I have nothing but respect for Wisecrack, in fact I would even site them as an influence on my style of blogging (other video essayists I would honour in the way being Nerdsync and Lindsay Ellis). But they recently published a video on the TV show Legion looking for the core philosophy of the series, and I think they missed this so I thought I would write a piece all about what I believe the shows message was.
So what is the Philosophy of FX’s Legion; that hatred and cruelty create more hatred and cruelty so be kind. Which I think is suspiciously like the philosophy of The X-men, funny that it’s almost like they’re connected.
SPOILERS AHEAD!!! Why did you open this if you haven’t watched the show?
Legion is the story of David Haller, recovery drug-addict, misdiagnosed paranoid schizophrenic and unreliable narrator. When the series opens David is in an asylum being tortured by Lenny and crushing on Syd, both of whom at this point may or may not exist as David is the only person in the asylum who they talk to. By the second episode of the series David has been recruited into a para-military mutant team with Syd (now confirmed to be a real woman), and as the first season wraps up we find out than Lenny is actually the Shadow-king a powerful mutant wanting revenge on David’s father (at this point implied but not confirmed to be Professor Charles Xavier) for defeating him in psychic combat when David was still a baby. Over the first two seasons David grows to be a better person and even by the end of the second season he has defeated the Shadow-king in an astral duel choreographed to Behind Blue Eyes by The Who, and at the moment David is winning in the duel is the verse that includes “If I swallow anything evil” and “If I shiver give me a blanket” both of which being admissions of wanting help. The second series wasn’t all happy sailing for David as a future version of Syd told of how he would bring about the apocalypse, this sowing seeds of distrust towards David which lead them to believe without question that he raped Syd, ignoring completely that the Shadow-king an immensely powerful and manipulative telepath capable to creating illusions could’ve faked this to get revenge.
At the beginning of the 3rd season, the Not X-men have teamed up with the Shadow-King to stop David who has started a cult full of lost hippies that get high of the bottled love pheromone he produces with his mind. The Not X-men then try to stop David and he has them all join him in a version of What’s so Funny about Peace, Love and Understanding by Elvis Costello (this is of course somewhat hypocritical of David as from being hounded by the “Heroes” he vaporised all of his cult and his ex-girlfriend). The remaining episodes are mostly about David trying to travel back in time to prevent his life going wrong, which we know could be successful or fail miserable as Episode 14 which was part of Season 2 also showed alternate version of David one of which he was a business man who used his telepathy to get ahead and another timeline he was a homeless drug addict.
After being vaporised Syd’s mind is now found on the Astral Plane (a world that exists purely as thought and metaphor) but now as a baby and is given a second childhood raised by two other lost minds acting as her parents. They also take in another lost girl who gets seduced away from their fairy tale lifestyle by the Big Bad wolf, a psychic entity who can be best described as an edge-lord. The kind of guy who makes an unfunny racist joke and thinks it’s the best joke ever because it will offend “libtards”. He is of course defeated in a Rap Battle by her adopted father who defeats him with a verse about how “puppies aren’t afraid of me” and “he gets more hugs than hate mail” with the finishing blow of “I sleep well at night knowing people love me, can you say that”.
The final episodes of Legion have David in the past, on the days when his father met Amahl Farouk (better known as the Shadow King) and trying to ensure his father defeats him in a way that won’t allow him to escape. Of course the Not X-men and present time Amahl Farouk make it to this time as well. Syd and another member of their team protect Baby David and his mother, because during her time in the Astral Plane Syd has realised that Baby David is innocent. Whilst still believing current David might be a lost cause but that baby has done nothing wrong, his future isn’t determined. The Telepaths duel, David and Past Amahl Farouk duel with all their powers, but Charles and Future Farouk sit down and talk. Charles and Future Amahl reach an agreement, so David’s life will not be destroyed. The Shadow King shows his past self psychically his future and he realises not even he should be that cruel. David and his mother sings Mother by Pink Floyd but with it recontextualised. To be about how she will protect her son rather than how she will stifle him with paranoia.
We end with the versions of Syd and David that we knew ceasing to exist and being erased so that new better ones can take their place, a rebirth and this time for David without somebody trying to make him miserable.
Of course Legion could also just be a story, to quote the first season “there are two sorts of stories, those created to keep us safe… and those created to teach empathy” but even with what it says about the nature of stories, empathy is a form of kindness.
But even if I’m wrong about Noah Hawley’s series, I got a positive message from the show and loved the story he told so I’m better off being wrong on this one.
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