What I’m Watching: Legion

Legion: Season 3, Episode 3 “Chapter 22” (B)

It was only a matter of time before David’s father, the famous founder of the X-Men, came up as part of his story. He wasn’t portrayed in the way he typically is at all, instead spending time in an asylum with Gabrielle, David’s mother, as they both got lost within their own minds and managed to forge a relationship within that context. I immediately recognized Harry Lloyd, a standout player from “Counterpart,” as Charles, and I probably would have realized that Gabrielle was played by Stephanie Corneliussen from “Mr. Robot” if I hadn’t looked it up midway through the episode. This presentation was very dark, with the two of them so haunted by their own demons and Charles encountering literal devils in his pursuit of those like him. David being heard by us rather than seen and then not seen by his mother until his father showed up to expel him from the room was a strange way to portray his accidental trip back to this point in time, one that weakened Switch considerably. What’s continually confusing to me is the disconnect between Farouk the social, clever gentleman played by Navid Negahban and Farouk the monster who ruined most of David’s childhood by making him think he was crazy. Obviously Farouk has changed now that he’s on the other side, but it doesn’t make all that much sense to me. I’d also much rather spend more time in the present getting to see all the show’s characters, though I can understand that David is trying to change the present by heading back to the past.