The Question Umbrella Academy Fans Have About Sir Reginald Hargreeves In Season 1
Netflix's The Umbrella Academy is very much into raising questions and then not answering them. Or answering them indirectly. Or dropping extremely vague hints. For example, there's the Number Five detail that still has Umbrella Academy fans scratching their heads. And then there's Sir Reginald Hargreeves' (Colm Feore) backstory.
The first hint that the umbrella magnate and World's Worst Adoptive Father is actually an alien of as-yet indeterminate origins comes in the first three minutes of the show, but isn't confirmed until season two. With an image of the Kremlin on screen, the narrator introduces Hargreeves as an "eccentric billionaire and adventurer," just as what looks a lot like a futuristic spacecraft flies past. It's so quick you might overlook it on first viewing, or mistake it for a regular plane. The futuristic alien quality makes more sense once you learn more of Hargreeve's history.
The first big reveal about Hargreeves' true origins comes right at the end of the first season, in a scene between himself and someone who appears to be his significant other. At this point, he still looks human. It's not until the second season that Hargreeves reveals his alien identity (specifically the back of his head), as he kills the Majestic Twelve.
These two scenes raise more questions than they answer — especially since they appear to contradict each other. Here's the question Umbrella Academy fans have about Sir Reginald Hargreeves in season 1.
Reginald Hargreeves has only revealed flashes of his pre-Umbrella Academy life
Back to that scene with Hargreeves and his S.O. in season one. First of all, a quick look at the credits reveals that her name is Abigail, and she's played by Liisa Repo-Martell, a native of Toronto (where The Umbrella Academy is filmed). She appears to be human — but then again, so does Hargreeves, while Pogo (Adam Godley and Ken Hall) appears to be a regular chimp, and Five (Aidan Gallagher) appears to be 13. Clearly, appearances are only skin deep on this show.
All we know about this scene is that it happened "long ago," and that Hargreeves is leaving wherever (or whenever) they are, while Abigail has to stay behind, apparently because she's too unwell to travel. She asks him to take her violin, which later becomes Vanya's (Ellen Page). Outside — wherever that is — rocket-looking things are taking off. Hargreeves opens a jar of glowing floaty things (technical term) and releases them. The next time we see him, he's at the customs and immigration office at some port of entry, presumably on Earth, although it's not clear exactly where.
Fast forward to the penultimate episode of the second season: The Magnificent Twelve have assassinated President Kennedy — something the members promised Hargreeves they wouldn't do — and now they're threatening to "tell the world who you really are." At which point Hargreeves removes the very convincing human mask he's apparently been wearing in every other scene, and does something offscreen to them that sounds painful.
Does Reginald Hargreeves ever take off his mask?
Apart from that one Magnificent Twelve murder scene, we've always seen Hargreeves with his human mask on — including when he was with Abigail. The question Redditor Bear_the_cost has is: Why was Hargreeves apparently wearing the mask even on his home planet, in his home? If we've learned anything over the past few months, it's that beings can be extremely resistant to wearing even small masks for the good of public health. Wouldn't Hargreeves want to relax in his true form at home? And does this mean Abigail is definitely human?
There are a few possible explanations. Firstly, as Redditor Hippotaur points out in a reply, who says this is Hargreeves' home planet? It could be Earth — the fields outside Hargreeves' residence look familiar — hence the need for a disguise.
Second, as Hargreeves enters the scene, Abigail tells him he looks dapper, and he says, "Well, I thought it was right to buy something special for the occasion." Is she talking about his (admittedly very dapper) outfit — or his mask? We wouldn't have known it was a mask when the episode first came out. The occasion is, presumably, him traveling wherever it is he's going. Maybe he had to put on the mask to travel to Earth — where he shows up in the next scene.
Showrunner Steve Blackman knows fans have questions. Speaking about the Reginald reveal, he told Collider, "If we're lucky enough to have a Season 3, obviously that's gonna be part of the storytelling. Who is Reginald Hargreeves? Who is he really?" At the same time, fans want an answer to the biggest question hanging over the series: Will there be an Umbrella Academy season 3?
A Commission briefcase would come in handy right about now.