Into the astral plane!
Spoilers follow for this episode and the comics on which Legion is based.
Last week I wrote that Legion needed to start getting out of David’s memories and away from Summerland in order to avoid becoming repetitive, and this week that’s more or less what happened, though the push towards new venues wasn’t exactly predictable. As we should expect from this show by now, it was weird, fun, and exciting.
It all started with Oliver Bird’s intro to the episode, as he fumbles through a monologue in his swanky 1970s astral-plane pad, complete with yellow pantsuit, an explanation that children’s stories either teach empathy or fear, and a promise of the tale to come -- a story that will lean, apparently, towards one of those states of mind or the other.
Indeed, with David still trapped in his own head after the events of last week -- he’s the bunny too close to being washed away into the ocean of his subconscious -- a mission on two fronts emerges in “Chapter 4” to bring him back. Melanie explains that David is no longer inside his memories, but that he has created a sort of psychic projection that exists between reality and dream (another power!). She calls it an astral plane, and she would know as this episode also explains that her husband Oliver (he of the monochrome pantsuit) has also been lost in a similar predicament for many years.
So on the one hand, there’s David trying to find his way out of the illusion he has created and trapped himself in. But that’s more secondary to the trio of Syd, Ptonomy and Kerry Loudermilk (Amber Midthunder) as they try not only to free David, but to also determine what is real and what isn’t of what they’ve seen of David’s past, and what exactly it is that his mind is blocking access to. “It’s as if we’ve activated some kind of guardian,” says Melanie. A guardian with yellow eyes and the shakes, maybe?!
So Syd takes center-ish stage, complete with a VO, another body swap (with the Eye!), and an effort to, as Ptonomy implies, convince herself that her boyfriend is a nice guy and not a former drug addict who bashed his therapist in the head with a reel-to-reel tape recorder. Syd’s memories keep going back to seeing David’s memory of him having sex with his ex-girlfriend, which of course is not something Syd can do. “A woman who can’t be touched,” she says. Like David, there’s a tragic aspect to the character.
Also potentially tragic, if in a different way, are Kerry and Bill Irwin’s Cary. Legion hasn’t given them much to do until this episode, but now we finally have an explanation of their powers and unique relationship. Basically, they’re two people who share one body, though how that works exactly remains unclear, as Kerry seems able to leave Cary when she/he/they want, but he remains in the physical world as well. Still, the idea of her staying young because she’s not out as much as him is cool, as are their partnership parameters -- “He does the boring stuff, O.K.? … I get all the action. He makes me laugh, and I keep him safe.” (Kerry also offers to tell her “story” to Syd, which is just one of many stories contained within this episode. Does hers teach empathy or fear? Tune in next week…)
The action that Kerry is looking for does eventually come, and it’s a nice moment as she complains about the day’s non-stop talking before jumping out a second-story window to fight a bunch of mercenaries below. It’s also funny how her need for action could be read as a veiled commentary on the common comic-book fan who wants non-stop fights and chase scenes and superpowers in their fiction. Interestingly, when Kerry’s action scene does come it’s portrayed in a very non-standard fashion; it’s more music video than fight sequence, flashing to different characters immersed in sad moments while “Undiscovered First” by Feist plays.
Oliver’s Mr. Freeze lair by way of The Sonny and Cher Show is another new and strange element this week. Played by Flight of the Conchords' Jemaine Clement, Oliver breaks down for David what has happened to him, but the explanation is endlessly amusing as Oliver -- still living in 1973 or thereabouts -- asks about free love, practices his beat poetry, and plays annoying jazz LPs. All while the Devil with Yellow Eyes lurks outside and David tries to use his Amazing Powers to escape, to no avail.
No, in the end it comes down to Lenny -- or is that Benny? -- revealing to David that Syd is in trouble in order for him to break back into reality. The annoying presence of Aubrey Plaza earlier in the series has given way to her now being one of my favorite things each week somehow, perhaps because she’s grown from irritating poser to possible genuine malevolent force. But was it empathy for Syd -- or fear for her -- that got David out?
And that final shot of Lenny with that creepy hand. Is she the Devil with Yellow Eyes?!
Some notes:
- So many great quotes this week! “Bras are back.” “No offense, but compared to him, you’re a card trick.” “If that’s weird, I’m O.K. with it.” “Figure your s#!t out.” “This would be an awesome place to have a fight!”
- So the Eye is bulletproof? What are his powers, anyway?
- Poor Amy is still in captivity, though at least she made a friend this week in her neighboring prisoner, David’s old shrink Kissinger.
- Maybe if David really did have a dog as a kid he could’ve avoided all this trouble.
The Verdict
Legion is still going strong, branching out this week with some new and expanded characters and settings (and astral plane settings) while continuing to delve into the mystery that is at the center of David’s mind. “The past is an illusion,” says Ptonomy. The question when it comes to David is, is any of it real?
Aucun commentaire:
Enregistrer un commentaire