‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season Three is a Welcome Addition to a Familiar Favorite
Netflix
The Hargreeves siblings find out they’re no longer residents of the Umbrella Academy in the first episode of season three.
July 4, 2022
WARNING: This article contains spoilers for all seasons of The Umbrella Academy.
Season three of Netflix’s hit show The Umbrella Academy was released June 22. Two of our staff members, Editor-in-Chief Carly Philpott and Staff Writer Peter Philpott, sat down to talk about the season.
Carly Philpott: Welcome to season three of The Umbrella Academy. Your favorite characters no longer exist.
Well, they do. Just not in the same way they used to.
This is where season two left off: the Umbrellas are back in 2019 (well, all except Ben Hargreeves, who sacrificed his dead self for his siblings), but it’s not the same 2019 they left. In their place is the Sparrow Academy, with a much meaner version of Ben (Justin Min) and an odd compilation of arrogant new heroes. To make matters worse, the multiple timeline situation that the Umbrellas landed in caused a universe-ending paradox, and this is what the siblings were trying to solve all throughout season three.
Peter Philpott: The moment at the end of season two where we saw the silhouettes of the Sparrows on the balcony, I thought they were the Umbrellas in a different universe. So when we figured out that these seven were completely different, I was confused, and it made the suspense so much better.
CP: Yeah, I think we all went into this season with different theories about what was going on. Teasers for season three made it clear that the Sparrows were different characters, but we didn’t know what kind of universal variance had occurred to change who their father, Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), adopted.
Regardless, though, season three brought us back to our familiar, beloved Umbrella Academy formula. The first episode had a dance battle, and we had the same sibling banter as usual. Plus, they brought back Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya), which brings out more of a rivalry dynamic – both between her and Diego Hargreeves (David Castañeda), and between her and Five Hargreeves (Aidan Gallagher). Lila’s relationship with Diego, and the ensuing character growth for both of them, was a driving plot point in season two. When Lila showed up this season with what was supposedly Diego’s son, Stanley (Javon Walton), it forced Diego to confront his feelings.
But Stanley wasn’t the only mystery character. Some of the Sparrows raised questions among fans as well.
PP: One of the weirdest Sparrows was Christopher Hargreeves. I think we are all wondering how he came to be. The levitating disco-cube has interesting powers. Reginald is an alien, so my main theory is that he supposedly has access to other planets. Christopher could possibly be an alien that the eccentric billionaire ran across while traveling the galaxy. Neither are human, that’s for sure.
It’s interesting how Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Raver-Lampman), driven by grief of losing both her daughter Claire and husband Raymond, slowly morphed into a villain. The one thing she wanted was to return to the reality where her daughter was present. And eventually, her one option left was Reginald’s crazy plan to save the universe, which turned her against her siblings, especially Viktor Hargreeves (Elliot Page), who became the sole antagonist in Allison’s view.
CP: Viktor and Allison’s close relationship has been a huge piece of the family dynamic in the past, but this season it turned into their conflict. It wasn’t the only major Viktor-centered storyline. Viktor, who is played by Elliot Page, came out as trans this season after presenting as a woman for the last two seasons. This decision came after Page himself came out as trans, and it was awesome to both see representation on screen and to see a LGBTQ+ plotline that didn’t come with bigotry on the side. Viktor was universally accepted by his siblings. It’s not the first LGBTQ+ story in The Umbrella Academy, or even Page’s first in the show, but it’s great that the writers chose to give Page a character that represented who he was.
Viktor’s transition was one of the things most acclaimed about this season. But as always, viewers also raved about Aidan Gallagher’s performance as Five Hargreeves.
PP: I can’t imagine the weird dynamic on set where an 18-year-old actor was playing an older character that actors 20 years older than himself. But Gallagher nailed it, from the beginning where he entered with a splash, then went downstairs to make a marshmallow sandwich. It’s hilarious to see a thirteen year old character be featured in so many violent scenes, but it works so well.
It still stands in my mind that the best use of music in the whole show was when Five murdered the people hunting him in a donut shop with “Istanbul (Not Constaninople)” by They Might Be Giants playing in the background.
Five isn’t just a good addition as a character to the show, but also as comedic relief. He’s constantly roasting other characters, but it’s hilarious to see a young appearing character to be absolutely wasted at Luther and Sloane’s wedding.
CP: That’s right: in typical Luther fashion, he fell in love with another sibling. This time, it was gravity manipulator Sloane Hargreeves (Genesis Rodriguez). Luther Hargreeves (Tom Hopper) has long been a complicated character, quick to defend his problematic father’s honor. But this season, his dedication to Sloane made him both a problem for his siblings and a source of joy. His wedding did manage to bring them all together.
As always, my favorite part of the show was Klaus Hargreeves (Robert Sheehan), the brother with the most trauma going on. After two seasons of losing the man he loves, getting over drug addictions, and of course fighting apocalypses, Klaus spends this season gaining a better understanding of his powers, and coming to terms with pieces of his past he has tried to move beyond. In an attempt to understand where his family comes from, Klaus follows Reginald’s notes to an Amish homestead in Pennsylvania. There, he learns his mother died the same day he should’ve been born. This is where the Umbrellas begin to understand the paradox they’re under, and where the conflict begins.
This season allowed for more expansion of the Umbrella Academy universe. We revisited Viktor’s friendship with Harlan (Callum Keith Rennie). We learned more about why Reginald originally took interest in all these kids and what his intentions were all those years. And, of course, we learn more about where the siblings came from.
PP: Season three was brilliantly made, certainly on caliber with the previous two, so we know that the coming one will be a brilliant ending to a brilliant franchise. We are super excited to see how the siblings figure out their most recent predicament.
