FX's Legion season 3, episode 2 recap: Chapter 21 dives into David's past

David looks for a tool in “Chapter 21” of Legion. The episode is as much about David’s past actions as it is in trying to fix them. We’ve got the recap.

“Chapter 21” of Legion was written by Noah Hawley (Fargo) and Olivia Dufault (Preacher) & Kate Thulin (Corporate). It was directed by Carlos López Estrada (Identity Theft). Simple in design, the episode is lavish and fun. It picks up where “Chapter 20” left off and begins to push us towards the conclusion of the series. David (Dan Stevens) and Syd (Rachel Keller) finally get to talk after the events that ended season two. Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) is sent on a procurement mission. Cary (Bill Irwin) finds a new calling. And we still have no idea why Switch (Lauren Tsai) is participating in any of this. I’m going to miss this show.

You Can’t Take that Back

Syd is in despair. She knows she killed David twice, but Switch helped him undo both kills before vanishing with the entire compound in “Chapter 20.” Syd consults Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban), who was busy in another realm playing “O Tannenbaum” from A Charlie Brown Christmas with a parlor full of lovelies. Ever the toxic influence, Farouk suggests that Syd use the ex-lover angle against David. Syd protests. That would be like being violated all over again. Farouk promises to teach her how to lie and seduce without needing any physical intervention.

When we catch up with David, a Charlie Brown song is playing. He’s still all up in his own feelings. But he tries to act like everything is lovely. This is what led to one of his alternate timeline-selves destroying the world in season two. You can only use your delusions to force down your real feelings for so long until things explode.

Poor David. He feels like everyone is picking on him. The use of Charlie Brown songs suggests there is still some connection between David and Farouk. It could also be Switch fixing the timeline. There’s something there.

Legion-Chapter 21-Courtesy of Pari Dukovic/FX

Read. Legion season 3 premiere recap: Chapter 20. light

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David visits Syd via apparition. He still remembers things that she told him at his trial. He’s so busy trying to convince himself who he wants to be that he won’t admit who he really is. Um, hello?! Yup! David sadly proves Syd’s point when he tells her that he’s trying to time travel to fix things. He’s trying to time travel to fix himself. Syd explains that David would still be a man capable of violating her. She just wouldn’t know it. He would avoid doing it. But the fact that David violated Syd on every level can never be changed.

Angered, David turns the blue opium juice into the red. It’s a beautiful and cool effect as all of the compound’s pipeline’s change from blue to purple and settle on pulsating red. All of David’s followers are now drinking the Kool Aid of hate. He’s weaponizing an army.

Try to Run, But You Can’t Run Like This

Division 3 held on to Squirrel (Wally Rudolph) after the third raid on David’s compound failed last week. Clark (Hammish Linklater) interrogates him on the plane in a throwback to season one. Hardcore for no apparent reason, Clark threatens to hit a button that will drop Squirrel out of the plane A View to a Kill style. All Clark wants is information on David or Lenny. All Squirrel will give him is a nervous performance of “Jump” by Kriss Kross. Clark hits the button.

But Squirrel is actually being set free. Thanks to a parachute designed by Cary, he lands, fairly unscathed, and is quickly picked up by Lenny. She’s driving one of the compound’s variations of the Mystery Mobile from Scooby Doo. She’s brought muscle, too. The entire female mansion family is in the back of the van. Lenny lures Squirrel with blue juice.

LEGION — Pictured: Amber Midthunder as Kerry Loudermilk. CR: Pari Dukovic/FX

Lenny and company stop in a garage that leads to a Wonderland-like forest. Lenny is the Mad Hatter because anything else would be uncivilized. She wants to know what Squirrel told Division 3. But, David and Lenny aren’t sloppy. This isn’t just a sloppy interrogation out in the open. They need to lure the team out into the field so they can capture Cary. But they need Cary while Kerry (Amber Midthunder) is out on her own fighting. There is a brief showdown between Kerry and Manson Family that ends with the use of a net. Only then do they realize that Cary has been kidnapped.

There was Something in it for Me

David needs Cary to design him an amplification tool. At the beginning of the episode, David asks Switch to take him into the time room. It’s the temporal access point where she can go backwards or forwards in time. We didn’t know about the forwards part last week. David is unable to join her. There’s something holding him back. They never try with anyone else. It’s just assumed that Switch is the only one who access to time.

Of course, David could be blocked by future or past Switch. In any event, Switch seems like she really wants to please David. She asks if he’s mad at her. He isn’t. He just needs a person with a particular set of skills to help get into the time room. That’s Cary. It was really cool to see Bill Irwin get to use some of his physical clown comedy talents to wiggle his way out of captivity.

LEGION — Pictured: Lauren Tsai as Switch. CR: Pari Dukovic/FX

It’s clear that Cary wants his own piece of the action. Usually, it’s Kerry that impatiently seeks action. This time, Cary wants to actively help David prevent the destruction of the world without killing him. Oh, also Lenny forces Cary to inhale a massive amount of the red juice. So, that’s surely influencing Cary.

His designs for an amplifier sound like something out of Avengers: Endgame. There’s a suit for time-travel using quantum mechanics that is suggested before Cary settles on what he has on hand: over-the-ear-headphones. They’re an older model, but headphones seem to be an important tool for Switch. We skipped ahead to chapter 20 in her rules for time travel. We still don’t know what’s in chapters one through twelve. I think they might hold the key to who she is and why these rules are sent to her. She doesn’t seem to need them, but they’re there to remind her.

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Next week, it looks like Division 3 is going to make a move on Switch while Cary is going to help David make a move on time. We’ll meet Charles Xavier (Harry Lloyd) in his pre-Professor X days. And, Lenny will continue to grow paranoid that David is going to try and replace her with Switch. Buy the ticket. Take the ride.

Are you enjoying the final season of Legion? Why do you think Switch is helping David? Let’s discuss in the comments!

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