Legends

:

Season 1
  • Network: TNT
  • Series Premiere Date: Aug 13, 2014
Season #: 2, 1
User Score
7.3

Generally favorable reviews- based on 83 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 58 out of 83
  2. Mixed: 17 out of 83
  3. Negative: 8 out of 83
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User Reviews

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  1. Ravens1294
    Oct 9, 2014
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Sean Bean killed it in Legends. He's the best part of the show and he was the perfect man for the role. Martin Odum is a DCO agent that is questioned about who he really is and that leads to him finding out he is not the man he believes himself to be. The mystery is very interesting and it's nice to see how larger the mystery becomes. The show really didn't get good until the 5th episode. The show started to use the Verax story line and Odums involvement with them and it was really good. The show was better with the Verax story line and it was weaker with a case episode. They're not as interesting. The final 4 episodes were really good and the episodes 7 and 8 led to the 2 hour season finale. Well, the writing was good and bad at times, acting was solid, nothing new, but Sean Bean was amazing and very convincing though. The 2 hour season finale was a really good surprise and the last act was amazing. I do think the series will be cancelled because of the poor ratings. I do hope there is a second season though. They could do one more season because Bean was setup, DCO has been closed down, and Verax has gotten away with it. I would like to see the remaining story lines taken care of. It was a pretty good show in the end.… Expand
  2. RichardGonci
    Aug 24, 2014
    5
    This show shamelessly uses every device ever conceived by actual writers, throws them into a writing Cuisinart, and churns out a hilarious melange every week. I finally realized they use the top-secret "JB" principle: use primarily character quirks from lead characters from other shows and movies whose names conform to that principle: Hence: the utterly erratic behavior of Jack Bauer; theThis show shamelessly uses every device ever conceived by actual writers, throws them into a writing Cuisinart, and churns out a hilarious melange every week. I finally realized they use the top-secret "JB" principle: use primarily character quirks from lead characters from other shows and movies whose names conform to that principle: Hence: the utterly erratic behavior of Jack Bauer; the past identity confusion of Jason Bourne; and continental accent of James Bond. Throw in supporting characters whose loyalty may be suspect, estranged exes, adorable children who serve no useful function whatsoever, and you get a Mulligan Stew that would confound even Mulligan himself. BTW, it's virtually impossible to deliver a "spoiler" review on this show, as it is so disjointed and schizophrenic in its plot structure, that even the most dedicated viewer can barely keep up. It's like having Thanksgiving dinner with your extremely bi-polar great uncle... many stories, not all connected very well. That said, I watch it regularly for the raucous ride.… Expand
  3. jeremyp
    Aug 15, 2014
    4
    A most appalling piece of trash for Bean to dig himself into. The opening dialog is grade C pulp fiction. Then it gets steadily more embarrassing. The plot has holes you could drive a C5 through, and the cute trick is that he's supposed to be a dissociative. It's a cookie cutter format: a cute blond, an Indian nerd, an evil homegrown terrrrorrrist who's six steps beyond the tea party.A most appalling piece of trash for Bean to dig himself into. The opening dialog is grade C pulp fiction. Then it gets steadily more embarrassing. The plot has holes you could drive a C5 through, and the cute trick is that he's supposed to be a dissociative. It's a cookie cutter format: a cute blond, an Indian nerd, an evil homegrown terrrrorrrist who's six steps beyond the tea party. Sean find a decent series, please, you're a great actor.… Expand
  4. derstreber
    Sep 14, 2014
    4
    It started interesting in the pilot episode but when you watch further it will be more and more boring. A shame because Sean Bean plays awesome. Kind of reminds me on Cranston's Heisenberg. But I think the show is dead.
  5. kingzardoz
    Oct 9, 2014
    5
    Such a waste of talent. All these actors deserve more. This show is just a string of spy thriller cliches conjured up by a high school student in creative writing class. Once this show gets cancelled all the writers should find a new occupation. The best thing you can do as a viewer is never watch this show and pretend you never heard about it.
  6. YorkMan
    Dec 29, 2015
    6
    I had to average out the rating to '6' as the first season is worth an '8' and the second season scrapes 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    I had to average out the rating to '6' as the first season is worth an '8' and the second season scrapes 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.    … Expand

Awards & Rankings

71
#71 Most Discussed TV Season of 2014

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
59

Mixed or average reviews - based on 27 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 13 out of 27
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 27
  3. Negative: 2 out of 27
  1. Wall Street Journal
    Reviewed by: Nancy DeWolf Smith
    Aug 15, 2014
    70
    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.
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  2. New York Magazine (Vulture)
    Reviewed by: Matt Zoller Seitz
    Aug 13, 2014
    40
    Legends makes a grand show of setting up a tortuous, vaguely Don Draper–like interior journey for our lone-wolf hero--in the pilot, he's stalked by a shadowy figure who intimates that Martin doesn't know all there is to know about his true self--but the character is such a pile of overworked cop-show and spy-show elements (he's in too deep, he's a cranky and sarcastic maverick who resents authority, his work destroyed his marriage, etc.), that there's not much to him beyond the charisma that Bean naturally brings.
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  3. The Hollywood Reporter
    Reviewed by: Tim Goodman
    Aug 13, 2014
    50
    And yet, after watching the first two episodes, it's a shame that Legends (and TNT) weren't a bit more ambitious with the show. The pilot is splashy and action-packed, but overall the lack of complexity--and yes, I know I cited that as a plus earlier--makes it less satisfying.
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