@eggrollko
LEGION (Thursday – Ballroom 20) – Walking around Comic-Con, it is almost inevitable that you’ll see a Legion billboard, banner or some other sort of promotion of the show and with good reason. The first season did something not many comic book shows– and superhero shows in particular–can do: transcend the superhero genre and firmly establish itself as one of the best psychological dramas on television. For that reason, there was a lot of excitement for Legion’s first appearance at Comic-Con. I waited in line for over an hour and a half to get a chance to see or hear anything about Season 2, but when the panel finally arrived we saw none and heard very little about the direction the hit show is headed. This panel, rather, was more a retrospective of S01 and a behind the scenes account from the cast and producers — still good, but definitely not what I was expecting or hoping for.
Legion creator Noah Hawley said that S02 will seek to answer the questions of what David Haller (the titular hero played by Dan Stevens) is without the Shadow King and what fills that void? It will also go deeper into the relationship between David and Syd (Rachel Keller). It’s a love story between two people who physically can’t actually be together; from the honeymoon period to seeing how that actually works. Season 2 will also delve into the backstory of Syd; Oliver, the frozen man who lives the astral plane played by Jemaine Clement; Melanie, Oliver’s wife who actress Jean Smart describes by saying, “she’s in love with a popsicle and hasn’t had sex in 20 years, so she’s a bit Moody”; and most importantly, Amahl Farouk, the original human form of the Shadow King who they announced will be portrayed by Said Taghmaoui.
The majority of the panel, however focused on the silent movie fight scene set to Bolero dance music. The moderator described it as the best fight scene he’d seen in quite some time and I’m inclined to agree with him; so it was interesting to hear the backstory of that scene from how and why it came about, to the struggles of putting it together. Ultimately, that disappointment was almost completely abated by the bombshell announcement Hawley, whom the actors and producers had just spent the entire panel describing as the genius mind behind the look, story and themes of the show, dropped on us. Hawley ended the panel by saying that he was working on a project with Fox that he couldn’t say much on, so he left us with two words: Doctor. Doom. 3.75/5 Bibles.