FX’s Legion
Chapter 24
Directed by Arkasha Stevenson
Written by Olivia Dufault & Ben Winters

* For a recap & review of Chapter 23, click here.
* For a recap & review of Chapter 25, click here.
Most of Division 3’s up in the air, whereas Clark’s (Hamish Linklater) husband Daniel (Keir O’Donnell) and the Vermillion are on the ground. Along the road, David (Dan Stevens) appears. He shatters several of the Vermillion into pieces. He boards the transport vehicle, fighting another of them along with Daniel. Not much match for his powers. He has to find Switch (Lauren Tsai). He erases a bunch of memories in Daniel’s past to get to what he needs— just another example of his awful power, as well as his ruthlessness in the face of other peoples’ autonomy— and discovers the airship.

Soundtrack note: The opening moments are set to “Tekitoi” by Rachid Taha. The cult scene is set to “Games Without Frontiers” by Peter Gabriel.

Back at the commune, Daddy returns to his followers. He’s looking for Lenny (Aubrey Plaza), banishing everyone and everything so he can “go to war.” He’s killed nearly all his children and doesn’t think twice, choosing to believe they’ve gone somewhere else and weren’t obliterated. After that he finds Lenny. She’s seen what could have been, now she doesn’t want what David’s offering anymore. The party’s over.
What David wants, for once, he can’t have: Lenny sinks a knife into her neck.

“I need you”

“You can’t have me”

Soundtrack note: Switch’s scene features a cover of “A Pagan Place” by the Waterboys

Switch is locked away in a space out of time that Cary (Bill Irwin) devised back on the airship. Farouk (Navid Negahban) and Syd (Rachel Keller) know they have to do more than fly around in the air to escape David’s powers. They don’t want to be “the rabbit to the wolf” for Legion and sit around for him to devour them. A good solution? Head towards space. The Shadow King would rather defeat the mutant, whereas the others are concerned about the reach of his terrifying powers. On the astral plane, Farouk reaches out. He’s saddened by what’s become of David.
Because he wants to use Legion to his own ends, egging the mutant on.

In the blink of an eye, David’s there on the airship.
He confronts Clark, who regrets not killing David when they first met. What followed has destroyed so much. Clark faces a cold death, in more ways than one, ejected into outer space to become a frozen hunk of flesh. Kerry (Amber Midthunder) runs into a few Manson girl-like hippies, whom she takes on fairly easily with those kick ass skills+sword until they gang up and kick the shit out of her.

David comes face to face with Syd again. She asks if he “killed everybody,” to which he replies with bullshit, rewriting a narrative of narcissistic, egomaniacal, psychopathic murder into Manson-like gibberish about how people who die “aren‘t really dead.” Thankfully she’s way smarter than someone who’ll swallow that pill. He continually acts like it’s all been to rewrite the past, when it’s only been about rewriting HIS mistakes.
Syd reels David in with the hope of love. Then, she touches his face.

“Do you think it hurts?
Being erased?”

We see Syd use David’s body to help Kerry out, as she chops down the hippie girls, and David in Syd’s body can’t manage to alert them in time to save their asses. An interesting thing to see Syd within his mind, back at the cave where the other Davids lurk: “I am Legion.” (OH, GOD— HE SAID IT!!!)
Kerry’s presented with a dilemma. She’s being told to kill David’s body, yet it’s too late. All those other Davids, those manifestations of his godly narcissism, are asserting their power. They subdue Syd to take over David again, and she’s lost somewhere among the web of subconsciousness in that cave.

When David tries to unleash Switch from her chamber, he’s stuck in time by the Shadow King, who’s lured him to the perfect place. Unfortunately for Farouk, he’s not able to control the mind of his nemesis entirely. Legion gets Switch out, and she sends Farouk to the place outside of time. This gives David more power with access to the Hall of Time. He has a new plan. No telling what his “small change” will do to the past itself, the present, or the future.

Soundtrack note: David and the others, including a frozen-in-space Clark, sing a stripped down version of “(What’s So Funny ‘Bout) Peace, Love, and Understanding” together.
This series continually impresses. Even as it winds down, Legion swings for the fences.
Ought to be spectacular to watch what happens in the final three episodes.

Chapter 25 is next time.