On June 22, “The Umbrella Academy” returned for its third season. In the first episode, the Umbrella siblings — Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Five (Aidan Gallagher) and Viktor (Elliot Page) — return to the Academy only to discover that Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) didn’t adopt them in the new timeline. Instead, he adopted seven of the other 43 superpowered babies born on October 1, 1989 — including the Umbrella siblings’ deceased (but now alive) brother Ben (Justin H. Min) — because he believed them to be a better set of children. This alternate academy, known as The Sparrow Academy, is made up of Ben, Marcus (Justin Cornwell), Fei (Britne Oldford), Alphonso (Jake Epstein), Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), Jayme (Cazzie David) and Christopher (CGI cube).
As if the Umbrella siblings weren’t already dealing with enough after discovering that they had been replaced, they must also figure out how to stop a mysterious cosmic event known as a Kugelblitz, which threatens to end everything in existence due to their time traveling. After being rejected from their home, they move into the mysterious Hotel Obsidian — which turns out to harbor a shocking secret. Of course, we know from previous seasons that the Umbrella siblings are dysfunctional and only tend to work together at the last minute to discover these types of twists.
However, though there is another apocalypse on the horizon, the Umbrella siblings are busy dealing with their own personal problems.
Luther is kidnapped by the Sparrow Academy, but he also develops a sudden infatuation with Sloane. Diego is reunited with his lover, Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya), but the reunion is cut short after she tells him that they have a son named Stan (Javon Walton). Lila leaves Stan with Diego, and he now must take on the responsibility of being a dad. Allison is struggling to adjust to the new timeline, as she discovers that she left her husband Raymond (Yusuf Gatewood) in Dallas only to return to a timeline where her daughter Claire doesn’t exist. Thus, Allison is the most desperate of all the siblings to put a stop to the Kugelblitz and leave the current timeline.
In addition to discovering that their mothers were murdered, Klaus realizes that his relationship with death is more complicated than previously believed. He also develops a relationship with the new Reginald, who teaches him how to harness his powers and overcome his fear of the dead. Five, on the other hand, is ready to retire but soon finds himself teaming up with Lila to figure out what the Kugelblitz is and how to stop it. After discovering that the old man, Lester Pocket (Callum Keith Rennie), who saved the Umbrella siblings from the Sparrow Academy’s attack is actually Harlan Cooper, Viktor, previously known as Vanya, tries to find a way to take back the powers that he gave him. However, Viktor hides the truth from his siblings, which is that Harlan accidentally killed all of their mothers in 1989 — and that is what triggered the Grandfather Paradox, the cause of the Kugelblitz.
There are obviously many plotlines in Season 3, but as the season progresses, the Umbrella siblings and the Sparrow Academy eventually join forces to stop the Kugelblitz. However, after a failed attempt at compressing the Kugelblitz into Christopher — which kills both Christopher and Fei — most of the Umbrella siblings and those left of the Sparrow Academy give up and decide that it’s time to accept their fate.
Allison refuses to do this, of course, and makes a deal with Reginald, whom we still don’t know much about. After returning to Hotel Obsidian with Klaus, Reginald reveals to the Umbrella siblings and the Sparrow Academy that he constructed the hotel around a portal that leads to a place outside of reality. He calls it Hotel Oblivion and claims that it is the key to resetting the timeline.
The siblings enter Hotel Oblivion and fight off a murderous samurai, only to discover that to reset the timeline, they must fuel a machine with particles that give them their powers. Allison stands by as the machine sucks the life out of her siblings but decides at the last minute to kill Reginald and stop the machine from powering up. However, after realizing that the universe she wants is only a red button away, she decides to finish powering up the machine. After resetting the timeline, we see Allison not only reunite with Claire, but Raymond as well. The rest of the Umbrella siblings find themselves in a new timeline as well, most likely different from the one Allison is in, where they are powerless. The season ends with Reginald and his now living wife, Abigail, standing at the top of a high-rise building.
Although many discoveries were made this season, fans were still left with a slew of questions after watching the last episode. Nonetheless, the season was fulfilling, especially because of the way that the show handled Vanya’s transition to Viktor.
In 2020, Page announced via social media that he was transgender, which left fans to wonder how his transition would affect his role as Vanya. Page’s coming out inspired “The Umbrella Academy” showrunner, Steve Blackman, to incorporate his transition into the series. Page revealed in March of this year that Vanya would be transitioning to Viktor Hargreeves. In Episode 2 of Season 3, Vanya has a flashback of Sissy’s words: “You don’t even notice the box that you’re in until someone comes along and lets you out.” This leads Vanya to get their hair cut at a barber shop and re-emerge as Viktor. His transition is warmly supported by all of his siblings, and fans are praising “The Umbrella Academy” for showing how to be supportive of a friend or family member who has come out.
