When we heard Aubrey Plaza was going to star in FX’s X-Men-inspired drama Legion we were intrigued. When we finally saw the Parks and Recreation star wearing a ribbed turtleneck bodysuit and garter-belted fishnet tights during a vampy, campy dance sequence, we were sold.
The absolutely perfect moment comes in Legion’s sixth episode, "Chapter 6," which takes place in a faux reality where resident bad guy The Devil With The Yellow Eyes has trapped our mutant heroes, David (Dan Stevens), Syd (Rachel Keller), and more. If you haven’t guessed, Legion is the weirdest and most visually ambitious of all the countless superhero shows.
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Syd is the first person to realize the mental projection inside of Clockworks Psychiatric Hospital isn’t exactly real, since she notices what looks like a "bedroom door" among all the medical tedium. Although none of Syd’s friends see the entryway, we know it’s as "real" as anything else thanks to Aubrey’s out-of-the-blue dance number.
The actress plays Lenny in Legion, a character who is officially confirmed to be one of the many identities of The Devil, an evil parasite living in mega-powerful mutant David’s mind. We told you this was weird. The bodysuit-and-fishnets sequence plays out as a way for the parasite to enjoy free reign over David after being confined in his mind since "the womb."
Lenny sheds her fake persona as psychologist Dr. Busker to let loose in her secret room. Plaza’s blood red silhouette struts to Nina Simone’s "Feeling Good" in front of David’s probably rewritten "memories." She straddles a medical chair while huffing oxygen. She destroys everything in her path with manic and menacing energy. It is Plaza at her most magical.
It’s no surprise the scene is so visually arresting since it’s directed by veteran music video visionary Hiro Murai, who helmed the entire first season of another beloved weirdo FX series: Atlanta.
Lenny’s Nina Simone-supported celebration informs her next scene with David, where she explains her master plan. Of course, the evil force is striving for God-like power, which she and all her many faces hope to gain through David’s reality-altering abilities. In a leading contender for Creepiest Editing of 2017, Lenny bites David’s ear, yet when the camera looks back, it’s the Devil With The Yellow Eyes towering over him.
Plaza's Lenny may be the villain here, but if her plan of world domination includes more dancing, we'll allow it.