That was basically … magnificent. Have no idea where they’ll go with it but I’m in.
Tonight’s episode wasn’t as mind-trippy as the premiere, but starts to explain some of the backstory while still keeping the ‘something is wrong’ vibe going.
Really liking the music they choose, particularly for the end credits.
Liked it pretty well. Following what’s real and what’s not wasn’t too difficult, and I hope they’re careful with it. The unreliable narrator thing feels a lot like Mr. Robot and that show just about blew it last season. It can turn into a cheap time-wasting gimmick pretty fast.
The lead actor reminds me of Ben Stiller half the time.
Watched the second ep but if they said, I missed it. What’s Sydney’s power? Was that swapping with David her power?
Syd’s power seems to be body-switching by touch, except that when the power’s effect ends the bodies bounce back instead of the minds. So, Syd’s mind in David’s body was in the car, power ends and suddenly Syd’s mind in Syd’s body is in the car. Same with David’s mind in Syd’s body in the café, suddenly it’s David’s mind in David’s body there.
Which, really, could have used an explanation. And there was a perfect opportunity for Syd to explain while she and David were on the swingset, too.
I really liked the slowed down exploration into David’s past and the manifestation of his powers. It was really well done and I have high hopes that the heights they scaled in the pilot will continue.
You know he’s from Downton Abbey … which is a kind of trip all of itself 
Only seen the first show so far .
I don’t normally care for changes between comics and shows/movies, but it would have been damn hard to work Legion’s severe autism in and still make him a very interesting character (he was always pretty damn boring in the comics, for that matter, only really interesting because of who his father is), so I’ll allow it.
The look of the show is probably the best thing about it. Reminds me of a Kubrick movie.
The Shadow King (I’m assuming that’s who it is) looks really gross.
Agreed. And that reminds me that I had to immediately look up online what the opening song was, because apparently I’m going senile.
It was Road to Nowhere by Talking Heads, of course.
I’m also enjoying this show. The opening of the pilot (The Happy Jack scene) was just crazy good.
It was indeed.
E2: well, it’s starting to take conventional form with girl/boy, organised resistance to the authoritarians and the newly ID’d Special One being shown how to use his skill.
It may well still have intelligent to say about how society views and treats mental illness, or it could just continue to conform with a pretty standard Star Wars type quest to overthrow the evildoers.
Myself, I’d be absolutely fine with that as long as it continues with the current quality of writing/performance/production. Social commentary is fine, but so is well done escapism :).
Legion stopped being portrayed as “autistic” quite a while ago in the comics. What I’d consider the definitive run for his character - and what this series seems to be based on - is the most recent (~2012) X-Men Legacy series.
In it, David is an active personality/protagonist, trying to deal with all the personalities/powers in his mind and do something proactive for mutants at the same time. It’s a good series.
So is anybody else getting a kind of Scientology/cult-ish vibe with the scenes in Summerland? I mean, the device they used to examine David’s memories looked a lot like the handles on an E-Meter, and the whole process kind of like an audit. Also, the lingo—‘memory work’, ‘talk work’, ‘doing the work’… Plus, when David wants to leave to aid a family member who’s worried about him, he’s immediately dissuaded, again with a reference to ‘doing the work’. Also, of course, psychiatry is evil in Scientology. I was half expecting a reference to going clear…
So I thought I’d check this out, as it’s getting such good buzz.
Uh. Nope.
Life’s too short for this kind of nonsense. I have already given up on the headache-inducing Mr Robot because of this twisted off-kilter surreality, I don’t need even more of it.
Yes totally, and I thought there was a reference to getting “clear” but I am not sure.
In re the 2/22 episode: this continues to be very well-made–the material itself isn’t all that innovative, but the way it’s presented is intelligent and creative. I’m feeling genuine concern for the safety of these characters.
Next episode (#4) will be halfway through the series - and I have no idea where they are going with this, or what is going to happen to the characters. That’s fairly remarkable in and of itself. Also, each episode has had its own wildly different mood - #1 chaotic and disorienting, #2 tense and foreboding, #3 scary and disquieting - yet it’s all fitting together quite well (so far).
So while they may be playing with the same concepts - “mutants”, superpowers, etc. - as some other series, I think they way they’re using them to tell the story is pretty innovative (so far).
I’m a bit afraid it’ll all collapse like a house of cards before the end, though.
I’m loving it so far. It’s true that it’s not innovative plotwise but how they are telling the story, both visually and through editing is great. All the actors are great, but Dan Stevens is especially impressive.
For the latest episode, did anyone recognize the computer’s voice? It sounded a lot like Jemaine Clement but I wasn’t sure if it was him and didn’t see him listed in imdb.
It is him, he also does the random announcements you hear over the intercom.
That fable about the crane-daughter* is not only a warning about trying to find secrets ending up ruining your prosperity, but the crane was weaving the cloth from her feathers, and had plucked herself raw.
If Melanie was a little more genre-aware, she’d’ve figured out how that related to her and David…
- Originally, it’s a crane-wife, I believe.