Season 2 / Episode 2 / FX
A diversion
“Chapter 10” of Legion opens once more with Lenny and Oliver in a subconscious plane of reality, this time chatting with David on a carousel, that appears to be spinning on a giant lollipop. It’s fitting given the themes of this season, a maze of the mind, the cycles of sanity. David is continuing to carry out orders from Future Syd, helping Amahl Farouk reunite with his body. Farouk as Oliver tells David that they need to create “a diversion.” When David asks why, Oliver says it’s so they can break-in to Division Three. It’s not yet clear why they want to get inside Division 3, but David is willing to help per Syd’s request with one caveat: “Let me be ultra-clear…nobody gets hurt.”
We dive right into the diversion, David, Ptonomy and (present) Syd are accompanying three Vermillion to a desert, where presumably David has told them Farouk might be. David is still weirded out by the Vermillion and asks Ptonomy what they are. Ptonomy explains that they are not human: “Androids I think…synthetic…artificial.” Ptonomy states that they have no memories for him to see, “just data.” He finds them soothing. David tells Ptonomy that Fukyama’s plan is to kill Oliver once they find him, and Ptonomy says they’ll just have to find him first, presumably so that they can save Oliver for Melanie’s sake. They get to the desert but there is no evidence of Farouk, only a child’s music box that Syd recognizes from her childhood. They suspect a trap was set.
Inside-Out
Meanwhile, Farouk, as Oliver, and Lenny have snuck into Division Three. They dissolve a few guards, breaking the rule that nobody will get hurt—they are still dangerous, even though David is helping. Cary hears the ruckus and goes to investigate. Farouk torments him and coaxes Kerry out of him as David and Syd get back from the diversion. Oliver and Lenny disappear but Kerry can’t fuse back with Cary! Cary is now inside of Kerry! Which I believe hasn’t happened before. They have been “flipped inside-out.”
When Melanie was in a drug/dream haze Oliver spoke to her and asked if she knew where a monk was. Melanie snaps out of her mood and shares this information with the others. Searching for a monk, a member of the Mi-Go order [insert your own Migos joke]. Oliver believes that monk might be there at Division 3. This is important because the Mi-go monk would know the location of Farouk’s body. The façade that was the diversion was a flimsy one, so characters suspect David to be lying. In fact, the Vermillion guess there’s a 63% chance. Everyone is operating with different goals and objectives. It’s interesting that everyone is “working for” Division 3, but each character has different allegiances. This will surely blow up.
This Thing Kills Everyone
With Kerry at the controls, David re-enters the amplification chamber to ask Syd some questions. We get to see more a bit more of Future Syd. She seems to have an arm missing, she looks a bit more worn and older. Syd is surprised to see David again. He tries to read her mind, but he can’t. David is upset that Farouk has killed people after he did what she told him to. He trusts her because she is Syd, but he has to know why he is helping someone so dangerous: “You came to me because of love, what we have, you trust me, and I trust you, but what you’re asking to help this thing, I got to know why.”
Syd explains that Farouk is dead in her timeline because David killed him…but something else is coming. Farouk needs to be alive in order to avoid this future. She explains, “we need him when things turn, he killed a few…this thing kills everyone. They make plans to meet again. “Am I dead in the future?” David asks. We don’t get a straight answer from her, though she says, “this thing kills everyone.” It seems David is dead in Future Syd’s timeline and that she enjoys meeting with him. They agree to “meet” again soon.
Collusion
Jon Hamm’s narrator makes his vocal appearance this episode explaining that since humans reason they are the only species that goes mad. David meets with Clark Debussy and it’s clear that Clark is not here for David’s games. Daddy Debussy suspects David is lying to everyone. Are you familiar with the term “collusion?” he asks him before flat out telling him through his thoughts, “I think you’re helping him.”
David decides he needs to have a chat with Oliver/Farouk. David meditates/goes to speak with Farouk in his subconscious. And we finally get to see the face of Amahl Farouk.
David lets Farouk know he is upset that things didn’t go to plan, that people were hurt. David is conflicted about his decision to agree to help him. Farouk counters him by suggesting that the two of them aren’t so different. “You and I are gods!” he tells David. “Now we have to figure out if you’re mad at me or yourself.”
The dance sequence of the last episode makes a bit more sense now, as Farouk suggest the two “dance” as they then proceed to have a wrestling match, that turns into an escalation of arms and various weaponry. It’s all a metaphor for power. The two are battling for power and simultaneously tied to each other. David lets Farouk know that he doesn’t trust him, and Farouk lets him know he doesn’t have much of a choice, but that he will be in David’s debt if he helps him. David says he’ll find the monk if he is indeed at Division 3, and tells Farouk to “wait for his signal.”
Thankfully, David decides to come clean to someone. He meets Syd on the rooftop (who has traded places with a cat again). “It was you in the orb,” he tells her. She asks if he was sure. She insinuates she didn’t enjoy being a pawn in Farouk’s plan, but that if a future version of her said that she should do something then he should listen. “Don’t you trust me?” she asks. They agree that they need to find the monk.
Ptonomy’s corner
There’s something intriguing about Ptonomy finding peace in the Vermillion’s lack of memory. I truly wish Ptonomy had more to do—GIVE ME A PTONOMY EPISODE. In the episode’s lack of Ptonomy we, fortunately, got more from our other fave Mutant of Color. To reverse their being flipped inside-out, Kerry is able to coax Cary outside of her by singing. It’s all very endearing. The scary part is that the stress of not being able to fuse into Cary likely has some negative ramifications. Once Cary is outside of her, we see that Kerry’s hair is starting to gray. Uh-oh.
Random Thoughts
At the end of the episode, we see a figure that is presumably the monk amid all the teeth-chattering folks affected by the catalyst.
I don’t have time for David to fall in love with Future Syd and fall apart with regular Syd, so I hope he maintains this open communication with her!
I appreciated the parallels from episode one, with future David telling Syd (the future version this time) that she looks different. “Time does that to people…” she says, telling him again that he looks like he did when they last saw each other.
David gives a helpful explanation of the situation of the multiple people trapped in Farouk’s orbit: “I used to think [Farouk] was just inside Oliver’s mind, but then I realized he keeps other minds in there with him.” David had asked Lenny if “Are you you at all?” He seems to be just as confused as the audience about how some of this is working.
I’m interested what will happen if Farouk decides to let Lenny go in a new body? Is she the “it” that kills everyone?
Melanie is giving REAL TALK to David about how she never had dreams of her own but he can’t even FOCUS! “I was wrong when I told you your ability was a gift, it’s not, it’s an obstacle.” Melanie needs a hug!
We’ll be covering all of Legion so come back weekly for new recaps and other news under the Legion tag.
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