[TV REVIEW] Legion (2017) on FX

Happy Jack wasn't old, but he was a man
He lived in the sand at the Isle of Man
The kids would all sing, he would take the wrong key
So they rode on his head on their furry donkey
The kids couldn't hurt Jack
They tried and tried and tried

They dropped things on his back
And lied and lied and lied and lied and lied
But they couldn't stop Jack, or the waters lapping
And they couldn't prevent Jack from feeling happy

"Happy Jack" by The Who is playing one of the lead roles in the introduction of Noah Hawley's original and superb new television series "Legion", based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller / Legion. As the song plays we get to see protagonist, David Haller (Dan Stevens) grow up: from the unwitting smile of the baby, the teenager's rebellion, anger and confusion to finally end up in a mental hospital called Clockworks. Haller has spent six years in this place and eaten many pills in order to keep his apparent disease under control. He's hearing voices and seeing things that aren't there. And when he gets really angry, things that can't be explained by conventional science happen. 

But is it David who doesn't understand the world, or is the world that doesn't understand David? It's hard to tell when one is heavily medicated and involuntarily committed to a place that looks like a mixture of an Apple store and a mental hospital. Sometimes, David's sister Amy visits. Is she real or is she only in his imagination? We don't know for sure. Neither does David. The only thing we as viewers can be sure of is that we're just as confused as the protagonist.

Narratively, the pilot is best described as hallucinatory. Present time (or is it?) is intertwined with flashbacks and childhood memories, and also get to meet David in a future that is near the present of the show, where he is to remember back to the starting point of the show. Confusing? Occasionally. Brilliant? Continuously.

The non-linear narrative is paired with visual fireworks and aesthetic courage that challenges the eye and brain. The feeling is a futuristic 60s on LSD and there is obviously no coincidence that the person who's got the greatest significance for accelerating the plot has the name Syd Barrett. No, not the Pink Floyd singer of the same name, who left the band in 1968 as a result of substance abuse and mental health problems.

She's played by the excellent Rachel Keller, who's portraying a contradictory heroine that is simultaneously strong and weak, brave and scared, secret and open like a book. And since "Legion" initially takes place in a kind of dreamlike state of uncertainty, David and Syd meet at Clockworks, where she's admitted mainly because she refuses to let anyone touch her. But as with everything else in the pilot, her apparent fear of human touch is not what it first appears to be.

Since "Legion" is based on the Marvel comic book character that in itself is part of the X-Men-universe (Legion is actually the mutant son of Professor Charles Xavier and Gabrielle Haller) there is also a certain amount of what's to expect from a Marvel show. Fortunately, it's secondary, if even that. It's actually hard to believe that Legion takes place in the same universe as The Avengers, Iron Man and X-Men. Legion is not a crowd-pleasing and bombastic macho franchise with heroes that uppercuts villains in outer space, but is something as contradictory as an intimate Marvel series that views the world through a psychedelic lens and a tender portrait of a confused and misunderstood young man.

Noah Hawley - the creator of the excellent television series "Fargo" - has both written and directed the first episode. Within all of the colorful and playful madness there is an austere narrative that impresses. Nothing happens without a reason. Nothing of no importance is said. And although there are plenty of references, visual and otherwise, it's all cleverly intermingled in a way that makes it fully original. 

I have so far seen the first three episodes of "Legion". After the pilot where my brain almost exploded from all the impressions, the narrative tempo calms down slightly. More time is given the other characters even though David's awakening and development constantly is in the center. The quirkiness of some of the characters brings to mind a show like the British conspiracy thriller "Utopia".

The episodes are incredibly well produced. FX and Marvel seems to have given Noah Hawley complete creative freedom. An important character, which you won't find among the cast of characters, is the amazing music. If you've seen Noah Hawley's "Fargo", you know that he's more than happy to make room for music in the creation. He picked the same composer from "Fargo" - the two-time Emmy nominee, Jeff Russo.

In Legion, we get the story from David's point of view, and it may therefore be difficult to distinguish reality from paranoia. A deliciously trippy blend of the creation story of a super hero and a personal portrait of mental illness. Not unlike Mr. Robot, where the war on the outside isn't as important as the war raging on the inside. Legion is an excellent series about delusion, self-doubt and mental illness. It just happens to be about super heroes too. The first thing I asked myself when the credits began to roll was "why can't all Marvel shows be directed by Noah Hawley?"

 @SteemSwede