Rating summary

Movie		4.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.0
Overall		4.5

Legion: The Complete Season One Blu-ray Movie Review

The X Factor.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman March 28, 2018

American Gods: Season 1 emerged as probably my favorite new television series I reviewed in 2017, but with the relatively recent rather odd mass exodus of several cast and crew from the show (including co-star Gillian Anderson and perhaps most troublingly co-developers and co-showrunners Bryan Fuller and Michael Green), it remains to be seen if the series’ sophomore season will match its first. There’s another Bryan, namely Bryan Singer, serving as Executive Producer of the first season of Legion, though his name has recently been removed from the show in the wake of sexual harassment allegations that have plagued him. In this case, however, the show’s creative impetus probably won’t be derailed since Legion is very much the creation of Noah Hawley, who is quickly becoming one of my favorite so-called “multi hyphenates” in the world of television, after having shepherded Fargo to the small screen. Much like American Gods, Legion traffics in near hallucinatory imagery a lot of the time, though in this case it’s due to supposed “point of view” perspectives of focal character David Haller (Dan Stevens), a man who has had a history of institutionalization due to supposed erratic behavior and at least one suicide attempt. The series is deliberately off kilter from the get go, depicting David’s fractured state of mind after having spent many years in a facility called Clockworks, a place where (like many patients with mental illness) he’s been heavily drugged. The story refracts through several timeframes and incidents in the early going, making the narrative intentionally manic, though by the second episode things start to calm down enough (at least relatively speaking) that at least broad outlines can begin to be discerned. It turns out (as any fan of Marvel Comics will already know) that David is in fact not insane, but is a mutant (i.e., he's one of the X-Men), one whose powers have been perceived as an “illness” by the supposedly normal people surrounding him.

What is mental illness, and what must it be like to actually experience it? (There are probably some readers of my reviews who are thinking, “Well, if anyone would know, it’s you”.) These are questions that have long haunted me since Frances Farmer’s story hooked me decades ago, and in a way they're at the core of this series, at least in terms of some of the disjunctive ways the story unfolds. Legion is a fascinating exercise in presentational aspects, as it attempts to give the viewer an “inside out” experience of David’s inner turmoil. Even after David is rescued from the nefarious clutches of a black ops organization known as Division III and delivered to the mutant refuge known as Summerland, he’s still experiencing psychological disruption. That gives this first season a decidedly surreal edge at times, as the viewer is never quite certain whether what’s being depicted is actually happening or just the figments of David’s addled imagination.

Because of the refracted quality of at least the first couple of episodes, it’s hard to get a firm take on some aspects of the chronology, as well as who some of the supporting characters are. While David is in Clockworks, he seems to have developed a longstanding relationship with snarky inmate Lenny Busker (Aubrey Plaza), a character whose name seems inconsistent with her gender (something that’s an intentional plot point as things develop). But as soon as new arrival Syd Barrett (Rachel Keller) shows up, David’s attentions turn pretty much solely to her. Unfortunately, while she almost casually agrees to being David’s girlfriend, she suffers from a phobia about being touched, something that makes any nascent romance challenging. In a vignette that takes a while to be fully explained, when Syd is discharged, David rashly kisses her, and the two exchange bodies. That leaves David outside of the institution, albeit not “as” David.

While there are some interstitial dealings with various bad guys, including Clark (Hamish Linklater) and Walter (Mackenzie Gray), the latter of whom is also known as The Eye, the main story shifts to Summerland, where David is cared for by a no nonsense therapist named Melanie Bird (Jean Smart). Along with Syd and a mutant named Ptonomy Wallace (Jeremie Harris) who is able to access memories at will, David begins reliving various traumas from his upbringing as Melanie tries to figure out what “triggers” him and how he can learn to control his powers, which include telepathy and telekinesis.

The second half or so of the first season starts to get a little “meta” as David creates a sort of visionary paradise for himself and Syd to be able to actually touch each other in, which is where this series, already exploiting near Inception like layers of “nesting doll” realities (or unrealities, as the case may be) arguably gets a little too convoluted for its own good. Playing into this perhaps opaque ambience is the arrival of Oliver (Jemaine Clement), Melanie’s long missing husband who it turns out has been “hanging out” on the astral plane. Meanwhile, the ruffians of Division III, at least those who have survived several previous skirmishes with David and other mutants, are on the hunt.

Legion is really remarkably entertaining virtually throughout the first season, not only due to its unique story, but also due to its very unique storytelling. This is a show where style and substance are fused rather ingeniously, and as such it’s a series that doesn’t so much demand attention as seductively invites it. There’s a bit of potentially problematic (bad joke forewarning alert) Downsizing at play as the first season comes to a close, so it will be interesting to see if Legion can overcome that oft mentioned sophomore slump.

Legion: The Complete Season One Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Legion: The Complete Season One is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer largely in 1.78:1, though with some interstitial sequences in 2.38:1 (see screenshots 21-23 for what the wider aspect ratio looks like). I frankly didn't quite get the change in aspect ratio, though it's handled very artfully (typically with a slow "slide" back and forth), though it seems like the wider ratio is designed to indicate we're experiencing a memory or quasi-reality (though even this isn't that consistent, at least in my understanding). Though digitally captured with Arri Alexa Minis (according to the IMDb), the imagery has been significantly tweaked at times, including with the addition of digital grain, giving it a rather nicely thick and textured appearance. There's intentional softness, even gauziness, on display, including lustrous backlit shots of Syd (see screenshot 2) where effulgent glows tend to eradicate at least a bit of fine detail. On the whole, though, this transfer boasts excellent detail levels and a very appealing looking palette, one that isn't always "natural" (due to David's deteriorated psyche) but which is typically quite varied looking. As is usually the case with Fox Blu-ray releases, there are no problems with compression hurdles or image instability.

Legion: The Complete Season One Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Legion: The Complete Season One features a really nicely immersive and at times even spooky sounding DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track. David's "inner voices" tend to populate the surrounds with sibilant whispering that's quite effective, and other scenes, as in the calamitous breakout from the Division III interrogation site, offer potent bursts of LFE courtesy of gunfire and explosions. There's consistent directionality with regard to effects and even dialogue. Fidelity is fine across the board and dynamic range is very wide. There is at least one curious case of censorship where an expletive has been deleted, a kind of odd decision for a Blu-ray release that may indicate someone simply ported over a broadcast track without thinking about it.

Legion: The Complete Season One Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Deleted Scenes (1080p; 26:50)


• Fractured Reality: A Different Kind of Hero (1080p; 10:35) is an above average EPK with interviews focusing on the character of David.


• Promotional Featurettes

  Uncanny Romance (1080p; 3:09) looks at the relationship between David and Syd.

  Production Design (1080p; 2:38) is a brief overview of the show's rather interesting combination of styles and eras.

  Powers (1080p; 2:39) is another brief piece focusing on some of the mutants' abilities.

  Make Up (Making the Devil With the Yellow Eyes) (1080p; 3:00) is an interesting (if again brief) look at crafting one of the recurring visions David experiences.

  Visual Effects (1080p; 2:34) features John Ross, Visual Effects Supervisor.

  Costume Design (1080p; 2:58) features Carol Case, Costume Designer.

  Locations (1080p; 2:24) has Hawley talking about being deliberately obfuscatory in trying not to identify where this is all happening.

Legion: The Complete Season One Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Legion is a rare show that combines a really impressive stylistic approach with a story that regularly provides excitement and intrigue. Stevens is fun in a role that requires him to be rather confused quite a bit of the time, and the supporting cast is colorful and varied. Technical merits are first rate, and Legion: The Complete Season One comes Highly recommended.