Small Details You Missed In The Umbrella Academy Season 3
Season 3 of "Umbrella Academy" has arrived, and the heroes are left with even more problems than when they first started. There are bizarre adventures aplenty to unpack after ten episodes of non-stop action, trippy musical sequences, alien robots and murderous crows, across three time lines, no less.
After Viktor (Elliot Page) unwittingly donated some of his sound wave manipulating powers to Harlan (Justin Paul Kelly), The Umbrella Academy returned to a timeline unfamiliar from the one they left mere days ago. Their father is now alive and well and has, quite frankly, disowned and replaced his original team after their time-meddling misadventures in Season 2. In this new timeline, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) is training a brand new flock of heroes dubbed "The Sparrows," alongside no-longer-deceased Umbrella member Ben (Justin H. Min), now bearing the red bird's sigil.
Get ready for a (spoiler-heavy) examination of the minutiae in Season 3. If you've already watched, it might give you a new appreciation — if you haven't, bookmark this page and be sure to come back after you have. Faster than you can say "kugelblitz," scroll on for all the small details you may have missed.
Ben gets an upgraded ranking
The most familiar face in the Sparrow Academy worked his way up to a brand new ranking in Season 3. The previous Number Six in The Umbrella Academy has relentlessly devoted himself to become one of the strongest members of The Sparrows. Ben's horrific powers allow him to unleash the fearsome tentacled beast within, and it seems his fierce dedication has earned him an upgrade to Number Two.
There's already enough bad blood between The Umbrella Academy and Sparrows, based on the invasive situation alone. However, when Ben discovers he died in their original timeline, he's far less trustworthy of his rambunctious new siblings. After the first episode, with Marcus (Justin Cornwell) taken by the kugelblitz, Ben becomes the new Number One — but his siblings make a passing remark (in Episode 3) that tips off the audience that Ben was their original Number One. So, what did he do to get taken down a peg? Was this Reginald's twisted way of motivating him? Whatever the reason, his resentment is suddenly far more understandable.
A trippy Guardians of the Galaxy Easter egg
One of the catchiest needle-drop moments of Season 3 comes in the first episode. When vicious Sparrow Jayme (Cazzie David) spews her hallucinogenic venom at Diego (David Castañeda), the Umbrellas and Sparrows finally face off.
In typical "Umbrella Academy" fashion, their first interaction is unconventional, unexpected, and insanely fun. The dysfunctional family series about a rag-tag team of superheroes is already extremely reminiscent of "Guardians of the Galaxy," a film series not above some epic musical fight sequences; this scene is an homage to the first film not only because of the dance, but because "Guardians" has a running joke that revolves around Peter Quill's affection for "Footloose," so "Umbrella" employs the "Footloose" theme by Kenny Loggins, giving off serious Starlord vibes.
It's also worth noting that Grace/"Mom" (Jordan Claire Robbins — the robot caregiver from Season 1) has returned, and she even does the robot dance in this fun sequence. Ben and Klaus rekindle their bond from Season 1 by dancing together, and the scene kicks things off with a fun energy.
A euphoric new addition to the cast
After his devastating departure in the Season 2 finale of "Euphoria," fans wondered where Javon Walton (Ashtray) would turn up next. Luckily, they didn't have to wait long, as he is featured in Season 3 of "The Umbrella Academy."
When Walton was cast, speculation began over uncovering his mysterious new role. Would he be a Sparrow? An agent from the Temps Commission, like Five? True to the tune of the series, Walton's new role was an unexpected delight.
The plotline has Lila (Ritu Arya) lying, telling Diego he's their son, Stan, who has supposedly aged up due to time-hopping. When Stan is tragically taken by the kugelblitz, Lila confesses she really is pregnant, and Stan wasn't their son. Lila says she was messing with Diego, but she also wanted to see what kind of father he would be. After seeing the knife-wielding, uncle killing, butt-kicking Stan in action with Diego, it's safe to assume Lila wasn't disappointed by his dedication and loyalty.
Lila's new mimic
It was a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment, but re-watch Season 3 and you might spot Lila's newest mimic. Her unique abilities allow her to replicate a superpower that's within proximity, the ultimate surprise in the Season 2 finale.
After Lila's time-traveling briefcase malfunctions, she returns to The Umbrella Academy (now Sparrow Academy) to swipe another. Along the way, she happens on a feathery new ability. Lila cleverly sits on top of the roof and mimics Fei's (Britne Oldford) crow-conjuring abilities. She is able to see through the crow to get the case, have it brought to her, then generate and remerge with it, just like Fei.
Last season, viewers saw Lila imitate The Umbrella Academy — including Five's (Aidan Gallagher) teleportation, Viktor's sound-wave manipulation, Allison's (Emmy Raver-Lampman) rumor command, and Diego's metallic precision. It was only a matter of time, then, before The Sparrows had their turn.
A classic film reference
That's right comic book fans, Sir Reginald said the thing.
For those unfamiliar with the "Umbrella Academy" source material, a series of comics by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá that began publishing in 2007, The Hotel Oblivion is a direct reference. The direction of this scene, meanwhile is a tip of the cap to the opening of Orson Welles' 1941 classic "Citizen Kane."
After seeing Reginald's greater scheme unfold in the Season 3 finale, it's no surprise he would let the word "Oblivion" out in a Freudian slip. Like the phrase "rosebud" in "Citizen Kane," the remote drop and extreme close-up of Reginald's lips puts tremendous weight on the word, leaving viewers questioning its meaning. Comic book readers however, already know The Hotel Oblivion is an impenetrable prison built by The Monocle to hold super villains.
On top of that connection, the finale also revealed that this Reginald is indeed the green-blooded cyborg alien known as The Monocle, perhaps making fans even more eager for the next volume of comics, as well as Season 4 of the series based on them.
Harlan's remnant powers
Eagle-eyed viewers from last season had been anxiously awaiting the return of young Harlan in Season 3. After seeing he retained some of Viktor's shockwave-sending powers, fans could speculate the oddball elder with retro headphones and a briefcase of sandwiches was indeed an older Harlan.
The Season 2 cliffhanger also teased Harlan's decimation of Sparrows Jayme and Alphonso (Jake Epstein), as seen in Season 3's third episode. In his hand (as seen above), he's levitating a bird (likely a sparrow), which foreshadows his explosive outburst that fries off their faces. Luckily, after that event, viewers received a detailed backstory depicting the trauma Harlan endured, which warped his uncontrollable abilities. It was subsequently explained how Harlan was able to locate the two super human families, using abilities like sonar tracking.
Harlan goes full Legion
"The Umbrella Academy" Season 3 brought with it what feels like a Marvel connection. If you've never seen series Legion, it follows an extremely powerful telepathic mutant who struggles with mental illness and controlling powerful abilities — and "Umbrella" seems to be evoking the series, in both look and theme.
"Legion" shares some of the same crew members behind the scenes, such as series composer Jeff Russo and director of photography Craig Wrobleski. This likely explains why the explosive outburst from Harlan in the beginning of Episode 4 is resonant of David's (Dan Stevens) kitchen utensil tornado. They even look and sound similar, with cool blue tones and chaotic whirlwinds of dangerous objects. Both explosions also come from a character's deep trauma.
Rumor's comic-accurate haircut
There are more than a few references to "The Umbrella Academy" source material, one being a new look for fan-favorite Rumor.
After Allison unsuccessfully tries to rumor herself into happiness, she grabs a shard of broken mirror and cuts her hair short. The significance of this transformation matches her signature style in the comics.
Emmy Raver-Lampman showcases a deeply moving performance as Allison/Rumor in Season 3, gutted to learn her daughter Claire (Coco Assad) doesn't exist in this timeline. This sends Allison into a downward spiral, where she even rumored Luther (Tom Hopper) into wanting and staying with her for any sense of something familiar. She also argued with Viktor, eventually killing Harlan for what he did to The Sparrows. This was Allison's darkest season yet, and it closely resembles her comic book counterpart.
From Obsidian to Oblivion
The Hotel Oblivion finally makes its frightening debut through a passageway from The Hotel Obsidian. The hotel is similar to The Overlook from "The Shining," albeit bolstered with fun additions like a sushi carousel, murderous guardians, and a built in universe changing contraption. There's also an abundance of gross cockroaches, which Lila happily squashes — another comic book reference.
The biggest note of importance, with the arrival of Oblivion, is the ambitious scheme Reginald has cooked up. This also adds a necessary layer of suspicion, which pays off when Allison kills him. The green blood and sparking metallic skeleton is an extraordinary visual queue, one that reveals to everyone that Reginald was not who he seemed to be.
It also illustrates the brilliance and dedication of Reginald, who purposefully built the hotel around a portal he discovered. Once the audience discovers he is the founder of the hotel, everything begins coming together, as the maniacal genius known as The Monocle makes his TV debut.
The Jennifer Incident
More mysterious than the rest, this Easter egg is quite intriguing. Unfortunately, even the comics can't help viewers much here, but it does reveal some information about the elusive Jennifer.
In Episode 7, after a heated argument with Allison, Viktor runs to his old room (now Ben's room). On his table, there is a drawing of a beautiful woman with the name Jennifer scrawled on the bottom. In the comics, The Jennifer Incident is a newspaper clipping posted in Spaceboy's (Luther/Number One) base on the moon. The accompanying photo is of Luther with his hand blocking the camera lens. There are various other clippings visible, including one with the headline "The Horror – Dead!" In the comics, Ben is referred to as The Horror, and with this scene from the series, it can be assumed "The Jennifer Incident," and maybe even Jennifer herself, caused Ben's death in the original timeline.
Abigail Hargreeves
The opening scene from the Season 1 finale had Abigail Hargreeves (Liisa Repo-Martell) depicted as Reginald's love from "long ago," with Luther guarding her cryogenically frozen corpse on the moon. This adds a much deeper purpose to Luther's time on the moon, while also exposing how selfish Reginald is to sacrifice his son's sanity and happiness.
Revisiting the flashback from Season 1, there's another detail far more significant after the events of Season 3. The glowing orange particles that Reginald released into the air, as the rockets were taking off, is the source of power for all the gifted children in the series. It's also fuel for the otherworldly machine that averted the apocalypse for a third time. Could Abigail be where the particles came from?
Abigail is Reginald's singular purpose for every merciless action he has taken thus far. This explains his triumphant expression, in the Season 3 finale, when they're finally reunited.
A fade to white
After the kugelblitz annihilated everything in sight, "The Umbrella Academy" made a dramatic turn and instead of their usual fade to black in the credits, faded to a blinding white. This stylistic choice emphasized the gravity of the situation, the undeniable power of the kugelblitz, and the beautiful sacrifice Klaus made so he would still be alive and able to help his siblings.
The white could also symbolize The White Buffalo that Klaus killed himself on. The White Buffalo has a rich and deep Native American meaning that represents hope and abundance. This is a surprisingly comforting note to end on after the kugelblitz devoured everything, but after The Umbrella Academy saved the world twice, it's not wise to doubt them at this point.
Russo's angelic score pauses for a brief moment before bursting into the rousing "Umbrella Academy" theme. This music change reads as a fitting call to action for our heroes to save the world — yet again.
The after credits scene: where is Ben?
If there is a fourth season of "The Umbrella Academy," Ben will surely play a big part in it. The cryptic after-credits scene shows Ben sitting alone on a subway train reading. While you can't exactly make out the book he's holding, you can overhear the conductor say where Ben is arriving.
Ben is currently riding to the Yeosu EXPO train station in South Korea — but what is he doing there? Could this be related to The Jennifer Incident? One thing is for sure: saving the world didn't bring Ben any closer to his siblings, if he's traveling all the way to South Korea by himself. His anger is certainly justifiable, but if he stays alone and allows it to consume him, he could suffer a fate even worse than his original self.
The date on The Obsidian Memorial Park plaque
This detail feels more like a slight against the saviors of the universe rather than a heartwarming tribute. But knowing Reginald, and after seeing his egomania run rampant and take over the city, it probably was meant to be a middle finger to his kids.
The icing on the cake of Reginald's less-than-sentimental donation is that it was donated on their birthday - right down to the year. Reginald was willing to let all seven of his gifted children die to be reunited with Abigail; it's easy to believe he's not above a smug "gracious donation" such as this.
With their powers gone and The Monocle's identity revealed, what's next for this dysfunctional bunch of former superheroes? Hopefully, a fourth season.