Chapter 17

​**"Chapter 17"** is the ninth episode of the second season of *Legion*, and the seventeenth episode overall.

## Plot

The episode opens where the last scene of the previous episode left off, with Melanie ambushing Clark. Now remember, that Clark was being "influenced" by David to help him plan the attack on Farouk and help David set up the race to get to Farouk's body. We once again see Melanie knock Clark unconscious, then we're thrown back 3 weeks prior to show why she did this

Melanie has kept herself in a drugged up hallucinogenic state. Lamenting the "loss" of Oliver. Admiral Fukyama is wondering if Melanie will return to work. She's in the throes of despair talking to Syd about her loss of Oliver and her bitter view of herself as a woman discarded by a man constantly leaving her to face “destiny”, which in Oliver’s case was his obsession with the Astral Plane. Oliver comes to 'visit' Melanie at night. Pretty suspicious of this, she draws a pistol from somewhere in her bed, on him. Now remember, Oliver and Lenny (at that time 3 weeks prior) is still held hostage by Farouk, so we know this is a projection from the Shadow King. He manipulates her by showing her a younger version of herself in the mirror, back when they were still in love. Oliver brings Melanie into the mind of Farouk, who gives her an assignment to leave and track down the monk of the Mi-Go order, in Division 3. Again, keep in mind this is a flashback before the "death" of the Monk in the earlier episode. Farouk has Melanie search for him so that he can lead Farouk to his body.

Melanie then finds herself in a memory of the cryogenic chamber Oliver’s body was preserved with Oliver himself. He claims that the ice cube structure he stuck in while trapped in the Astral Plane was due to his freezing and says he should have been burned, as he believes he could have explored “multi-dimensions” of reality without limit. When told that she could have been brought along with him, she considers how her former willingness to follow him anywhere brought her the low point she is now. The two agree that their relationship isn’t what it once was before Melanie suddenly awaken in her bed, revealing the visit to have been done in her dreams.

Kerry visits Melanie later on and it's clear that Farouk's tampering with her mind is causing her to become more and more delusional and less in contact with reality. She begins questioning what is and what is not real, going so far as proposing that both Cary and Kerry could just be delusions that the other secretly has. She has clear trouble conveying her thoughts and keeping logical concise thoughts, but affirms that “reality is a choice” and that she shouldn’t need to worry about saving the world as she believes it doesn’t exist. After Kerry leaves in frustration of Melanie's ravings, we see Melanie drugging herself more and more.

Later, as referenced to last episode (check out the previous episode's synopsis) David planted in Kerry/Cary's head a plan to go after Farouk. Much like he did with Clark (who was stopped by Melanie) Kerry/Cary both "receive" the plan from David simultaneously. Kerry and Cary enact the plan and grab the weapon that Farouk found and grab a conveniently parked car and take off… their mission from David is to apparently drive the car and leave the weapon at a parking lot. Once they get there, they don't know what to do next, so they just leave the weapon in the car.

We then catch up with Lenny, who is now free of Farouk's mind and free of Division 3's imprisonment in their facility, returns to her old hangout with some druggies. She wakes up after a night of partying, lesbian kissing, and slow montage scenes of crazy drunk white people, she has a vision of Amy, David's sister. Recall that Farouk, the Shadow King, while he was in control of Lenny killed Amy and placed Lenny in her. This killed Amy but merged her on a very very basic level with Lenny. Amy politely asks for her body back…and this gives us the realization that Amy is still alive but as a disembodied consciousness. Amy instructs Lenny to stop screwing around, and get it together and follow through with her part of David's plan. What's funny is that normally we see bad guys and evil villains with these elaborate, multi people, multi layered plans…it's sort of refreshing to see one hatch from a protagonist. Amy is able to convince Lenny to get off her ass and help David. Lenny makes haste to the parking lot that Kerry and Cary left the weapon.

As Kerry and Cary wait for whatever their next batch of orders are, they have a heartfelt talk about Melanie, life, and death. He teaches Kerry the meaning of figures of speech for example feeling "blue". We see a real bond and almost love between Cary and Kerry. One is so logical and straight laced and the other is so "naive" and almost completely passion based that they literally form one being.

Lenny arrives at the parking lot, steps into the car, almost driven to it instinctively. Shortly after the car, closes its own doors and teleports in a flash of green light into a desert. Cary and Kerry look on in bewilderment.

Like any self respecting car, it abruptly burst into flames after it delivers Lenny to the desert. She withdraws the weapon that Cary and Kerry placed inside, and makes her way to a circle of chanting monks.

We see Melanie in the same scene attacking Clark, knocking him to the ground, and Farouk granting her his side of the bargain, uniting Melanie and Oliver again.

## Cast and characters

### Main Cast

* Dan Stevens as David Haller (credit only)
* Rachel Keller as Sydney Barrett (credit only)
* Aubrey Plaza as Lenny Busker
* Bill Irwin as Cary Loudermilk
* Navid Negahban as Amahl Farouk
* Jemaine Clement as Oliver Bird
* Jeremie Harris as Ptonomy Wallace (credit only)
* Amber Midthunder as Kerry Loudermilk
* Hamish Linklater as Clark Debussy
* Jean Smart as Melanie Bird

### Guest Starring

* Katie Asleton as Amy Haller
* Vanessa DuBasso as Salmon

### Co-Starring

* Jaclyn Hales as Younger Melanie
* Alex Patrick Knight as Squirrel

## Trivia

* All of Syd's scenes with Melanie in this episode were recycled from "Chapter 9".
* This is the first episode where David never makes an appearance.

## References

1. ↑ Legion - Episode 2.09 - Chapter 17 - Promo + Press Release
​