Another year, another apocalypse – it's all in a day's work for the Umbrella Academy.
From alternate realities to alien machines,
this is the ending of "The Umbrella Academy" season 3 explained.
The biggest addition to the third season of "The Umbrella Academy" is the Sparrow
Academy. Due to their meddling in Dallas during the '60s, the Umbrellas have accidentally created
an alternate timeline in which they were never adopted and trained to save the world by their
father Reginald Hargreeves. In their place exists the Sparrow Academy -- a more refined
team consisting of mostly different people. The Sparrows include Marcus, Fei, Alphonso, Jayme,
Sloane, Christopher, and more shockingly, an alternate version of Ben who is distinctly
crueler and meaner than the familiar version who often serves as Klaus' ghostly moral compass.
The Sparrows very quickly showcase their physical and tactical superiority to the Umbrellas in a
grand and painful fashion. Their powers include Fei's ability to conjure murderous crows, Sloane's
gravity manipulation, and Christopher's powers that are all associated with the fact that he is
a sentient magical cube. Throughout the season, we learn that despite their effectiveness as a team,
the Sparrows have plenty of their own baggage. It would seem regardless of circumstances or name,
any child raised in the Hargreeves household ends up with issues.
One of the bigger developments in between Season 2 and 3 was Elliot Page's gender transition in 2020.
The award-winning actor best known for "Juno," "Whip It," and "X-Men: Days of Future Past"
came out as transgender on social media. One side effect of this announcement was speculation
from fans and media outlets regarding Page's portrayal of Vanya on "The Umbrella Academy."
Considering Vanya's integral presence on the first two seasons, Page and Netflix announced
that his transition would be reflected on the series. This change occurs very early on in
the season with Vanya adopting a shorter haircut and changing his name to Viktor.
"Mm. Love the haircut."
Viktor's transition, though initially jarring for his family, is met with a heartwarming amount of
acceptance and support. From Viktor's first moments on screen, the other characters have
zero issue using his preferred name and new pronouns. Viktor — from his growing
issues with Allison to his dealings with Harlan — is truly one of the season's biggest players.
This season definitely gave Page a chance to shine in terms of his acting,
which results in some truly powerhouse scenes. Kudos to the writers, as they took a real-life
development and used it to further the narrative in a logical and tasteful way.
Every season of "The Umbrella Academy" so far has seen the Umbrellas deal with a world-ending
apocalypse in which they play an integral part. This season proves to be no exception,
as we are introduced to the Kugelblitz. Due to their arrival in the new timeline,
the Umbrellas' presence creates a powerful, destructive and ever-expanding blackhole.
This situation is made even more volatile by the Kugelblitz appearing in the basement
of the building currently known as the Sparrow Academy and formerly known as
the Umbrella Academy. Further compounding matters is the Academy's android maid Grace
worshiping the Kugelblitz under the mistaken assumption that it's some kind of god.
"Grace, what is this thing?"
"A miracle.
Five's digging eventually reveals that the Kugelblitz is the result of his
family's meddling with the timestream causing a grandfather paradox. The side effect of this
paradox is the birth of the Kugelblitz which, burst by burst, begins wiping all living matter
out of the universe. This begins with the Sparrow's leader Marcus and then continues
to consume increasingly larger swaths of animals and human beings. By the season's end,
the Kugelblitz proves to be the most destructive force introduced in the series thus far.
In Season 3's first episode we are introduced to a mysterious yet neurotic old man with
a briefcase of cassette tapes. These tapes contain various soothing sounds and ambient
noises apparently designed to alleviate mental strife of some kind. This old man's identity
remains a mystery until partway through the season when he arrives at the Hotel Obsidian.
After the old man saves the Umbrellas from a Sparrow ambush — killing two Sparrows
in the process — Viktor recognizes him as Harlan from Season 2. We see that Harlan,
the son of Viktor's love interest Sissy, adopted Viktor's powers after Viktor saved his life in
the 1960s. These powers are shown to be just as powerful and destructive as Viktor's abilities,
even giving Harlan the power to sense other people's vibrations. However, accidentally giving
Harlan powers in the past had an unexpected and gruesome side effect on the future. Unknowingly,
Harlan created a powerful psychic blast that caused explosive brain hemorrhages in
all of the Umbrellas' respective mothers. Viktor reacts with horror upon discovering
the boy he helped save was the first domino to fall in this chaotic new timeline.
In a plot device straight out of a Douglas Adams novel, one of the stranger environments
introduced this season is the White Buffalo Room. During their season-long stint at Hotel Obsidian,
the Umbrellas stumble across a strange room. This domicile in question is a bizarrely lavish room
complete with a white buffalo head mounted on the wall. Discovered by Klaus and Diego's "son"
Stan, the room soon reveals its hidden secrets to the Umbrellas.
The first secret is a bright hidden tunnel that leads to another major revelation -- a
second version of the hotel with altered aesthetics and a sushi conveyor belt.
Additionally, the other Hotel Obsidian includes a lobby bell that when rung
by Diego summons a samurai-style guardian who attacks him and Lila.
"Does anyone know what that sign says?"
"Yeah, it says 'do not ring the bell.'"
This space in question is revealed to be a portal to another realm that
houses a way to save the universe. The room, as well as the hotel,
is later revealed to be a key part in the machinations of Reginald Hargreeves.
The White Buffalo Room definitely serves its purpose as one of Season 3's key mystery boxes.
One of the season's many subplots follows Klaus, who is often considered the most
dysfunctional Umbrella sibling, which really says a lot. At one point we see in Season 1,
Klaus was locked in a mausoleum by Reginald to test his supernatural powers. These powers
include the ability to talk to the dead, as well as conjure the deceased for brief spurts of time.
Much of Klaus' growth in Season 3 comes from his bizarre interactions with this
new timeline's version of Reginald, his adoptive father. After confirming that Reginald
hasn't killed his or the other Umbrella crew's biological mothers, Klaus seeks his father's aid.
Following another unintentional trip to the afterlife — complete with an
encounter with the bicycle girl from Season 1 — Klaus realizes he's effectively immortal.
As a "thank you" for helping him discreetly ditch his medications,
Reginald opts to help Klaus test and hone his abilities. These tests include electrocution
and a game of father-son catch in which Klaus is repeatedly mowed down by oncoming traffic.
In a delightfully morbid sequence, Klaus learns to control his powers. It's this
depraved father-son bonding that allows Klaus to help save the day during the season finale.
"I think I figured this out."
Allison's gradual descent into darkness proves to be one of the more intriguing developments
of the third season. Following her arrival in the new timeline,
Allison quickly learns that she's lost more than she originally realized. First,
she was forced to abandon her loving husband Raymond Chestnut when she returned to the present.
That alone is a sizable emotional blow, but Allison soon learns her daughter Claire
no longer exists in the new timeline. To put it mildly, this dropkicks Allison into a depressed
state she externalizes through a shorter haircut and darker attire. She even joins
Diego in a savage beatdown of a room full of white supremacists to help blow off steam.
However, her biggest dip into darkness arises when Harlan informs her of his mishap in the
past that killed her biological mother. Realizing this new timeline — including
her now non-existent daughter -- was his fault, Allison kills Harlan and delivers his body to
the Sparrows. Desperate for a return to her former life and some semblance of happiness,
Allison makes a secret deal with Reginald. The details of this deal are unclear until the
events of the season finale, where it appears that Allison gets back everything she lost.
For the show's entire run, we've yet to get an answer to one of the biggest questions
surrounding "The Umbrella Academy" -- just who is Reginald Hargreeves? The previous two seasons
have given us brief glimpses and teases of an answer, and Season 3 is no exception.
"That's surprising. I'd figure you'd know more about his plan."
"Sorry – what's that supposed to mean?"
In Season 2, we're shown only a taste of what appears to be Reginald's sickening
true form -- that of an extraterrestrial. Here, we still don't get much in terms of
a concrete answer, but we are given some definite major developments.
Firstly, we learn that Reginald truly sees the Umbrellas and the Sparrows as
disposable means to an end. Not only does he use his alien biology to cut through Luther
like a hot knife through butter, but he leaves Klaus to perish in the Kugelblitz as well.
This all is shown to be in pursuit of some form of universe-saving secret hidden in the
White Buffalo Room's portal. Noting a series of repeating shapes and symbols, Five soon realizes
the key to this secret is built into the alternate hotel's lobby. Seven of the Umbrellas and Sparrows
serve as sigils to activate some form of alien machine. Allison, after realizing this will kill
her siblings, opts to cleave Reginald's head in two, revealing part of his true alien form.
The show's third year comes to an end in grave fashion by way of its craziest
season finale to date. After Allison takes out Reginald, she still looks to activate the alien
machine despite her siblings' protests. Viktor almost stops her with his powers until Allison
tearfully asks him to trust her, allowing her to push the button.
The scene glitches to black and we pick back up on the previous scene of Allison entering her
home. Only this time, not only does her daughter Claire still exist, but her husband Raymond is
there as well. The rest of the remaining Umbrellas and Sparrows, including a resurrected Luther and
Klaus, emerge from an elevator. Upon realizing all of their powers and abilities were gone,
the group decides to split up as they all clearly desire different things. Luther goes off to find
his now-missing wife Sloane, whereas Diego and Lila go off to live their lives. The rest follow
suit, wandering off into the night, leaving Viktor alone to tell off a statue of Reginald
before walking off. We then zoom out to see the whole city is decked out in Hargreeves branding,
completely controlled by Reginald. The season then cuts to black on Reginald and
his wife — previously seen frozen on the Moon — overlooking what appears to be their empire.
It's definitely a mind-boggling conclusion to the craziest chapter of "The Umbrella Academy" so far,
and one can only wonder what Season 4 will have in store.
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