From show creator Noah Hawley and Marvel Television, the FX drama series Legion is back for its third and final season, as David Haller (Dan Stevens), a man who believed himself to be schizophrenic only to discover that he is the most powerful mutant the world has ever seen, is forced to confront his actions and the decisions that he’s made. With the dark voices in his head lusting for power and at odds with everyone he once considered a friend, David is now leading a commune to satisfy his need for adulation and he’s enlisted the help of the young mutant Switch (Lauren Tsai), with the hope that she can help him time travel and repair the damage that he’s caused.

While Season 3 was still shooting, Collider got the opportunity to tour the incredible sets at Paramount Pictures in Hollywood and participate in a series of interviews to talk about all things Legion. During 1-on-1 interviews, Rachel Keller (who plays Syd Barrett, the mutant who fell in love with David, but is still reeling from the betrayal of the man she trusted most) and Lauren Tsai talked about being in an environment where everyone is working from their hearts, telling such a visual story, having Syd be the hero of the story in this final season, the David-Syd relationship, having abilities on a superhero show, the journey of self-discovery of Switch, and the grieving process you go through when you say goodbye to a character.

Collider: Rachel, what was it like to really step up as the hero of the story, this season, and explore that shift in the character?

RACHEL KELLER: We can’t ignore what was written and what aired, last season. For me, when I think of these circumstances, under the realm of a Marvel television show and this woman, I’m like, “What is it to be a hero? What would be the most heroic thing to do?” And I’ve really wanted an ownership of her own actions. From the beginning, since she met David, it’s been entirely about him. So many young women experience taking on egotistical, sick men and trying to right their wrongs, so if we can hear her, see her, or feel her, at the end, owning her actions and saying, “Yeah, I did take that on, and I own that,” for me, that would be heroic, and give her some closure.

Did you know that this would be Syd’s storyline?

KELLER: Yeah. Along the way, it was unraveled that she becomes the hero, at the end. That was clear to me. 

Did you have to compartmentalize what you already knew, so that you could focus on each moment, for each season?

KELLER: Like most things, you can’t help but think ahead a bit, being excited or anxious about something that’s to come. But mostly, you just focus on whatever is in front of you, or you try to. You try to just do whatever that day requires of you.

Lauren, what’s it like to join a show like Legion, in its last season?

LAUREN TSAI: There was this pressure that I was making myself feel, but then, once I stepped onto set and started to get involved with this incredible team, I really felt the beauty of the show. I think that this is something that I’m going to be thinking about, for the rest of my life. It’s definitely an experience that I’ll never forget. It’s something that’s taught me so much about myself. To be a part of a team, working on a story like this, in which I really do feel, every day, that everyone is working from their hearts, it’s the greatest experience.

Legion is cool because you get to be part of the superhero world, but it’s also a beautiful piece of art and a really interesting psychological study. Do you feel a sense of all of that, while working on it?

TSAI: Definitely. And I do art myself, so to be involved with the show, in which the visual artistry is such a focal point of the draw for a lot of people is so exciting. I’m so excited for people to see it ‘cause we have shot some incredible things. When I read the scripts, I visualize, in my mind, what it’s going to look like, but then, when I come onto the set, it’s always above and beyond what I could’ve imagined. It’s been thrilling because, through being a part of a show in which everyone is free to bring their A-game, in terms of creativity, I’ve been able to let go for myself, as well, and to really look inside myself and not be judgmental about the things that I’m feeling, throughout the story, and to just let that flow naturally.

At the same time, you’re on a comic book/superhero show, where you get to have a superpower. What’s it like to get to explore that? What does having that power mean to her?

TSAI: It’s been quite the journey. My character is a young mutant, who’s still just trying to figure out her abilities, how to use them, what they mean, and what her purpose in life even is. Beyond her superpowers, she’s just trying to feel like she matters to someone in this world. When she encounters David, he’s probably one of the first people to really make her feel like she, specifically, is important and that her existence is important, and he really takes advantage of that.

Rachel, what can we say about the relationship between Syd and David, this season?

KELLER: What the relationship ends up being, at least for Syd, is her own relationship with herself. Like any relationship, it becomes the mirror to whatever you’re going through. I’ve barely worked with Dan, this season. There’s been a lot less British accents around. He goes and does his thing over there, and I go do my thing over here, and that happens so much in relationships. You have to look at what’s coming up for you. For her, there’s an incredible amount of her own behavior to accept and forgive herself for.

Lauren, how will Switch feel about the fact that David is taking advantage of her and her ability?

TSAI: It’s definitely a journey of self-discovery and it’s something that she has to realize for herself because no one’s going to save her and no one’s going to tell her what’s right. Even throughout the show, we never know what’s right, or what’s good and what’s bad, when we’re watching it, and whether someone is redeemable. And to add time travel into all of that, it really brings into question what truly is selfish versus selfless. It’s easy for David to get mixed up on those two things, within his mind. And for Switch, she has to learn to love herself and truly respect who she is, and be okay with just being herself, through seeing what it feels like to give everything to someone who doesn’t actually care about you.

What have you learned to appreciate that about her, the longer you’ve gotten to play her?

TSAI: I feel super connected to Switch, and I feel a lot of myself within her, as well. What I appreciate about her is that she has always felt so closed off from the world, but she’s always chasing the beauty of the world. She can truly appreciate the importance of simply being with someone, and having that human relationship and connection with someone, as a friend. That’s something that I think a lot of people overlook, but Switch really brings back the greatest things in life. She has these abilities, and all of these people have these wonderful superpower abilities, but we get to see through her that the greatest things in life really are the simplest of things. At the end of the day, I think that’s all that we’re all chasing.

What’s it been like to work with Dan Stevens and have him to guide you through this?

TSAI: It’s been incredible. Dan is such an incredible actor. Just to see him on set, when he does a scene and the director is like, “Can you do it a little bit this way?,” and then he does it. It’s so wonderful to work with him and to learn from him. I feel like I’ve learned so much about acting, through watching him and his process. I know a lot of actors really get into the zone and get into the character, but Dan can just flip it on and off. He’s legendary. But beyond that, he’s just such an incredible person to be around, as a friend and as a peer. Everyone loves working with him. He always has a great attitude on set. He’s always down to experiment and try anything. It’s really, truly been a gift to be able to watch such an artist perform like that.

Rachel, this show has certainly been an experience for TV viewers because, at times, it was disorienting to watch, until you could figure out what was going on. How did the experience of actually being in it shape things for you?

KELLER: I’d never done a series before. I come from theater, where there’s always an Act 1, Act 2 and Act 3, so this fits that framework really well. Getting the scripts as we go has been disorienting sometimes ‘cause I’m like, “I don’t know what I’m saying next. I don’t what’s happening.” But you approach it like anything. You dig into it as presently as you can, and you play with the people around you.

Are the things that you’ll miss about playing Syd?

KELLER: I’m sure there will be. We’ve already begun a grieving process. It’s like any kind of ending of something. There’s a transition where you go, “I guess I’m not going there anymore, and I’m not going to see those people in that context anymore.” When you break up with someone, the only way that you can feel closure with that is to know that you did everything that you could, and I think that we’re all feeling a little like we just want to put it all on the table. I’m doing the best that I can for myself to do that, so that I can properly like move on from it.

Legion airs on Monday nights on FX.