Synopsis 01×03: Where the last episode of Legion was needed to slow things down, this episode of the show may have slowed things down a bit too much. After being deterred from rescuing his sister in favor of learning to control his powers, the visits to David’s memory museum continue.
In the meantime, Ptonomy has figured out a way to access the memories David had kept hidden before. Returning to the kitchen scene, David insists he’s not sure which fight this is until the bread box pops open. Then all he has to say is, “Oh.” Putting some of his powers into context, the scene is also put into context as having happened right after the vapor frog incident with Lenny. Melanie opines that he got caught and felt trapped, triggering his powers.
Unfortunately, that’s as far as they get in the analysis of the scene as the Demon with the Yellow Eyes makes an appearance – one only David can see. He disrupts Ptonomy’s powers and ultimately, the three of them are thrown out of the memory cube altogether and awake inside Summerlands.
Later, Syd and David discuss their bodyswapping, which is a nice look into their relationship that developed at breakneck speed. But it’s not all fun and games as David is shuffled back to Cary/Kerry (I’m convinced they’re the same person) for more testing. He’s asked not to break anything this time, to which he replies, “I’m not gonna promise that.” Instructed to think of something stressful, David regresses to a past Halloween where he’s accosted by the angriest boy in the world.
When Cary notes that David’s speech center is active, but he’s not talking, it’s revealed that David seems to be conversing with Lenny. She’s warning him away from Melanie and to get his ass in gear to help his sister, which was the most “off” thing about the episode to me. This episode slowed down the story even more and left David to skip rocks on the pier while his sister was tortured for his whereabouts, even when he asserts she’s the most important thing.
Suddenly, with the threat to his sister clear, David floats out of his chair and hovers mid-air. Syd runs into the room and the both of them float up and disappear in a blinding light. Turns out, they’re eavesdropping on Amy’s interrogation. As she’s told about David’s power and how that changes her memories of him, their astral projection is noticed by The Eye – throwing them out of the scene when he reaches for the two of them.
Like before, David couldn’t quite bring them back to the same place – landing in the lake this time – but they quickly regroup with Melanie. She forbids David from trying to pull the same trick and gives some background into Walter, also known as The Eye. He was once at Summerlands, with Melanie’s husband – the voice of the coffee machine and elevators – and that’s all the backstory we get because David is disinterested in long-winded sob stories.
During the ensuing argument, Melanie admits that she wants David happy and healthy and then she wants to use him for the war. David angrily asserts that he only cares about Amy and there’s an interesting shot of Syd in the background. To supercharge Melanie’s treatment, he agrees to be sedated for the next run through his memories, but he doesn’t want Syd to go on the trip with the rest of them. Later, he admits to her that she won’t view him the same way, but she’s undeterred and he ultimately relents.
Sedated, a child version of David joins them in the memory museum and they all watch as an adult David ransacks his shrink’s office. There are piles of tapes from his sessions, but before too much can happen Syd realizes that the memory around her is off somehow. Only she sees the cracks in the wall, but Ptonomy can’t wake them from the memory and David bolts, with Syd giving chase.
Once they’re cornered, Syd is yelling at David to wake up because they can’t be helped anymore. She’s the only one to get out of the memory, but she quickly pulls Ptonomy to consciousness as well. Melanie, who was separated from the rest, is still in the memory and ends up reading more of The World’s Angriest Boy in the World before the book closes itself on her hand. That traumatizes her enough to wake her up, but David stays under and the episode ends.
This has been the funniest episode so far, with plenty of moments suffused with dark and twisted humor, but it has also served to slow the momentum of the show a touch too much. All urgency to leave Summerlands in search of his sister was gone for the first half of the episode and he cut Melanie off without getting the info dump on the big bad. Still, a solid episode that helped to slot more of the puzzle pieces into place.
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