Already beloved by genre fans for her memorable roles in series like Firefly, The 4400 and Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Summer Glau has been appearing on yet another super-cool show of late, Syfy's Alphas

Glau plays Skylar Adams, whose Alpha ability allows her to create technology years beyond our most advanced modern tech - and improvise some very formidable weapons from the most innocuous of objects.With Alphas going into its big Season 2 finale this Monday, I spoke to Glau about portraying Skylar, what's in store for the finale and more. And yep, I asked the frequent Joss Whedon collaborator what she thought about Whedon returning to TV with S.H.I.E.L.D. - and if there could potentially be a role there for her.It has been. It’s been a great season for Skylar. I love doing TV, and I love being a part of a team. I really enjoy the process of getting to live in a character for an extended period of time and watch them grow, and I think that’s really happened for Skyler this year. Throughout this final episode, I think she evolves even more. I like where it’s going, and I know I’ve said this before, but I really, really enjoyed the challenges of playing a mother for the first time. That’s been very inspiring for me.Oh my gosh, Skyler [Wexler] and I are pen pals online. She is a brilliant, brilliant young lady. When I originally took the role, that was one of the main reasons why, because I thought, “Oh, I wonder what it would be like to play a parent.” Once I got on set and I started working with Skyler – and it’s funny because I play Skylar -- I realized once we started workshopping scenes that it created a whole other layer of depth and inspiration for me as an actress. It really, really helped drive my scenes. I’m not a mother yet. I have a little dog, and that’s closest thing I have to someone that truly belongs to me. So it really helped push me along through these last two seasons of Alphas, being able to focus on the fact that Skylar is an absolute loner. She only has herself to count on, and that’s how I play it and that's how I see her storyline before you meet her in the show. But now that she has a daughter, she just can’t think that way. So it’s a lot of mixed feelings for her, and it just helps me as an actress.[Laughs] I know! Yeah, she’s such a natural. She’s really smart.I do. It’s funny that you mention that because Michael Karnow, who is one of the creators of Alphas, he's a friend of mine, and we were discussing this, it came up in one of the episodes - I think it was actually the episode that just aired this week. They had written the episode -- and we always tend to workshop it and rehearse and make some changes -- and we were thinking, you know, Skylar doesn’t really get physical. Should we involve her more physically in this storyline? I talked to Michael about it, and he said, “You know what, we specifically want to veer away from that for you as an actress, because people are always going to expect that from you. This is going to be a new challenge for you to be part of the team and make an impact and be a power player without using a physical ability.” So it was actually done on purpose, and that’s good for me because I always want to rumble and throw down; it’s just natural for me as an actress. So this is a good exercise for me.Oh, yes. I’m very proud of that flamethrower that I made. That thing was cool. It was heavy! I actually really like that her ability isn’t a physical ability, it’s more mental. She’s very tactile and very good at building things, but it’s different than having a physical ability like Kat’s or Bill’s.She does. And I just remember that scene where she wakes up and realizes what she’s done. It’s very, very hard for Skylar to admit that she’s wrong and feel vulnerable and to realize that she’s been taken advantage of. I think it’s good for her because it’s important for her to remember that sometimes she does need help. This is an opportunity for her to possibly integrate into the team in a more sincere and fully realized way. She’s humbled by the experience, I think. It’s shaken her to see that she could be taken advantage of and been manipulated in the way that Stanton has. So it’s a great opportunity for Skylar to start a new chapter with the rest of the Alphas.

Continue to Page 2 as Glau talks more about the Alphas season finale and also discusses Joss Whedon's S.H.I.E.L.D. series and the Firefly reunion at San Diego Comic-Con this past summer.