Having discovered the astral plane and Oliver Bird, David Haller and his parasitic companion took a turn for the worst last episode of Legion.
David rescued his sister Amy and took her back to their old house where she revealed to him that he was adopted.
All of the parties converged onto David as Ptolomy, Melanie Bird, Cary/Kerry and Sydney arrived just as Walter AKA The Eye and a Division 3 goon opens fire on David.
But then we are taken back to the mental hospital where Lenny has taken control of the situation and begins to put everyone in the Haller home under her questioning. Another time? Another reality? Or is it just an altered state? Perhaps we’re back in the astral plane?
Legion showrunner Noah Hawley had us really guessing about this latest episode as Lenny or is it the Shadow King, has asserted herself / itself as the force in control. But not everyone is under the spell as the Eye is quick to see that he too can wreak havoc in this plane.
Oh and by the way, Legion has been picked up for a second season by FX, so in case you can’t wrap your head around what’s going on this season, you’ll have another one to get further down the rabbit hole.
TV critics April Neale and Ernie Estrella break down Chapter 6 and try to make sense of it for you, just beware of all the spoilers ahead as we will be discussing the latest episode in full.
“What is the point of all this love…what is the point of life?” – Lenny
April Neale: Ernie, Imma just say it. this episode was bats**t and I really struggled with it. Lenny as a therapist with Dr. Bird. Weird. Loved the mid-century furniture and flourishes for this as an aside. Dr. Bird’s insistence that Oliver is coming back.
Switch to Ptolomy, he lost his mother when he was 5. “I like to think I’m a time traveler.” he says. “All I can do is watch.” Switch to Kerry and Cary. Lenny entertains their story. Walter aka The Eye talks about his puberty. “It’s not a race, what a boy goes though…what matters is where you end up.”
Switch to Syd. “It doesn’t feel real…something’s wrong, like a dream, but not an interesting one.” A Clockworks nightmare as all the mutants are patients. Amy – David’s sister is Nurse Ratchet. We are back with the drooler. David and Ptolomy weigh the makeup of the drool. Pie, insects, closeups of a sexy Lenny who breaks into a James Bond vampy dance that goes full bore destructo. The first ten minutes! Did I miss anything?
Ernie Estrella: You got it all, April. That was a loaded teaser and episode, period. I think this is going to be a tough episode for those who are struggling to keep up with what’s reality, what’s not, whose consciousness we’re in etc.
What I got out of this chapter was that the Shadow King or whatever it is, is in control of everyone that’s in the house. He’s sizing everyone up and trying to see where he can break them. The bugs in the pie, which is the second time we’ve seen this image, to me, says that something is rotten about this world. It’s not the “real” world.
As for the sexy Lenny dance with the various flashbacks and set pieces… I think that’s Lenny or the Shadow King showing where he was in control: whenever David took drugs, the exploding kitchen, when Cary was probing his mind, and in the bedroom.
It may seem like I’m pulling this stuff out of the air, but if you’ve seen enough David Lynch films, you’re well trained to take a few steps back and see from a bird’s nest as to what might be going on.
AN: It’s doesn’t get easier does it? The psychotropic drug chess, the Shadow King, Cary’s clown trick. Bad dreams! Walter! Track suits! Jafros! Blue green orbs and Cary’s linguistic skills! The puking! I’m kind of worn out by this acid trip episode. Please explain to me this excessive dream state as how it pertains to the overall story?
EE: Yeah I don’t think we’re in a dream state as much as it is the Shadow King infiltrating each of the minds of everyone and figuring out who he’s up against. This is the astral plane with the Shadow King run amok.
I believe David’s trip through the astral plane in the last two episodes taught both him and the Shadow King that they can create a place where they can interact with everyone on their rules, where they control the elements and the environment. It’s where they can nullify other mutants’ powers and it’s where someone feeds off of that negative energy, like the Shadow King has power.
Clearly, the Shadow King is in control though because David is speaking about his sicknesses instead of his abilities in his sessions with Lenny.
AN: Walter and the apple, to Kerry he says: “what big eyes you have says the wolf.” So he’s aware of the Shadow King and he is…immune?
EE: Immune? I’m not ready to give him that edge. Walter appears to be experienced enough to know when he’s battling someone with his power, someone who fights battles on a psychic level rather than physical. I think he’s an equal.
The Shadow King seems to have a way into everyone except Walter, which makes me believe on a power level, he’s a good match and someone who has at least explored his telepathic powers enough to know when he’s being messed with. That doesn’t bode well for David and the rest but maybe that’s where Oliver can help if he can be rescued that is.
AN: Oliver Bird saves the day? He alerts Melanie, she sees the bullets and pushes David and Syd when giant eyeballs appear! She cannot move them. Anxiety all around. Is this Melanie Bird’s awakening that Oliver is indeed gone?
EE: Or maybe Oliver has a reason to come back from the astral plane? Again, this is the existence that Oliver has been in for years and it’s like he finally has visitors, although they’re threatening his turf. I think it was a good scene for each character, Melanie and Oliver, to realize that the other is still there for the other, even if physically they aren’t.
The key is that the Shadow King has allowed for this bridge to occur and so Melanie hasn’t seen Oliver since he left for the astral plane. Now she has and she may be now willing to see through the Shadow King’s ruse.
AN: And the special gruesome metaphor of the night goes to…LENNY! “Love is a chemical, electrons…” says Lenny. The gruesome ant-spore death story was gross. But visually it made perfect sense as to what is likely happening inside David’s brains. Your take?
EE: This appears to be David’s wake up call, to know he hasn’t been in control for a very long time. I don’t think he knew what the image of the yellow-eyed demon was, or what exactly Lenny/Benny was. Assuming this was a truthful explanation, which I do believe, then this is what’s going on in David’s mind.
But there was a lot of metaphors in play. Notice how Lenny is riding David like a stripper in a chair dance, where usually the stripper is in control and can do as she pleases and David is not allowed to touch.
AN: So Walter is aware of the Shadow King, right? It says: Power, Walter understands. While Kerry is hunted. Am I down the wrong rabbit hole on this one?
EE: I think Walter knows what state he’s in and how he can be a threat. Hence, how he goes after Kerry. He’s definitely diverted from dealing with Lenny/Shadow King. He’s going to make use of his time in this plane of existence.
AN: The Shadow King is Lenny. Such a disturbing scene as David is in a falling casket-like box. Cary is in the deep water suit as he wakes Syd. Who will end this nightmare?
EE: Taking a few steps back again, I believe this whole episode is like Christopher Nolan’s Inception moment. Back in the psych ward, this is the Shadow King trying to mentally break everyone. Meanwhile, in the physical world, we’re back in David and Amy’s house and bullets are making their way towards Sydney and David. Oliver appears to have reached out to Cary and him appearing in the diver suit tells me that he’s found a way to the ice cube where Oliver resides.
Also Sydney is starting to realize what’s going on when she’s sharing her idea of the disappearing door to David and he keeps going on and on about her “condition” rather than her abilities. She looks like she’s figured something out and then Lenny puts her “back to sleep” with the sounds of crickets.
As long as everyone isn’t questioning their state, the Shadow King is in control, so I think Sydney or Cary are going to be the keys, with the help of Oliver.
We’ll see what happens in Chapter 7 of Legion, Wednesday at 10pm on FX.
What did you think of the latest episode of Legion?