FX's Legion season 3, episode 6 recap: Chapter 25

Legion’s “Chapter 25” sees the return of Melanie & Oliver, Time Eaters, and Syd’s mind. There’s also the Big Bad Wolf and a rap battle. We’ve got the recap!

Wow. So, “Chapter 25” happened. Series creator and writer Noah Hawley (Fargo) somehow found an even higher level of whimsy and psychedelia for Legion. The last three episodes have been intense and emotionally driven hours of television. It came to a head last week in “Chapter 24.” After all they had been subjected to, Lenny (Aubrey Plaza) had finally had enough. And David (Dan Stevens) arrogantly pranced around while killing people in his war without tears. He completely destroyed Syd’s (Rachel Keller) mind in the process.

“Chapter 25” was a reset. The stakes were high. It was still intense. But the episode, directed by John Cameron (Fargo), drove home the hero’s journey. It’s grounded, it takes a long time, and there is a lot of sacrifice. But, the humanity you gain along the way will always beat the inhumanity in your way. The Birds return, sort of. Oliver (Jemaine Clement) and Melanie (Jean Smart) play a key role that they weren’t capable of playing in previous episodes. And Jason Mantzoukas is Jerome, The Big Bad Wolf. What a wild, fun, and emotional ride. Just another week on Legion.

The Flower Pot

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The episode opens up with Oliver walking through a beautiful valley. Objects appear and reappear. I thought David and Switch (Lauren Tsai) had achieved their goal and changed the future. But it turns out that this is the astral plane. It’s not the barren desert, empty space, or igloo that we’ve seen in previous episodes. This is a picturesque countryside that’s full of life and green. That’s because Oliver and Melanie have projected themselves into a flower pot that rests on the fire escape/porch of a big city apartment building.

Oliver and Melanie live a modest life dressed as peaceful, non-genocidal pilgrims. The things that appear in the astral plane are things that are disregarded or lost in the real world. Oliver collects this astral junk in a Radio Flyer wagon. It gets Monty Pythonesque when Melanie asks Oliver what he’s brought home. He responds, “A half-eaten sandwich, a really nice sock, and…oh. A baby.” The couple immediately adopts the baby into their little family.

LEGION — CR: Suzanne Tenner/FX

It’s really nice to see Oliver and Melanie together and thriving in love. They’ve seen some rough times. Over soup, Oliver reveals the baby is Syd. Melanie asks how he knows. Oliver responds that the baby told him. But, when Melanie asks what else the baby told Oliver, he says “Nothing. She’s just a baby. She can’t talk.” Yeah. Ok. Makes perfect sense.

Who’s Afraid of Pimento Wolfe?

Jason Mantzoukas is awesome. His characters are layered, in your face, and funny. Also, I choose to believe that The Tick-Tock Man from John Wick Chapter 3 and tonight’s Jerome The Big Bad Wolf are what happened to Adrian Pimento after he and Rosa (Stephanie Beatriz) broke up for good on Brooklyn Nine-Nine. If I’m the only person on Earth who believes this, I’m good with that.

Yes. Jerome is literally the Big Bad Wolf. He huffs and he puffs and he makes the Birds move. Repeatedly. I don’t think he eats people as much as he keeps the people he finds within the astral plane in the astral plane. He prevents them from returning to the real world or forces them back. I’m not sure. But one thing is for sure. Jerome feeds off the corruption of his totally awesome adolescent gang. How many times have you had an eight year old in full make up offer you flavored vodka? The answer had better be zero.

LEGION — CR: Suzanne Tenner/FX

Jerome does succeed in seducing Cynthia (Samantha Cormier) away from the growing Bird family. This is what causes teenaged Syd, again excellently played by Pearl Amanda Dickson (Criminal Minds), to come of age. She’s grown up in the Bird home learning about life. There’s a precise nature to math. It’s key to learn how to love before you hate. And, it’s always us and them. Not us or them.

Rap Battle for all of Time

Syd decides that Cynthia must be saved. With Oliver and Melanie’s help, Cynthia is lured out of Jerome’s lair. But they stop to talk about their progress and Jerome catches up. There’s only one way for this confrontation to end: with a rap battle. Oliver ditches the pilgrim suit for his familiar boss leisure suit. He and Jerome enter and epic rap battle of white boy proportions. I can’t repeat most of it on this website, but it’s cool to see Legion rely on FX’s full use of the English language.

Oliver defeats Jerome like you defeat any bully, by being mean to them. Not even particularly that mean. Just mean enough to make everyone realize they are bullies because they’re as scared as their victims. While Oliver succeeds in the rap battle, Cynthia decides to coddle the ego-bruised Jerome. But, to Syd’s surprise, the mission was a success. She demonstrated that she has love within her. She’s a warrior. And, she’s ready to go back to the real world. Syd bids a tearful goodbye to the Birds before willing herself back into her body on the air ship. It’s been a grand total of 20 minutes since she was mind-wiped. That’s right. This is Little Red Riding Hood meets Inception.

The time door that David and Switch entered last week is still dangling open. Cary (Bill Irwin) suspects this means the Time Eaters are back. He is correct. Kerry (Amber Midthunder) looks horrific after her big loss against the Manson family last week. Cary builds three wrist bands that will allow them to time travel. He then allows Kerry to merge with him, which transfers all of her damage onto him. The reinvigorated Kerry kicks a Time Eater as the three enter and close the door to time. Their mission: to stop David and save all of existence.

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Next week, David tries to prevent his dad, Charles Xavier (Harry Lloyd) from meeting Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban). Farouk springs a trap. And Syd and company visit David’s old home. There’s only one new episode left before the series finale. Check out the preview above.

Did you like the Little Red Riding Hood mash up on Legion? How do you think the series will end? Let’s discuss in the comments!

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