10 Reasons You Should Be Watching Legion

After 17 years of the X-Men movie universe, Fox are finally branching out into the medium of television of with FX's new prestige drama, Legion. Starring Dan Stevens (Downton Abbey, Beauty and the Beast), the series follows David Haller - a schizophrenic psychiatric patient who finds out that he's actually one of the most powerful mutants in the world. We've only seen one episode so far, but we have to say, we're pretty damn impressed with it. Right now, you might be thinking, "another TV series based off a comic book? Really? I think I'll give it a miss." If that's the case, then we're here to tell you that you need to rethink your life choices and watch Legion right away. While it might be early days - there's Iron Fist, The Defenders and The Inhumans still to come - it could just turn out to be the must-watch comic book show of 2017. Yes, it's that good. If you need more convincing, read on for 10 reasons why you should be watching FX's newest show. Trust us, this is one series that you do not want to miss. 10) It's The Start Of A Wider X-Men TV Universe As we just said, this is the first TV spinoff of the mega-successful X-Men movie universe. It also marks a landmark collaboration between Fox and Marvel Studios, who produced the show together. Legion isn't the only X-Men series on the way, but it is the first out the door. The next one, heading into production soon, is yet to be named, but we do know that it will focus on a mutant family whose lives are upturned when they're forced to go on the run. Bryan Singer, who's been involved with the films since the start, is set to helm the first episode and judging by the premise, the series seems like it has the potential to reflect some contemporary real-world problems, in the classic X-Men way. Don't expect Hugh Jackman's Wolverine to show up - or even be mentioned - though, as both of these shows are set in an alternate, if similar, universe to the movies. Thus allowing them to be set in a familiar world to the films but without having to adhere to a strict continuity. 9) A Short, Tight Series As much as we love the likes of The CW's The Flash or ABC's Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., their hefty 22 episode seasons do mean that each run is filled with some less-than-stellar outings. In fact, even Netflix's Marvel dramas at 13 episodes apiece tend to run out of steam in their later instalments. Legion, on the other hand, is a tight eight episodes long. With such a short run, there's no need for any tiresome case-of-the-week plots, or even to extend one serialized story beyond its natural lifespan. For more on why they decided to go this route, here's creator Noah Hawley on why he kept the series as one contained story: "Film and TV have traded places where, you know, where you are now in a case-of-the-week movie world. One week, the Avengers fight this guy; the next week, they fight that guy. You can’t take the story too far in any one direction.” 8) A Talented Showrunner Many of the best comic book movies are those directed by someone with a very clear creative vision; for instance, Joss Whedon's The Avengers or, of course, Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. This is true of comic book TV, too, as Legion proves. Its showrunner is Noah Hawley, who has garnered a lot of attention for his critically-acclaimed TV adaptation of the Coen Brothers' Fargo. It was seen as quite a coup for Fox to get the highly sought after writer, particularly as his strong authorial style didn't seem to fit with a capes-and-cowls superhero show, but then again, that's far from what Legion is. Thanks to Hawley - who wrote the first two episodes - Legion is a densely-packed drama whose skittish, demanding plotting perfectly reflects the fractured mental state of its protagonist. It's a fresh take on the subject matter (more on that later) and we can't wait to see what Hawley does with it next. 7) A Brilliant Cast It's not just behind the scenes where Legion has top tier talent, as the on-screen players are pretty darn captivating, too. In the first episode, we mostly focus on Dan Steven's David, but his two female supporting co-stars also stand-out. Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza is a delight as Lenny, David's best bud at Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital. Constantly spaced-out and bopping away to unheard tunes on her headphones, it's hard to work out what role she'll have in the series going forward, but we look forward to finding out. Rachel Keller (who worked with Hawley on Fargo season 2), meanwhile, plays Syd Barrett, David's girlfriend and the show's sweet yet kooky love interest. Initially a standoffish patient who can't stand to be touched, Keller gets to show a lot of different sides to this enigmatic character across the first episode and we imagine there's a lot more to come from her in the rest of the season. 6) A Fascinating Central Character Despite his talented co-stars, Legion is Dan Stevens' show through and through. Anyone who only knows him from cosy British drama Downton Abbey will be surprised to see him give such a highly-energized, twitchy performance. While Stevens is hugely impressive in the role, he's aided by the fact that David Haller is a fascinating central character. After the likes of Breaking Bad and House of Cards, it's often said that this is the golden age for TV anti-heroes, and David definitely fits that bill. What Legion does is examine how disorienting it would be to be a vastly powered being. If you have the power of telepathy and telekinesis, would you put on a cape and go save people? No, most likely you'd just go out of your mind - much as David does. You know the subplot in X-Men: Days of Future Past where a weaker Charles Xavier can't handle the pressure of hearing the world in his head? Well, David Haller suffers similar throughout Legion, but on a much higher scale. Another intriguing part of the character that the pilot episode touches on is that David is a hugely unreliable point-of-view character, as his frequent hallucinations make it nigh-on-impossible for the viewer to know if what they're watching is really happening or not - adding another exciting layer to the series. 5) A Rich Collection Of Influences While Legion might get its core subject matter from the pages of X-Men comics, Noah Hawley has weaved together his unique take on the superhero genre from a variety of sources. In particular, the influence of many of the most individual directors in Hollywood can be felt on the show. Stanley Kubrick is perhaps the most obvious, not least in the Clockworks asylum being named after A Clockwork Orange. The unashamed surreality of the series also heavily recalls the work of David Lynch, while there's also a lot of Wes Anderson to Legion, in particular the 60s-infused oranges and browns of the decor. We can also detect some David Fincher, The Matrix and The X-Files in there, too. The psychedelic music of Pink Floyd is also said to be a big influence on the show (as it was on Doctor Strange). In fact, Hawley couldn't resist inserting another nod to one of his inspirations, as Rachel Keller's character has the full name Sydney Barrett AKA the ex-guitarist of the English rock band. It's a heady cocktail of inspirations, then, and we look forward to seeing how Legion draws from each of them to create something truly unique. 4) The Visuals Are Incredible As we just touched upon, Legion's genius doesn't just lie in its creative, off-the-wall writing, but also in its strong, unique visual flavour. Though the evidence suggests it's set in contemporary times, the fashions, decor and architecture of Legion indicates it takes place in the swinging sixties, which reflects the trippy, psychedelic vibe it's going for. It works as a terrific visual metaphor for how the world David inhabits is unhinged and doesn't make sense. It's not an action-driven show, but the climax of the pilot episode does show that it has the potential to excel in that area as well. A protracted chase sequence between mutants and humans is all done in one, long take a la Daredevil's famed corridor fight scenes. It's unashamed authorial tone may put off some, but if you like a TV show that pops out of the screen and grabs your attention, then Legion is for you. 3) It's Really, Really Strange Last November's Doctor Strange was touted as the most psychedelic superhero story you'd ever seen, what with its bizarre visuals and literal world-bending. That Marvel movie is nothing compared to Legion, however, which feels like an hour-long fever dream. As we already mentioned, David's skittish mind and frequent hallucinations is reflected in the format of the episode, as we skip around from scene to scene and back in forward in time and in and out of reality. Legion doesn't like to spoon-feed the audience - though there are a couple of info-dump moments - and mostly it's up to the viewer to work out what's happening for themselves. That's not to say that Legion is a taxing, self-serious show, as it doesn't forget to entertain along the way. Towards the end of the pilot, David hallucinates a full-on choreographed Bollywood-style musical number where the inmates of the mental asylum get up and dance. It's as crazy as it sounds, but perfectly sums up Legion's anything-goes mentality. 2) A Layered Depiction Of Mental Health Often, mental illness is treated in distinctly black and white terms in films and TV. Take M. Night Shyamalan's Split, for example, with James MacAvoy as the creepy villain suffering from dissociative personality disorder. It's refreshing, then, that Legion depicts mental health in more layered terms. In particular, it explores the typical X-Men theme of being an outsider through the lens of mental health. Due to his telepathy and telekinesis, David has been labelled as mentally unwell by society and has been locked away in an asylum. This has then changed his entire view of himself as he's come to deny his own abilities and repress who he really is. As Syd tells him in the pilot episode: "the voices - that's what makes you, you." Throughout the series, we expect to see David accept his abilities and realize that he isn't broken or crazy he's just different - just as many people with mental health issues do in the real world. 1) It's Totally Unlike Any Other Comic Book Show We've skirted around this point already, but it needs to be said out right: going by its first episode, Legion is unlike any other comic book show we've seen before. Its small connection to a wider universe, its lack of usual superhero tropes and all-round unique style make it unlikely that a passing viewer would even know that it's based on a comic book character. While David does join up with a sort of X-Men-type group of mutants at the end of the pilot, we can't see the show delving into the familiar realm of super-powered team saves the world, nor do we see David being healed enough to don a costume and become a superhero any time soon. With a strong creative vision, striking visuals and a bevy of unlikely influences, Legion is a fresh take on a crowded - and, let's face it, often cookie-cutter - genre. The pilot episode really grabbed our attention and if Hawley and Stevens and their team can continue to deliver, then Legion should have no trouble becoming appointment viewing.