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The Klaus And Vanya Details That Umbrella Academy Fans Always Get Wrong

Netflix's The Umbrella Academy is a superhero show like no other. Yes, the seven adopted Hargreeves siblings who make up the titular group have distinct superpowers, fight outrageous villains, and save the world more than once, but the series is more interested — or at least equally interested — in their personal relationships and trauma stemming from their unfeeling father and the things they were made to endure as kids.

Each of the Hargreeves is very different from the others, in both personality and abilities. Also, although they were all raised together, they were adopted from all over the world. Two of the siblings are also members of the LGBTQ+ community, but Umbrella Academy fans have a tendency to get the details of that wrong. Vanya Hargreeves (Elliot Page) is frequently discussed as a lesbian, and her flamboyant brother Klaus (Robert Sheehan) is often referred to in the fandom as gay. In fact, the truth of both characters is more complicated than that, as truths (and sexualities) so often are.

Klaus isn't gay

It's true that the most important relationship Klaus Hargreeves has had in the series so far was with a man, the young soldier he met in Vietnam. However, that doesn't mean he hasn't also been with women. If you pay attention to Klaus, it's clear that he's attracted to just about everyone he meets, regardless of gender. Robert Sheehan, who plays Klaus on The Umbrella Academy, has described the character as pansexual, meaning he's attracted to everyone regardless of gender. 

Although his sexuality is never directly labeled in the show, pansexual does make perfect sense for Klaus. Sad-eyed though he may be, he's a hedonist at heart, and seems ready to find pleasure with whatever attractive person might be offering it. After all, the first thing he does upon time-traveling to 1960s Texas is found a cult, with a pretty clear implication that he hooks up with quite a few of his followers. The ethics of that particular practice are another matter, but as far as who he's attracted to, there seem to be few limits.

Vanya isn't necessarily a lesbian

It's easy to think of Vanya Hargreeves as a lesbian since she falls in love with a woman named Sissy during season 2. However, Vanya also had a relationship with a man in season 1, albeit one that turned out to be manipulating her for his own nefarious ends.

That doesn't necessarily mean Vanya's not a lesbian, of course. Many real-life lesbians date people of other genders prior to discovering their sexuality. In fact, Page himself has described Vanya's same-sex relationship in season 2 as the first time she's fallen in love. On the other hand, Vanya is already 30 when the series begins, and while she is a lonely character, the show itself gives us no reason to assume that she's never dated or hooked up with anyone before.

So Vanya might be a lesbian, but she also might be bisexual or pansexual. Until it's directly addressed on the series, we don't really know. Given how common erasure of bi and pan identities still is, these nuances are worth getting right.