X
- TNT
- Aug 13, 2014
- TNT
- Aug 13, 2014
- TNT
- Aug 13, 2014
- TNT
- Aug 13, 2014
Where to Watch
Season Episodes
View All Seasons
Top Cast
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
59
48% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
44% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Metascore
Mixed or Average
Based on 27 Critic Reviews
59
48% Positive
13 Reviews
13 Reviews
44% Mixed
12 Reviews
12 Reviews
7% Negative
2 Reviews
2 Reviews
Multiple-personality thriller starts a bit slowly Wednesday night, but early signs still indicate a summer keeper for TNT.
When it isn't outlandish, it has a more seriously entertaining side in the mystery of a hooded man who was mortally wounded while trying to tell Martin that even his identity as Martin is not real.
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 82 User Ratings
7.3
70% Positive
57 Ratings
57 Ratings
21% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
10% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
User Score
Generally Favorable
Based on 82 User Ratings
7.3
70% Positive
57 Ratings
57 Ratings
21% Mixed
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
10% Negative
8 Ratings
8 Ratings
I truly enjoyed the first season and look forward to the second season next week. The show has a great perspective on multiple identity profiles that is missing in other spy shows. It also reveals the inevitable collapse of the the agent and his occupational strain on the family.
Report
SEASON 1
The high concept is poorly served by a conventional, lazily executed case-of-the-week structure. The show is exec-produced by Howard Gordon of 24 and Homeland fame, and if only he had brought his A game the way his star brought his, Legends could be more memorable.
It's no fault of Bean's, who is riveting as he occasionally morphs into character before his colleagues' amazed eyes. The rest of the series could use a personality transplant.
The outlook for his head and neck here is much better; Legends, though, is on wobbly legs.
Legends wants you to take it very seriously, but throughout the two episodes I've seen, it plays like a parody of the kind of show it wants to be.
Obvious similarities to the Jason Bourne films and other espionage stories are only part of the derivative drama's problems. The lurching plot turns are preposterous. The supporting characters are thinly drawn. The structure is terribly disjointed. And the dialogue ranges from ham-fisted to stilted.
Legends started off a little slow for me and I went through the first 2 to 4 episodes half lost. Once everything started coming together and the real story-line started to come out, I couldn't stop watching. If you are one of those people that stopped watching after the first couple of episodes or formed your opinions early, I recommend you watch the entire first season. Once you finish the season finale, you will be asking when does season 2 start! I put Legends in the same category as The Blacklist, you never know what is around the corner. If you are one of those people that did not like the series after you watched the entire season, I can respect what you have to say, but if you are forming your opinions and can't take the time to watch the entire season, then please feel free to not comment on any other series! I love Game of Thrones, but even it was so-so over the first 5 to 7 episodes, now it is one of the best shows on television. Bottom line, watch the entire season and you will be hooked for more.
Report
SEASON 1
I had to average out the rating to '6' as the first season is worth an '8' and the second season **** a '4'.
To be honest, the fact the show has now been cancelled isn't too surprising, but it's also a shame that the second season went so far away from what was established in the first, effectively retconning the whole premise laid out, and creating a completely new one that wasn't anywhere near as good.
In order to 'review', that distinction is important, and each season needs to be taken separately because they are so completely different in both style and tone.
Season 1 - Sean Bean is Martin Odum, a deep cover agent working for the US government. It's made clear his broad Northern England accent is a relic from his work, rather than his natural accent... This is because Odum struggles to understand who he is. His job, as a deep cover agent, is to make use of 'Legends', the fake identities/backgrounds dreamt up by the department, and immerse himself in the character he creates from the words he reads in the Legends file.
Whilst other agents can maybe work two Legends into a career, before getting to the point of confusion, Odum seems to have an unnatural ability to slip in and out of dozens of characters at will. This makes him a devastating asset, as his undercover work can be made continuous, and he can work several 'cases' at the same time.
Things begin to unravel when a stranger pulls him up, shoves a folder into his hands and just tells Odum he's not who he thinks he is. The folder is a massively redacted set of military mission statements dating back to the Gulf War in the mid 90's, but Odum is has no idea what it all means.
When the stranger is killed, almost immediately after handing him the folder, Odum understands his own life is at risk.
So, whilst continuing the 'day job', he begins his own investigation into his past, culminating in the discovery of a massive conspiracy involving high ranking politicians, corporate kingpins and those in the upper echelons of the US secret service.
The series ends on a revelation that wasn't expected at all.
Season 2 - The story moves to London where Odum is on the run after he's been accused of killing the head of the CIA (which he is convinced he didn't do, but in the narrative of the story it's never conclusively proven he didn't), and is just waiting for the right time to try and clear his name.
Things get moving when a CIA friend (from season 1) turns up with information he's obtained from an old flame working for MI6. This information suggests Odum's past might be linked to MI6, and after reviewing the information Odum sets off to track down those who might have known him (the real him) whilst he was in England.
It leads him to an ex-Chechnyan woman and her teenage daughter who he somehow recognises, but doesn't actually seem to know. She calls him Dimitri, and warns him off telling him to never come near her again.
Concurrently, the episodes flashback into the past. Allowing the viewer to experience a storyline that entangles with the 'current' one. In 2001 Odum 'was' Dmitry, in Prague. Dmitry being a vicious Russian gangster who muscles his way into an ex-Chechnyan gun running group as a facilitator who can make things happen.
Dmitry is being investigated by a CIA agent, and an up and coming local special services officer, and their story is also brought into the present day too, thus spinning multiple storylines through the 2 main timelines.
On top of this there are scenes of a younger Odum at Boarding school in the mid 70's, and at university in the mid 80's, designed to flesh out his character more and allow a better understanding of his motivations.
Ultimately, the storylines all conclude and the series ends with Odum accepting he just is who he is, but still not actually closer to filling in the gaps in his memory.
Why is season 1 so good? Mainly because of Sean Bean's resolutely brilliant performance, taking on several different 'roles' as different Legends, whilst expertly dealing with the machinations of everyone (and everything) around him. The action is fantastic, and the writing is top drawer. The idea of someone looking to discover who they actually are isn't new or 'exciting' as a premise, but it's delivered in a new and 'exciting' way, which was incredibly effective.
Season 2 is so poor because they threw out all the good parts of the first season (most likely because it was so well and intelligently written the 'average' Joe didn't feel spoonfed enough to feel it was worth their time to watch. Sean Bean is playing two roles this time, but because this 'season' is rewriting the whole premise and turning more into a Bourne Identity spy thriller, the context and juxtaposition of the two different 'people' was completely lost.
By the end, when i discovered the show had been cancelled..... As I said at the beginning, it wasn't a shock. I just wish they'd stuck to the original idea of the show, and not messed it all up.
Report
SEASON 1
[SPOILER ALERT: This review contains spoilers.]
Report
SEASON 1
The majority of the cast are pretty annoying and am grateful that Sean Bean’s character, Martin Odum spent half the series away from them. The annoying childlike analyst, Maggie Harris who narrates her every action and Crystal McGuire who is probably the most immature and unprofessional team leader the FBI ever experienced, the intelligence chief who is easily manipulated and not forgetting the cardboard cut-out desk bound FBI officer who decides on his own volition to investigate the actions of an undercover officer. The writing is atrocious with an abundance of stereotypes, clichés, and discriminatory references.
Report
SEASON 1
