ICYMI: 'Legion' & The Dangers of One's Mind

It's been almost a year since this FX's outstanding, creative and infuriating show ended, leaving us with something that stands out in a very particular way within the dominant super hero genre landscape that went overlooked by many but definitely leaving a mark on those that paid attention to it.

'Legion' it's not for everyone. Even the most hardcore comic book fan will find this show a little bit frustrating. It's fully committed to its non-linear narrative, to its weirdness, to its choreographed musical numbers (not kidding), and to the fact that 'Legion' is a show that knows it's too clever for its viewer and it's unapologetic about it. The best part? It makes complete sense.

Created by 'Fargo's mastermind Noah Hawley, 'Legion' focuses on the far less famous but ultimately very important mutant David Haller - the extraordinarily powerful son of Professor Charles Xavier (yes, that Charles Xavier as in Professor X) - who, unbeknownst to him, we meet as a victim of his own power.

The beauty of this show, is that we completely fall for the trap of thinking that David is our eyes into this world, and when we think we have all this figured out (just like David) we then realized we have no idea what we got ourselves into. The show is an exercise on making, and perhaps forcing us, realize how self absorbed we really are with our own ego, and how fragile is the mind when we create a false image for ourselves.

Most of the time we think we are the most clever person in any given room and when we get called out, more often than not, our reaction is a negative one. We respond with sarcasm, anger, we tend to become the "victim", and always try to have the last word. That's our mutant power; we find effective ways to hurt the people we don't agree with or that we think have turned on us, and when we realize the harm we caused, it's oftentimes too late to fix it. We then go mad with regret, and try to use everything within our reach to fix our mistakes.

That's 'Legion' in a nutshell.

Don't get me wrong. This is still a comic book show full of obscure characters like the Shadow King and already familiar places like the Astral Plane.

The thing is that under all that multicolored pallet, fast paced action, and unrelenting assault on all your senses, 'Legion' is a very intimate tale of losing ourselves in our own mind.

The show is gorgeous, and I dare say it's the most visually stunning TV show I have ever watched. The acting is top notch, and the cast is incredible! Dan Stevens ('Downton Abbey', 'Beauty and the Beast') as the titular David Haller is just a force to be reckoned with. Ironically for a character that it's all over the place, his acting keeps mostly everything together. Besides him, I have to give props to Aubrey Plaza ('Parks & Recreation') showing how much range she has as an actor, and Rachel Keller ('Supernatural', 'Fargo') as the counterpart of Dan Steven's David. Rachel's character is such a well written character and especially the way she evolves throughout the show. Her character development is the rug that is swept beneath our feet. She is the surprise plot twist you never see coming until you piece all of the scenes she is in. Saying more would be a disservice to her character. All I can say is that we are too focus on David to ever realize that our eyes have been deceived.

If this cast hasn't convinced you yet, here's a taste of the weirdness this show has to offer, brought to you by the always exquisite Jemaine Clement ('Flight of the Conchords', 'What We do in the Shadows'):

If I must give a compliment to 'Legion', it would be that this is a show that needs to be experienced as a whole. Even if I try to spoil it for you in this article, I wouldn't be able to do so, and I would need different articles to explain every aspect of it. That's how good this show was.

Yes, 'Legion' could use a little bit more of straightforwardness (for lack of a better word), and get to the point. But this is not how 'Legion' rolls. It is a show that does not waiver, even if we beg it to do so. It relishes in keeping us guessing, confused and frustrated with its presentation. It switches from point A to point B without giving us an explanation. It manipulates everything around it and everything in it. It uses different characters, and settings to explain all the ideas this show wants to convey. It alters the course of everything (just like David seems to alter reality with a simple command) in its path and we, the audience, are just collateral damage of the immense power this comic book character wields.

That's the genius behind this show. It's as if someone asked Noah Hawley how would he describe Legion as a character, and instead of googling the answer, he decided to create a show to explain everything about him. The show is alive, the viewer can feel this intangible power, and the explanation is never easy. Every dialogue written, every scene, every dance, every piece of acting, every action set piece, it's just a small piece of Legion / David's fractured psyche. Once you are able to piece the puzzle together, you know what you are seeing is beautiful but you don't really quite understand it.

'Legion' is a bittersweet look at our own reflection. It tries to teach us to be humble in a time when instant gratification, false praise, and the constant pursuit of the next best thing is the top priority. The more powerful we think we become, the more disconnected to reality we get. Every 'like', every 'view', every 'lol' in our social media is so intoxicating that we lose perspective of who we really are. The moment we are confronted with reality, it scares us and angers us to the point that the reality we have created for ourselves, becomes an illusion people would hardly leave on their own accord.

People who dismissed the show as confusing, boring, self absorbed, even egotistical could be very well the same people that, to the eyes of their loved ones that notice similar flaws in them, refuse to see or acknowledge this. Even set those claims aside due to the image we have created for ourselves. Call it ego, pride, personality, or confidence; too much of any of them, could alter our reality around us and become a black hole of negativity that sooner or later transforms into an uncontrollable destructive force.

The show teaches us that it's OK to reach out when we feel lost and nowhere else to go. We just have to turn our super power off, just for a little while, to understand that we still need to be saved from ourselves and put back on the right track. If we would open ourselves to more empathy, kindness, and love, our existence wouldn't have the need for alternate realities in which we tend to escape or disappear.

If you are willing to go down the rabbit hole, make sure you don't go alone. You may not like what you find.

You can watch 'Legion' on FX on Hulu.