Umbrella Academy

From the start of Season 3, it's clear that Page's superhero character is on a personal journey. By episode 2, he introduces his siblings to his true ...

When Viktor comes out to Allison, she scolds herself for not knowing sooner—a display of self-flagellation that Viktor waves off gently, albeit with barely suppressed amusement. “I am,” he says. Although Marcus bluffs like he has the upper hand—and perhaps even believes that he does—Viktor cooly calls his foe “meat in spandex,” before reminding him which of them had already ended the world twice. As he peruses old news stories in the library, Viktor comes across one that reveals that Sissy, whom he left behind in a different timeline, has died in this one. After he leaves the library, Viktor finds himself staring at a poster of men’s haircuts on a barbershop window. “I’m not ready to give that up.” When they part, Allison calls Viktor a “good sister,” at which point the camera lingers on his pensive expression.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 ending opens up a new world and a lot of questions for Viktor Hargreeves and his siblings. Here's the questions we have for ...

But in the grand scheme of things, with the timeline once again reset? But in the park where they ended up in the new reality, Five’s arm is returned. “I originally just wrote the character to be dead, that was his function. The show may still answer it, especially since it’s never been particularly loyal to its source material and there’s already been a few clues strewn about the show, like Viktor noticing a Jennifer sketch in Ben’s room. It stands to reason (at least as much as anything else Umbrella Academy) that in this new world where Reginald commands much more capital, maybe he was able to save Alice in some way? whatever that machine was he had at the end of the season. He was, at least at one time, well-connected enough to run in the same circles as the shadowy group that ordered the hit on JFK. In the season 3 timeline, Pogo feared what he was capable of so much that he instructed the kids to dose him with some sort of pill every day. He was intensely interested in adopting the kids magically(?) born to 43 women on the 12th hour of October 1, 1989. As of the end of season 3, we also know it was vital to him to have seven children for… So what does all that mean in the grand scheme of the Umbrella Academy? That’s a complicated question, really. Even so, she at least has come out on the other side with not only Claire by her side but Ray, a choice that actress Emmy Raver-Lampman tells Polygon will probably haunt her: “I think there’s bound to be an immense amount of guilt that’s going to affect her at some point. In this new world Reginald is seemingly even more a captain of industry.

What is Reginald up to??? A recap of 'Seven Bells,' episode nine of season three of Netflix's 'The Umbrella Academy.'

It’s a heartwarming moment — until Reginald breaks their conciliatory hug by turning his hand into a spiked tentacle and killing Luther on the spot. (This “death” might have more impact if we hadn’t already seen Klaus die and come back like a dozen times a couple of episodes ago, but still: Pretty cold, Reginald.) By majority vote, the surviving children of Reginald Hargreeves (from two different timelines) have chosen the oblivion of an apocalyptic death over the mystery of Hotel Oblivion. “Centuries wasted, all because a different me was unkind to his children,” mourns Reginald. Everything we know about Reginald’s ruthlessness pays off in a devastating fashion when he goes to confront Luther. The episode opens with a flashback montage set during the years Luther spent exiled on the moon at his father’s behest. After any good night of drinking comes the hangover — and after the low-key fun of “ Wedding at the End of the World,” this episode is a particularly nasty comedown. At last, it’s Reginald who assembles everyone and makes one last-ditch pitch to save the world: Head through the special to the Hotel Oblivion, ring seven bells, and trigger a vaguely defined fail-safe that will put the whole universe back in order.

In the season's second episode, Page's character is reintroduced as Viktor, who tells his siblings: “It's who I've always been.”

“You couldn’t have known,” Viktor says, “because, I mean, I didn’t fully.” He says that Sissy “opened something in me. I guess that’s not true.” When asked what he sees in his reflection now, Viktor replies: “Me. Just me.” Instead, his becoming would need to happen within the first episodes, and without the hand-holding usually provided for cisgender audiences. But when Diego (David Castañeda) calls him “Vanya,” he corrects them: “It’s Viktor.” “Love the haircut,” Klaus (Robert Sheehan) says, as Five (Aidan Gallagher) offers a smile and nod. I’m not ready to give that up.” When Allison calls Viktor a “good sister,” he appears to grapple with that label.

Elliot Page said the showrunner of 'Umbrella Academy' was 'excited' to make his character, Viktor Hargreeves, trans after he came out in real life.

“That’s obviously a big component and part of my life and a beautiful thing to experience now,” Page said. [Transitioning has] improved my life drastically, and I hope maybe people who do have an issue with me could maybe try and hear that or embrace that on some level.” Since issuing a powerful statement about their transition in December 2020, Page has been showered with love and support from friends and colleagues, as well as the larger trans community. "[McBee’s] book and his work in general are so much about masculinity and what it means and exploring that,” Page said. Additionally, the show tapped journalist and author Thomas Page McBee — the first trans man to box at New York City’s Madison Square Garden — to consult on Viktor’s character arc. “It’s so unfortunate because it’s like, we’re all on the same team here.

Elliot Page is “proud” and “excited” that their real-life gender transition will be represented through their “Umbrella Academy” character.

Page said “Umbrella Academy” showrunner Steve Blackman was “really excited” to incorporate trans identity into the show. “That’s obviously a big component and part of my life and a beautiful thing to experience now,” they said. “So Thomas came on board and helped out, and I feel proud of it and excited for people to see.”

Acot Elliot Page appeared on 'Late Night With Seth Meyers' to promote season 3 of 'The Umbrella Academy' and discuss how his character's transition aligns ...

So that’s really what I’m focusing on and embracing the most.” Page describes transphobia as “unfortunate” because “whether you’re trans, gender nonconforming, cis, we all have these expectations and limits and constraints because of people’s obsession with the binary and how we’re all supposed to live our lives. The June 21 episode of Late Night With Seth Meyers welcomed Elliot Page to promote season three of The Umbrella Academy, out today on Netflix. The actor spoke about his character’s transition this season, which corresponds with his own. So to me it’d be so special for us to all be able to connect and talk about how similar we are in all of our journeys.”

Page shared that showrunner Steve Blackman “​​seemed really excited about incorporating [Page's transition] into the show.” Page also brought the writer Thomas ...

“The times in my life where I was the most uncomfortable, where I was the most unwell — those were the times when I was the most angry and I was the most unkind to myself.” Page emphasized again that transition has “improved his life drastically,” and expressed a hope that those who “have an issue” with him “could maybe try and hear that and embrace that as well.” “What I want to focus on right now — and it's been so extraordinary — is the degree of joy that I feel, the degree of presence that I feel,” Page said. “So Thomas came on board and helped out and I feel proud of it and excited for people to see it.”

Netflix's superhero series shows what's to be gained from embracing one's true self, even if others haven't. By Melanie McFarland.

We're reminded of that in the current arc's climax, where the fate of everything comes down to a matter of trusting oneself and each other. "You know, I always hated mirrors," he says while looking at his reflection in a shop's window. But on her trip, she discovers her daughter never came to be in this timeline and returns to a confidante who is a man. What breaks their bond is a secret Viktor holds back – for a noble reason that still isn't enough to satisfy the person to whom he was once closest. Diego, Klaus, and Five are the first of his family to whom Viktor comes out, but in the previous scene, we see him getting a haircut, freeing himself of the curtain that partially defined his old mousiness. Only this one differs from the previous, in that it doesn't fundamentally spell simple disaster but a possible reset of life and time as everyone previously knew it. Then again, it's also typical for a band of adopted siblings raised by a father who cared about them only for their abilities instead of accepting them for who they are. In the past, Viktor had transferred a portion of his power to Harlan while saving his life. At the same time, I appreciate the ways that genre fiction like "The Umbrella Academy" strives to do through Viktor's subplot. Season 3 does this on many levels, first by acknowledging the ways Viktor's relationship with Sissy, long dead in 2019, begins the process of unlocking who he really is. Adventuring in 1963 changed each of them as well, most significantly Allison and Viktor, who was known by his previous name at that time. Each explores forgiveness and the wages of emotional damage, and incorporates those psychological trials into stories fueled in some way by an all-consuming desire to realize one of life's impossibilities: a do-over.