Legion Review: Chapter 22 (Season 3 Episode 3)
Time is a fickle beast, as David and Switch learn on Legion Season 3 Episode 3, “Chapter 22.” It takes, and it consumes, and going back farther than ever before has its ramifications.
Telling the story of Charles Xavier and Gabrielle, David’s parents, is not entirely the most needed at this point in the series; but Noah Hawley and company make it so compelling and so enthralling, seeing Harry Lloyd’s Charles and Stephanie Corneliussen’s Gabrielle coming together.
It’s the kind of story necessary to show the beginnings of David’s life, as a happy, cared-for environment, until Farouk becomes involved, this time as a spectre-ridden shadow cloud. It comes as David’s ultimate plan to fix events, to put a stop to the damage caused.
But before that comes this beautiful story of two people complementing one another, where each finds happiness through each other and the life they’ve created together. It’s one of the first real signs of joy on the show in some time, and it’s a welcome change of pace. Both Lloyd and Corneliussen are wonderful here, showing so much warmth and compassion in their performances.
The way the show has the present reverberating back on the past as David and Switch try to tune in properly is masterful. The thumping music, sometimes faint, sometimes booming, appears as this constant barrage of noise for Gabrielle. Along with David’s raspy cries for her attention as a disembodied voice, it’s easy to wonder if David himself is the cause of his mother’s madness.
We see Gabrielle afflicted with the horrors of war in the hospital, but Charles looks to have cleared it up when he searched her mind. Is the trauma always there, not fully gone but locked deeper inside, and David added to it when trying to fix the timeline and his apparition appears?
The episode uses light and color in fascinating ways. There are patterns of blue and red throughout, much like the colors of the liquid David makes. Red creeps in during the more unhinged, time-snapping moments, while most of the episode finds itself covered in pastel blues and blue-tinged walls, clothing, and lighting effects. It’s a soothing tone, until the reds start to take over.
There’s a mirror effect on display on the episode, life reflecting back on itself. Charles and Gabrielle meet the same way David and Syd meet, in a hospital and utterly drawn to each other. The same song plays at pivotal moments during their stays, “She’s a Rainbow” by The Rolling Stones. Both stories end, at least currently, with Gabrielle and Syd traumatized by David, perhaps unintentionally, but still by him.
Perhaps the episode ends with Farouk corrupting baby David because it always is going to happen. Perhaps David’s interference causes it to happen, and is the reason for his mother’s catatonic state and for him to be given up. It’s part of the fun of Legion, leaving things as debate where there are clues there to see either as true.
Legion Season 3 Episode 3, “Chapter 22,” finds itself as the answer to so many questions, and as a place of so many more questions now, while allowing a beautiful love story to play out in its midst. Charles and Gabrielle may be doomed to fate, and David makes matters worse, but it’s so gripping to watch.
The portrayal of time travel, of the longing in David’s pleas for his mother’s attention throughout the timeline and the mess he may cause himself, is some of the most compelling work the show has done. Coupled with the human and touching story of Charles and Gabrielle falling in love, “Chapter 22” finds itself as one of the very best of Legion, and one well worth revisiting to uncover its secrets.
What did you think of this episode of Legion? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Legion airs Mondays at 10/9c on FX.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.