The Umbrella Academy is the Netflix adaptation of the dark comic book series written by Gerard Way. Yes, the same guy. The series has garnered a solid cult following thanks in no part to its gritty storybook writing, fluid visual cinematics and a killer soundtrack. I added in that last part for myself but I’m sure ya’ll will agree with me.
The Umbrella Academy is an almost anti-superhero take on superheroes and it’s this unique dynamic of flawed characters that makes this particular series stand out. The heroes go through the normal tropes of saving the world but are also burdened by some pretty hard-hitting childhood trauma. The last two seasons have brought us through harrowing arcs of world-ending activities. And the last cliffhanger was very much in keeping with The Umbrella Academy theme.
Before we head into Season 3 let’s go through a big recap as well as what could potentially happen in the next season, coming out in a couple of weeks on the 22nd of June. Here comes your spoiler-filled recap!
– – – SPOILER WARNING – – –
The Umbrella Academy Formation
A quick recap of all the events prior to the first season of The Umbrella Academy.
The story begins in 1989, when 43 women all over the world spontaneously give birth at the exact same time, despite showing no earlier signs of pregnancy whatsoever. These children are born gifted with some sort of superhuman ability.
Billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopts seven of these children, not out of the goodness of his heart but to put them through rigorous training to sharpen their superhuman abilities. He insists on not connecting with his children and refers to each of the children as a number according to how much he values them. Causing them to grow up into some fairly messed up adults in the future.
This group of children were known as the hero group, The Umbrella Academy. For a deeper dive into their history as well as the backstories and personalities of the children you can tab open, our Umbrella Academy explained article here.
The Beginning Of Season 1
At the beginning of The Umbrella Academy Season 1, the academy is no more. After years of following their father’s harsh demands eventually their brother, Ben dies and Five disappears. Luther sticks around the longest until his father dispatches him to a lonely mission on the moon for four years.
Season 1 begins with the death of Sir Reginald Hargreeves and the reunition of the family for his funeral. It’s at this point that Five appears from a crack in space and time and warns them all of the upcoming apocalypse.
Before his reappearance, Five was missing for 16 years after he accidentally time-hopped too far into the future. It was here that he arrived in the flaming ruins of an apocalypse and due to that trauma was unable to travel back and was stuck there for years. He’s eventually “saved” by The Commission, a group of time-travelling assassins who rescues him in return for some services.
Five escapes early, using his powers to jump to 2019 and warn his family to stop the end of the world.
The End Of Season 1
It turns out the apocalypse that The Umbrella Academy needed to save the world from would originate from their sister Vanya aka Seven. Growing up all her siblings were superheroes but denounced as “powerless” by Hargreeves she was isolated from the Academy as a child. In truth, however, she was the most powerful of them all with the ability to manipulate sound waves.
Her soundwaves are so powerful they’re able to break the Moon and that’s exactly what she does. In a fit of rage Vanya strikes off a piece of the Moon and the apocalypse sized asteroid is set to destroy Earth.
Having failed in their mission to stop the end of the world The Umbrella Academy decides the only choice is to travel back in time and try over again. With moments until impact, Five uses his powers to time-travel his family out of the apocalypse. Ending Season 1.
Season 2
Season 2 is a little bit more self-contained as the Academy kids have accidentally jumped into the 1960s. Most of the season showcases the existence of the other “special” children. As we mentioned before there were 43 kids born and so far we’ve only seen 7. The team wrap up all the events in the 1960s but the big finale cliffhanger comes when they land back in 2019. To be more specific April 2, 2019, the day after the apocalypse.
The Hargreeves mansion still stands meaning that the apocalypse never happened right? Well yes, but this also isn’t the world they know. They head into the Academy to be greeted by a very alive Reginald Hargreeves. Reginald tells them, “Home? This isn’t your home.” What is it then? “This is the Sparrow Academy.”
It turns out that Sir Reginald Hargreeves meeting his future children in the ’60s had a bit of an impact on him. So much so that he chooses completely different kids for his academy creating a reality different from the ones the original Umbrella Academy members grew up in.
For a deeper dive into The Sparrow Academy tab open our article here.
What Will Season 3 Be About?
Just like the Butterfly Effect events in Season 2 have caused Sir Reginald Hargreeves to make some pretty major plot decisions. So season 3 will take place in a sort of parallel dimension/multiverse kinda deal.
Immediately there are hostile tensions between The Umbrella and The Sparrow Academy. So expect an awesome all-out supernatural battle. I mean even more so than before. This time complete with even more family dysfunction. And a time-sucking vortex?
“There are some amazing changes that people will love to sort of dig into, and there’s a lot of growth for this family this year in a way that people are just not going to expect.”
One of these main growth moments has already been revealed, with Elliot Page confirming his character, Vanya, will come out as transgender and become Viktor, in a parallel to the actor’s real-life transition.
Also let’s not forget that Reginald Hargreeves might be an alien. So I’m sure that’s going to pop up at some point in Season 3.
Lastly, it seems that The Commission will return but without The Handler may look entirely different. Then again if she did turn up again we wouldn’t be surprised. Timeline be damned! There’s also her daughter Lila to be considered, I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her and right now her allegiances aren’t set in stone.
So there are more than enough antagonists for The Umbrella Academy to be up against in Season 3!
What Is Hotel Obsidian?
Just a couple of hours ago Netflix dropped the ‘Hotel Obsidian’ trailer for The Umbrella Academy season 3. Officially the Hotel is the place that the gang checks into now that they can’t return to their former academy home. But if you’ve read the comics you might get some hints about another famous hotel in the series.
Hotel Oblivion. In the comic, the Hotel Oblivion was an interdimensional prison built by Sir Reginald Hargreeves in order to imprison all the supervillains defeated by his adopted children. In this clip from season 3, the Hotel Obsidian is a charmingly dilapidated old hotel with strange vibes. Is it possible they have more in common…?
Season 3 Synopsis
After putting a stop to 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy return home to the present, convinced they prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all. But after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly (okay, not at all) how they left them.
Enter the Sparrow Academy. Smart, stylish, and about as warm as a sea of icebergs, the Sparrows immediately clash with the Umbrellas in a violent face-off that turns out to be the least of everyone’s concerns. Navigating challenges, losses, and surprises of their own – and dealing with an unidentified destructive entity wreaking havoc in the Universe (something they may have caused) — now all they need to do is convince Dad’s new and possibly better family to help them put right what their arrival made wrong.
Will they find a way back to their pre-apocalyptic lives? Or is this new world about to reveal more than just a hiccup in the timeline?