How Klaus' Death In The Umbrella Academy Could Have Been Much Different

"The Umbrella Academy" introduces some of the most unconventional superheroes of all time — from the gorilla-human hybrid, Luther Hargreeves (Tom Hopper), to his mind-manipulating sister, Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Raver-Lampman). The show revolves around the gang trying to stop an impending apocalypse at the hands of their sibling, Vanya/Viktor Hargreeves (Elliot Page) — who uses sound as a way of unleashing a devastating power. But there's also another incredibly powerful member of the team who doesn't get as much credit as he should: Klaus Hargreeves (Robert Sheehan), aka Number Four. Klaus constantly struggles with addiction and debauchery, but this is all because he can speak to the dead and even make them tangible in the real world.

Klaus' risky substance use is a way of coping with the supernatural, let alone the fact that the misguided hero has died a number of times in the series. But his most important demise so far happens in Season 1, Episode 7: "The Day That Was" when he gets into a fight during a rave and hits his head on the floor. Ouch. Klaus finds himself in a black and white afterlife and meets a young girl on a bike who may or may not be a version of God.

The girl briefly tells Klaus that she doesn't really like him that much before pointing him in the direction of his Reginald Hargreeves' (Colm Feore) spirit so the two can have a quick chat about how Klaus' father failed the team. Although Number Four finds his way back to the land of the living, his death could've been much different.

If you or anyone you know is struggling with addiction issues, help is available. Visit the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration website or contact SAMHSA's National Helpline at 1-800-662-HELP (4357).

The Netflix TV series does a good job of adapting Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá's "The Umbrella Academy" comics from Dark Horse, but it occasionally deviates. The scene where Klaus goes to "heaven" plays out a little differently in "The Umbrella Academy: Dallas #3," where he's tortured by Hazel and Cha-Cha, the two Temporal assassins, and they shoot the hero in the head. When he arrives in the afterlife, he meets not a girl on a bike, but a cowboy who is heavily implied to be God.

They briefly talk about religion and what people expect of the almighty — before God sends Klaus back to Earth because he doesn't like the hero. The godly cowboy also points out that Number Four can't go to hell because the Devil doesn't like him either. But before the hero is sent back, God gives him two pieces of advice: Kill Hazel and Cha-Cha, and stay off drugs. Well, that's definitely good advice.

But the Netflix series quickly shifts Klaus' conversation with the little girl so he can speak to Reginald, who confesses that he killed himself so the team would have a "momentous" reason to come back together. Unfortunately, Reginald doesn't manage to give his son any advice, because he disappears into the ether as Klaus wakes up back at the rave. It's a different take on the comics, but it moves the live-action series along nicely as well as adds a new dimension to Klaus' relationship with his father. It'll be interesting to see what else makes it into live-action — and what else is altered — when "The Umbrella Academy" Season 3 arrives on June 22, 2022.