While I could listen to the rich, dulcet tones of Jemaine Clement's voice every single day, you may have been wondering why he was speaking from the coffee machine at Summerland in FX's Legion. Turns out, that's because Clement portrays Oliver Bird in Legion, the founder of the mutant-friendly camp Summerland and the husband of Melanie Bird. Melanie would not confirm if Oliver was dead or alive to Syd during "Chapter 3," but no matter his state of being, it seems that he'll be an important figure in upcoming episodes of Legion.
As Melanie explained in the Feb. 22 episode, Oliver created Summerland, which helps explain why his voice can be heard in the elevator or when you order a coffee. Considering he's portrayed by Clement, who is one half of the musical comedy group Flight of the Conchords, and that Oliver recorded Japanese folklores for people to listen to while they get coffee, you can assume that Oliver is a bit eccentric. Yet, he also seems like he is a good person since he turned the horse ranch that he inherited in the '40s (presumably the 1940s?) into a facility to train and educate mutants with Cary Loudermilk 30 years ago.
When Oliver and Cary went searching for people with mutations to bring them to Summerland, they met Walter — who is also known as "The Eye." This curly-haired man who is holding David's sister Amy hostage was apparently just as bad of a guy 30 years ago as he is today since Melanie said that Walter wasn't like Cary and Oliver because he wanted to hurt people rather than help them.
To make a rough comparison to the X-Men comic book characters since Oliver is not from the comics, you could say Oliver is the Professor X to Walter's Magneto due to the fact that Oliver built a safe haven for mutants and Walter had a different and violent philosophy. I am acutely aware that this is a stretch — especially since Melanie's backstory in "Chapter 3" didn't make it clear if Oliver himself is (or was) a mutant — but either way, Oliver's history with Walter makes me think that The Eye might have something to do with wherever Oliver is now. In the words of Murray from the TV show Flight of the Conchords, Oliver "may be dead," even though I'm more inclined to think he's still out there somewhere.
Although Oliver may impressively be the character most shrouded in mystery in this very mysterious show (showrunner Noah Hawley did post a pretty cryptic message on Instagram about Clement's casting after all), fans of Legion should expect to see Oliver at some point. FX released a press image of Clement in costume and his voice is heard narrating again in the trailer for the March 1 episode, "Chapter 4."
As Legion keeps revealing details of David's past, the series will also reveal more about the history of Summerland and the Birds. That means that Oliver should be showing up dead, alive, or somewhere in between soon enough.
