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2 • June 23 - 29, 2019 • Brainerd Dispatch By Kyla Brewer TV Media T he battle between good and evil has been raging in prime time for decades, but one particular series blurs the lines between hero and vil- lain. FX's "Legion" has captivated TV viewers, and fans have one more chance to enjoy the show before it's over for good. Dan Stevens ("Downton Abbey") returns as dangerously troubled mu- tant David Haller in the season pre- miere of "Legion," airing Monday, June 24, on FX. Diagnosed with schizophrenia at a young age, Haller had no idea that he was actually a mutant until a fateful encounter with a fellow psychiatric patient revealed the truth. The show is based on the character from the Marvel Comics Universe, an extremely powerful be- ing who's the son of X-Men leader Charles Xavier. This marks the third and final sea- son of the show, much to the chagrin of fans. During a "Legion" Season 3 panel at this year's WonderCon in San Francisco in March, creator Noah Hawley explained why it made sense to end the show, despite its populari- ty and acclaim. "I feel like where we left him at the end of the second season, again at his lowest point, there's only two ways that he can go — he can either get back to a healthy place, or he can go off the bottom of the map," Haw- ley said. "Obviously it's bittersweet, but a story has no meaning without its ending." In the first season of the show, Haller was brought to a mutant facili- ty known as Summerland, where he learned to control his mutant powers. He soon discovered that his mind was infected with a parasitic mutant known as the Shadow King/Amahl Farouk (Navid Negahban, "24"). All the while, his new allies tried to pro- tect him from Division 3, a heavily funded anti-mutant government agency. However, in Season 2, the Summerland staff had teamed up with Division 3 to take on the Shadow King. The visually stunning series intentionally mix- es 1960s style with modern elements, presumably to reflect Haller's twisted perception of reality. There's a time-traveling aspect to the new season, which will only add to the already psychedelic visuals. What's more, previews for Season 3 feature references to "Alice in Won- derland," promising a whole new level of trippy storytelling. Season 3 trailers also have viewers in a tizzy because of their introduc- tion of an iconic X-Men character. "Game of Thrones" alum Harry Lloyd, best known for his role as Viserys Tar- garyen in the HBO hit, has been cast as Prof. Xavier, whom viewers see in flashbacks in "Legion's" early Season 3 teasers. Haller's mother will be por- trayed by Danish actress Stephanie Corneliussen ("Mr. Robot"). Also new to Season 3 is Lauren Tsai ("Ter- race House: Aloha State"), who joins the cast as Switch, a mu- tant whose time- traveling abilities are key to Haller's ultimate plan to undo the dam- age he's done. Fans of "Le- gion" will be happy to see several famil- iar faces from the first two sea- sons of the show. Favorite Aubrey Plaza ("Parks and Recreation") re- turns as Lenny Busker, Haller's best friend. Though she died in Season 1, Farouk later gave her a new body. Ra- chel Keller portrays Haller's girlfriend, Syd Barrett, a mutant with the unique ability to switch bodies with others by touching them. Keller was cast in "Legion" after her breakout role in Hawley's "Fargo," which also starred fellow "Legion" cast member Jean Smart ("Designing Women"). Smart played Melanie Bird, a demanding psychiatric therapist at Summerland, for the first two seasons of the show. The supporting cast also includes Bill Irwin ("Law & Order: Special Vic- tims Unit") as Cary Loudermilk, a mu- tant scientist and one of the founders of Summerland. He and fellow mu- tant Kerry Loudermilk (Amber Midt- hunder, "Roswell, New Mexico") co- exist within the same body most of the time. While they can take sepa- rate physical forms when they need to, Kerry only ages when outside of Cary's body, leaving her much young- er than her counterpart. Mutant Ptonomy Wallace (Jeremie Harris, "Blue Bloods") serves as Bird's memory specialist, thanks to his abili- ty to remember everything and trans- port people back into their own memories. Hamish Linklater ("The New Adventures of Old Christine") rounds out the cast as Division 3 in- terrogator Clark Debussy. Behind the scenes, the cast is in good hands with Hawley at the helm. In addition to creating "Legion" and "Fargo," he's worked as a writer and producer on the hit Fox drama "Bones" and has written five novels. He's won a number of accolades and awards, including an Emmy, two Golden Globes, a Critics' Choice Tele- vision Award and a Writers Guild of America Award. His unique take on the comic book genre in "Legion" has been a hit with viewers as well, earning the show high marks on the aggregator review sites Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, which are based on user reviews. Thanks to Hawley's vision, solid performances and stunning visuals, FX's latest hit appeals to a vast cross- section of TV viewers, not just fans of superheroes and comic books. Enjoy a new season of unexpected twists and turns as David Haller teams up with another mutant in the new sea- son of "Legion," premiering Monday, June 24, on FX. Mutants in wonderland 'Legion' travels through time in Season 3 Cover Story this week Navid Negahban as seen in "Legion" The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon The Department of Agriculture just recalled over 60,000 pounds of raw beef due to concerns about E. coli. Anyway, enjoy those Memorial Day barbecues, everybody! It is Fleet Week here! Almost 3,000 members of the Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard are here in New York — and almost three of them will remember it. The Late Late Show With James Corden A woman in England was searching a farm with a metal detector when she found what she thought was a foil- wrapped chocolate coin, only to find out later that it's a 1,500-year-old solid gold pendant worth a fortune. Yeah, unbelievable — to get that close to finding chocolate only to be disappointed. The drug store CVS has announced it will change the music it plays while you're on hold, which is big news, because they haven't changed the music in 20 years. In their defense, "Genie in a Bottle" is still a really good song. Jimmy Kimmel Live President Trump was in Japan for the holiday weekend. The trip was a success in that we are now not currently at war with Japan as a result of it. The NBA Finals are underway. The Golden State Warriors are in it again, taking on the Toronto Raptors. This is big for the players on both of these teams. You know, if they don't do well on their NBA Finals they won't be able to get into a good college. Late Night With Seth Meyers After several public fights with President Trump yesterday, Senate minority leader Chuck Schumer said in an interview today, quote, "The presidency is not just a reality show." Said Trump, "You're lucky you have immunity this week." Late Laughs We'reSoMuchMore anCabinCountry. VisitBrainerdthissummer—adventurestobehad,excellent accommodationsanddiningtobeenjoyed,andacoupleofthe bestbreweriesinMinnesotatobediscovered. StartyourresearchonBrainerdandBaxter atVisitBrainerd.comoronourApp. Followus@VisitBrainerdand#LoveBrainerd. VISITBRAINERD EntertainmentGuide_June_2x4.indd 1 5/22/2019 3:04:16PM Truth Lutheran Church 501 Kingwood Street, Brainerd, MN (Corner of 5th & Kingwood) truthlutheranchurch.com An LCMC Congregation …Lutheran Congregation in Mission for Christ Sunday worship 9 AM Fellowship and Sunday school following worship Minnesota's The 4th of July Celebration in Brainerd, MN is organized by the BCA. Parade: Thursday, July 4 at 4PM Parade unit space still available! Please check out the registration form at: BrainerdCommunityAction.org or contact Cassie with questions at Cassie@BrainerdCommunityAction.org Make a tax deductible donation: BrainerdCommunityAction.org and use the "Click Here to Donate" Button.

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