*** Legion (FX X-Men Series) ***

31,822 Views | 242 Replies | Last: 5 yr ago by Definitely Not A Cop
Bobcat06
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Quote:

IGN: What's your visual inspiration with Legion? Bill Sienkiewicz's art for New Mutants [the comic that introduced Legion] was so amazing and distinctive, but it seems unlikely you could do literal translation of that.

Hawley: It has its own visual aesthetic to it, and part of that is being a story kind of out of time and out of place. And the design of a show has to have its own internal logic. You know, you mentioned Hannibal earlier and that show is a great example of something that had this almost fetishistic beauty to everything that you saw, whether it was food or violence. Once we started going down a path of a sort of, for whatever reason, mid-60s British design aesthetic, you have to follow that down the rabbit hole. But those visuals are really powerful. I think that's why the comics resonate so much, and why those characters are so easy to reinvent by new artists, because suddenly it looks different it looks completely different. When Frank Miller comes in, that's a different Batman, you know?
http://www.ign.com/articles/2016/08/29/legion-noah-hawley-on-his-surreal-approach-and-casting-dan-stephens-for-the-marvel-adaptation


Hawley says the show is done in 1960s style, not that it was set in the 1960s.
fig96
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TCTTS said:

This is a show in which an ancient, obese, mutant demon ghost haunts the mind of an all-powerful telekinetic drug addict who at one point traverses an astral plane to visit a man living inside a giant floating ice cube while said man's telepathic wife, a girl who can switch bodies with whoever touches her, a black guy who can enter anyone's memories, and girl who literally lives inside a man subconsciously search for the all-powerful telekinetic, who may or may not be in the form of a young boy... and you're questioning the existence of 99 Luftballoons in this universe?
I think I have a post on the BvS thread that sounds a lot like this.
benMath08
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The fact that everything is so out "out of time" is just another point in the argument that everything, or most things, are in his head.
The Debt
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FL_Ag1998 said:

Ugh, this week's episode was just painful to slog through. Sooooo much unnecessary "look at how cerebral and clever I'm being" nonsense. Nothing of substance until the last two minutes of the show. The first 45 minutes should have been reduced to maybe 5 minutes of screentime. And I dont care if it is from the creator of Fargo, that alone doesnt make it good. This show doesnt hold a candle to Fargo.

Somehow sitting around psychoanalyzing characters I don't care about is suppose to be clever. These creators spent too much effort on 60s decor and not enough on a plot that intrigues the audience.

Like I said from episode 1: too much Girl, Interrupted. Can't build a story around a psych ward.
AggieTFA06
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I'm into the 3rd episode, and so far this show sucks. Major disappointment. Slow storyline. Absolutely boring.

To 1,000,000 touchdowns ...and beyond
Madmarttigan
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It does not get any better.

Capitol Ag
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I'm actually enjoying this show a lot. I think it's interesting to figure out. But also, I think it helped to follow this thread first. It prepared me for what to expect. I was an avid Spider-Man reader growing up but never liked all the multidimensional stuff and other story lines. I liked to keep it simple. Battle Greenie, Hobie, whatever. Just don't go too "out there", I thought. But ironically the movies like X-Men and Avengers have given me an appreciation for the more diverse storylines now. Moreover, once one of you explained the X comic history and the astral plain, it clicked. Tonight I watched Dr Strange for the first time b/c of it (and I'm aware that movie universe isn't the same as this show's). Then episode 4 of Legion as that was next for me in the series and I loved it. I enjoyed seeing two different interpretations of the astral plain and of learning about the parasite King and that he's essentially a marvel supervillIan. I get the episodes can drone on but to me it's perfect in a way. What's real? What's not? That's the point. We are going to have to find out.

And I am a huge FOTC fan. So to see Jemaine was awesome and I loved his performance.
CorpsAg11
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This show sucks. It had a really good first episode which drew me in but it seems like they had no real direction after that. It's gotten so GD weird at this point that there's no way they reel it back in and actually tell a story.

The Matrix Revolutions comparison was a really good one. Too much pseudo intellectual fluff and no purpose.
Trident 88
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I'm enjoying it. The acting, writing, etc. are all excellent, so I'm actually not minding that they're taking their sweet time moving the story along.
redline248
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Here's my question to those of you who say they story isn't moving along:

What did you expect to happen?

Early, we thought maybe the show would be about whatever group rescued David vs Division 3 in a war...but really it's about David's battle for control with the monster. The story has definitely moved along that path. With David gradually learning more about his power and getting more awareness, the monster has ramped up its countermeasures, going so far as to mentally enslave an entire group of people rather than just David. I think we're starting to see it lose its patience and some limitation to its power, since some of the characters are slipping outside its control.
benMath08
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redline248 said:

Here's my question to those of you who say they story isn't moving along:

What did you expect to happen?

Early, we thought maybe the show would be about whatever group rescued David vs Division 3 in a war...but really it's about David's battle for control with the monster. The story has definitely moved along that path. With David gradually learning more about his power and getting more awareness, the monster has ramped up its countermeasures, going so far as to mentally enslave an entire group of people rather than just David. I think we're starting to see it lose its patience and some limitation to its power, since some of the characters are slipping outside its control.
I don't think anyone has a problem with the plot itself, just that it's moving way too slowly and feels like it has a lot of self-indulgent scenes for the filmmakers.
redline248
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I guess in comparison to something like The Flash, where there's multiple villains throughout a season, it can feel slow. But for an 8 episode story arc, it's really not.
Madmarttigan
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It really isn't that the plot is bad or anything. I would describe this show as having a really cool story told in the worst ambiguous way just for the sake of being weird and artsy.

The dancing scene with Lenny just almost made me turn it off, like what in the world is the point? We know king is getting off on controlling David but they throw that in just to waste time and be weird.
TCTTS
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Bingo.
benMath08
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If this were a Netflix show I could watch over a few days maybe it wouldn't feel slow. Having to wait a week between episodes is really annoying sometimes.
Bobcat06
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benMath08 said:

redline248 said:

Here's my question to those of you who say they story isn't moving along:

What did you expect to happen?

Early, we thought maybe the show would be about whatever group rescued David vs Division 3 in a war...but really it's about David's battle for control with the monster. The story has definitely moved along that path. With David gradually learning more about his power and getting more awareness, the monster has ramped up its countermeasures, going so far as to mentally enslave an entire group of people rather than just David. I think we're starting to see it lose its patience and some limitation to its power, since some of the characters are slipping outside its control.
I don't think anyone has a problem with the plot itself, just that it's moving way too slowly and feels like it has a lot of self-indulgent scenes for the filmmakers.


You expected a series by the show runner of Fargo not to be weird and artsy?
MaroonStain
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This series is incredible! Takes me almost an hour to fully return to reality after watching an episode.
FL_Ag1998
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tv1113 said:

It really isn't that the plot is bad or anything. I would describe this show as having a really cool story told in the worst ambiguous way just for the sake of being weird and artsy.

The dancing scene with Lenny just almost made me turn it off, like what in the world is the point? We know king is getting off on controlling David but they throw that in just to waste time and be weird.


This hit the nail on the head.
Sex Panther
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tv1113 said:

It really isn't that the plot is bad or anything. I would describe this show as having a really cool story told in the worst ambiguous way just for the sake of being weird and artsy.

The dancing scene with Lenny just almost made me turn it off, like what in the world is the point? We know king is getting off on controlling David but they throw that in just to waste time and be weird.



I understand this rationale completely, and there's definitely examples of that all over... but that was one of my favorite scenes of the entire show so far.
redline248
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This was totally worth everything:

rshackelford
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DIfferent tastes I suppose. I'm definitely on the pro-Legion team here. This has turned out to easily be one of my favorite series I've seen. I absolutely love the style and pace. It's exactly what I prefer. The script, acting, production, writing, and general aura of it are just fantastic. This also coming from someone who loved comics as a kid, but haven't been able to watch more than 5 minutes of ANY marvel or D.C. Television series. They're all about as cheesy and lame as I can imagine until this one came along. The reference to the flash was perfect. It's the exact opposite. Lame effects, bad production, bad acting, cheesy writing, plot moves as fast as the flash runs. Legion is slower paced, the acting and script are more of a cinematic quality, and the overall stage just seems to respect itself more than other marvel shows.
MooreTrucker
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redline248 said:

This was totally worth everything:


Not to take away from the hotness of this scene, but wasn't her character actually written as a guy?
redline248
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MooreTrucker said:

redline248 said:

This was totally worth everything:


Not to take away from the hotness of this scene, but wasn't her character actually written as a guy?
Way to take away from the hotness of the scene
reb,
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The dancing scene, in addition to being hot af, demonstrated that Lenny had unfettered access to David's mind. Every place in the sequence was somewhere David had been and had memories of. Lenny can literally shake her ass throughout the gamut, tearing **** up...a most rude houseguest, partying like a rockstar.

Aubrey Plaza makes this show worth watching for me. She is mesmerizing.
The White Wolf
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I just started the show and watched chapters 1-6 over weekend and even rewatched chapter 1 again last night. I was talking about this show at the office with some coworkers and each had mixed opinions like a lot of you in here. Some loved it and others were watching it but constantly thinking about giving up. I think when this show is fully available to be binge watched, it will be a much more enjoyable experience. I agree with the way the plot has moved through the first 6 chapters that at times it's a little slow or can feel like parts are just taking up space. Even some of the character dynamics don't make the most sense to me. Having said that, I definitely believe Hawley will come through.

Where some people describe it as faux intellectual and too weird, I think that's definitely the point of this first season. We and David are both trying to figure out how this all works. I'm betting that when this season finishes, it'll really set the stage for what's to come. I also believe as the whole series continues, these mega-bizarre scenes that are just so far out there will start to all make a lot more sense. I just refuse to believe that it would be written any other way. That may be giving Hawley far too much credit, but I think this show is going to take off in a big way when it's fully available.

As someone who is rarely truly intrigued by a lot of today's TV shows, I honestly cannot wait to see the final 2 chapters and hoping the payoff is worth it.
The White Wolf
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Lol nvm
Shelton98
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I think that was the episode we've all been waiting on.
redline248
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I love this show so much.
kubiak03
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Very good episode

Also like the small things. how Lenny got more disheveled as it was losing control of David and the talking British discussions
Shelton98
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I was curious as to how the writers were going to convey the comic book background of this show to us non-comic book viewers in the limited amount of screen time they had left. They did it in about 10 minutes.
bobinator
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I really like this show, but I'm glad some pieces are finally falling into place because I figured if they didn't it wouldn't have enough viewers to keep going.

One thing that keeps throwing me is that most of the last several episodes were taking place inside David's head, so how does Oliver have power in there? I get how the "King" has power in there (I think...) since it shares David's body, but the whole "hey I made special glasses for everyone" bit seemed odd.
redline248
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It's technically in the astral plane, which is outside his head. Remember the episode in which David first met Oliver, that was all the astral plane.
The White Wolf
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I think there in the Astral plane Oliver has quite a bit of power as well. He's already figured out a way to keep safe from the Shadow King and he's been there for years, so I think it's safe to say he's got a few tricks up his sleeve.

However... What the hell was he doing swirling around the letters in attempt to save them from the bullets. Was he merely distracting the Shadow King/Lenny or what?

And as for those letters spinning around and more continued shots of David's lamp from his childhood. I can't help that somehow it could connect. Early in the show David makes reference to "the stars saying something" but we don't know what that is. I would like to think we'd get that loose end tied up in the final chapter. I'm wondering if Oliver has played a role in David's mind longer than we've even seen so far. It would make sense, seeing as he's been there in the Astral plane for many years.
bobinator
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redline248 said:

It's technically in the astral plane, which is outside his head. Remember the episode in which David first met Oliver, that was all the astral plane.
Hm, I need to read up some on the intricacies of the astral plane, because that all keeps confusing me.
bobinator
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The White Wolf said:

And as for those letters spinning around and more continued shots of David's lamp from his childhood. I can't help that somehow it could connect. Early in the show David makes reference to "the stars saying something" but we don't know what that is. I would like to think we'd get that loose end tied up in the final chapter. I'm wondering if Oliver has played a role in David's mind longer than we've even seen so far. It would make sense, seeing as he's been there in the Astral plane for many years.
I did wonder if David's memories, the ones we've seen, are going to have a sort of "Butterfly Effect" thing going on. As in like, those memories keep coming up and keep changing, which changes what David thinks in the present. Butterfly Effect was a horrible movie, but that's the only movie that has the structure of what I'm talking about to reference.
 
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