Noah Hawley’s Underrated Masterpiece: A Terrifying X-Men Series

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Noah Hawley has been receiving praise for his recent work on Alien: Earth, but many still consider his earlier show, Legion, to be even more impressive – and unfairly overlooked. Since 2014, when he successfully reinvented Fargo as a series of self-contained stories, Hawley has become one of Hollywood’s most consistently productive television creators.

FX consistently turns to Noah Hawley when they have promising new content. He’s demonstrated an ability to successfully adapt even beloved and critically acclaimed material for television, as he did with his well-received reboot of a Coen brothers film. His recent Alien series is another example of his knack for creating hit shows.

I had mixed feelings about Alien: Earth. While the acting was excellent, especially from Sydney Chandler and Timothy Olyphant, and the show did a good job of recreating the gritty, lived-in look of the original Alien movie, it wasn’t very frightening. The aliens were over-the-top and unintentionally silly, and the computer-generated creatures didn’t live up to the terrifying designs of H.R. Giger.

I remember when Noah Hawley did something really unsettling back in 2017, right after Fargo and before Alien: Earth. He tackled the X-Men, but it wasn’t the bright, fun version most of us know. This was a dark, creepy story that really dug into what makes people tick – or break. It was a genuinely frightening and messed-up take on the mutants.

Legion Is More Of A Mind-Bending Psychological Thriller Than A Superhero Show

Though Legion features characters with superpowers from Marvel Comics, it doesn’t feel like a typical superhero show. It’s more of a complex, psychological thriller, similar to films like Fight Club or American Psycho, and quite different from more straightforward action series like Falcon and the Winter Soldier.

Dan Stevens plays David Haller, a man with mutant abilities who was wrongly believed to have schizophrenia as a child. This led to him spending much of his life in and out of mental hospitals. The story begins with David being pursued by a government organization called Division 3, but he’s rescued by a determined group fighting against them.

Legion Is Much Scarier Than Alien: Earth

While Alien: Earth isn’t perfect, it delivers some genuinely frightening scenes. The xenomorph is still a terrifying creature, and seeing it stalk its victims is reliably scary, echoing the fear from the original 1979 film. The directors successfully create a tense and unsettling mood, though the story doesn’t always fully deliver on the buildup.

Overall, the show wasn’t very frightening. Scott understood that the real fear came from not showing the alien creatures too much. Unfortunately, Alien: Earth constantly puts the aliens on screen, which makes them much less scary. It also removes their ability to sneak around and surprise people, instead just showing them wildly attacking like a gorilla.

One of the biggest letdowns with Alien: Earth was the horror, especially since Noah Hawley demonstrated his skill with the genre in Legion. Legion is genuinely much scarier, playing with your perception and making you question what’s real through its unreliable narrator, David.

Hawley cleverly chose to tell the story of the pilot episode – which he both wrote and directed – through David’s distorted view of the world. This creates a strikingly surreal feel for a superhero show, making the entire series feel like a dream – or a David Lynch film – full of unsettling moments and unexpected turns.

Alien: Earth Works Better As Straightforward Science Fiction Than Horror

Like It: Welcome to Derry, Alien: Earth feels more like a TV series than a truly scary horror show. Welcome to Derry is essentially a drama set in the 1960s suburbs disguised as a Stephen King story, and Alien: Earth is an interesting science fiction idea presented as a haunted house thriller.

I admit, the idea of transferring a child’s mind into an adult android body initially felt unsettling, but it’s undeniably original. What really captivated me, though, was the show’s vision of the future. It felt incredibly real – a dark, dystopian world dominated by incredibly wealthy corporations, very much like something out of Blade Runner, but disturbingly believable.

Legion Is Noah Hawley’s Most Underrated Show

Both Fargo and Alien: Earth were huge successes and gained large followings, but Legion didn’t receive the same level of public attention. Despite receiving similar critical praise as Noah Hawley’s other shows, it didn’t become a mainstream hit. While it lasted for three seasons, Hawley ultimately decided to conclude the series, as it never truly captured a wide audience.

If you thought Alien: Earth was intense, check out Legion. It’s a mind-bending journey into the fractured psyche of a psychic who’s been through a lot. The show boasts an amazing supporting cast – including Jean Smart, Aubrey Plaza, and Amber Midthunder before her role in Prey – and Dan Stevens brilliantly carries the series with a unique blend of quirky humor and down-to-earth appeal.

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2025-12-25 21:49