We Heard A Rumor About The Real Villain In The Umbrella Academy Season 3
Contains spoilers for "The Umbrella Academy" Season 3
So far on "The Umbrella Academy," it hasn't been that hard to determine who has done the most damage. Uniter of the Umbrellas and disturbing patriarch, Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), deserves the eternal trophy for worst father of the year.
As a brief recap, the story of the Umbrellas begins after the sudden, simultaneous birth of 43 mystery children. Reginald does his best to adopt as many of them as he can — but not for any altruistic reason. The old fella clearly wants the abilities that they possess so he can turn them to his own ends. It pretty quickly becomes clear that Reggie has no interest in raising a family, but rather a squad of child soldiers.
The results of this experiment have so far been fraught, to say the least. Pretty much every one of the Hargreeves children has a bone to pick with Reginald, but Viktor (Elliot Page) undeniably gets it the worst. Reginald's abuse of Viktor leads directly to the apocalypse at the end of "The Umbrella Academy" Season 1, which — if you're a results person — is just not great parenting.
The show is at its best when it has a true villain within the family to challenge the status quo, and Reginald served that purpose adequately over the first two rounds, but this season it isn't the patriarch we have to fear. We heard a rumor there's a different Hargreeve assuming his antagonistic mantle.
Allison losing Claire is her villain origin story
Though Reginald Hargreeves remains as cold-blooded as ever in his approach to child-rearing, he doesn't commit the worst act of the season. Surprisingly enough, that honor goes to Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman). This is a shocking turn of events, as Allison has previously been a stable voice of reason among the Umbrellas. She was the one, after all, who held out hope for Viktor, even after his vocal cords were slashed.
But Allison's sins are sundry and wide-reaching in Season 3. Her villainous arc starts almost immediately, when the siblings find that they have once again started a chain of events destined to result in calamity. After altering history in 1963, they return to find the present they once knew no longer exists. For Allison, this is an extra painful turn of events. She left the '60s and a husband who loved her only to find that the Umbrellas' actions have caused a time paradox. The present is a reality where none of them were ever born, meaning that Allison's daughter Claire does not exist. It's this incalculable loss that sets Allison on her darkest path.
Allison's crimes against her siblings are cruel and numerous
From the moment Allison realizes that Claire is gone, she is overcome with grief. This devastation is so all-encompassing that she loses the ability to empathize with anyone else. She believes her pain is the most important, despite the fact that the world is falling into a kugelblitz. It isn't long before she weaponizes this pain against the only people that she has left. Luther (Tom Hopper) – someone she used to share the most with — is one of her first victims.
In Season 3, he finds love with Sparrow Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), but Allison cannot let anyone else experience happiness when she has none. While Luther offers her his friendship, it isn't enough. In a dangerous use of Allison's power, she forces Luther into an intimate encounter. Luther tries fighting it for a time, but is no match for her ability. Allison's descent into villainy doesn't just stop there. She quickly graduates from sexual assault to murder when she kills Viktor's spiritual son Harlan (Callum Keith Rennie).
If you or anyone you know has been a victim of sexual assault, help is available. Visit the Rape, Abuse & Incest National Network website or contact RAINN's National Helpline at 1-800-656-HOPE (4673).
The ends justify the means
Perhaps the most telling of Allison's dark turns is her realignment with Reginald Hargreeves. Though The Commission has been a principal antagonist for the Umbrellas over the years, Reginald is the villain most closely tied to the siblings' trauma. His love for the children is conditional, and he does not show compassion for any of their personal struggles. Allison's deal with Reginald is an obvious betrayal. In order to reset the world to back to the way it was, Allison agrees to back Reginald's plan to go into the bowels of Hotel Oblivion. Though she claims ignorance of Reginald's plan to sacrifice his remaining children, this is clearly an exercise in self-deception. Reginald has proven time and time again that his motives are his own, and he will not hesitate to hurt his children if it aids his goals.
And while Allison is complicit in his endgame, she gets off scot-free. The world is reset to an unsettling universe in which Reginald is in charge and none of the siblings have their powers anymore. Allison once again separates herself from the Umbrellas in order to have it all. Not only does she get Claire back but also lives with her husband Ray (Yusuf Gatewood) with no consequences, even though he's from another time period. Allison gets everything she wants, while on the other hand, Luther loses Sloane. Evil prospers ... at least until Season 4.