Chapter 26 (Legion)

Last updated
"Chapter 26"
Legion episode
Episode no.Season 3
Episode 7
Directed by Dana Gonzales
Written by
Featured music Jeff Russo
Cinematography by Ben Kutchins
Editing byCurtis Thurber
Production codeXLN03007
Original air dateAugust 5, 2019 (2019-08-05)
Running time46 minutes
Guest appearances
Episode chronology
 Previous
"Chapter 25"
Next 
"Chapter 27"
Legion (season 3)
List of episodes

"Chapter 26" is the seventh 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 26th overall episode of the series and was written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Olivia Dufault and directed by Dana Gonzales. It originally aired on FX on August 5, 2019.

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. While Farouk was captured, David is now labeled as a threat and hunted down, prompting him to escape. In the episode, David travels thirty years in the past to directly meet his father and help in fighting Farouk.

According to Nielsen Media Research, the episode was seen by an estimated 0.288 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49. The episode received positive reviews from critics, who praised the interaction between David and his father and cinematography, although some expressed criticism for its rushed pacing.

Plot

Having sensed him through Cerebro, Charles Xavier (Harry Lloyd) flies to Morocco to find Farouk (Navid Negahban). Farouk actually expected him, and has a chauffeur pick him up at the airport. At the time hallway, David (Dan Stevens) and Switch (Lauren Tsai) find that time is becoming unstable, with a door trapping David in a loop of previous events.

Charles arrives at Farouk's monastery, who welcomes him and invites him for dinner. During dinner, Farouk shows the astral plane to Xavier, teaching him how to use it. Meanwhile, Syd (Rachel Keller), Cary (Bill Irwin) and Kerry (Amber Midthunder) arrive at Charles' mansion, finding Gabrielle Haller (Stephanie Corneliussen) with her baby. Syd talks with her, until she realizes that the baby is David himself. Kerry suggests killing him, but Syd is conflicting in doing so, claiming they can still save David through time.

While experiencing visions, Charles is visited by David. After confirming his identity, he takes Charles inside his mind to talk. He then projects to Charles everything that happened in his life, surprising Charles. Later, Charles and David meet with Farouk, as the meeting is a trap so David can kill Farouk. However, Switch starts feeling the side effects of time travel, causing them to constantly jump through many places. During this, Charles discovers the alternate versions of David inside his mind, disturbing him.

Syd talks with Gabrielle about properly raising David, warning her that David could become evil in the future if she does not love him enough. However, the time demons appear and stalk them through the house. While visiting Farouk, Charles discovers that his "children" are just vessels that contain his victims. Concluding that he won't stop his nature, Charles reunites with David, with both intending to fight him. Present day Farouk manages to escape from "the time between time", manifesting in the monastery and meeting his past self.

Production

Development

In July 2019, it was reported that the seventh episode of the season would be titled "Chapter 26", and was to be directed by Dana Gonzales and written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Olivia Dufault. This was Hawley's eighteenth writing credit, Dufault's fourth writing credit, and Gonzales' second directing credit. [1]

Reception

Viewers

In its original American broadcast, "Chapter 26" was seen by an estimated 0.288 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode. [2] This was a 14% decrease in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.332 million viewers with a 0.1 in the 18-49 demographics. [3]

Critical reviews

"Chapter 26" received positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 7/10 for the episode, based on 5 reviews. [4]

Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B-" grade and wrote, "It's enervating stuff, but the road to that setup was messy. There's an oddness to the way this episode tells the story of Xavier traveling to meet Farouk for the first time, and how their encounter played out—and not 'odd' in the sense of, 'Hey, it's Legion, everything's a little odd.' In part, it stems from the way Xavier and Gabrielle occupy central parts of the narrative as the show rushes to its conclusion." [5]

Nick Harley of Den of Geek wrote, "Legion's series finale, 'Chapter 27' then appears like it will be a showdown, father and son vs two versions of Amahl Farouk. I'm excited to see how Hawley represents this conflict, as he always eschews traditional battles in the astral plane for something more impressionistic and unexpected. However, the thing I'm most anxious to see in the finale will be how they resolve the story between David and Syd, which has always been the beating heart of the series. If David changes his past, will it just fix everything that's come before? It can't be that neat, can it?" [6] Kevin Lever of Tell Tale TV gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "'Chapter 26' does some intricate storytelling by keeping a heavy episode a little light in its heart. What other show would blast Captain Sensible's 'Wot' as a defense mechanism in a character's mind? The fate of the world is in the balance, but it's never been more entertaining and fun to watch." [7]

Related Research Articles

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"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.

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"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.

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"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.

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"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 22" is the third 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 22nd overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern and directed by executive producer John Cameron. It originally aired on FX on July 8, 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 24" is the fifth 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 24th overall episode of the series and was written by co-executive producer Olivia Dufault and producer Ben H. Winters and directed by Arkasha Stevenson. It originally aired on FX on July 22, 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. "(#307) "Chapter 26"". The Futon Critic. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  2. Metcalf, Mitch (August 6, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 8.5.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on August 6, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  3. Metcalf, Mitch (July 30, 2019). "Updated: ShowBuzzDaily's Top 150 Monday Cable Originals & Network Finals: 7.29.2019". Showbuzz Daily. Archived from the original on July 30, 2019. Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  4. "Legion: Season 3, Episode 7". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  5. McLevy, Alex (August 5, 2019). "Stuck between the past and present, Legion struggles toward its conclusion". The A.V. Club . Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  6. Harley, Nick (August 12, 2019). "Legion Season 3 Episode 7 Review: Chapter 26". Den of Geek . Retrieved January 16, 2023.
  7. Lever, Kevin (August 5, 2019). "Legion Review: Chapter 26 (Season 3 Episode 7)". Tell Tale TV. Retrieved January 16, 2023.