Legion Premiere Review: 6 Ups & 2 Downs From 'Chapter 1'

Ups...

6. The Supporting Players Are All Excellent

Legion may be keenly centred on David Haller, but there's still plenty of scope for the supporting players in his life to make a big impact.

Much like he does on Fargo, Hawley populates this world with an array of weird and complicated characters, few of whom are outright good or bad. There's Hamish Linklater's Interrogator, as close as we really come to an antagonist of the episode (along with his lesser-seen superior), and effectively the straight-man of the episode. Linklater sells it well, retaining an authoritative tone despite the craziness going on around him.

Then there are the more minor players, such as Kerry Loudermilk and Cary Loudermilk; pronounced the exact same way, and affiliated with each other but seemingly not related. Amber Midhunter and Bill Irwin fill their respective roles well - the former with child-like wonder, the latter your more typical scientist figure - and, especially with that naming quirk, they're archetypal Hawley characters.

Leading the way, though, are the two main women in David's life: Lenny (Plaza) and Syd (Keller). Plaza is obviously having a blast as Lenny, David's drug-addled friend in Clockworks, and has pitch-perfect delivery (as you'd expect from her) for her droll remarks - though it's not entirely clear how she fits into the series going forward. Keller's Syd is a more enigmatic figure, who appears to have a sense of fun, but there's an inherent sadness and longing within as well.