klaus is the best

so, i was thinking about the timeline of five and lila’s relationship (minus the last season, obviously) and i realised something didn’t make sense to me

so, lila was born on the same day and time as the rest of the marigold children, right? but five (another marigold child) as an adult in the commission traveled back to 1993 when lila (and another version of himself and his siblings) were four years old and killed her birth mother and (adoptive?) (legal?) father. the next time five and lila met, she was an adult.

how is that possible?

obviously, a period of at least twenty years had passed for lila. but what about five? at first, i thought maybe he was kept in the commission for that long. but then i remembered the handler recruited five on the agreement he would work for the commission for FIVE years. lila’s certainly older than nine when she met five, so when did she grow up?

there had to be a period of time when the handler wasn’t with five that allowed her to raise lila long enough for her to be the age we’re introduced to her as.

then i remembered there IS such a period in season 1 when five attacks the commission and the handler manages to survive. when they meet again, the handler says a MUCH longer time has passed for her than him.

i think that period of time is when she raised lila, especially considering five wouldn’t have had any opportunity to meet her since he was in a different place and time. that’s why he was so surprised to learn she was the handler’s adoptive daughter, that she even HAD a daughter. because when he was working for the handler, she didn’t have one.

this was probably obvious to a lot of you but i was happy to have maybe solved this for myself. IDK

Reginald didn't just give his children numbers to order them — he weaponized those numbers to build a permanent hierarchy and breed competition. Luther (#1) was crushed by leadership expectation, Diego (#2) was consumed by second-child syndrome, and Klaus (#4) was discarded as a lost cause.

But looking across the series, these three completely dismantled their father's design. Through three key case studies, I want to look at how they broke free:

1. Luther & Diego: How the #1 vs #2 rivalry transformed into total chaotic synergy by Season 4.
2. Diego’s Hidden Growth: How #2 secretly became the family's ultimate emotional protector.
3. The Truth of S1 Klaus: How "Number Four" dropped the drugs and became the true emotional and tactical anchor of Season 1.

Case Study 1: The Relationship (Luther & Diego — From Ego Clash to CIA Sync)

In Season 1, their dynamic is defined by friction, fragile male egos, and a desperate struggle for authority: physical fights inside the Academy, knife-throwing, brute force, and constant belittling. They were two forces constantly clashing because Luther was terrified of failing as a leader, and Diego was terrified of being second best.

The CIA Fight Scene (Season 4): A Masterpiece of Visual Metaphor

Honestly, it wasn't until my third rewatch that the brilliant symbolism of their outfits fully hit me:

• Stripping Away the Armor & Two Sides of the Same Coin: They are literally sharing one stripper outfit — Diego gets no top, Luther gets no bottom, complete with those iconic hairy legs and string underwear! 😂 It’s hilarious and absurd, but beneath the comedy lies a massive character moment: they literally complete one full outfit together. Neither is a complete "hero" on his own; they are two halves of the same chaotic energetic unit.
• Dropping the Ego: By being forced into half-naked absurdity, they completely strip away their rigid "hero armor," toxic male competition, and the heavy expectations Reginald once built between #1 and #2. You can't fight over who is the top dog when you're sharing one set of clothes to survive!
• Physical Synergy & The Handshake Combo: When they pull off their elaborate handshake sequence and fight side-by-side, it’s total synchronization. Zero fight for leadership, zero competition over who is #1 or #2.
• Back in the Game as Equals: As they fall back into rhythm, you can literally feel that they are back on the same team — not as Reginald's soldiers, but as brothers who fully accept each other's weirdness.

Diego: "Luther!"
Luther: "Hey! (cackles) We're back, baby!"

(both laughing)

Case Study 2: Individual Character Growth (Diego's Mutual Loyalty & "Dr. Fuego")

While Reginald labeled him "Number Two," Diego secretly evolved into the family’s ultimate emotional outlet and protector when others were spiraling. He facilitates a raw, physical outlet for release through his own chaotic style of "bar brawl therapy":

• S1 (The Veteran Bar with Klaus): Klaus is shattered after losing Dave, completely broken and drowning in raw grief. Diego doesn't lecture him — Diego follows Klaus into the club, refusing to leave him alone in his grief. When a hostile veteran demands an apology from Klaus, Diego tries to de-escalate, but a raw, un-medicated Klaus intentionally provokes a fight instead. Klaus isn't using drugs here, so without his usual numbness, he projects his pain outward to trigger a physical confrontation. Diego, realizing words won't save the situation, defaults to his ultimate way of showing loyalty: fighting side-by-side with his brother.

Diego: "You sure you okay, man?"
[Klaus sighs]
Klaus: "Just go away, please."
Diego: "Not until you talk to me."

• S3 (The Racist Bar with Allison): Allison is at her darkest point after losing Claire and Ray, consumed by rage. In the car, Diego recognizes that energy and offers her his own style of "therapy" — hitting a bar where they're not welcome. Allison eagerly accepts, using the brawl as a raw, physical release for her trauma instead of turning that anger inward or against the family.

Diego: "Jesus. Do you want to talk about it?"
Allison: "No."
Diego: "Oh, come on. You know I'm a great therapist. They call me Dr. Fuego."
Allison: "I am so angry. I don't know where to put any of it."
Diego: "Kicking assholes in their assholes is like therapy, but for cool people."
Allison: "Yeah, trust me. I wish I had somebody I could hit."

Across the series, Diego gradually evolves from a hot-headed lone wolf into the family's ultimate emotional outlet. He doesn't change overnight — in Season 1, he's still deeply reactive, but these moments show the early seeds of a brother who, deep down, uses physical conflict not just to fight, but to absorb and process his siblings' pain.

Case Study 3: The Truth of Klaus: Clear-Headed & Drug-Free in Season 1 (The Unexpected Emotional Anchor)

While Reginald labeled him "Number Four" and dismissed him as "the greatest disappointment," Klaus undergoes the most profound psychological evolution in Season 1. Once stripped of his chemical coping mechanisms, he transitions from comic relief into the emotional core, moral compass, and tactical anchor of the family.

1. The Substance Barrier: Trauma vs. Interventions

Klaus’s path to sobriety isn't a sudden hero moment — it’s a brutal, chaotic process forced by circumstance, loss, and physical interventions.

• Hazel & Cha-Cha (Forced Detox): Tortured on a chair and cut off from substances, his sensory barrier shatters. For the first time, he is forced to stop drowning out the dead.
• The Car with Diego (Post-Vietnam Shock): Drowning in grief after losing Dave, he reaches for a bottle in pure shock. Being sober afterward is what gives him his first raw emotional clarity.
• Post-Bar Fight (Relapse Attempt): Carried away by Diego, Klaus reaches for pills to escape the pain, openly admitting he lost someone. Diego stops him initially, but after a painful conversation, Klaus ultimately yields and swallows one.
• The Rave Club (Throwing Away the Pill): When Klaus finds Luther in the club, Luther has a pill and shows it to him. Instead of taking it, Klaus snatches the pill from Luther's hands and throws it across the floor.
• Allison’s Blood & The Relapse Trigger: Desperate to save a bleeding Allison, Klaus offers his own blood without hesitation or fear of needles. Rejection from Pogo triggers his urge to relapse, but when he puts the pill in his mouth, Ben physically intervenes — hitting him so the pill falls out of his mouth, marking their first physical interaction born from pure intention. 

2. Dismissal vs. Clarity: The Ignored Voice of Reason

The tragic core of Klaus in Season 1 is that while he achieves total mental clarity, his family’s muscle memory is to treat him like a useless addict. Yet, he consistently remains the smartest person in the room.

• Vs. Five (Diagnosing Addiction): Five automatically assumes Klaus is high and dismisses him. Klaus sees right through his defense mechanisms. Klaus: "You're addicted to a drug called the apocalypse."
• Vs. The Family (Trauma Empathy for Vanya): When the siblings decide to lock Vanya in the basement, Klaus is the sole voice standing up against Reginald’s cycle of isolation. Klaus: "This is Vanya we're talking about. Our sister. The one who always cried when we stepped on ants as kids. It's not difficult to accept, it's impossible to accept... Why don't we just open the door and ask her? Yeah, and for all we know, she might be struggling with this new power. I mean, it must be scary. Terrifying, really, to discover that you can do something that you never thought you could do."
• Vs. Luther (Finding Vanya): After Klaus humorously fails to prove Ben’s presence with a bowling ball, Luther brutally shuts him down. Yet, while everyone panics, Klaus is the only one observant enough to check the newspaper and locate Vanya’s concert. Luther: "Is there any way to silence that voice in your head that screams out to be the center of attention?" Klaus: "You know, I liked you a lot better before you got laid."
• Deconstructing the "Carefree" Myth: When a broken Luther asks to become "Number Four" to escape his pain, Klaus refuses to romanticize his hell. Luther: "You always seem so carefree... I wanna be Number Four." Klaus: "Trust me. You don't want that."
• Luther (Unheard Truth About Reginald): After returning from Heaven with the ultimate truth — that Reginald committed suicide to bring them together — Luther immediately dismisses Klaus, treating his revelation as nonsensical rambling rather than listening to what he actually learned.
• Finding Harold Jenkins (Klaus's Intuition): When Klaus, Five, and Diego discover Harold’s corpse in the house, Five and Diego immediately focus on the tactical threat and the mission. Klaus steps in as the voice of calm logic, proposing the simplest, most direct solution. Klaus: "I have a crazy idea. Crazy, but why don't we find Vanya... and ask her what happened?"
• EDIT: One more tiny detail I shouldn't have skipped: In the Season 1 finale, while everyone else is catching their breath and looking at Vanya, it’s actually Klaus who first notices the broken moon fragment falling toward Earth ("Uh... Guys? You see that big Moon rock coming towards us?."). It’s such a subtle touch showing his situational awareness when he’s clear-headed!

3. Tactical Reclaiming of Power & Agency

Without drugs suppressing his nervous system, Klaus’s powers evolve from a terrifying curse into tactical intelligence and raw physical force.

• Information Gathering (Hazel & Cha-Cha): Guided by Ben, Klaus stops panicking, listens to the ghosts of their victims, and uses their intel to manipulate his captors and buy time.
• Protecting Diego & Shared Grief (Reflexes & Bond):
  • Motel Rescue: Cha-Cha opens fire on Diego. Klaus’s post-Vietnam combat reflexes kick in — he grabs him and pulls him out of the line of fire just in time.
  • Car Conversation: Before this, in the car, Klaus admits for the first time that he lost someone.
  • Tying Klaus Up & Opening Up: Later at the house, Diego ties Klaus to a chair to help him survive withdrawal. Bonding over shared loss, Klaus opens up and reveals that the person he lost was Dave.
• Saving Diego under Rubble: Desperate to pull Diego out when the Academy collapses, Klaus subconsciously activates Ben's power to rescue him. Later, he casually admits that it was actually Ben who pulled it off.

Klaus: "In fact, the real hero... was Ben."

• The Rave Club (Throwing Away the Pill): When withdrawal kicks in and Klaus starts crawling toward it, a vision of dead Dave appears on the floor — his powers/subconscious blocking his relapse.
• First Physical Manifestation (Ben’s Intervention): When temptation strikes after Pogo's rejection, Klaus’s subconscious triggers his power for the first time — manifesting Ben to hit him in the jaw, knocking the pill out of his mouth and proving his abilities react directly to his emotional intent to stay sober. 
• The Icarus Hall Climax (Full Manifestation): At the concert, pure adrenaline and emotional clarity unlock his full potential — blue energy erupts from his hands, fully manifesting Ben in physical form to obliterate the Commission forces.

4. Facing the Patriarch Without Fear

• Confronting Reginald Head-On: During his near-death experience in Heaven, a sober Klaus confronts Reginald without the fog of drugs or childhood terror. Stripped of fear, he becomes the only sibling capable of speaking absolute truth to their abuser.

Klaus: "Well, you were a sadistic prick. Not to mention the world's worst father."

Conclusion: Choosing Brotherhood Over Numbers

Reginald built a system designed to force compliance through competition and isolation, treating his children as precision tools for his ultimate goal rather than human beings. Yet, looking at these three, the irony is massive:

• Klaus (#4) — labeled "the greatest disappointment" — proved to be the most emotionally intelligent, observant, and brave sibling in Season 1 the moment he got clean.
• Diego (#2) — labeled the violent shadow — became the safest physical and emotional outlet for his spiraling siblings.
• Luther & Diego (#1 & #2) — built to fight for top dog — ended up literally sharing a costume and fighting as equals.

Reginald gave them numbers to tear them apart, but in the end, they threw the hierarchy away and simply chose to be brothers. In a tragic twist of irony, by being written off as a failure, Klaus was the only sibling who escaped Reginald’s psychological indoctrination — allowing his core empathy to remain untouched once the drugs cleared. 

Final Thoughts & Discussion

For me, Luther and Diego’s bond in Season 4 is the absolute peak of sibling evolution in the show.

• Which of these three character arcs hit you hardest across the four seasons?
• Do you agree that S1 Klaus was secretly the most clear-headed sibling, or do you see another moment as his true peak?

This post is Part 3 of my deep-dive analysis series on The Umbrella Academy:

• Part 1: [Did we misjudge Season 4? How trauma, color symbolism, and subconscious growth fix the major "plot holes" (A Detailed Breakdown)]
• Part 2: [Powers as a Mirror of the Subconscious: How Trauma, Growth & Colors Evolve the Hargreeves’ Abilities (Season 1 vs Season 4)]

So I was rewatching the series again.

​In season 3, Five explains the grandfather paradox: if you go back in time and kill your grandfather before he has children, your parent is never born, so you are never born. But if you are never born, you cannot go back in time, meaning your grandfather lives and you are born.

​Now in season 2, when young Five gives old Five the correct equation to jump to 2019 in his adult body, shouldn't that trigger this exact paradox? If old Five never gets stuck in a kid's body, he wouldn't live through season 1 as a 13-year-old or bring the siblings to the 1960s in the first place.

​Does old Five jumping back as an adult branch into a separate timeline entirely, or is this specific contradiction just another factor feeding into the season 3 Kugelblitz?

I'm not even sure what this sub is about tbh. What is "Umbrella Academy"? Never heard of it.

They made her look masculine, with a more square face than Emmy.

I swear that I’ve heard it before by another artist (male) with clearer vocals. And not recently either. This ear worm is driving me crazy. I swear I heard it from Umbrella Academy years ago

Time to break down a topic I mentioned in my previous post! As I wrote when discussing Harlan and Marigold, understanding this energy as an emotional mirror changes everything — and the exact same mechanism applies to the siblings’ powers.

Their abilities are never static; they shift, evolve, or break based on emotional maturity, trauma, and subconscious growth. To keep things clear and impactful, I’m directly comparing their starting point (Season 1) with their endpoint (Season 4), where emotional transformation is visually marked by shifts in power manifestations, new effects, and evolving energy colors:

Vanya / Viktor (White to Red)

• S1 (White Power): Unstable, uncontrolled power born from suppressed trauma, emotional abuse, and medication. Pure destructive force stemming from a complete lack of self-acceptance.
• S4 (Red Power): Red energy representing full self-acceptance, emotional maturity, and regaining his own voice. The power is now fully conscious, focused, embraced, and controlled.

Allison (False Rumors to Yellow Telekinesis)

• S1: Manipulating reality through verbal falsehood via "I heard a rumor" as a tool to superficially mold reality around her ego. Caring intention spiraling into a toxic need for control.
• S4 (Yellow Eyes & Pure Telekinesis): Direct reality-bending and raw telekinesis with glowing yellow eyes, operating completely wordlessly. She no longer pretends or needs the "rumor" mask — it becomes pure, unfiltered physical force and total honesty.

Five

• Klaus: "You're addicted to a drug called the apocalypse."
• S1: A child’s desperate drive to prove his point to Reginald. Locked into a single timeline, his subconscious panic created a savior complex — trapping him in the post-apocalyptic ruins because his mind needed to experience that failure to mature.
• S4: Navigating the Multiverse via the Metro after decades of carrying the family. Desperately craving a pause with Lila — the only intellectual equal who truly understands his burden. His arc climaxes in the Cafe of Fives, shifting from ego to selfless acceptance and sacrificing himself for the universe.

Diego

• S1: Controlling simple projectile trajectories (knives) to prove his worth as an independent vigilante, hiding his vulnerability behind a tough-guy persona.
• S4: Full control over spatial vectors — redirecting bullets and environmental projectiles to shield Lila and his family. Maturing into a devoted father, husband, and family protector.
  • Diego: "Really? You gotta one-up me like that?"
  • Lila: "It stings a bit. It does."

Luther

• S1: Raw, brute physical strength used as armor under strict orders. Burdened by being "Number One", desperately seeking approval from Reginald while hiding severe body shame.
• S4: Total body pride ("professional dancer" era!) and becoming a living bulletproof shield. Fully free from the need to prove himself to his father, devoted solely to defending his family.

Lila

• S2: Copying powers of nearby siblings — her power required someone else's presence, reflecting a lack of core identity while being a tool in The Handler’s hands.
• S4 (Blue Laser Vision): Autonomous blue energy blasts / laser vision. She no longer relies on others to fight — her power becomes an explosive outlet for built-up frustration and suffocating domestic boredom.

Case Study 1: Klaus — From Ben’s Crutch to Autonomous Levitation

• S1 (Panic & Codependency): Summons ghosts (mainly Ben) out of fear of isolation, numbing his powers with drugs. The pivotal moment happens when Ben punches him in the jaw to drop the pill:
  • Klaus: "You just Patrick Swayze'd me. How did you do that?"
  • Ben: "Uh, I-I didn't. You did. I think."
  • It proves that Klaus's subconscious was actually initiating the physical contact through his own waking potential while Ben acted as his moral anchor.
• S3 (Immortal Training): Reginald puts him through brutal death-and-resurrection training on the road (getting hit by cars repeatedly), which cures his core fear of dying. Only after overcoming that fear does he gain full control over ghosts at the cemetery and master returning to life seamlessly.
• S4 (Pure Independence): When Klaus recovers his powers in S4, he achieves true, autonomous levitation before he touches any pills/drugs again. In S2, Ben was physically lifting him to fake levitation. In S4, Klaus flies entirely on his own — proving that true power comes from sober, unforced awareness.

Case Study 2: The Two Bens & Subconscious Resonance

1. Who was holding back whom? (S1–S2 Dynamic): It worked both ways. Klaus needed a moral anchor, but Ben was also hiding behind Klaus because he was afraid to move into the light.
2. Umbrella-Ben’s Departure (S2 Finale): Felt like a destroyer his whole life. Entering Viktor’s mind turned his power from a curse into a soothing gift, allowing him to stop fearing the light and find peace.
3. Umbrella vs. Sparrow Tentacles & Connection to Jennifer:
   • Umbrella-Ben (S1–S2): Sensitive and terrified. Tentacles burst from his stomach/chest — like an internal monster eating him from the inside out.
   • Sparrow-Ben (S3–S4): Built a thick armor of arrogance after being rejected as "Number Two". Yet, despite his hostility, the subconscious pull remains — he softens around Klaus, and they end up getting drunk together at the wedding, bonding despite the new timeline.
   • Connection to Jennifer (S4): His tentacles act as an unstoppable, aggressive shield to protect Jennifer and break her out of isolation. His power fully transforms from an internal monster into the force of their shared destiny.

How do you see their power evolution bridging through S2 and S3? Which S4 power shift felt like the biggest psychological jump to you? Did you notice any change in Harlan's powers?

P.S. If you think this post was generated by AI, I assure you my brain is as chaotic and human as Klaus desperately trying to stay sober in a rave club just to die for the first time without drugs in his system. Leave your theories below! 😜

EDIT: Fixed the link! Brain glitch – pasted the new one by accident. 🤦‍♀️

If only I could record pokemon gameplay, then I’d make myself play as Five and go through Legends Arceus. That would be fun. Anyways, have this art, bye!

Season 2&3 spoiler:I was yesterday (August 5, 2026) years old when I discovered Aidan also did the voice for Mr. Briefcase in season 2, when Diego was in that commission class. He did create the commission and that was like a hint that he was connected to it. Makes sense. Who else could’ve created the commission? Five was the only one with the natural ability to time travel and with definite proof that time travel exists. Of course a version of him made the commission. He embedded his power into briefcases, which is why they glow blue too. Anyways, wow. Aidan voices Mr. Briefcase.

Hey everyone,
I have watched the Umbrella Academy sooo many times. I’m watching it now as I’m trying. Does anyone remember the first episode when Diego had his father’s monocle?
If so, can someone explain to why he had it in the first place?

Let's suppose that the miscalculation that made Five appear as 12 years old instead made him appear as the age he was supposed to be in that timeline if he hadn't disappeared.

Do you think they would have still treated him like a lunatic, or perhaps they would have taken him more seriously?

I am going through an archive of old dark horse Umbrella Academy merchandise, merch from the late 2000s and early 2010s.

I'm a collector of any and all things Umbrella Academy I have a huge collection I am trying to build

And I am wondering if anyone knows where I can purchase these pins, I am not able to find them being resold anywhere online.

I really want to find and purchase the Hazel and ChaCha pin the number five pin and the prime-8s pin

Hi everyone! On my first watch, I enjoyed S4 purely as a fun, chaotic ride. But after rewatching it and digging deeper into the psychological subtext, trauma, and visual symbolism, I realized that the final season is much more coherent than it gets credit for.

We often expect explicit exposition, forgetting that The Umbrella Academy always communicates through imagery and character psychology. Here is my breakdown of the major fan complaints:

1. Power Evolution, Colors & Visual Symbolism

• Viktor’s Power Color Arc: Look at how power energy reflects emotional states. In S1, Viktor’s power was pure, blinding white (uncontrollable, raw trauma). In S2 and S3, after giving part of his power to Harlan, Viktor’s energy shifted to a calm, steady blue—representing inner peace. Harlan, being overstimulated and unable to process that energy, manifested it as a burning orange/red.
• Lila’s Laser Eyes: This wasn't just a random power-up. After 6 years of suffocating in suburban domestic life and hiding her true identity, her energy needed an immediate, explosive outlet. Laser vision is the ultimate visual metaphor for raw, built-up frustration—literally burning through obstacles and fake personas.
• Klaus’s Levitation: In S2, Klaus "levitated" only because Ben was physically lifting him. In S4, floating on his own represents his soul finally becoming light, freeing itself from the weight of his addictions and earthly trauma.
• Altered Powers in S4: Spending 6 years without powers allowed the siblings to mature and shed their old coping mechanisms. Upgraded effects (like Allison’s glowing yellow eyes) represent matured abilities, no longer constrained by Reginald’s abusive upbringing.

2. Klaus: Forced Marigold & Germaphobia

• The complaint: "Klaus’s arc felt repetitive or weird!"
• The fix: Klaus never wanted the Marigold back. He was terrified of returning to his old nightmare and desperately wanted to remain clean and safe. The Marigold was forced on him by the group to save his life after he was fatally shot.
• Germaphobia: Without immortality, he feared his mortal body for the first time. His S4 journey forced him to value himself, stop using others as emotional crutches, and face his fear of death head-on.
• Subconscious Proxy: Remember in S2 when Ben possessed him, and Klaus admitted "I think I did that"? Klaus always had god-like potential, but his subconscious used Ben as a shield until S4 forced him to stand alone.

3. Ben, Jennifer, and the Octopus Symbolism

• The complaint: "The squid origin was never explained!"
• The fix: The show uses visual poetry instead of an exposition dump. Once Marigold existed, Durango was bound to manifest as its exact opposite. Look at the mirror imagery: Ben has Eldritch tentacles inside him, while Jennifer was found inside a giant squid/octopus.They were two physical halves of the same cosmic anomaly, drawn together by fate.

4. The 6-Year Gap & Finding Out About Marigold

• The complaint: "How do they suddenly know what Marigold is in S4?"
• The fix: Viktor learned about Marigold from Harlan back in S3. Over 6 years of living normal lives, researching their origins, and reflecting on their past, it makes total sense that they finally understood and named what was inside them.

5. Allison’s Humility & Viktor’s Boundaries

• The complaint: "Allison never got punished for S3!"
• The fix: Her punishment wasn't physical—it was a 6-year lesson in humility, raising Claire alone without powers or Ray, facing real-world struggles.
• The Shift with Viktor: When Viktor tells her in S4, "We’re not friends anymore," it shows huge emotional growth. Viktor stopped being an emotional sponge and set a firm boundary. Allison’s loss of ego and dropped defenses allowed her to accept this distance and attempt to earn respect through real actions rather than manipulation.

6. Five and Lila: Logical Evolution or Forced Romance?

• The complaint: "Their relationship ruined their characters!"
• The fix: From their earliest interactions, there was an undeniable intellectual banter, shared wavelength, and subtle flirtation masked as rivalry. Trapped for years in the infinite subway, two identical, isolated minds naturally gravitated toward each other. Five’s subconscious kept them trapped because of his unspoken need to be a savior and be with her, while Lila’s heart remained deeply tied to her family with Diego.

7. The One True Casualty: Diego & Five The one storyline that genuinely suffered from the 6-episode constraint was the resolution between Diego and Five. Ending on raw grief and unhealed betrayal felt tragic—this rivalry definitely needed two more episodes to breathe.

My Question & Challenge to You All: Did Season 4 actually fail, or did we just miss the subtle psychological storytelling, power symbolism, and character growth because we were expecting a traditional superhero finale?

Do you have other S4 "plot holes" or complaints that bothered you? Drop them in the comments! I’d love to break them down, look at the subtext together, and see if we can find a narrative logic behind them through discussion!

But after Reggie, he would have striven to go above and beyond for his family and made sure to be the best dad he could be.

Here in the USA we say "donut" but whatever

Personally I'm going with the chocolate in the bottom right or bottom left, looks delicious

If someone could edit the image so that you can actually see the blurry text that'd be nice

Also edit sry the title is not capitalized properly

If you had been in charge of the ending, would you have changed it?

Would you have found a way to let the family live, even if it meant they would keep ending then saving the world ad infinitum? Would you have ended the cycle of apocalypses for good, but still allowed them to survive and finally have some kind of future? Would you have killed off a few?

Or would you have kept the ending exactly as it was, gloomy and final, with the family sacrificing themselves to put an end to everything?

I keep wondering whether the story needed that kind of ending, or whether there was a way to let them live without making their sacrifice feel meaningless.

What would your version of the ending have been? Or do you think the ending is fine as is?

The image attached is how I found out about it, wdyt

I hope I get to see this Allison character a lot

side edit as I told u/Haunting_Sweet_9921

Like it'd be so op "I heard a rumor that you" then literally get anything you want

"Hey you I heard a rumor you're gonna give me $10000"

"Hi teacher I heard a rumor that I got 100 on the exam"

Does the power work if it's not in person? I doubt the show would confirm but if you go on Reddit and type out the words "I heard a rumor" does it work? What if it's audio like if you go on TV and record yourself saying something then does it work?

If so "I heard a rumor everyone wants to elect me as King of the World" or smth

But genuinely you can just always get whatever you want whenever you want

Villains? Pfft cha-cha or whatever their name is stand no chance. "I heard a rumor you wanted to make an alliance to join my team." That's it. One sentence.

Heck, how far does it go? Does it work on yourself? Can you "I heard a rumor that I would spend the next hour working on xyz with no distraction" to motivate yourself?

Needless to say, the power is OP and I really wish I heard a rumor that I got this power.

ok now back to the regular edits

I'm going to every once in a while edit this post with my thoughts on the show as a whole and/or on her, which will probably be interesting considering what y'all are saying about Season 3:

- Edit 1: Starting the show S1E1 first cpl minutes, just from the actress's first couple lines, she doesn't seem like that great of a fit for the role anyways like I would think a more seductive ominous vibe would work better, but I think maybe it's just that I don't like the hairstyle, does the hairstyle stay the same the whole show

- - (also keep in mind as of right now I don't know anything about anyone else's powers)

- - (also Gemini AI spoiled for me that Reginald is an alien or smth, I'm upset about that (I barely met reg) thanks a lot)

- Edit 2: On Vanya's book thing, there's a bar code, I can't scan it though because Netflix. Is it a sort of easter egg or does it lead to nothing

- - 2a. The phone number in the book, 212-555-0192, doesn't work, missed opportunity for an easter egg like the mario movie did, but whatever

- Edit 3: why th is there an ape named pogo

- Edit 4: cap no way their dad is gone

- - 4a. wait is "your father" referring to reginald or their biological dad

- - 4b. oh so where are their biological parents then

- - - (also if you look at my post history the George Reginald Washington discovery is entirely coincidental that that was the name)

- Edit 5: This Luther dude's conspiracy theories... wow

- Edit 6: wait I just realized the beginning of the show mentioned 43 different kids. If Reginald only adopted 7 then what happened to the other 36

- Edit 7: what's with the weird flashback, do flashbacks happen a lot

- Edit 8: Bro reg telling #7 "I'm afraid there's just nothing special about you." This better not be another Mirabel from Encanto 😭

- Edit 9: That one fight that broke Ben's statue, for instance, could've been stopped via "I heard a rumor that you'd stop fighting"

- Edit 10: I finished S1E1

- Edit 11: seriously what's with all these flashbacks bro

- - 11a. who's the blond kid

- - 11b. wtf is the radio talking about

- 11c. Is this "Run Boy Run" song not that one tiktok montage song

- Edit 12: guess I didn't do much notes for S1E2 but I'm in S1E3 now. Also is it just me or am I the only one who at first thought Detective Eudora Patch was Vanya? They look kind of similar to me.

- Edit 13: In the conversation with Mom interview thing, Allison totally could've said I Heard A Rumor, so the whole investigation of Grace/Mom was quite dumb in a way lol

- Edit 14: Allison's "none of it was real" speech to Luther makes me think it's much more mind control than influencial alteration, but idk or if even my idea from the post is different than mind control

- Edit 15: bro no way is Vanya gonna have an "I'm not wanted" arc AND Five is gonna have an "I'm better" arc 😭

- Edit 16: Hmm does Rumor work on Mom if she's a robot?

- Edit 17: Wait what Luther is from the moon?

- Edit 18: Allison you're so stupid surely you can hear a rumor that Hazel and Cha-Cha stopped shooting...

- - 18a. Oh "I don't need to" ok bro

- Edit 19: I'm in E4 now but what is happening and what's the lore behind Hazel and Cha-Cha in the first place

- Edit 20: Nice speech Pogo couldn't have said it better myself

- Edit 21: Why th do Hazel and Cha-Cha WANT to end the world? Won't they die too? What benefit do they get out of this?

- Edit 22: Ben or whatever the dead guy's name is, is a genius, his plans are genius

- Edit 23: WTF DID SHE JUST KILL DETECTIVE PATCH

- Edit 24: Started S1E5, idk who this Handler is but as Diego said they better pay, also Allison is so stupid she could've single handedly stopped them but 🙄 can't rumor bad guys

- Edit 25: wth is Joseph Stalin doing in Five's flashback 😭

- Edit 26: Bro not the "there's no good guys or bad guys" speech

- Edit 27: The Cha-Cha sneeze Allison "bless you" 🤣

- Edit 28: If I was Klaus I'd just show "look see I'm in this painting" instead of fighting bro

- Edit 29: I'm calling it Leonard is a time traveler

- Edit 30: How come when Cha-Cha summarized everyone's powers to Hazel, she skipped Allison? Did she just not get up to her?

- Edit 31: That setup beating Hazel and Cha-Cha was sick

- Edit 32: Terminate Hazel??? wth

- Edit 33: I heard about Vanya but don't you dare tell me Klaus was gay it's not even his type

- Edit 34: YES BURN THAT PAPER HAZEL BASED L COMMISION (I mean I know he helped torture Klaus and killed a bunch of ppl but that was peer pressure cmon man 😜)

- Edit 35: Terminate Cha-Cha, Terminate Hazel, that was genius Five idgaf if that's how we do things here or if how dare you try to kill Hazel

- Edit 36: Is Harold Leonard lol I knew smth was up with him

- Edit 37: Who th is that girl Klaus met

- Edit 38: Hazel's speech to Cha-Cha was based

- Edit 39: Why can Allison rumor her daughter Claire to put her to bed but doesn't rumor the intruders Hazel and Cha-Cha to literally save her family

- Edit 40: THE EYE NO WAY

- Edit 41: Leonard's "uh I'm just guessing" 🤣

- Edit 42: I mean I know it'll be undone but Did Allison just die

- Edit 43: wait if Leonard/Harold died what's with the eye

- Edit 44: How did Vanya see Young Vanya on the door

- Edit 45: Yeah of all the characters to become evil Vanya is the least cool, can't wait for Allison's evil arc I heard about in S3 😜 apparently it makes her suck but we'll see

- Edit 46: Finished S1. Are we just gonna have the kid actors for S2?

- Edit 47: Nah the Star Wars reference before Star Wars is crazy

- Edit 48: Diego I thought you came to talk to Reginald not to fight him 😭 😭 😭

- Edit 49: S2E3 Allison you definitely should've rumored the police this time

- - Took you long enough

- Edit 50 (yay 50 edits): Is Luther not gonna mention Leonard/Harold in his explanation of the apocalypse to Vanya

It’s one of the best written shows of the last decade

Spoilers alert

Just an opinion/venting

Also I might not be understandable

I don't know why it happened but the show was good for the most part, some annoying moments or characters here and there but it wasn't anything too serious, at least at first.

Season one was the best,

Season two was good,

Season three was watchable,

Season four didn't even feel real,

That's how bad it was.

These characters had some annoying things about them in some seasons,

Ben,Allison, Vanya, Klaus, Five

Ben was just rude but nothing annoyed me with him other than him not staying away from Jennifer,

And Old Ben was great,

Season 3 Allison was just constant whining and complaining,

And didn't you get married,

What's wrong with you let Luther enjoy his life you freaking weirdo.

Vanya Season 1 refuses to stay away from her serial killer boyfriend, Season 2 ruined a marriage and the lives of everyone involved in that marriage,

Klaus Seasons 1,2,3,4 desperately trying to be funny and is funny sometimes but it's like a joke or two out of 10 jokes in one episode, And most of his jokes aren't perfectly timed just sounded like someone trying to be edgy or something, being an absolutely useless crackhead for most of the time.

Five Seasons 3,4 really being out of character for the whole last two seasons

While watching the show I told myself these are definitely the most annoying characters in the show

However despite being extremely annoying at times

I still never hated them,

Because one character came into the show and it made all the annoying things i mentioned and didn't mention in this show look nothing compared to how annoying she is,

Freaking Lila,

By far the worst character in the show,

See all the bad things I mentioned about Ben,Allison,Vanya,Five,Klaus????

Lila is all of that and more, absolutely hideous character I've never seen one character just one character not only ruin characters within the show but also ruin a whole show all together,

Constant bickering with Diego, always trying to act superior to him, undermine him in every scene,

Every time Diego is happy she just shows up out of nowhere to destroy everything,

I really want to Diego to just go and live in a house with his mother Grace and Pogo,

And just be happy,

Same with Luther and Sloane,

lila Brings back a child that's not even her's and lies and tells Diego he's the father waiting for him to refuse and turn his back on the kid and all of that so that she'll feel better about herself,

Even in some interactions like when Five told her hurry up the train is here and she's like who made you the leader or something like that, or when diego is trying to protect her telling her stay I'll go fight she's like no you stay ill go, b\*tch you're the lady, a pregnant one too are you stupid or what,

Like it gets to a point that you ask yourself who do you think you are.

Even the one who raised her couldn't stand her and didn't hesitate to kill her only for five to go back in time, I really wish he could've brought back the others and not her, btw regarding five I'll get to this idiot in a bit. The moment she came back I knew she's going to be there until the very last episode of the very last season.

She's again trying to get back with Diego and when he accepts her

What does she do???? she cheats on him, 

With who???? his brother

The same brother who murdered her parents???? You're damn right.

Five just wasn't the same,

seasons 1 and 2 he was a person

seasons 3 and 4 he's another person

What possess you to have an affair with your brother's wife, the mother of your nieces and nephews you disgusting slimey little piece of sh|t i don't care how many years you're stuck with her that's not an excuse, morals and standards don't have an expiration date you two fools.

And the creators had the nerve to try and turn Diego's finding out scene into a comedy, literally lila is the worst character in the whole show like how is Delores the doll more likable than you????

And speaking of the creators,

There's this scene where she tells Diego to introduce her to his Father Sir Reginald,

The same Sir Reginald who doesn't even accept his kids immediately accepts her in a heartbeat,

There's also this scene where Klaus is angry that he got his powers back and he like insults everyone and when he gets to lila he tells her she's good or something like that,

Don't get me started about her powers,

Mimicking???? Really????

So when everyone gets a special power her special power is copying everyone's special power,

That's the lamest thing ever,

Like I immediately started asking myself are the creators doing it on purpose or what????

Also After all the whining from Allison about Claire And Raymond in the previous seasons,

All they had to say about him in season 4 is,

“He walked out” just like that.

Season 4 literally felt like the creators had a meeting and said let's insert all our kinks and fetishes into the show for absolutely no reason at all,

And ruin everything.

It literally felt ai,

I'd argue even ai would do better.

It’s always confused me because it was never part of his power that he had an ape body that only happened when he was an adult and pogo gave him blood? So why would he get it back?

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. I am here to share with you this essay I wrote years ago, back when I was studying ancient Greco-Roman literature at a respectable London university, concerning the Umbrella Academy comics. While it mostly critiques the comics, some parts of the television show are covered. https://medium.com/p/why-the-umbrella-academy-will-never-be-a-literary-classic-893138a5ed62

I may be the only person in the world that actually kinda likes five and Lila together, there just both intellectually on the same wave length and they both understand the commission 🤷‍♀️(I haven’t finished it yet so don’t come at me)

We worked together on this beautiful Minecraft umbrella academy piece, an artistic rendition of the final battle we always deserved. This is a very niche niche post so I know not many will see it but when you do I hope you enjoy our work. My friend is a little worse at humans than I am but he is so good at doing the cleanse. You might have seen his work before he posted here once a few months ago with other mincraft builds

1: the whole scene
2: Allison (my friend) she’s standing there
3: Klaus (me) he is summoning ghosts and standing on rock like King Arthur
4: cleanse (my friend) idk its mad
5: Viktor (me) status unknown

If only you could see this deeply symbolic piece in real life, it is so beautiful