TV Review: Legion (Season 2, Episode 1)

More mind-altering action sequences, more unexpected dance sequences, and plenty more crazy. 

The second season of FX’s Legion premiered on Tuesday night, and we have many questions.

For those unfamiliar with the show, (if that is the case, you are seriously missing out), Legion, based on the Marvel Comics by Chris Claremont and Bill Sienkiewicz, follows the story of David Haller (Dan Stevens), a troubled young man who may be more than just human.

If you thought season one was perplexing, nothing will prepare you for this new series. The opening sequence literally starts with a narrator describing a maze full of twists and turns, and if that isn’t foreshadowing for the new season, then I don’t know what is.

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With the events that unfolded in regards to ‘The Shadow King’ vacating David (Dan Stevens) and switching to Oliver (Jemaine Clement), one might assume that the proceeding story is about to cut back on the amount of crazy. Right? Wrong.

Storywise, it's been one year, well technically 362 days, since David was swept off in a mystical orb, although he is convinced that he has only been gone for no more than a few hours. The remaining members of the team have since amalgamated into what is known as ‘Division 3’, joining the organisation that previously hunted them.

Further on, we learn that the Shadow King is in the midst of a world wide search for his original body, in order to gain ‘full’ potential power, which is unfortunate for anyone who crosses his path, given his chilling superpower which causes unsuspecting victims to become completely frozen - except for their teeth, which chatter persistently. Honestly, if you thought World War Z was bad enough, this will drive you insane.

Just when we believe the pace to be uncharacteristically poised, we are thrown into an intense, yet incredible, dance battle sequence between David, Oliver and Lenny (Aubrey Plaza). Why, you ask? Why not! (It's Legion, what did you expect?)

A new addition to the already powerful collective of characters, is a man who wears a wicker basket on his head, who also just so happens to be the new leader of Division 3, alongside, literally, three androgynous ‘robots’ who serve as the leader’s brain. 

Despite the new character(s) and plot, the trippy and aesthetically pleasing visuals are just as innovative and astonishing, if not more so than the previous season. The tone actually comes across as more humorous in comparison, demonstrated in an amusing scene between David and the interrogator, involving ice-cream. (Tempted to watch yet?)

Overall, if the rest of the new season is anything like this first episode, I am absolutely invested, intrigued, and a little terrified, to find out what happens in the forthcoming chapters.

Legion airs on FOX, every Tuesday at 9pm.