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Legion (FX's Marvel tv series) [SPOILERS]


AncalagonTheBlack

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Weekly viewing just doesn't satisfy any more.  I can accept two-part episodes provided I can determine the viewing gap.  Perhaps I should just wait for all of the remaining eps and then binge watch. 

I'm already holding off on Black Sails so I can binge the whole season over a couple of weeks, and may do the same with Fargo.

With Taboo, Legion and Fargo all airing on FX in quick succession, that channel has suddenly surged in relevance.  HBO and AMC are missing their recent heavyweights, and Starz just has Black Sails (and Outlander for my wife).

 

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16 hours ago, Iskaral Pust said:

Weekly viewing just doesn't satisfy any more.  I can accept two-part episodes provided I can determine the viewing gap.  Perhaps I should just wait for all of the remaining eps and then binge watch. 

I'm already holding off on Black Sails so I can binge the whole season over a couple of weeks, and may do the same with Fargo.

With Taboo, Legion and Fargo all airing on FX in quick succession, that channel has suddenly surged in relevance.  HBO and AMC are missing their recent heavyweights, and Starz just has Black Sails (and Outlander for my wife).

 

FX seems to have a lot of good/great shows but often fails to have a "flagship" show. While AMC and HBO have their "Mad Men" "breaking Bad" "Game of Thrones" and "Westworld" FX never seems to get a show that becomes a media sensation. Which is a shame because "Fargo" and "The Americans" are great shows but they've never became a "big thing".

There's no arguing that AMC are in a serious lull but seem happy with "Walking Dead" which proves viewership is nicer than critical praise at the end of the day.

You only need wait a week for binge watching the rest of Legion as it only has 8 episodes :)

There's that weird thing where weekly shows often work better as binge shows than the Netflix one and that's probably because those shows still know the importance of creating a hook for people to tune in next week. I think Legion sometimes thinks it's a binge release show which is why the episodic structure can sometimes be off. Luckily it's almost always captivating from episode to episode.

Black Sails would be epic as a binge watch this year - it's been excellent as a weekly appointment.

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I thought I was being smart by saving two weeks worth and watching them together. Didn't work so well this time as it looks like the last episode will tie in better with next weeks, at least I hope it does.

I still enjoyed the last episode, but it seems like it's going a little too far out there, hopefully it reels itself back in next episode. I did like learning the "history" if you will of the shadow king thing. I don't know these characters at all other than from the show so it was nice to get a little more on him.

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Gotta say, I was pretty disappointed with this episode. :/ And this is coming from someone who absolutely loved episodes 1-6 (yes, even 6, which I thought had a very enjoyable ambiance).

I felt like the way they "tied" this all together (before promptly unraveling it all again) was so abrupt, convoluted, and unsatisfying. Just casually namedropping the shadow king like that (which, if you don't have a background in comic books, like me, didn't make much sense/mean much), all of the shenanigans with Oliver, which I felt wasn't clearly explained... I don't know, it just seemed kinda dumb. I did really like the black and white silent movie era thing though when Lenni killed that creepy ass dude.

I dunno, hopefully they can do better with the last episode, which is sure to be jam packed with action.  

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The revelation of David's past was completely telling and not showing, but the way the showrunners went about telling the viewer worked for me. The blackboard lecture was creative with his rational mind helping him figure it out. Also, David's rational mind being British, haha.

@IamMe90 , I enjoyed the episode, but understand your opinion. Some aspects of the episode seemed rather straightforward and others a bit confusing. I'm chalking that up to differences between David's rational mind and all his irrational minds. Doesn't work consistently in all cases, namely Oliver, but works for most.

The name drop of the villain is obscure for non comic book readers, but the explanation of David's past makes the name irrelevant. You only need to know the villains past with David.

I also loved David giving us a glimpse of what he is capable of. And Oliver is awesome. Barbershop quartet :)

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I just love this show, I never know what they are going to do next. I don't even care that there is barely much going on storywise, when there is so much creativity and joy in the show I just want to keep watching. 

The Chalkboard segment was brilliant, really off the wall and imaginiative. Loved that quirky Patrick Steward impression in there as well.

Jemaine Clement was hilarious in every scene 'Is she Chinese?' hahah

Didn't love the Black and White sequence, but that they actually did that makes me respect the show even more.

Wish Dan Stevens would use his British Accent more, he's better in his native tongue.

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I really enjoyed this episode, although I had miscounted and thought this was the season finale already.  I was pretty disappointed about the ending until I checked and saw that it was only ep7.

Was Oliver that funny the last time?  I remember him being whimsical but he seemed much funnier this time.  Now he seems badly under-used.

The info dump reveal of David's history seems heavy handed deus ex machina if I describe it, but it worked in the episode and it was nice to have an alternative to the usual reveal via therapist questioning, whether Lenny, Melanie, or whoever.  I would have guessed from the animation that his father is Professor X, even if it had not been mentioned in this thread.  It's a bit tidy that he could suddenly control his powers but I'll accept that he needed to snap himself free of King's influence/control to do so and that is exactly what the intervention by the rational mind represented.

Kerry fleeing the Watcher in this episode and the past just seems like a pointless subplot.

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I thought this episode was excellent (and it definitely works as a Part 2/2 from last episode). 

The chalkboard sequence does seem like a big infodump, but I think it works fine because (a) the show has been utilising unreliable memories and characters throughout, so we needed some way of sorting everything out; and (b) it was done very creatively in a way that didn't bore me.

My favourite part though was the black and white segment (and not just because that was where Plaza showed up). I was on the edge of my seat throughout that part, from the moment Oliver started doing his thing (to the Bolero if I'm not mistaken?) to David catching the bullets. Oliver's powers are unclear but seems like he was constructing a barrier from his mind. His powers were said to be like David's so it doesn't seem so odd really that he could do something like that. 

Speaking of Oliver, I loved his weird quirkiness and memory lapses. 

I do wonder why Ptolemy wasn't really in this episode apart from a brief appearance when they woke up. They even included the wheelchair guy (who's name I don't know) but omitted this character we actually know and care about. Not a big issue but it jumped out at me.

Kerry being chased seemed superfluous but I guess it gives some depth and conflict to the relationship between her and Cary. And, well, Shadow King wanted them all to suffer and psychologically torment them. I'd say she succeeded.

I will be curious how they get out of the situation at the end. I guess Shadow King will emerge (since the "coffin" broke at the end) and things will go to shit for everyone, saving Syd and the others before they're shot. Or maybe David will just show off his powers again. Whatever happens, I can't wait for the finale. 

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1 hour ago, Iskaral Pust said:

 

Kerry fleeing the Watcher in this episode and the past just seems like a pointless subplot.

 

31 minutes ago, HelenaExMachina said:

 

Kerry being chased seemed superfluous but I guess it gives some depth and conflict to the relationship between her and Cary. And, well, Shadow King wanted them all to suffer and psychologically torment them. I'd say she succeeded.

 

I have to laugh at Cary looking more an more beat up in every scene since Kerry's been fighting the last two episodes.

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2 minutes ago, Corvinus said:

So how did Oliver return to the real world?

I wondered that. But then I assumed because he was present as Syd and co. returned to their bodies he was also returned to his. 

And I think (though I am not certain) it was a choice he made to remain in the astral plain. Or perhaps he was stuck but interacting with David made him realise how to escape 

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I thought this was awesome. Loved everything about that episode. I agree about the info dumps but they were done with such flair that I was never bored. Just an incredible show.

Also, special mention to Aubrey Plaza. She deserves an Emmy for that episode. Unbelievable.

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When Oliver was in David's mind, and Lenny kicked him out / made him fade from the room, I assume he was kicked out to the real world then, not back to the astral plane.  To the Shadow King that might have been the only safe thing to do to keep Oliver from returning to David's mind and taking action against him.

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I thought that mostly a good episode, although the last section felt a bit rushed. The silent movie scenes were great, and David's conversation with his rational mind was a good way of delivering the exposition.

22 hours ago, HelenaExMachina said:

I do wonder why Ptolemy wasn't really in this episode apart from a brief appearance when they woke up. They even included the wheelchair guy (who's name I don't know) but omitted this character we actually know and care about. Not a big issue but it jumped out at me.

I did wonder about that as well, since he did get some scenes focusing on him in the previous episode it's a bit strange they completely forgot about him this time, at least until they got back to the real world.

I will be curious how they get out of the situation at the end. I guess Shadow King will emerge (since the "coffin" broke at the end) and things will go to shit for everyone, saving Syd and the others before they're shot. Or maybe David will just show off his powers again. Whatever happens, I can't wait for the finale. 

Given how their previous confrontation with David went, I don't think much of Division 3's plan to show up with lots of men with guns. It's also very convenient for the plot that they've suddenly been able to find Summerland just now. I wonder if the halo is going to interfere with David using his powers, so if he wants to save his friends he might have to take it off.

The Shadow King seemed to be searching for something when he was interrogating David's sister, I wonder what it is?

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On ‎3‎/‎23‎/‎2017 at 5:22 PM, Channel4s-JonSnow said:

I just love this show, I never know what they are going to do next. I don't even care that there is barely much going on storywise, when there is so much creativity and joy in the show I just want to keep watching. 

The Chalkboard segment was brilliant, really off the wall and imaginiative. Loved that quirky Patrick Steward impression in there as well.

Jemaine Clement was hilarious in every scene 'Is she Chinese?' hahah

Didn't love the Black and White sequence, but that they actually did that makes me respect the show even more.

Wish Dan Stevens would use his British Accent more, he's better in his native tongue.

agree.... on every point, except that I also liked the black and white/vaudeville segment....

Dan Stevens talking to himself in an English accent was both smart and funny

Clement is a monster.... he is killing it....

Chalkboard Xavier = fantastic

The Eye's exit scene was wild....

But the thing I loved most about this episode is that they kind of explained everything.... made it easier to follow for a dolt like me

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On 23/03/2017 at 11:46 PM, Iskaral Pust said:

I would have guessed from the animation that his father is Professor X, even if it had not been mentioned in this thread.

We also saw the distinctive wheel of his chair in Amy's flashback at the start of the episode.

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That episode was a return to form (the last episode seems to have been a blip in pacing).

His powers creating a rational him to put things together was a fun way of bringing about some revelations and the animated sequences were a visually entertaining way of doing the info dump. The permed hair guy's death was brutal and yet again demmostrated how this show is a horror show. Same for that shit-my-pants moment where the angriest boy in the world appeared again.

I was a bit confused with what Jemaine Clement was doing outside his cage - was he being imprisoned in the astral plane by the Shadow King all that time and that's why he's now out or am i missing something? Nice to get confirmation on the Shadow King from the show - I was confident it was him from the yellow eyed demon in the pilot. Just a shame it stops him from being a villain on the big screen - although after X-men:Apocalypse I think we've got a far more interesting take on the character via the small screen.

Aubrey Plaza has me thinking we lost out on a Harley Quinn that would have worked wonders with Ledger's Joker and I'm left wondering if there are any other comic villains she could do.

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21 hours ago, red snow said:

I was a bit confused with what Jemaine Clement was doing outside his cage - was he being imprisoned in the astral plane by the Shadow King all that time and that's why he's now out or am i missing something? Nice to get confirmation on the Shadow King from the show - I was confident it was him from the yellow eyed demon in the pilot. Just a shame it stops him from being a villain on the big screen - although after X-men:Apocalypse I think we've got a far more interesting take on the character via the small screen.

I assumed the Shadow King booted him out of the astral plane while he was mid symphony. She is certainly powerful enough to do it and it's not like he was caged there; he was just lost or stuck (or so I assumed).

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