By The Nerdling

Insanity takes over D3.  The future threat is revealed.

Spoilers can start off as an egg…

“Maybe we’re all villains”

After being literally called out by David, Farouk once again meets with the powerful telepath in the astral plane.  David is so incensed over the death of Amy, all he can do is snarl at the Shadow King.  Farouk is dismissal of his anger, condescendingly telling David to “use your words” and insists he only went after Amy because David had been fantasizing about hurting her after she had him committed.  The Shadow King lived inside David’s mind, after all.

Syd knows what happened with Amy serves as a distraction for David and suggests he talk to Future-Syd as to what to do next.  David worries this might make her jealous, something Syd didn’t even think about until David planted the thought into her mind.  She establishes a couple of ground rules when he goes to talk to Future-Syd, the biggest one being no intimate contact.

Before David makes his way to Future-Syd, Farouk gets there first using a car and pink-psychic gas.  He needs to know why she is trying to help him recover his body.  Future-Syd reveals she needs him alive to save the world from nearly being wiped out.  Farouk quickly catches on.  David is the threat that ends humanity.

The Shadow King is beside himself with joy.  The white-skin, American champion is really the villain.  The brown-skin and foreign accented baddie is really the hero.  Accept Farouk has demonstrated many times over he is anything but (more ranting about that later).  It seems as if Future-Syd and Farouk may have come to an agreement to keep David on the path which benefits the two of them.

David’s conversation with Future-Syd doesn’t go as well as Present-Syd hoped.  He asks his future love why she didn’t warn him.  She skirts the question by telling him he needs to stay focused.  When David explains he can’t help the being who destroyed his sister, Future-Syd switches gears.  She understands she was asking too much of him.  Before he goes, Future-Syd asks for a goodbye kiss and that is all it takes for David to break the biggest indulgence Syd asked of him.

Syd goes to visit Lenny in her cell and calls her “the song they play outside a hostage crisis to keep criminals from thinking clearly.”  Lenny agrees, but throws Syd off balance by telling her Farouk raped Lenny when she was in his mind.

Moral Panic

This week’s John Hamm voiced lesson focuses on when fear grabs the public and their actions become extreme.  Using the witch hunts during the 17^th century and comic book panic in the 50’s (Satanic Panic in the 80’s and 90’s would have been better, but not as meta) as examples of how one person’s concern can spread like a disease creating dangerous outrage.  “What’s more terrifying,” Hamm asks.  “Fear or the frightened?”

Finally cashing in on Ptonomy’s tar-covered-chicken-demon infection sees the memory-mutant infecting Syd, Kerry, and Clark.  Ptonomy leaves eggs in their rooms and whispers in their ears as they sleep.  The others join Ptonomy in his raid to find out what is underneath Admiral Fukuyama’s basket.  Kerry and Ptonomy slaughter a horde of Vermillion while Clark and Syd break into Fukuyama’s chamber.  Clark aims a gun at the D3 leader and demands he remove the basket from his head.  Underneath, the Admiral looks like any other man, but with scars all over his face.  The infected minds of Syd and Clark see the tar-covered-chicken-demon.

David starts to head back to his room after his unproductive conversation with Future-Syd when he sees the floor outside of everyone’s room covered in egg shells. Clark is about to shoot Fukuyama when David appears and turns the gun into a mop.  A few of the surviving Vermillion bring in Ptonomy stating they are all under the influence of Farouk.  That may well be, but David sees the tar-covered-chicken-demon nesting inside their minds.  He removes the things from Syd and Clark’s brains and the two return to normal.

But Ptonomy’s insanity has had plenty of time to grow inside his mind and gruesomely emerges from the mutant’s body.  David chases after the massive amount of insanity, cornering it in the dinning hall.  He tries to talk with it, but insanity cannot see reason.  He shrinks it down, traps it into a jar, and crushes it into a ball.  The Vermillion cannot save the body of the dying Ptonomy so they connect his mind to the mainframe tree.  He is transported to a room filled with 1’s and 0’s as well as an older woman knitting who shushes him.

Thoughts

“Chapter 15” was a bit of a letdown after the last few spectacular episodes.  It didn’t drive to plot forward so much as conclude the Hamm-voiced lessons (maybe?) on psychosis in the masses.

While this Hispanic-Latina from Texas can appreciate the writers attempts at irony in light of the xenophobic motivations of several world leaders, the sentiment doesn’t quite land when Farouk has done bad things to Legion’s protagonists.  It was one thing when Farouk talks about the white colonialism of Charles Xavier’s defeat of The Shadow King before the events of Legion, it is something else entirely to call himself a hero when we have seen the horrors of Farouk’s influence.

I’m pretty positive Future-Syd is using reverse psychology on David to keep him on task.  She gave in a little too quickly when David confesses he can’t help Farouk.  Her motivations might be pure, but I wonder if she can really be trusted.  Especially now when it seems as if she is trying to create a love triangle between her, David, and Present-Syd.

The great hunt to The Shadow King’s body intensifies next week!  But who is on who’s side?

Till Then!

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The Nerdling was born in the majestic land known as Texas and currently resides there after several years of journeying through Middle Earth in a failed attempt to steal the one Ring from that annoying hobbit, serving the Galactic Empire for a time, and then a short stint as a crew member on the Serenity. Since moving back to her homeland, Nerdling flirted with a hero reputation. Saving children from the dangers of adoring domineering, sparkly vampires (champions with souls are the only vampires worth loving) and teaching normals the value of nerdom, all while rooting for her beloved Dallas Stars. Then came the Sokovia Accords and her short spell of saving others came to an end. With Darth Vader’s reputation rightfully returning to badass status, Nerdling is making her way back to the Empire. They do have cookies, you know. You can find her on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.