Legion has everyone give into their delusions in ‘Chapter 15’
“Chapter 15” is all about the way people see each other and how it effects their actions throughout this season of Legion.
This season of Legion has spent a lot of time dissecting the human mind. A large part of “Chapter 15,” is looking at delusions and how they can suddenly become reality. Sadly, this episode also seems to mark the end of Jon Hamm’s narration with his psychology lessons.
The hour picks up with David confronting Farouk over the murder of his sister. As far as the Shadow King is concerned, he did David a favor by killing Amy. In his mind, he saw that David wanted his sister gone so he delivered on that wish. Yet, as an audience member, we know that this desire was probably a tiny one in the darkest part of his head. “Chapter 15,” questions whether David’s grief is a delusion which he has forced himself to partake in.
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Yet, the rest of Division Three is suffering from its own form of darkness. The tiny mind bug has infected almost everyone and left them in fear of Admiral Fukuyama. In a weird twist of fate, David is the only one left who can see the Admiral is not the cause of the problem. The rest of the group attacks him because they only see a giant black monster trying to get out.
Elsewhere in “Chapter 15”, Farouk visits Future Syd for a visit to understand her boyfriend. This episode makes it startlingly clear she’s trying to deceive someone. In her meeting with Farouk, the pink light barely covers the room and in the center is only a dark throne which she sits on. Future Syd admits she needs Farouk to live because David will ultimately destroy the world.
“Chapter 15” makes one questions who Future Syd is actually lying to. When she talks with David later in the episode, her room is once again illuminated with a bed in it. She genuinely offers him comfort over the loss of Amy and he finally breaks down. Yet, he also immediately breaks Present-Syd’s rules of interacting with her future self. The two share a passionate kiss but it feels like both of them have their own intentions. David needs to get closer to her for answers, and Future Syd needs to keep him compliant.
This episode also gives us a glimpse of a David who could destroy the world. It’s easy to forget how powerful he is until he easily captures the mind monster trying to decimate Division Three. In a cold moment, he reminds the beast he would have let it go before using his mind to blow it up. Is there something strong enough to drive him to create an apocalypse though?
The two biggest revelations from “Chapter 15” are ultimately centered around the supporting cast. Ptonomy ends up dying after serving as a vessel for the monster but is now hooked up to Fukuyama’s mainframe. Present-Syd accused Lenny of only serving as a distraction for David but the latter steadfastly denied this. Her memories of her time with Farouk mainly consist of constant rape and imprisonment. Suddenly, her character has become a lot more sympathetic and worthy of a redemption arc.
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Who’s lying to who anymore? It seems like everyone has their own agenda and will likely deal with their joined delusions in their own way. Ptonomy’s death is similar to Amy’s, the audience didn’t know enough about him for it to have a huge emotional impact. Hopefully, Legion will assemble the gang together soon because everyone feels very disconnected this season.