Before the sonic boom of superhero movies took over the film industry in the early 2010s, superhero media (television, movies, radio, etc.) was a relatively sparse entry into the cinematic catalogs. There were the Christoper Reeves Superman films of the ’70s and ’80s; the Tobey Maguire Spider-Man films of the ’00s, and indie hits here and there, such as Spawn. But before the boom, and before these other films hit the big screens, superhero television shows were essentially the first thing to appear in front of audiences, starting back in the ’40s and ’50s. Batman and Robin in the ’40s, The Adventures of Superman in the ’50s, The Incredible Hulk in the ’80s, and many more.
But as superhero movies started to hit and make money for studios, these television shows became unofficially affiliated with the superhero universes they were set in. And one of the more popular of these shows was FX’s Legion, a story taking place in an alternate timeline from Fox Studio’s X-Men franchise. Legion follows David Haller, the son of Professor X, a schizophrenic mutant who is trying to gain control of his powers. Running for three seasons, the show received critical acclaim for its style and structure. Here are the best episodes of Legion, ranked.
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6 Chapter 5
20th Studios
While the first four episodes of Legion do a great job of setting up David Haller and his world, Chapter 5 of the show is when things begin to take off. After packed episodes, with the creation of the White Room (along with Syd and David’s relationship), the battle with Division 3, The Devil with the Yellow Eyes, and more; it is revealed by Cary, after studying David’s brain scans, that there is another entity living inside him. That parasitic entity turns out to be none other than the Shadow King, the overall big bad of the show. This episode manages to set up the rest, while also being good in its own right.
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5 Chapter 14
Legion only continued to get better with each passing episode, and this trend continued with “Chapter 14”. After the tragic death of his sister Amy, David, using his powers, begins to imagine and explore different worlds and timelines in which he made different choices with his life. And some of the scenarios that he explores are truly heartbreaking. In one universe, David ends up homeless on the streets. In another, he lives contently in a care home with the help of his sister. After exploring more questionable scenarios, David ultimately returns to reality, having at least somewhat dealt with the trauma of his sister’s death. It’s this episode that fleshes David out on a deeper level than the rest of the cast.
4 Chapter 26
The penultimate episode of both the series and season three of Legion, “Chapter 26” splits its time between the past and the present. In the past, we learn how David’s father [Charles Xavier] meets Amahl Farouk (the Shadow King) and how Farouk ends up infecting a young David with his astral energy. Then, in the present, with the help of others such as Jai-Yi, David and his team handle time distortions and such to figure out their plan to defeat Farouk. And the episode ends with Charles and David prepared to take on the Shadow King once and for all. It is a fantastic setup for a fantastic series finale.
3 Chapter 7
The main character of Legion is a schizophrenic man with mutant powers and multiple personalities, and no other episode really captures that essence of a fractured psyche more than “Chapter 7”. In this episode, audiences see David Haller get together on the astral plane with differing variations of himself, the main being a British David. The two men then go into the history of how the Shadow King ended up infecting David, and what they can do to stop him. It’s a truly fantastic episode, dealing with more sci-fi elements rather than actions or drama.
2 Chapter 19
The finale of season two, “Chapter 19” is a hard-hitting ender. The main plot of this episode is the first of many battles between David Haller and the Shadow King (Farouk). As the tuning fork matched their frequencies, and the two begin singing “Behind the Blue Eyes” by The Who, both appear on the battleground. Both manifesting as some sort of [animated] warrior, the two begin to duke it out with each other, with the best part being that all of this is a mental battle on the astral planes. David does end up beating Farouk this first time, but not without consequences. As Syd fully turns on him, thinking he’s responsible for what had happened to Oliver. David ultimately has to flee, as Division 3 and others believe that he will one day bring about the end of the world. Intense and action-packed, it is hard to top this episode.
1 Chapter 27
The finale of season three, and the series finale overall, “Chapter 27” brings Legion to an absolutely stunning finish. David and Charles have their climatic fight between not one, but two Farouks (one young and one old); also including the other “Davids” of the Legion, taking them all on. It all ends peacefully, however, as Charles and Old Farouk convince David and Young Farouk to end the war between them, and let each other go their separate ways, which they do. Meanwhile, Larry (and the rest of David’s team) manage to finally themselves beat the Time Demons that they’ve been plagued with for a long time now. The episode ends as Jai-Yi is essentially about to restart the universe, and David and Syd have one final conversation as they hold Baby David. Though it had questionable decisions, the series finale managed to wrap up both character arcs and the story satisfyingly for audiences.
