The return of Lenny is a puzzle that Division 3 must struggle to untangle, and quickly, if they are to stay one step ahead of the Shadow King. Meanwhile, Farouk and Oliver are on their own journey, as the Shadow King’s quest to be reunited with his body continues.

‘Apparently on Legion’. That’s the first line of the episode, spoken by the narrator where normally you’d expect ‘Previously on’. That one line pretty much sets up just how bizarre – even by the standards of this show – the episode will be.

So, Lenny has returned, and that’s a big problem for a number of reasons, not the least that last time we encountered her she was a) dead and b) found to be a fictional character, a side-effect of David’s ailment under the non-too tender ministrations of the Shadow King. So why has she returned? On whose side in this conflict will she be, and are there even any sides at all anymore? As a succession of people interrogate her, there’s only one person she wants to speak to, and that’s the one person who probably shouldn’t.

In the desert, Farooq and Oliver are exchanging musings on the nature of life, the universe and everything, mixed in with the occasional threat, as they follow a trail leading to a particular destination. What they find there isn’t necessarily what we expected, but then that’s par for the course with Legion. As the episode concludes, it proves that however much you thought you knew the setting, the characters and the plotting, you really know very little.

And it’s difficult to say much more than that without getting into spoilers. Plaza is a delight as always – if the show felt like it was missing one thing from the heights of its maiden season it was her, and this episode makes that wait absolutely worth it, maximising the use of the actress and the character without overdoing it or having her in every scene. It’s an episode that’s carried by very few people in fact – in the main by Lenny, Oliver, Farouk and David. Others appear briefly, but the meat of it lies between these four, and like last week, it takes a slow – almost torturous – path towards its conclusion, taking its time to really let events sink in. It’s an episode dripping in threat, atmosphere and tension, and all that means that the conclusion hits like a truck.

There’s also distinct hints of stuff I hadn’t necessarily anticipated before – we know that Oliver and Lenny have been the prisoners of Farouk, but where Lenny seemed alternately resigned to this or terrified by it, Oliver has seemed fairly unaffected, almost on a level, much as he did from his first appearance in Season 1. Here though, we begin to see the first possible chink in that armour, and a suggestion of something beneath the calm exterior. Farouk continues to be as quietly menacing as ever, and all in all, it’s another strong – if odd – episode.

Verdict: Glacially slow build up leads to a conclusion that is well worth the investment. Stick with this one, because in the end it is most certainly worth it. 8/10

Greg D. Smith