While
watching Legion, it struck me that
David’s life is mostly something that happens to him rather than something he makes happen, at least so far. He’s been pulled every which way by a number
of conflicting forces, and the diverging riptides he’s caught in only get
stronger as the series goes on.
Ordinarily, that would be the sign of a rather lackluster character,
particularly a protagonist, but on David, it kind of works. Given all he’s been through and all the crap
that continues to get piled on top of him, it makes sense that, for now, his
biggest storyline is simply working up to taking his own actions on his own
terms (season 1 spoilers.)
David’s
existence has always seemed to exist on the whims of others or of his apparent
illness, which certainly lives within him but isn’t exactly a part of him. The symptoms of his “mental illness” (in
truth, his undiscovered mutant powers at work) make him feel off-balance and
out of control all by themselves, and the actions that follow from them land
him in a hospital where he’s given very little in the way of choice or
autonomy. One of the first real acts of
decision we see from him is pursuing Syd as a girlfriend, and her issues with
touch means she dictates the terms of their interactions. The inciting incident of the pilot, the one
that gets David picked up by a bunch of shadowy government types intent on
studying his powers, is committed by David’s body when he doesn’t happen to be
in it (don’t ask – just watch.) When he
is rescued by Syd and her new mutant friends, it’s generally so they can use
his powers in their war against Division 3 and particularly so Melanie can use
his powers to try and recover her husband from the astral plane. David is prodded at and tested, taken on
unpleasant tours through his past, and, when his subconscious proves too tricky
for them to handle, physically sedated so they can poke around his psyche more
freely.
All that
is before you factor in the Shadow King, the malignant presence that’s been
living in David’s mind for virtually his entire life, feeding into his
perceived illness. The Shadow King’s
influence runs deep, subtly manipulating David at times, tearing him down
emotionally at others, and every now and then entirely hijacking his body and
powers. This is the ultimate loss of
control for a man who has had control denied him at nearly every turn. It disguises itself in David’s head, taking
various shapes and making him forget crucial memories, but he still knows to be
afraid of it, and yet, at the same time, it’s been a part of him so long that
he doesn’t know who he is without it.
What I
like about David is who he is despite all this.
He is frequently very afraid and very confused. He’s almost constantly bewildered by the
increasingly insane turn his life is taking, and he’s basically hanging on for
dear life and trying not to get subsumed by one of the many competing forces
who want to use him for the powers he hadn’t even realized he had. But this very weakness and insecurity also
highlights a strength of his character, being a man who doesn’t shy away from
opening up about his fears or doubts.
He’s willing to let himself be extremely vulnerable, putting his
psychological damage on display without apology. There’s no pretext of being tough or untouchable,
of having any semblance of an answer.
He’s figuring all this out as he goes along, and he handles that in
different ways at different times:
crying or freaking out, making a resigned joke at his own expense,
screwing up colossally, taking an enormous risk, standing up for his dignity in
a tiny way, drawing imaginary pictures in his mind, trying to protect his loved
ones the only way he knows how, making a fool of himself, disappearing inside
his head, and appealing to the better angels of his enemies. When you look at what his life has been like,
I love how he keeps going, swimming against disparate currents despite how
terrifying and perplexing it all is.
No comments:
Post a Comment