Chapter 20 (Legion)

In May 2019, it was reported that the first episode of the season would be titled "Chapter 20", and was to be directed by Andrew Stanton and written by series creator Noah Hawley and co-executive producer Nathaniel Halpern. This was Hawley's fifteenth writing credit, Halpern's eleventh writing credit, and Stanton's first directing credit.[1]

In January 2019, it was announced that Lauren Tsai would join the series in the role of Switch, described as "a young mutant whose secret ability serves as the key to executing David Haller's plan."[2]

In its original American broadcast, "Chapter 20" was seen by an estimated 0.377 million household viewers and gained a 0.1 ratings share among adults aged 18–49, according to Nielsen Media Research. This means that 0.1 percent of all households with televisions watched the episode.[3] This was a 19% increase in viewership from the previous episode, which was watched by 0.315 million viewers with a 0.2 in the 18-49 demographics.[4]

"Chapter 20" received mostly positive reviews from critics. The review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes reported a 100% approval rating with an average rating of 8.5/10 for the episode, based on 7 reviews.[5]

Alicia Lutes of IGN gave the episode a "good" 7.3 out of 10 and wrote in her verdict, "Legion's third season premiere is as quirky and whimsical as you want it to be. Lauren Tsai, the latest addition to the cast, is fantastic in her first-ever acting role, and Rachel Keller and Aubrey Plaza still feel like the beating heart of the show. The acting continues to delight in its weird and wonderful nature (Navid Negahban needs to be a movie star). But as the series continues its inevitable roll towards villainy (with a chance of redemption) for David, the path towards a resolution feels hollow, often thanks to Hawley's overreliance on music to do the emotional heavy-lifting for him. What we're left with is something that feels more derivative — and less special — than the Legion we previously knew and loved. But hey, maybe they'll go back and do it all over again in the final two minutes, and we'll change our mind about everything we just watched."[6]

Alex McLevy of The A.V. Club gave the episode a "B+" grade and wrote, "The smartest move that this first episode makes is to transfer the audience into the perspective of a brand-new character, essentially using Switch's mutant power to rescue the story, the series, and the characters from the dour fate it created."[7]

Nick Harley of Den of Geek gave the episode a 4 star rating out of 5 and wrote, "Though Legion's whacky ways could be grating last year, the Season 3 premiere successfully splits the difference between psychedelic eye-candy and intriguing story developments. The episode is table-setting of the highest order, and it looks like the main course will be just as unconventional as we've come to expect."[8] Kevin Lever of Tell Tale TV wrote, "Coupled with Switch and a strong visual command, the show is confident heading towards its end, Noah Hawley & Nathaniel Halpern's clever writing setting a stage of completely open possibilities."[9]

TVLine named Dan Stevens as an honorable mention for the "Performer of the Week" for the week of June 29, 2019, for his performance in the episode. The site wrote, "Legion's final season finds telekinetic mutant David Haller as the leader of a far-out hippie commune, and Dan Stevens was hilariously blissed out in this week's premiere as he welcomed time traveler Switch into his flock. Clad in flowing scarves and beaming with quiet serenity, this New Age-y David was a far cry from the frantic, tortured David we're used to seeing, and Stevens' laid-back delivery added a nice comedic punch, like when he calmly told Switch he tried trusting people, but 'it's better to read people's minds.' Stevens also showed off his action chops, storming through a couple of high-intensity fight scenes that set up the major battle ahead — but honestly, we'd be happy just sipping tea and listening to the Zen wisdom of the Magic Man."[10]