Why The Moon Will Be More Important Than You Think On Umbrella Academy Season 3
One thing that makes Netflix's adaptation of The Umbrella Academy both fun and infuriating is that the further you get into the series, the more questions you have. Something that seemed like a casual reference or a joke can turn out to be a massive hint about a future plot point. On the flip side, a theory that the Hargreeves family was sure was correct can end up being a complete red herring. Basically, The Umbrella Academy is like an exciting, maddening puzzle.
Physically speaking, the most obvious example of this is the Moon. The giant space rock appears within the first five minutes of the show, when we see Luther (Tom Hopper) going about his day (well, eternal night) on its surface. And of course, the Moon ultimately plays a major part in the apocalypse — the season 1 apocalypse — thanks to Vanya (Ellen Page). But it's during The Umbrella Academy season 2 that the references to the Moon really start to take off, making eagle-eyed viewers think that it could have a bigger role on upcoming seasons.
Here's why the Moon will be more important than you think on The Umbrella Academy season 3 — and the references you missed on seasons 1 and 2.
Luther's Moon fixation turned out to be relevant
One of the main themes of The Umbrella Academy season 1 was the emotional damage that cold and calculating Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) inflicted on his adoptive children. In Luther's case, Hargreeves repaid his Number One's loyalty by sending him to the Moon for four years with no explanation. Luther dutifully sent daily reports on conditions, along with field samples. (Exactly how he got there and back and how he sent the samples is another question on our growing list.)
When the reunited Academy learns that there's an imminent apocalypse with an unknown cause, Luther is certain that the Moon is involved. His siblings roll their eyes, believing Luther is still blinded by his faith in Hargreeves. Plus, the guy was stuck on the Moon, alone, for all that time — it's not surprising that he would be a little obsessed.
Given Luther might have doomed the world on The Umbrella Academy thanks to his space exploration, his siblings might be right to be skeptical. And when Luther discovers that his father left all the packages he sent completely unopened, it seems that his siblings' suspicions are correct — especially when Pogo (Andy Serki and Adam Godley) tells him that his father just wanted to give him a project to focus on after his disastrous surgery.
However, it turns out that the Moon is responsible for the apocalypse, albeit indirectly. Vanya accidentally sends an energy beam into it, creating many dangerously large pieces on collision courses with Earth.
There's another, more subtle Moon reference on season 1. During one scene, the Hargreeves' robotic mother Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) is embroidering a design that looks a lot like the Moon — and she sews it to her skin. Could this be an indication that the robo-Mom is connected to the Moon?
What does Sir Reginald want with the dark side of the Moon?
Throughout season 2, it becomes clear that Reginald is especially interested in the Moon. When Grace breaks into his secret lab (in a scene that makes us worried about Grace's fate on Umbrella Academy season 3), it's full of space-related work. There's a diagram of the Apollo command module and diagrams of a shuttle; the first space shuttle wouldn't launch until 1981. We later learn that Reginald is passing this advanced technology — by 1963 standards — to a secret government organization known as the Majestic 12.
Reginald also has a model of the Moon on his desk, next to the file on President John F. Kennedy. A very similar model was on a bookshelf in the room where Luther found the unopened reports during season 1. Speaking of JFK, consider that the Moon, like the assassinated president, is the subject of a famous conspiracy theory – namely that the 1969 Moon landing was a hoax. This is especially relevant given the season 2 focus on conspiracy theories. Reginald is involved in the JFK murder as it's depicted on The Umbrella Academy, so could he be wrapped up with faking the Moon landing, too?
It's not just Reginald who's got the Moon on his mind. Ray (Yusuf Gatewood) gives Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) Jules Verne's 1865 novel From the Earth to the Moon as an anniversary gift. The book is about a shady organization that plans to launch its leader to the Moon. This seems to tie in to the most direct hint about Sir Reginald's lunar obsession: One of the Majestic 12 reveals that Reginald has an interest in the dark side of the Moon.
Hopefully when The Umbrella Academy season 3 happens, we (and Luther) finally get answers to these Moon-related mysteries.