Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the dynamic between Movies/Cinema and Series/Home Viewing. Before, Movies were the ones who always stole the show, by being flashier, more creative, experimental, more emotional and dramatic, and even funnier or goofier.
And then Money got involved and movies went to s#!t!
I’m obviously exaggerating, but the fact is that Movies now are governed by focus groups, studio executives and other life forms interested only in making bank.
So creativity and risk taking both got thrown out the window, but (THANK GOD!) TV and Streaming Services were there to catch them.
Television/The “Series” format has become the safe haven for the brilliant and the creative directors, writers and actors out there. There are a lot of reasons for that, but that’s a topic that deserves it’s own article.
Today, we’re talking about the FX original series, Legion.
[Mild Spoiler Warning 😊]
So first things first: Legion is a kinda-but-I'm-not-sure-cause-its-never-really-made-clear-spinoff of the X-Men movie franchise. So you’re probably already thinking: “Oh...comic book stuff. Again. Plus, the X-Men movies aren’t that good, mostly hit or miss. I mean Logan was good, but...” * and the thought keeps on going and going because that’s how our minds work LOL :D.
So anyway: Yes, Legion is based on a Comic-book related property, but whatever image you have in your head about it, trust me: it’s nothing like that. The X-Men movie that Legion has the most in common with is Logan, because Logan also pulls off the “comic-book property that doesn’t feel like a comic book movie” vibe, you know? Let’s go over the premise to see what I mean.
Legion starts off with David Haller (played amazingly by Dan Stevens) living in a mental institution. He was diagnosed with schizophrenia early on in his life and has been dealing with it ever since. He’s relatively content with his life until a beautiful woman that just has that special thing (sexy whistle) , shows up at the hospital, they fall in love and through some whacky hijinks :D……David finds out he has telepathic and telekinetic powers, warps and destroys an entire hospital wing (with people still inside, because Legion doesn’t puss out on the cool freaky stuff!) and runs away with a group of Mutant Freedom Fighters that will help him understand his powers and deal with his schizophrenia.
Oh…and there’s also this guy always creeping around.
So yeah...one of the most powerful mutants in the world is dealing with mental illness, and if he loses it, that means……
The premise itself is really solid and it offers a lot of openings for playing with themes and ideas. For example, the theme of having a mental illness and dealing with it, trying to keep it under control and also owning the consequences; are present throughout each episode and each character. Actually, if you look deep enough, you’ll see that each character is a metaphor for a specific type of mental illness, but manifested in a human body/a superpower. If you’re into psychology, you can have a lot of fun by just looking at the characters and figuring out what type they are portraying.
For example, Syd (Rachel Keller), the woman David falls in love with, has the power of trading bodies with any person she has direct physical contact with (touch, kiss whatever). The only problem is that she can’t control it, so she becomes withdrawn and shut in so as to not let that happen. This you can interpret as social anxiety or….some other form of illness which I didn’t bother to learn in University.
Personally, I see her as being a metaphor for unstable empathy. Cause her power is to literally trade places and become the person that she gets too close too (touching is a metaphor for emotional connection). Basically, she is unstable and unsure in herself, so when she opens up and gets close to someone, she loses herself in that person, and she can’t come back to herself until some time has passed. Can anyone relate to that?
Basically what I want to say is that the show is really smart. The symbolism, the metaphors, the multi-layered approach and artistry to everything just exude an incredibly high level of brilliance, that stays in the shadows, hiding behind the cheery, colourful imagery portrayed by the exterior.
......
Aaaaaand I think I just realised that that (exuding high level brilliance bla bla bla) is the leitmotif of every single aspect of the show! Characters, dialogues, locations, powers, costumes, even the way in which the show is shot and how sequences play out! OH MY G…..
I think I went too hard on that one :D. Sorry. That's probably MY mental illness :D.
I thought it was funny.
Anyway, let’s wrap this up.
Legion is an amazingly smart, creative, gorgeous looking and profoundly thoughtful experience. It does some really unique things in some really unique ways, and it never shy’s away from portraying what mental illness is, how it affects you, the ones around you and how would that look if you had unlimited godly powers (Pretty F@!#ing Terrifying!).
The thing which I loved the most about Legion is that it treated me with respect and intelligence as a viewer. It was not afraid to confuse me and leave me asking questions. It trusted me to listen and follow the clues that were there, but to also sit back and enjoy the trip it was taking me on. It takes it’s time setting up even the smallest of ideas and sensations in your head and then it pays it all off gloriously and with a BANG!
Or….with a Bolero. (wink wink).
Legion was definitely one of the most engaging shows of 2017, and it was one of my personal favourite experiences of the year. If you’re also in the market for something really smart and creative, but also confusing and even disturbing, go check it out.
Also,
GET HYPED CAUSE SEASON 2 IS COMING OUT IN APRIL! WOOOOOO!
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If you've already seen Legion, what did you think? Did you like it? Did you hate it? Do you have stand-out scenes that you really liked? (Mine is of course the "Feel good" sequence :) ).
Thank you for reading. See you all next time, and until then, remember to always aim for feeling alive 😊.
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One of the best series of last year, can't wait for the next season. Good article !
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