[Willow, narrator] I have wanted to talk about The Umbrella Academy for a long time
It’s a fascinating take on the flawed superhero genre exploring family trauma
And Elliot Page’s character has always been one of my favorites in the show
So in this video I wanted to explore why that it is
as well as talk about why I am so excited for Season 3
[piano music plays]
In case you haven’t seen The Umbrella Academy
the basic gist is there was an event that led to miraculous births of 43 children around the world
7 of these kids had super powers and were adopted by an old man
to be trained as a super hero team named The Umbrella Academy
As you can imagine
it is actually not great to be raised as some sort of super soldier
So the family has been shattered over the years
and they are only brought together due to their father passing away
[Diego] He was a bad person and a worse father
The world’s better off without him [Klaus laughing]
[Willow] So even though they are all family
and grew up together
the series manages to feel like found family
because it is almost more meaningful for
the siblings who manage to create
or keep a strong bond with each other after everything they have been through
It is an active choice rather than a sense of obligation
It's a super messy series
[thud] [Klaus shrieks]
[Willow] and I love it
[guitar strumming]
Now let’s talk about Elliot Page’s character Viktor
and get into why I love him so much
Over the course of the first season we watch Viktor struggle being different
as he’s the only one in the family without any superpowers
They are regularly left out and in general not treated as part of the family at all
[Father] I’m afraid there’s just nothing special about you
[Willow] There is also friction between Viktor
and the rest of his siblings over a book he wrote which detailed his experience with the family
[Diego] You got enough material for your sequel yet?
[Willow] Which I found really interesting because it’s understandable
Viktor’s siblings would not want aspects of their life broadcast to the world
but it also reminds me how abusive families will put a huge emphasis
on not airing dirty family secrets because reputation is everything
It’s a tactic used to keep victims trapped because it makes them unable to reach out for help
Which Viktor was absolutely a victim
He was intentionally manipulated his entire life to suppress who he is
[Mom] Now
you have to take your medicine It will help calm your nerves
[Willow] This really resonated with me as a black sheep of a family
and as a trans person
After all
there’s a reason that people feel they have to hide part of who they are
In season 2 we get to see real growth for Viktor
Without his memory and now being on a new timeline he was completely free to explore who he really is
without all the baggage from his family
🎶All I needed was a couple of “I love you”s
[Willow] So I’m really excited that they’ve announced
that Viktor will actually be trans in the show for season 3
While Elliot Page had expressed he would be comfortable
reprising any roles he had previously played even if it was a woman character
I was really hoping the show would have the character transition
because it completely fits with the character
and their continued exploration of identity
It’s quite common for someone to discover a new aspect to their identity
and it creates a ripple effect as you start to question
a lot of assumptions you made about yourself as you grew up
For example
I never liked anything associated with me
and being a man
It just always bothered me and felt kind of gross
And when I got comments about feminine traits I had I would feel kind of happy
even if the person intended it as an insult
[Number 5] Nice dress
[Klaus] Oh well danke
[Willow] But other than noticing my feelings didn’t seem to line up
with the expectations of people around me
it’s not something I had the words to express
or knew what I could do about those feelings
Until I realized I was autistic as an adult
which led to me finding out a lot more about myself
and eventually that led to hearing about experiences
that lined up more with my own
My gender is something I’m still exploring but it’s very freeing to have a word to
better describe myself like “non-binary”
So I’m really excited to see a main character in a show transition in a later season
I think this may be a first and it’s something I really relate to
I am honestly surprised at just how excited I am about this
It's maybe the first time that I have personally felt this invested in a character
It’s like I feel seen a little bit
[Pogo clears throat] [Klaus, startled] Christ on a cracker!
[Willow] I am used to being more skeptical when I see representation that relates to me
especially with how autism is generally portrayed
I obviously don’t know what Umbrella Academy is going to do yet
so it could end up being awful representation but I’m really hopeful based on how the character
has been handled up to this point AND that Elliot Page is in the role
I know there are other good examples of trans representation out there like Euphoria
which I haven’t seen yet
And we have even seen characters transition before
like the special for Rocko's Modern Life
But The Umbrella Academy feels special
Viktor is a main character in a live action series
Not only that
but it feels safe to say this change is being done to support Elliot
It's not like Netflix knew Elliot Page would come out as trans when the show started
and I doubt Viktor would have transitioned otherwise
[Viktor] What?
[Man, laughing] Nothing
you just seem happy
[Willow] And it is heartwarming to see support to a trans person publicly like this
Don’t get me wrong I’m not applauding Netflix here because they don’t exactly have
a great track record with everything involving trans people
but I will celebrate a trans person getting support
Like it might seem small but it was great
to see the credits for The Umbrella Academy updated right away
to reflect Elliot Page’s new name
Something that sadly is not often done
[Rage Against the Machine begins playing] 🎶C’mon!
[Willow] And I understand that obviously Viktor doesn’t transition in the comics
the series is based on but this is the beauty of adaptations
While I can empathize with a character you really related to changing
and being disappointed in that
That previous version you love still exists
Adaptations are a chance to shake things up
And I think the best ones manage to keep their main themes
and even strengthen them through change
By being able to compare multiple versions of the same story
it can widen our understanding of its meaning
and the experiences shown
[Man] You’re lucky you know that You got a blank slate
Start over
[Willow] To me this is somewhat the nature of comic books too
Of all the mediums
it rehashes stories probably the most
and is constantly doing new reiterations of the same characters
[Miles] Hey there!
[Willow] So
how are you hoping the series handles Viktor?
I'm not sure what I’m hoping for
but I think I would prefer if they don’t even really address it
and Viktor is just Viktor now
and everyone is just accepting
[Viktor] This family is amazing!
[Klaus cackles] [Allison] Okay, let’s not get ahead of ourselves
[Klaus] Come here
[Willow] But at the same time having it be more openly discussed
within the show itself can be great too
All I know is I am just so incredibly happy for Elliot Page
and I hope that there are many people out there who feel connected with this like I do
I know this is not as important as many of the challenges
we are facing especially in recent years
But sometimes we just need something to to celebrate
No matter how small
[Sam Cooke’s “Twistin’ the Night Away” plays]
[Willow] To all my trans siblings out there
You are all wonderful and I hope you all are safe
loved and accepted
[Elliot Page] The privilege I have is really because of so many trans women of color
who have consistently put their lives on the line throughout history
You know when we think of Marsha P Johnson
or Miss Major