Legion premiered on Bravo just two weeks ago and it is off to a bizarre and intriguing start. When I first starting watching this show, I did wonder if maybe I had a bad acid trip or worry that I was possibly having a medical condition and that is why my brain was unable to process just what the hell was happening. However, mid-way through the episode I realized that there had to be something else going on, and that is right about when we first get to hear the word “Mutant”.

Although in many ways you can compare some of the characters and details to the famous X-Men, Bravo has also taken a dramatically different spin on how the story is unfolding, and how the cinematography portrays the plot line. The main character, David, who is played by is a powerful telepath, and although he senses that he has powers he has also been told his entire life that he is a paranoid schizophrenic. In fact he has been living in a mental institution for most of his life. Until “the incident” where one of his friends is killed. We find out later that he actually switches bodies with his “girlfriend” during the incident and that is when Division Three comes after him. You might say that he is as powerful as Jean Grey from the X-men, and that his mentor is similar to Charles Xavier. Even his girlfriends abilities are similar to that of Rogue from the X-men. There is a home for all of the mutants to live, grow, study and train called Summerland that is separate from society and seems akin to the Xavier Institute for the gifted.

However, despite these many similarities there are also a lot of dramatic and different artistic presentations. As well as a dark and grittiness to the story that sets it apart from the “superhero angle that the X-men represent. The episodes constantly flash back from present and past, as well as from inside David’s mind to what is actually happening. The line between the real, the imaginary and the insane is stretched incredibly thin as the writers play with the audiences sense of reality and stability. In a very clever and unique way they want us to be just as unstable and confused as David is as he figures out which memories are real, discovers his powers and learns who to trust. There is also a sinister monster lurking somewhere that we don’t yet know if it is a real physical threat or a mental manifestation of something that David needs to face. There are hints and foreshadowing that there is a war coming between mutants and mankind (another X-men similarity), and that David is the key. Which is why both sides are so eager to have him.

There is a darkness in many elements of this show. The brutal death of his insane friend and how she still appears to him and talks to him. Allusions to his past drug usage and violence associated with both the mental hospital, the government, and inside his own mind. It is definitely not a show for those who like clear cut plot lines, moral themes or a sense of normalcy. This show will challenge your brain, make you re-think the possible and definitely leave you dazed and a little confused. For those who like a series that is eclectic and different than popular television, this is definitely for you!