Title: Legion Season 2 Episode 10: “Chapter 18”
Genre: Action, Adventure, Drama, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Superhero
Platform: TV – FX
Director: Dana Gonzales
Writer: Noah Hawley & Nathaniel Halpern
Rating: TV-MA
Release: June 5, 2018
Cast: Dan Stevens, Rachel Keller, Aubrey Plaza, Bill Irwin, Jean Smart, Jeremie Harris, Amber Midthunder, Jemaine Clement, Hamish Linklater, Navid Negahban
Feature image: Source
[Spoilers]
“The monster was the gift. The curse [she whispers] he’s insane.” Melanie Bird – Legion
Thunder is rolling, lightning is flashing, and men are running in the rain. In a hut, a pregnant looking Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza) is lying on the ground. David Haller (Dan Stevens) sits in a chair, his hair styled like his character in the comics. He is holding a globe with a picture of Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller) saying, “I’m going after him.” This is from the dialogue from the dining hall scene between Clark (Hamish Linklater) and Syd. This scene is probably from a dark future if David turns evil. In the present, David and Syd are lying in bed in the tent. Syd wakes up and goes outside. She sees a big pink bathtub stopper near a big hole. A fluffy white rabbit is thrown out of the hole with a hook in it. Syd takes the hook out of the rabbit, but she is hooked now and is dragged down the hole. David walks out of the tent and calls for her. Syd gets dragged through the tunnel, where Melanie Bird (Jean Smart) is waiting for her. Melanie: “Have you heard the one that the definition of crazy is doing the something over and over and expecting a different result.” She begins her speech about how bad men are. Syd stops her for a moment, “I get it, Oliver left, and you’re pissed. But that’s not what’s happening to me, and honestly, I’m kinda sick of talking about it.” This doesn’t stop Melanie for long. On pedestals with screens, Melanie shows Syd scenes of David doing something bad. Syd tells her David was cursed by a monster. Melanie: “The monster was the gift. The curse [she whispers] he’s insane.” Melanie says that someone can get you to do something you don’t want to do, but they can’t make you enjoy it. She shows David enjoying the bad things he’s doing. Melanie tells Syd this is David’s true face.
David is struggling trying to walk in a sandstorm. He finally makes it to the monastery and finds Oliver Bird (Jemaine Clement). He asks him where Syd is. Oliver is flippant, so David threatens to kill him. Oliver: “How can you kill me, I’m part of you.” Oliver makes himself look like David. David has enough and quotes the things Syd said about their pain creating their armor. David: “I’m the lunatic you turned me into. And I’m ready for my revenge.” David begins torturing Oliver with a drill. Melanie shows Syd David torturing Oliver. Melanie: “His true face. Now you tell me, who’s the monster?”
“Excuse me, do you know where a girl can find a monastery?” Lenny Busker – Legion
We again see the scene where the car that Lenny is in teleports into the desert. The car catches on fire and Lenny gets the case out before the car explodes. Men with safes on their heads sit around the hole. Lenny opens the case and smiles at the sniper rifle. She decides to sit with the men. After becoming bored she asks them, “Excuse me, do you know where a girl can find a monastery?” They all point towards the monastery.
Melanie continues the pressure on Syd. She asks Melanie, “How are you doing this, showing me these things?” Melanie shows David and Future Syd kissing. Syd tries to pretend this doesn’t bother her, but she isn’t convincing. Melanie asks what else David isn’t telling her. She shows the scene where Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban) finds out David is going to destroy the world. Melanie: “The greatest monsters are those in human clothes.” Syd: “How?” Melanie: “How does he turn, I don’t know. All I know is that he does, something magnificent, something terrible. Legion…the world killer.” Syd [crying]: “He’s a good person.” Melanie: “He’s a psychopath.” Melanie has broken Syd.
Cary (Bill Irwin) and Kerry Loudermilk (Amber Midthunder) show up with Division III troops and a dog to track Lenny. Men crawl out of the hole swinging balls on a stick, the balls on a stick emits a high-pitched sound that knocks out Cary and the Division III troops. Kerry is still standing and fights the men with a staff. She defeats all of them, but more men crawl out of the hole. Inside the monastery David finds out that instead of torturing Farouk in Oliver’s form, it is actually Oliver he has tortured. Farouk is in Melanie’s body, and the Minotaur shows up. Clark finally shows up with the Vermillion and the Choke David wanted. Melanie/Farouk gives the Minotaur an order, “Go now, kill the weak.” Melanie/Farouk finds his body and kisses it. Melanie faints and Farouk rises from his casket.
“No David. He’s the monster now. Maybe he always was.” Syd Barrett – Legion
Cary is dragged down the hole, but Kerry gets an assist from Lenny when she shoots a couple of the men. Kerry: “Thanks.” Lenny: “You should probably go get him.” Kerry: “Are you gonna?” Lenny: “No I’m supposed to wait here.” Kerry: “For what?” Lenny: “The Big Payback.” Kerry jumps down the hall to get Cary. The Minotaur kills the two men who had Cary. He escapes and runs into two Vermillion, he warns them about the Minotaur. They crawl up a wall to fight the Minotaur. Cary runs into the room where David and Oliver are. Cary checks on Oliver and David assures him Oliver is alive. David: “See I’m sitting here thinking about how I’m going to kill him. My parasite. All the different ways. What worries me is how good it feels.” David tells Cary about the Choke Clark brought to dampen all of the mutants’ powers for a few minutes. Kerry runs into the broken Vermillion who fought the Minotaur. She comes upon a shaken Syd. Kerry: “Found you. That’s one for me.” Syd: “I have to stop him.” Kerry: “Farouk?” Syd: “No David. He’s the monster now. Maybe he always was.” The Minotaur shows up. Kerry: “I got this.” Syd: “No. I need to hit something.” Syd hits the Minotaur. Clark is having the Vermillion set up the Choke. Farouk comes upon them, with a flick of his hand, he sends the Division III troops and Clark flying. Vermillion: “Conflict imminent. Chances of victory: 0 percent. Retreat.” Farouk looks at the Choke, “You brought the Choke. My clever boy.” He sends it flying down the hill. David appears and recites a passage from the Angriest Boy in the World book. He is ready to kill Farouk.
Finally everyone who is important to this show [except for Ptonomy who is obviously not important to this show] arrives in the desert. Melanie using video from previous episodes convinces Syd that David is insane and evil. The Loudermilks show up with a dog and Division III troops to track down Lenny. In an exciting fight scene, Kerry fights off a small army of Farouk’s men. David is proving Melanie right by torturing Oliver. He is ashamed when he finds out he is actually torturing Oliver instead of Farouk. It’s still Oliver’s body he is torturing, so even if Farouk was possessing him at the moment, Oliver would still be taking the damage. I don’t know why David didn’t think about that, oh right he’s crazy. Farouk was in Melanie’s body the whole time. Jean Smart did a nice subtle job of showing that this wasn’t Melanie talking to Syd. Rachel Keller did a great job of showing Syd’s growing disillusionment with David. Even though Farouk was tricking her into not trusting David anymore, she already had her doubts, so she was ready to be persuaded. Farouk finally gets possession of his body. David’s glad, because he wants to beat Farouk down.
Basically this was a glorified clip show. They showed clips of David throughout the series, and they even showed Lenny landing in the desert again. The desert setting was breathtaking. The big bathtub stopper was a funny sight gag along with Farouk using a rabbit on a giant hook as bait to get Syd down the hole. Fish would be ashamed of Syd for getting caught. Not as much music as usual. True Love Waits by Radiohead plays when Syd gets out of bed in the tent. I don’t think Syd is feeling any more true love with David now. When Kerry battles the armies of men, Ocean Size by Jane’s Addiction plays.
Grade: B-
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