episode so long as we got a dynamic that twisted. I could see—and expect to see—Lena hopscotch with her loyalties. It shouldn’t be a weekly occurrence. I’m concerned that Supergirl will abuse Lena going full Luthor and back to Kara’s friend.

I’m not hopeful for Kara and Mon-El’s romance. Supergirl has done an adequate job of keeping these two apart, but the events in “Luthors” were ridiculous and I don’t see them getting any better soon. I’ll go back to the dialogue in regards to this romance; it was manipulative and horrendous. If you’re going to couple these two, just do it. Other barriers made sense. It’s getting absurd and that’s before “Luthors” ended with Mr. Mxyzptlk.

Mxyzptlk declares his love for Kara before she can tell Mon-El how she feels about him. First, next week reeks of a filler episode. Second, it’s too convenient Mxyzptlk drops in at the exact moment Kara’s about to tell Mon-El her feelings. There is a precedent for Mxyzptlk being Superman’s fan but Supergirl had to play the romance card again. Not everything and everyone has to be drenched in romance.

Supergirl has had fewer filler episodes than Arrow and Flash—I guess it’s due one or two this season—but I’m not optimistic for next week’s episode. At least “Luthors” was a solid, if rocky, episode. I am optimistic about where Supergirl is headed.

Thanks for reading.

Bob’s Burgers: “Bob Actually”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Bob’s Burgers came back this week. The show took a long mid-season break but “Bob Actually” was a satisfying return. As the name implies this episode’s a riff on Love Actually and each Belcher is part of a love story. Yes. Even Louise.

Bob and Linda’s romance played out as expected. There was a strange twist to Bob wanting to learn how to dance for Linda. The only dance class available was Hip Hop. Seeing Bob in baggy sweatpants was fun, and Linda’s response proves that it’s the thought that counts when it comes to any gift.

Tina had her ubiquitous love episode with Jimmy Junior. Only this time Jimmy returns her affections. Jimmy does show her occasional fits of love, but how open he was with showing his affection was unexpected. I also liked how Bob’s Burgers fit in Tina’s obsession with butts. Usually she’s grabbing behinds but in this episode, she suffers from diarrhea. Her bowels almost keep her from the one she loves. Fortunately, love finds a way.

Gene fell for the replacement cafeteria lady and led to him falling in love with dark chocolate, too. There has to be a joke there about the quickest way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. It worked and the attention Gene gave the cafeteria lady showed some genuine character growth. But Louise took the cake for character growth this week.

I didn’t think Louise was capable of loving anyone outside her family, and sometimes not even then, but she genuinely cared for Regular-Sized Rudy. True. Some of these romances felt a little forced, and Louise’s character arc played out like a lot of romantic comedies (wires getting crossed), but there was a kernel of truth with her development. Louise has cared for Rudy’s wellbeing in the past (the museum adventure and the chocolate train), she’s enough of an egomaniac to be swept up by a Rudy who doesn’t show her affection, and she likes to fight for underdogs and the downtrodden (Rudy’s being taken advantage of by another classmate in this episode). It clicked.

I don’t like going more than two months without a Bob’s Burgers episode but “Bob Actually” was worth the wait.

Thanks for reading.

Powerless: “Wayne Dream Team”

Kyle’s Thoughts

“Wayne Dream Team” was a step up from the Powerless’s bad pilot, but the show needs to take a few more leaps of improvement for me to excited. This episode focused more on the characters. I can’t fault “Wayne or Lose” and setting up Charm City (setting), but it’s nice to see more of an emphasis on character-building, even if those characters are one-dimensional.

Emily (Vanessa Hudgens) struggles to fit in her new work place. I’m not invested in her character enough to care that she hasn’t made friends, but it makes sense that others would keep her at a distance. Ron Funches and Danny Pudi continue their buddy scientist shtick. They might be a secret handshake way from Troy and Abed (Community).

I’m not sure how Alan Tudyk (Van Wayne) factors into this workplace. Sure. He’s the owner of Wayne Defense, but he was trying to get end the company in the pilot and now he’s committed to making the company a success. Part of Van wants to be recognized as an accomplished Wayne, but a larger part of him wants to go to Gotham by any means necessary. I’m not sure how Wayne Defense’s success accomplishes Van’s main desire.

There were fleeting moments of onscreen chemistry. I liked the product Wayne Defense came up with this week: a ruble umbrella. But the main reason I like this product is that everyone in Charm City will be forced to buy one. The ruble umbrella helps those who own one. Anyone who doesn’t own one will get crushed from the ruble deflected from the ones who do own one. A charming ribbing of corporate greed.

The fantasy superhero teams were a good chuckle. In a world where superheroes are commonplace, why wouldn’t people draft fantasy superhero teams like folks draft fantasy football teams? Jim and I may have to draft our own fantasy superhero teams.

Powerless has a lot of work ahead of it. I’m not sure if it’ll warrant a second season, but it’s done enough for me to follow it another week.

Thanks for reading.

Legion: “Chapter 1”

Kyle’s Thoughts

Legion is an ambitious drama about mental illness set in the world of Marvel’s X-Men. It’s gorgeous. It’s well directed and acted. It’s exhibit A for a comic book show as art. It’ll be a critical darling. But it may not be for everyone.

I enjoyed Legion’s pilot, of course I know the character’s history and that helps more in this show than most other shows based on comic books, but I enjoyed it. Legion will get tricky to cover. How about I break it down in a few sections? Let’s start with the comics.

Legion in the comics

David Haller or Legion first appeared in New Mutants #25 (1985). He’s Professor X’s illegitimate son. Neither Charles nor David know this when Legion joins Professor X’s team of young mutants. When David finds out his parentage, he accepts Charles, but eventually lashes out at Xavier because to David, Charles abandoned him. David’s also one of the most powerful mutants in the world, but he suffers from dissociative identity disorder or multiple personalities.

Each one of David’s personalities owns a different mutant power. Kind-hearted assassin Jemail Karami controls David’s telepathy, rebellious teen Cyndi possesses David’s pyrokinetic powers, and womanizing adventurer Jack Wayne commands David’s telekinesis. Over the years, Legion has developed dozens—if not hundreds—more personalities, but Jemail, Cyndi, and Wayne were the first and most prominent for years.

Writers have toyed with Legion’s personalities and mental state for decades, but that’s all you need to know about the comic book Legion. Let’s get back to the TV show.

Legion’s Point of View

The audience only sees things from the viewpoint of David Haller. David’s been committed to a mental institution for paranoid schizophrenia, so the narrative is by no means linear. And you can’t trust anything you see or hear. To say David’s point of view is untrustworthy would be an understatement.

David’s point of view is a bold choice and Legion does a great job of showing the fragility of David’s mental state, but again, this won’t be for everyone. It’s difficult to follow. Objects break and then they’re fixed in the next sequence. So, did they break? Minor details change with each retelling of flashbacks. If you take the time, you can spot them, but even if you don’t, you get the sense something changed. Legion keeps its viewers off-balanced.

Legion could’ve gone the route of Bates Motel. In Bates Motel, the audience is given the viewpoints of Norman’s mother, brother, and a handful of other characters to ground the show in reality. The Bates Motel started in the shallow end of a pool and walked its viewers into the deep end. Legion jumped into the deep end.

The pool analogy is appropriate because at one point in Legion David sinks into a pool as his rescuers get rid of his captors. One of David’s rescuers uses telekinesis and another chars his captors with pyrokinetic powers. Those two of David’s rescuers could be two of David’s personalities. David sinking into the pool could be a metaphor for him giving his other personalities control.

David’s therapists may have misdiagnosed him as a schizophrenic. The show could still work if it did change the form of David’s mental illness, but I’m not so sure, and there were hints in Legion (like the pool one above) that David does have multiple personalities. Ultimately, Legion does a great job of showing its audience there’s something wrong with David, but as of the pilot, it’s an undefined mental illness.

Syd Barrett

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Legion’s great soundtrack. The Who’s “Happy Jack” set the stage beautifully. The show also had a Pink Floyd reference with David’s love interest: Sydney or Syd Barrett.

Syd Barrett was one of Pink Floyd’s founding members. He had to leave the group after he was hospitalized under speculation of mental illness. Does Legion’s Syd exist? Could Syd be another one of David’s personalities? We’ll have to wait and find out.

X-Men

Some folks will be disappointed that Legion is set in the world of Marvel’s X-Men, but if the first episode is any indication, the show will keep as much distance from the X-Men as it can. That’s okay by me. Legion isn’t your typical X-Man. I’m sure we’ll see more super-powered goodness, but Legion isn’t your typical superhero TV show. In fact, David Haller could hardly be classified as a hero or villain. With so many people inhabiting David’s mind how could he be easily defined?

Verdict

Legion is an Avant Garde television show with superpowers. It’s a singular experience.

If you’re looking for a linear, easy-to-follow story, Legion will let you down. If you heard X-Men and wanted a familiar X-Man or two, you might be disappointed. But if you don’t mind watching a crazy diamond shine, you should give Legion a chance.

Thanks for reading.