Umbrella Academy season 3 is out and I can’t get enough of these lovable weirdos with daddy issues the size of an entire universe or maybe more! This season was a blast & answered some of our questions along with leaving more behind. While season 2 is still a favourite this one helped us understand the characters on a deeper level and brushed up on Reginald Hargreeves’ stone-cold heart and the reasons behind it. Therefore, if you don’t already have a netflix package and you have yet to watch this show – there’s no better time than the present.
10 minutes into season 3 and I was already excited because of the footloose dance-off between the umbrellas and the sparrows. It was funny, in sync and yet took me completely off guard. I was not ready for it at all. The elements of humour kept the intense storyline going without giving us a headache as DARK did due to its complicated plot. I remember that while watching DARK, I had to pause to just blink even because what if someone’s aunt ends up becoming someone’s wife and someone’s sister turns out to be someone’s daughter.
Side Note: Also before we dive into this, can we please just talk about what a brilliant actor Adrian Gallaghar is!? Despite being the youngest of them all, he seems to fit in perfectly. From acting like an old man with a bad back to giving out wise pieces of advice – not once does it feel like Adrian is anything but Five and is actually a 58 year old man stuck in a boy’s body.
Anyways, back to Umbrella Academy. I think the theme of this season was mostly acceptance – from Ben being angry for not getting an invitation to a certain event to the Hargreeves siblings wanting their father’s affection & respect to the world coming to an end yet again. It was all mostly about ACCEPTANCE.
Umbrella Academy Season 3 Spoilers First
If you haven’t already watched the new episodes, it’s best to skip this part but rest assured even if you do because I am trying to ensure that no names are used in this part. Oh, who am I kidding, this entire piece is a blazing hot piece filled with spoilers even if I cover all the names.
Oh and Pogo makes a guest appearance too, if that’s something you have been looking forward to.
Grandfather Paradox
At the end of Season 2, we see the Umbrellas meeting the Sparrows and while the answer seems pretty easy that Reggie just adopted a different batch of kids – it goes deeper than that. By coming to a timeline entirely different from theirs the Umbrellas have created a grandfather paradox. A grandfather paradox is when for example you go back in time and change the future affecting your existence in the future too. Like when Eddie shoots himself to kill Eobard Thawne or Wells in the Flash in the Season 2 finale. Now if Eobard had survived it would have been a grandfather paradox. However, since Flash doesn’t follow the umbrella academy’s time travel rules and regulations – they are in a completely different game.
Even if the Umbrellas did exist in this timeline, there were 2 of them going around the present-day world. One of each born to their moms and the second that was adopted by Reginald.
KugelBlitz
Kugelblitz is a ball of radiation created because of the changes and jump Umbrellas made from 1963 to 2019. Due to the grandfather paradox, the siblings ended up creating a black hole inside the Hargreeves house. The commission calls such a phenomenon Kugelblitz and had a manual to explain it and the grandfather paradox to its members. Five remembers it and tries to explain it to his siblings but the main point of it all was yet again the world coming to an end. Even the commission didn’t know what to do in such a circumstance and only instructed the essential personnel to make their way to the operations room.
Father-Son Bonding Time
We see that all the kids especially boys had intense daddy issues due to Reginald’s cold shoulder and emotional absence from the Umbrella Academy. All the boys wanted their dad’s praise but also hated him. Even when they get together for his funeral in Season 1 – we can see both Diego and Luther struggling with the death of their father. They both try to find reasons behind his death even though Luther is more persistent and vocal than Diego.
In this season, we see one of the children getting the father-son bonding he wanted and opens communication with Reginald in a way that we end up liking him a bit as well. The two have some fun times and some literal deaths to get there but all in all – they seem to be enjoying it.
We also see the new Reginald trying to make up for his past self with the Umbrellas by trying to communicate with them.
His poem about death is kind of overwhelming and emotional as at that moment it feels like he tried to be the best father he could be.
“The sun rises over a lily’s field.
A mother veiled, her lips concealed.
The mourners come in droves of black to bury what their hearts unpack.
With shallow breath and time eclipsed, I pray you miss death’s gentle kiss”.
From Daddy issues to becoming a daddy
While it might seem like people who grew up feeling neglected and abandoned might not be good parents, one of the siblings proves such myths wrong. Despite having some serious daddy issues, we see Diego opening up to the idea of becoming a dad and doing what needed to be done – be it to protect Stanley or the child he had yet to welcome into the world.
In the start, there are parts where it seems he will be just as absent a father as his own but as the plot continues we see him warming up to the role and taking full accountability and responsibility like an adult should when thinking of becoming a parent.
Wedding Bells
Yes, the world is ending but why should it stop us from celebrating love, right? I think the idea of dying with someone you love has been romanticized the most in stories, dramas and movies. Well, now we have seen it happening in this season as well. As the Kugelblitz feasts on the world and keeps on swallowing everything, we have to get dressed for a wedding and enjoy it too.
Symbolism and Immortality
We see symbols throughout the 3 seasons of the umbrella academy. While an Umbrella symbolizes protection and shelter, sparrows are all about power, vigilance, hard work and creativity. This alone tells us that the Sparrows were a lot better at the superhero thing than the Umbrellas.
We also come across a white buffalo symbolism throughout season 3 of umbrella academy which is a sign of hope and indicates good times ahead. It was right there while everyone was losing their sh*t on how they could stop the world from ending or turn back time. The team had dropped hints for those who wanted to see them throughout the episodes, therein.
A Hargreeves siblings also discovers immortality as a power and that clears up a lot. The said person is always doing something dangerously stupid and yet has never died. This season we find out that he did die but kept coming back. Klaus! Yes, I am talking about Klaus.
Revenge Hath A Fall
The time had changed for everyone but one of the siblings felt that she had the most to lose and while we’d think it’s Vanya who left Sissy and Harlan behind but it’s not her. While Vanya accepts herself and comes out as Viktor to the world thanks to Sissy, we see Allison losing control over herself and going into the darkness. We see her becoming cruel and aggressive af by the end until she has an epiphany and takes a u-turn to save everyone.
Accepting Death
By the 7th episode, we see a build-up towards acceptance towards the end. Five convinces everyone to death is something that had to come someday so maybe it’s time that they stopped running and accepted it. Despite having so much to live for with Luther discovering love, Diego becoming an almost dad and Klaus discovering immortality – everyone seems to understand and enjoys the little time they have left. This is something most of us need to learn as well.
We are all so scared of death and trying to beat our past so hard every day that we forget to enjoy the little moments of happiness. We just keep going like a robot and end up getting burned out. Slow down, take a breath. Death won’t touch us until it’s meant to and nor will success.
Important Parts Explained in Umbrella Academy
How did Sparrow Academy come into existence?
As we all initially thought and Reginald Hargreeves mentions – the sparrows didn’t get adopted just because Reggie adopted a different lot of kids. They were probably not adopted because they were never born in this timeline.
On October 1st 1989 mothers of the Umbrella Academy siblings died before giving even giving birth to them. Out of these 7, only Ben ended up being born and since he got adopted it means Reginald didn’t adopt a different batch only because he WANTED to.
Why was Reginald Hargreeves a bad father & why did he make the Umbrella Academy?
Throughout the season we think that Reginald was not a bad father just widely misunderstood. We feel that he was just busy trying to solve the end of the world before it even came. However, as the last episodes approach and he kills two of his own adopted kids – there’s no reason to believe so. He was a selfish person and only thought about what he wanted. No one else meant that much to him as long as he got what he wanted.
However, this could also be because he knew he would reset everything and bring back the ones he killed. The intentions aren’t made quite clear yet as to whether he is selfish because he knows everyone will get what they want or if he is just a bitter old alien on a mission of his own.
Why was No. 1, Luther Hargreeves, sent to the moon?
We see a glimpse of Abigail Hargreeves in a cryogenic tank on the moon. It was placed where Luther was unable to enter due to protective shields. While Luther believes that he was only sent up there to collect rock and soil samples it’s not the truth. He was instead there to protect Abigail in case of any attack or so I presume. Because if she passed away up there when One was just a baby. She was sent up there in that time period as well. She didn’t need protection to this extent at that time. Something must have alerted Reggie which made him take this decision. Luther does say that dad was getting paranoid and scared in the S1E1.
Is Stan really Diego and Lila’s son?
No, Stan is Trudy’s son who is a friend Lila made in Berlin in 1989. Trudy is an absent mother and so Lila asks Stan if he’d like to go and scare an old love interest in 2019. Stan accepts and comes to play daddy with Diego. However, as the show progresses they develop an actual father-son bond. Diego doesn’t find out Stan is not his son until the 6th episode.
The reason Lila lies to Diego about being Stan’s father is because she’s scared. She doesn’t know how to tell him that she’s actually pregnant. She wanted to see if he’ll be a bad father or not because she expected him to fail. Lila felt she couldn’t be a good mother due to her mommy issues. But seeing Diego deal with Stanley so kindly convinced her to come clean eventually. He even tries to cover for his fake child when Stan killed Klaus accidently while playing in the Buffalo room.
How did the commission and time travel manual come into existence?
This was the biggest blazing gun of the season! Who choked on their on breath when we discover the truth? That the commission and time travel and everything related to it was created by Five himself. When Five and Lila reach the commission to figure out a way to beat the grandfather paradox they discover a feeble & amputated 100-year-old Five who warns the 13-year-old Five to stop trying to save the universe.
Why did Harlan kill 7 women in Umbrella Academy?
Harlan doesn’t kill anyone because he wanted to. It was an accident just like when Vanya blows up the moon in season 1 because she has no control over her powers. Young Harlan, now Specter, didn’t have anyone to teach him how to use his powers and when Vanya saves him she creates a bond with him. All grown up now, Specter could detect and bond with everyone born with a similar frequency.
On October 1st 1938, Sissy dies of cancer and Harlan/Specter loses control over himself. While trying to stop he searches for Vanya and creates a connection with her mother instead. Because of the connection formed when all umbrella academy siblings met Harlan before.
Now he connects with their mothers too when they start feeling something inside them. It ends up with him haemorrhaging their brains before the babies are born. This is why the grandfather paradox and kugelblitz come into existence in the new timeline and why the umbrellas were never adopted.
Was Allison always this aggressive?
We see Allison’s mental health deteriorate in this season. She has PTSD from all the abuse she suffered in 1963 because of the colour of her skin. When she finally does find some peace with Raymond Chestnut. Then she had to leave him to come back from Claire who doesn’t exist in 2019 because Allison didn’t. This makes Allison spiral even more and adds even more salt to her misery.
Time travel is hard and Allison’s character did throw shade at people from the first season. When such a person is pushed to a limit they are bound to lose control. From fighting random people to killing Harlan without even trying to understand him – Allison becomes the BIGGEST antagonist in season 3. She strikes a deal with Reginald behind her siblings’ back and only focused on her individual pain throughout. However, everyone is ready to forgive her. They all understand she has had a hard time and loss isn’t easy to combat.
With this said, I especially hated this side of Allison because our pain doesn’t justify us giving pain to others. It’s like saying I failed my exam why didn’t everyone else. So, it was a sigh of relief when Allison finally has a change of heart. And saves her siblings from dying.
Is Reginald Hargreeves the main antagonist in the Umbrella Academy?
That might be the case! Because whether he killed Luther and Klaus knowing he can reset everything and bring them back or not – he didn’t even flinch once. And let’s be honest – he killed Klaus just because he thought he would be a bit too much to handle so that does shout evil.
In the season finale, we see Reginald and Abigail looking down a skyscraper. Yes, it’s nice to know that he is finally back with his long-lost love. It seems like quite a coincidence for almost every building to have the Hargreeves name on it. It seems like Reggie is the wealthiest person in this timeline. This reminds me of when Lex Luthor rewrote himself as the superman. A similar plot line was shown in the Legends of Tomorrow.
Will there be an Umbrella Academy Season 4?
Yes, yes and absolutely yes! The date hasn’t been announced yet but it will not be coming any time before 2023.
Questions Still in the Air
Why is No. 5 the only one with no name?
We still have no clue why Mom never gave Five a name when everyone else got one. According to one conspiracy theory, Five is Reginald Hargreeves himself and that’s why he stopped mom from naming him. He adopted the siblings to help him get what he needed while still young. And as he got older he realized he couldn’t do it by himself. He also stopped Five from time travelling and knew things no one else did. In the last episodes of season 3, we see him being extremely perceptive and present. He knew when to warn Five when he was sitting on the edge that was about to break. And when he told Diego he would have been a great father. Who told him when no one even knew?
But then again, we see the older Five with a completely different face. So if Reggie and Five are the same people, he must have the power to change his face and blood colour. There’s a lot that would need to be explained if this turned out to be the case. Whether it’s just a theory or there’s more to it – we’d have to wait and watch.
Another theory is that maybe Five is a Hargreeves by blood. He does mention that his father always praised him. Maybe Reginald wanted Abigail to name him when she came back.
How did Ben die and who is Jennifer?
Despite the mentions of Ben’s death being painful and referred to as the Jennifer incident, we are still left in the dark as to what exactly happened. The little morsel we were given to bite on was when we see Jennifer’s portrait drawings in Ben’s room.
Maybe there was a love connection that went wrong. But it has been mentioned before that Ben died on a mission. Let’s hope we get an answer to this in the next season.
Will the lot get their powers back?
Of course, they will, there’s no umbrella academy without the Hargreeves siblings having their powers back. They will all try to live normal lives in the start. However, they will soon face another world-ending situation per the format of the show. And probably get their powers back.
Hopefully, we will also see the Sparrows making it back to S4 too. Some of them died too quickly and let’s not forget Luther is not going to sit until he finds Sloane. 
