Chapter 17 (Legion)

Last updated
"Chapter 17"
Legion episode
Episode no.Season 2
Episode 9
Directed by Noah Hawley
Written by
  • Noah Hawley
  • Nathaniel Halpern
Featured music Jeff Russo
Cinematography by
Editing by
  • Regis Kimble
  • Todd Desrosiers
  • Curtis Thurber
Production codeXLN02011
Original air dateMay 29, 2018 (2018-05-29)
Running time41 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Chapter 16"
Next 
"Chapter 18"
Legion (season 2)
List of episodes

"Chapter 17" is the ninth episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion , based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 17th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Hawley. It originally aired on FX on May 29, 2018.

Contents

The series follows David Haller, a "mutant" diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. Struggling to differentiate reality from fantasy, Haller tries to control his mutant powers and the sinister forces trying to control them while evading a government agency, Division 3. Summerland and Division 3 eventually team up in order to catch Amahl Farouk from finding his original body. In the episode, Melanie's background during the season is revealed, including how Farouk influenced her decisions.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.362 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised the performances, although it also received criticism for its pacing, narrative and its exploration on certain themes.

Plot

Thirteen days prior to the events of the previous episode, Melanie (Jean Smart) uses drugs to cope with losing Oliver (Jemaine Clement) again. Oliver appears in her mind, showing their life when they were younger in an attempt to make her forget about her feelings whenever he left.

Farouk (Navid Negahban) starts manipulating Melanie's perception of reality, making her reveal any important plan from David (Dan Stevens). David, meanwhile, communicates with Cary (Bill Irwin) and Kerry (Amber Midthunder) in retrieving an important weapon from Division 3 and leaving it in a Chinese restaurant parking lot. Back in Division 3, David asks Clark (Hamish Linklater) for help in retrieving "the clock", only to be knocked unconscious by Melanie, on Farouk's orders.

Lenny (Aubrey Plaza), now free from Division 3, returns to her old house where she starts using drugs again with her old friends. However, she is still haunted by Amy (Katie Aselton), who manifests in her consciousness and reprimands her for wasting her body just on drugs. Motivated by Amy and the vision she experienced earlier, Lenny leaves her house to help David. She arrives at the parking lot and enters the car, which vanishes in front of Cary and Kerry. The car transports her to the desert before bursting in flames. Lenny retrieves the weapon and starts walking. With a GPS tracking unit installed in the weapon, Cary and Kerry also set out for the desert.

Production

Development

In May 2018, it was reported that the ninth episode of the season would be titled "Chapter 17", and was to be directed by series creator Noah Hawley and written by Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern. This was Hawley's twelfth writing credit, Halpern's ninth writing credit, and Hawley's second directing credit. [1]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Chapter 17" was seen by an estimated 0.362 million household viewers and gained a 0.2 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.2 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [2] This was a 12% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.409 million viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics. [3]

Critical reviews

"Chapter 17" received generally positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 86% approval rating with an average rating of 6.8/10 for the episode, based on 7 reviews. [4]

Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "One of the more purely enjoyable elements of 'Chapter 17' is the opportunity to finally spend some quality time with the Loudermilks." [5]

Evan Lewis of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "With only two episodes left, Legion still has plenty to sort out, but there should be enough time to work up to a satisfying conclusion if the show starts playing the game instead of adding more pieces to the gameboard." [6] Beth Elderkin of Gizmodo wrote, "It's unclear if the latest episode of Legion is positioning itself as social commentary, a 'come to Jesus' moment, or just another hour of prep for that final battle we've been waiting for all season. But after almost two seasons of this show, what is clear is that Legion's female characters are trapped. By love, by 'our men.' And I'm ready for them to break free." [7]

Oliver Sava of Vulture gave the episode a 2 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Chapter 17' draws attention to Legion's difficulty bringing dimension to its supporting ensemble." [8] Nick Harley of Den of Geek gave the episode a 3.5 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "So while David's plan only inches along incrementally, there are some fun developments in the season's shortest episode to date. We were also spared a delusion PowerPoint presentation, so that was a plus too. All and all a solid, if not outstanding, episode. Next week was supposed to be the season finale, let's hope we still get something with some oomph." [9]

Related Research Articles

"Chapter 4" is the fourth episode of the first season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. The episode was written by co-producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Larysa Kondracki. It originally aired on FX on March 1, 2017.

"Chapter 6" is the sixth episode of the first season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. The episode was written by co-producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Hiro Murai. It originally aired on FX on March 15, 2017.

"Chapter 7" is the seventh episode of the first season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. The episode was written by co-producer Jennifer Yale and directed by Dennie Gordon. It originally aired on FX on March 22, 2017.

"Chapter 8" is the eighth episode and season finale of the first season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. The episode was written by series creator Noah Hawley and directed by Michael Uppendahl. It originally aired on FX on March 29, 2017.

<i>Legion</i> season 3 Season of television series

The third and final season of the American cable television series Legion is based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller / Legion, a mutant diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age. The season is produced by FX Productions in association with Marvel Television. Noah Hawley serves as showrunner.

"Chapter 9" is the first episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 9th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Tim Mielants. It originally aired on FX on April 3, 2018.

"Chapter 10" is the second episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 10th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Ana Lily Amirpour. It originally aired on FX on April 10, 2018.

"Chapter 11" is the third episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 11th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Sarah Adina Smith. It originally aired on FX on April 17, 2018.

"Chapter 12" is the fourth episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 12th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Ellen Kuras. It originally aired on FX on April 24, 2018.

"Chapter 13" is the fifth episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 13th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Tim Mielants. It originally aired on FX on May 1, 2018.

"Chapter 15" is the seventh episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 15th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Charlie McDowell. It originally aired on FX on May 15, 2018.

"Chapter 16" is the eighth episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 16th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and Jordan Crair and directed by Jeremy Webb. It originally aired on FX on May 22, 2018.

"Chapter 18" is the tenth episode of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 18th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Dana Gonzales. It originally aired on FX on June 5, 2018.

"Chapter 19" is the eleventh episode and season finale of the second season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 19th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and directed by Keith Gordon. It originally aired on FX on June 12, 2018.

"Chapter 20" is the first episode of the third season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 20th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by Andrew Stanton. It originally aired on FX on June 24, 2019.

"Chapter 21" is the second episode of the third season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 21st overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley, co-executive producer Olivia Dufault, and co-producer Kate Thulin and directed by Carlos López Estrada. It originally aired on FX on July 1, 2019.

"Chapter 23" is the fourth episode of the third season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 23rd overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Olivia Dufault and co-producer Charles Yu and directed by Daniel Kwan. It originally aired on FX on July 15, 2019.

"Chapter 25" is the sixth episode of the third season of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the 25th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and directed by executive producer John Cameron. It originally aired on FX on July 29, 2019.

"Chapter 27" is the series finale of the American cable television series Legion, based on the Marvel Comics character David Haller, and connected to the X-Men film series. It is the eighth episode of the third season and is the 27th overall episode of the series.. The episode was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Olivia Dufault and directed by Hawley and executive producer John Cameron. It originally aired on FX on August 12, 2019.

References

  1. "(#211) "Chapter 17"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  2. Welch, Alex (May 31, 2018). "Tuesday cable ratings: 'WWE Smackdown' leads, 'Legion' holds steady". TV by the Numbers . Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  3. Metcalf, Mitch (May 23, 2018). "UPDATED: SHOWBUZZDAILY's Top 150 Tuesday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 5.22.2018". Showbuzz Daily . Archived from the original on June 15, 2018. Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  4. "Legion: Season 2, Episode 9". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  5. McLevy, Alex (May 29, 2018). "Legion reveals what Melanie has been up to all this time, other than getting high". The A.V. Club . Retrieved January 13, 2022.
  6. Lewis, Evan (May 29, 2018). "Legion recap: Supporting players get in position for a desert showdown". Entertainment Weekly . Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  7. Elderkin, Beth (May 30, 2018). "It Sucks to Be a Woman in Legion". Gizmodo . Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  8. Sava, Oliver (May 29, 2018). "Legion Recap: Vapor Haze". Vulture . Retrieved January 13, 2023.
  9. Harley, Nick (May 30, 2018). "Legion Season 2 Episode 9 Review: Chapter 17". Den of Geek . Retrieved January 13, 2023.