Legends – Iconclast – Review

Legends’ eighth episode was another that falls into the hit and miss category for me. On the "hit" side, we ended with a strong finish – Martin’s been kidnapped (for real) and the bad guys have captured Sonya and Aiden. Let’s hope Sonya is hiding some real self-defense skills under the veneer of suburban housewife. Also, the show seemed to be looping back to that the case behind the case, with the idea that the legend, as a tool to keep Martin safe, is crumbling.

The episode starts where we left off in the Hani Jibril storyline. Jibril is a women’s rights activist who last week was apparently framed for the murder of a Saudi politician. This week we saw Jibril convincingly argue her innocence and learn Martin’s true identity as an FBI agent. Meanwhile, Martin under the legend of socialist journalist Sebastian Egan, had story planted in the magazine Joust that points a finger at Saudi Prince Fayeed for the murder. Martin’s hope is that it will draw out Fayeed when he tries to kidnap and/or kill Egan/Odum.

The plan goes wrong, though, when the Syrian terrorist Bashir al-Kanazer, who is posing as Egan’s driver, succeeds in losing the FBI and kidnapping Martin. He reveals that he knows who Martin really is (his FBI identity anyway), and sends a team to Martin’s home where Sonya and Aiden are.

These developments open up some new questions for speculation:

- How did al-Kanazer learn Egan/Odum was FBI? Two people outside of the team knew that Egan was a legend: Hani Jibril and Julian Drake, the publisher of Joust magazine. I’m leaning toward Jibril, and that she’s faking her innocence, although if it’s Drake, that could make things more interesting. Drake’s known Martin longer and could be tied back to the original cover-up – the masking of whoever Martin really is behind the Odum legend.

- Second, it’s suggested that Aaron Rowling, the true government mole who played a role in setting up the murder, and who was killed this week, had some training by his skill in losing the government’s tails. Is there more to this story to come?

The “miss” part for me came earlier in the episode. I’m not invested yet in this Hani Jibril storyline. It seems like an abrupt break from the other storylines we had been following earlier in the season, and much of the episode focused on it. There was music at the start of the case – a nice touch that served to build interest in the events – but this stylistic approach is inconsistent with what the show’s done up to this point. The show still be struggling with what it is, with a slight variation in tone every week. I suppose it’s fitting that a show about legends keeps trying on different looks to find a good fit, but more consistency would help build momentum. But the show made up for this in the final moments.

What did you think of this episode and how the show’s been progressing so far? Sound off in the comments.

About the Author - Chris684

Chris is a New Englander with a background in print and digital media, who currently earns a living by making web and technology products easier to use. She has a weakness for TV characters who are 'dark and twisty' (to quote Meredith Grey) and reviews The Walking Dead, Legends, Halt and Catch Fire, and Dig for SpoilerTV.

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