Legends Season 1 Review
Legends is a new crime drama series that aired its pilot on August 13, 2014 on TNT. It stars Sean Bean as an FBI Agent who takes on a "legend" for each of his cases - a fake persona that allows him to infiltrate different groups and organizations. The series caught my eye when I first saw a preview for it. I had never seen this premise explored before, and it seemed pretty intriguing. Also, Sean Bean was reason enough to try it out. He is an amazing actor. So, I decided to watch the first episode. It was fairly generic spy stuff, but there was enough good things - and Sean Bean - to make me want to stick with it. And now that the season is over, I have to say I'm pretty happy with that decision.
I will do my best to avoid spoilers, just in case some of you did not watch the show. You don't really have to worry about encountering plot details, so if you haven't watched Legends, it's safe to keep reading.
Legends has a lot of familiar spy elements to it. A lot of it has been explored before, both in TV and film. But, that wasn't as much of an issue as you might expect. The predictable aspects of the show were almost like a promise. A promise of what the show was going to give you. That's the way I felt about it anyway. Like I knew what to expect. I instantly felt comfortable with it, which made it instantly enjoyable.
Sean Bean is a fantastic actor. There's no disputing this. He plays Martin Odum, the hardened FBI Agent with a mysterious past, one he starts to question as the season progresses. He's as compelling a leading man as anybody. His performance was great. Ali Larter, Morris Chestnut, and Steve Harris co-star as fellow members of the FBI. And I have to say, they all did well, too. I don't have much complaining in terms of the acting.
One of Legends' most enjoyable aspects is the different legends that Martin takes on during each episode. The writers did a good job mixing up the different people Martin portrays. And whether it was an international arms dealer, a roughneck southerner, or an illustrious journalist, Bean really lost himself in the roles he was given. I imagine it's a challenge as an actor to have to change who you're playing with every episode of a show, but you wouldn't tell that by watching Bean. He does an exceptional job in seamlessly moving between roles.
Another thing I thought Legends handled well was the mysterious subplot about Martin's past. Well, it's a subplot in the earlier episodes. Towards the end of the season, the lines between the main plots and the subplot involving Martin's past begin to blur. I can't say I didn't see the ultimate outcome coming, but the writers and stars sure made it fun to get there.
This whole subplot was pretty well-done, as I said, but I kind of wish they explored the idea that agents can get lost in they're legends a little more. They did display this, but only to a certain extent. I think it's a really compelling concept, and I thought there was more potential in that area.
The season finale was definitely the best episode in the first season, which is generally true about TV shows. You could feel the tension rising as Martin begins to finally unravel the truth about his past and the suspicious circumstances surrounding a car accident and his memory loss. It was like all the actors stepped up there games as well. It was great to see, and it also revealed just how good the show can be.
The first season wasn't mind-blowingly good. Consistently good, yes, just not exceptionally good. However, if the makers are able to bring the quality of each episode up to the level of the last few episodes of season 1 on a more consistent basis, then it has the potential to be a great show. There were a couple episodes that I thought felt a little lazy, particularly towards the beginning of the season. But even those were enjoyable to a certain extent thanks to the cast.
The end of season 1 left the series wide open for more. I honestly hope the show gets picked up for more seasons. It was a perfectly diverting way to spend Wednesday nights, and the characters have been developed enough for future storylines to be very interesting. It all depends on the ratings, though. That's the deciding factor on whether or not we'll see more of Legends. Again, I hope we do. The ending really has me wanting to see what's next.
I will do my best to avoid spoilers, just in case some of you did not watch the show. You don't really have to worry about encountering plot details, so if you haven't watched Legends, it's safe to keep reading.
Legends has a lot of familiar spy elements to it. A lot of it has been explored before, both in TV and film. But, that wasn't as much of an issue as you might expect. The predictable aspects of the show were almost like a promise. A promise of what the show was going to give you. That's the way I felt about it anyway. Like I knew what to expect. I instantly felt comfortable with it, which made it instantly enjoyable.
Sean Bean is a fantastic actor. There's no disputing this. He plays Martin Odum, the hardened FBI Agent with a mysterious past, one he starts to question as the season progresses. He's as compelling a leading man as anybody. His performance was great. Ali Larter, Morris Chestnut, and Steve Harris co-star as fellow members of the FBI. And I have to say, they all did well, too. I don't have much complaining in terms of the acting.
One of Legends' most enjoyable aspects is the different legends that Martin takes on during each episode. The writers did a good job mixing up the different people Martin portrays. And whether it was an international arms dealer, a roughneck southerner, or an illustrious journalist, Bean really lost himself in the roles he was given. I imagine it's a challenge as an actor to have to change who you're playing with every episode of a show, but you wouldn't tell that by watching Bean. He does an exceptional job in seamlessly moving between roles.
Another thing I thought Legends handled well was the mysterious subplot about Martin's past. Well, it's a subplot in the earlier episodes. Towards the end of the season, the lines between the main plots and the subplot involving Martin's past begin to blur. I can't say I didn't see the ultimate outcome coming, but the writers and stars sure made it fun to get there.
This whole subplot was pretty well-done, as I said, but I kind of wish they explored the idea that agents can get lost in they're legends a little more. They did display this, but only to a certain extent. I think it's a really compelling concept, and I thought there was more potential in that area.
The season finale was definitely the best episode in the first season, which is generally true about TV shows. You could feel the tension rising as Martin begins to finally unravel the truth about his past and the suspicious circumstances surrounding a car accident and his memory loss. It was like all the actors stepped up there games as well. It was great to see, and it also revealed just how good the show can be.
The first season wasn't mind-blowingly good. Consistently good, yes, just not exceptionally good. However, if the makers are able to bring the quality of each episode up to the level of the last few episodes of season 1 on a more consistent basis, then it has the potential to be a great show. There were a couple episodes that I thought felt a little lazy, particularly towards the beginning of the season. But even those were enjoyable to a certain extent thanks to the cast.
The end of season 1 left the series wide open for more. I honestly hope the show gets picked up for more seasons. It was a perfectly diverting way to spend Wednesday nights, and the characters have been developed enough for future storylines to be very interesting. It all depends on the ratings, though. That's the deciding factor on whether or not we'll see more of Legends. Again, I hope we do. The ending really has me wanting to see what's next.
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