Did FX’s Legion finally make time travel a reliable story element in the X-Men universe?

The most recent episode of FX’s Legion once again featured Switch using her time-traveling abilities. But this time around, David did something unexpected and he may have inadvertently broken time as a result.

Within the X-Men Cinematic Universe, time-travel has been utilized very few times, most notably in X-Men: Days of Future Past. The rules explained in DOFP seemed to make sense, though some continuity errors were pointed out by fans. Similar points were made about the time-travel mechanics in Avengers: Endgame, mainly because the rules didn’t all pan out.

Warning! Spoilers for the latest episodes of FX’s Legion follow. Read on at your own discretion.

On Legion, however, time-travel works the way it seemingly should everywhere else. To sum it up quickly: a person who manipulates history by changing a specific event endangers the stability of time altogether. David’s expulsion of energy within Switch’s time-tunnel is evidence to this. Glimpses at next week’s episode prove exactly why.

The promo for Chapter 23 provides us with a look at how the entire timeline is falling apart thanks to David manipulating history. Carey (Amber Midthunder) can be seen phasing between slightly different parallel versions of herself — presumably ones created by David’s interference with history.

What’s worse is he didn’t even change the intended event and yet he still managed to fracture time. One can only imagine what would’ve happened had David prevented the Shadow King from infecting his mind — the entire world might have even been reshaped. Of course, it could have just as easily spared his parents the pain of abandoning him.

All theories aside, the timeline’s imminent collapse is a repercussion of David altering history. It’s unprecedented in both the cinematic and the television universe but Marvel writers need to take Legion’s lead the next time they consider using time-travel in a new show. Because if they do, Marvel can avoid the countless complaints from fans who don’t believe their explanation of time-travel.

Which explanation of time-travel within the Marvel universe do you prescribe to? Let us know in the comments section below.

Legions airs Mondays on FX. Seasons 1-2 are currently streaming on Hulu. Season 3 can be streamed exclusively on the FX app. For more on this Marvel series, follow us on the Hulu Watcher Twitter Account @HuluWatcherFS or on the Hulu Watcher Facebook Page.

(Source: Entertainment Weekly)