The season finale of Legion could see David rise to the challenge … or be crushed by the monster in his head.
Legion “Chapter 7” set the stage for its upcoming finale by giving David the control that he has struggled for all season and immediately ripping it away. The segment of the episode after Cary managed to place his coronet on David’s head may have been the first time all season when we actually saw the real David. Even in his most stable moments earlier in the series, David’s conscience was tainted by the presence of the Shadow King. The closest to independence that he had gotten thus far was in Oliver’s ice cube. But even this was clouded because he was unaware of the Shadow King’s interference at that point.
However, David didn’t really have time to get adjusted to being in control of his own mind before the Shadow King was able to crack the coffin that it had been trapped in. There was only a crack, but seeing as the Shadow King is not bound to a physical presence (obviously), it possibly was able to escape through the crack. This was evidenced by the appearance of the Angriest Boy in the World in the final sequence. Though this time David at least seemed to recognize the boy as an illusion.
The synopsis released by FX reads:
"David faces his biggest challenge yet"
This could apply to a few potential situations in “Chapter 8.” First and foremost of these is the conflict with Division 3. At the end of ‘Chapter 7,” the Division had finally arrived at Summerland. The Promo for “Chapter confirms the conflict between David and Division 3 will be an actual fight, and it doesn’t appear to end well for Division 3.
The other challenge is the one within David’s own mind. Evicting the Shadow King from David’s mind would give him a clearer view of the world and more control over his powers. However “Chapter 7” added quite a bit to the backstory involving the Shadow King and David’s father, and one episode doesn’t seem like enough time to conclude that storyline. It is not really clear what the second season of Legion will be about, but the Shadow King may remain an antagonist. If this is going to happen, the Shadow King will need to either regain control of David’s mind to a degree or find a different host.
Regardless, It will be interesting to see where David and the others end up at the end of Legion season 1. The show has embraced both it’s Marvel connections and it’s superhero roots more and more as the season went on. This hasn’t been entirely successful: the show’s best moments involve David’s personal journey rather than any connection to the larger X-Men universe. But really until “Chapter 7,” almost all these connections were minor and left unexplored. There was certainly speculation over who the Devil With Yellow Eyes might be, and much of that turned out to be correct, but the connections were never explicit.
The finale gives Legion an opportunity to set the groundwork for it’s second season. Will the conflict with Division 3 move to the fore next year? Or will David’s continue to struggle with his identity and keep the show as closely bound to himself as it has been so far?
Check back here for continuing coverage of Legion all week.