"Chapter 19" is the eleventh episode and second season finale of Legion, and the nineteenth episode overall.[1]
Synopsis
David fights the future.
Plot
Robert Daltrey would be very pleased with the intro. Our first image is the tuning fork crash landing somewhere in the plains, from the previous episode where Farouk sends it spiraling off. Recall that the tuning fork was a weapon devised to 'level the playing field' and strip Farouk (or others) of their powers depending on the frequency it was struck. The next scene is David Haller seemingly floating through the plains, all the while singing The Who's "Behind Blue Eyes". This is then mirrored as we see the same thing from Farouk, who is levitating, and also uttering the words of "Behind Blue Eyes" in Farsi.
The scene thing split screens and turns into a (wonderful) animated/live action hybrid shot.
The two finally meet face to face, and the first 'strike' occurs. The audience is treated to a back and forth of animated bliss as each takes on the form of some warrior or creature or machine as they duke it out.
As the battle is entirely mental these manifestations give us viewers a glimpse as to what is happening on the astral plane. We see Farouk disguise himself as Syd briefly and David hesitates, and even turn into this Cthulu like psionic, and wrap himself around Farouk.
As the two square off, Lenny is leagues away, staring down the scope of the sniper rifle aimed at the two. She shifts her gaze towards the displaced tuning fork and fires a shot at it cause it to resonant. This gives David the break he needs and breaks from from Farouk's momentary upper hand.
At a pivotal climax, we're sped forward 3 years and are shown a documentary style clip of Melaine and Oliver Bird. They have indeed been reunited as per Melaine's "cooperation" with Farouk. It becomes apparent though that both are not entirely mentally stable, as they fumble and mispeak words and often don't make sense. It's revealed that they're bodies are actually hidden somewhere and that what we are seeing are their conscious manifestations. They seem to 'live' now inside the same icy area where Oliver resided and both appear to be quite happy together and spend time reading, cooking and frolicking, though they do lament that they do indeed miss their coworkers…in particular "Glasses McLabcoat". The conversation becomes more serious as they reveals that Sydney was betrayed by David somehow after the battle with Farouk ended.
We jump back to the fight with David and Farouk, and the metaphysical, astral battle has ended and David is literally ontop of Farouk, pummeling him on the verge of killing him. Sydney arrives, holding the decapitated head of the Minotaur. Sydney who in the previous episode was influenced by Melanie to grow heavily suspicious of David, pulls a gun on him, and confronts him about his dark side. She tells him of her visions of him torturing Oliver and killing the Division three troops and enjoying it. She relates all of this to women who marry serial killers and not knowing their other, darker side. David tries to defend himself saying that the killing of the Division 3 staff was when he was under Farouk's control. He tries to reason with her, but she's convinced otherwise and pulls the trigger.
David wakes to the looping narration of John Hamm (the Wise) about the spreading of delusion and how it starts as an idea. He then gets into an argument with himself, trying to seemingly convince himself that he's the hero of this story.
The seen switches back to the desert faceoff and Lenny see's Syd holding David at gunpoint through her rifle. Lenny, who apparently should be on the Navy Seals sniper elite team, shoots down the bullet that is fired by Syd. Once she's fired, her location is found out by D.3, and she's chased down. Recall that while technically she's helping David, she did break out of Division 3's custody. Lenny runs to escape, but D3 and Fukyama, pick her up.
Farouk awakes after the pummeling by David, and is surrounded by D3, the Vermillions, Fukyama, and Kerry. They place a mechanical 'collar' on him that seems to control his abilities. He and Lenny are taken into custody by Division 3. We're then given an emo montage scene of David and Syd contemplating their relationship (or the universe). David, who has been arguing with 3 different 'versions' of himself, is talking about how he can still salvage the relationship between he and Syd, and eventually astro-projects himself into Syd's room. He proposes that after the trial of Farouk they go off together. She seemingly accepts this, and despite not having trusted him just prior, now seems okay with him…
After he's done "talking" with Syd he then goes to visit the captured Farouk, who's been mentally "chained". David antagonizes Farouk, telling him that if Division 3 doesn't kill him tomorrow after his trial, then he will. Farouk then reveals to us that the reason why Syd has changed her opinion of David, back to now trusting him, is because he has manipulated her memories, after they had their stand off in the desert. (after Lenny blasted the bullet from the air). David denies this, saying that she just forgot and had to be reminded how much he loved her…Farouk then reverses the tables and accuses David of tricking and manipulating her.
Sticking with this theme of suggestion and manipulation, later, Farouk is visited by a mouse whom he grabs and whispers to, and sends it off. In a bit of Gandalf like inspiration, the mouse goes and wanders into Syd's room and seemingly relays the message into Syd's sleeping ear.
The next day during the trial, Clarke congratulates and thanks David for bringing Farouk in. David senses something is wrong here, and before he can move to escapes, he's trapped by Cary in some sort of containment field which is shaped with rings (like those of rings on a 3D model of an atom) . Farouk emerges in the 'courtroom'confronting the trapped David. Syd, Fukyama, the Vermillion, Syd, Cary, and Kerry are all present. They present David with the fact that there is a 98% chance he will be responsible for destroying the world or at least causing mass death in the coming days. When David is first told that he is mentally ill his other personalities tell him he should have seen it coming and also that "they're just small-minded animals, terrified of what they can't comprehend". David tells the personalities to shut up out loud and everyone in the room registers that he's talking to people who aren't there. They offer him help in the form of medication and therapy as they grown to believe him to be truly mentally ill. David rejects this, refusing to be drugged and 'neutered' again "David, the zombie". The Vermillion reluctantly tell him that if he doesn't comply they'll have to kill him. David stands of in thought, trying to console himself, calls back to the delusion his 'rational' personality told him he had "I'm a good person, I deserve love", introspective for a bit finally has had enough and breaks free of the orb that's containing him, teleports into the cell that's hold Lenny, frees her, and they both teleport out after David deflects the bullets. Clarke, Syd enter after some D3 troops enter just as they vanish…
Cast and characters
Main Cast
- Dan Stevens as David Haller
- Rachel Keller as Sydney Barrett
- Aubrey Plaza as Lenny Busker
- Bill Irwin as Cary Loudermilk
- Navid Negahban as Amahl Farouk
- Jemaine Clement as Oliver Bird
- Jeremie Harris as Ptonomy Wallace (credit only)
- Amber Midthunder as Kerry Loudermilk
- Hamish Linklater as Clark Debussy
- Jean Smart as Melanie Bird
Co-Starring
- Jelly Howie as Vermillion #1
- Brittney Parker Rose as Vermillion #2
- Lexa Gluck as Vermillion #3
- Marc Oka as Admiral Fukyama
- Jon Hamm as Narrator
Trivia
- Season 2 was originally going to conclude with ten episodes until Noah Hawley added this episode to bring the season to a total of eleven episodes.[2]
- David refers to himself as "Omega", which is a reference to his status as an omega level mutant in the comics.[3][4][5][6]
- The opening song of the episode is a cover of Behind Blue Eyes originally by The Who, but the episode uses a version with an instrumental produced by series composer Jeff Russo.
Gallery
To be added
References
- ↑ Legion - Episode 2.11 - Chapter 19 (Season Finale) - Promo + Press Release
- ↑ Season 2 Gets an Extra Episode
- ↑ New Mutants Vol 3 #4
- ↑ New Mutants Vol 3 #5
- ↑ Uncanny X-Men #525
- ↑ New Mutants Vol 3 #14