Legion: Jeremie Harris Explains How Ptonomy’s Past Trauma Shapes Storylines

The first season of Legion focused on David Haller, his abilities, and his conflict with the Shadow King; he later found guidance from the misfit group of mutants including a memory explorer known as Ptonomy. But during one of their mind-journeys-gone-wrong, viewers caught a glimpse into Ptonomy’s tragic past.

David got the focus in those initial eight episodes of FX’s X-Men-based series, but ComicBook.com asked Ptonomy actor Jeremie Harris if we’d get to learn more about his character’s backstory. Check out the video from San Diego Comic-Con above!

“I would love to see more of his past or even to see how he moves forward to deal with that trauma,” Harris said. “I think that’s what we saw in Season One is that he does have the trauma from his childhood with his mother’s death and the trauma that he sees so much in other people’s memories as well.”

A flashback revealed that Ptonomy witnessed his mother’s sudden death from natural causes when he was just five years old. The nature of his mutant power makes him vividly retain every memory he’s ever experienced, including those he explores that belong to other people.

“I think seeing how affected he still is by his mother’s death, I think we can also intuit that he probably is affected by some of the trauma that he experiences by going back into other people’s memories and helping them as well,” Harris said. “It’ll be interesting to see some more of his backstory and to see how he can work through his own mental health issues that he has.”

Legion creator Noah Hawley promised that Season Two will explore the histories of the supporting cast members now that David’s own journey has been mined. It’ll be interesting to see how Ptonomy’s experiences shaped the man he is on the show.

Legion will return for Season Two in 2018.

David Haller, a.k.a. Legion, is a haunted man with power beyond comprehension. His power does not come free, but at the steep cost of David’s mind. Plagued by numerous split personalities – each commanding a different aspect of his power – David is trying to find his way back to sanity. But he’s getting tired and about to give up until he meets the girl of his dreams.