What is the meaning of the white buffalo? Who is The Monocle? What's Harlan like as
an old man? Here are the small details you missed in the Umbrella Academy season 3.
For those unfamiliar with "The Umbrella Academy" source material,
the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá that began publishing in 2007,
The Hotel Oblivion is a direct reference to the My Chemical Romance frontman's third
volume of the family's story. The moment in this scene that we're referencing here,
though, is a tip of the cap to the opening of Orson Welles' 1941 classic "Citizen Kane."
"Rosebud…"
After seeing Reginald's greater plan unfold in the season 3 finale,
it's no surprise he would let out one particular word in an almost Freudian slip.
"Oblivion…"
Like the phrase "rosebud" in "Citizen Kane," the remote drop and extreme
close-up of Reginald's lips puts tremendous weight on the word,
leaving viewers questioning its meaning. Comic book fans, however, already know
The Hotel Oblivion is an impenetrable prison built by The Monocle to hold super villains.
On top of that connection, the finale also revealed to the Umbrella Academy that this
Reginald is indeed the green-blooded cyborg alien known as The Monocle, perhaps making fans even
more eager for the next volume of comics, as well as season 4 of the series based on them.
Eagle-eyed viewers from last season had been anxiously awaiting the return of
young Harlan in season 3. After seeing he retained Viktor's immense powers,
fans speculated that this strange old man with retro headphones,
a case of cassette tapes, and a suitcase full of numbered sandwiches was indeed an older Harlan.
The season 2 cliffhanger also teased Harlan's decimation of Sparrows Jayme and Alphonso,
as seen in season 3's third episode. In his hand, he's levitating a bird which could be a sparrow,
which foreshadows his explosive outburst that fries off the Sparrows' faces. Luckily,
after that event, viewers received a detailed backstory depicting the trauma Harlan endured,
which warped his uncontrollable abilities. It was subsequently
explained how Harlan was able to locate the two superhuman families. His connection to
the superpowered heroes resonated in his mind, almost like sound waves.
"The Umbrella Academy" season 3 brought with it what could potentially be a Marvel connection,
at least from the standpoint of visual effects. If you've never seen the series
"Legion" on the FX channel, it follows an extremely powerful telepathic mutant,
the eponymous Legion, who struggles with mental illness. As a result of his mental state,
it makes it extremely hard for him to control his powerful abilities. "The
Umbrella Academy" seems to be evoking the series, in both look and theme.
"Legion" shares some of the same crew members behind the scenes, such as series composer Jeff
Russo and director of photography Craig Wrobleski. This likely explains why the
explosive outburst from Harlan at the beginning of Episode 4 is so similar to David's kitchen
utensil tornado. They even look and sound similar, with cool blue tones and chaotic
whirlwinds of dangerous objects. Both explosions also come from a character's deep trauma.
So even if it wasn't an intentional callback to that other trippy superhero tale, the style
and themes definitely carry over thanks to the talent designing and implementing the effects.
The most familiar face in the Sparrow Academy worked his way up to a brand
new ranking in season 3. The previous Number Six in the family relentlessly
devoted himself to becoming one of the strongest members of The Sparrows. Ben's
horrific powers allow him to unleash the fearsome tentacled beast within,
and it seems his fierce dedication has earned him an upgrade to Number Two.
There's already enough bad blood between The Umbrella Academy and
Sparrows, because of the first team's arrival in the new reality. However,
when Ben discovers he died in their original timeline, he's far less trustworthy of his
rambunctious new siblings. After the first episode, with Marcus taken by the kugelblitz,
Ben declares himself the new Number One, but in Episode three his siblings make a
passing remark that tips off the audience that Ben was the original Number One.
"You had your chance once. Didn't turn out too well now, did it?"
So, what did he do to get taken down a peg? Was this Reginald's twisted way of motivating him?
Whatever the reason, his resentment is suddenly far more understandable.
Not surprisingly, there are more than a few references to "The Umbrella Academy" source
material, one being a new look for fan-favorite Rumor. After Allison unsuccessfully tries to
"rumor" herself into happiness, she grabs a shard of broken mirror and cuts her hair
short. The significance of this transformation matches her signature style in the comics.
Emmy Raver-Lampman showcases a deeply moving performance as Allison in season 3,
gutted to learn her daughter Claire doesn't exist in this timeline. This sends Allison
into a downward spiral, where she even rumors Luther into wanting to stay with her because of
a desperate desire for any sense of something familiar. She also argues with Viktor about
Harlan's fate, and eventually kills the old man for what he did to The Sparrows.
This was Allison's darkest season yet, and it closely resembles her comic book counterpart.
The Hotel Oblivion finally makes its frightening debut through a passageway behind a wall-mounted
pachinko machine located in the Buffalo Suite of The Hotel Obsidian. The hotel is similar to
The Overlook from "The Shining," albeit bolstered with interesting additions like a sushi carousel,
murderous samurai guardians, and a built-in, universe-changing machine. There's also an
abundance of gross cockroaches, which Lila happily squashes…another comic book reference.
The biggest note of importance, with the arrival in Oblivion, is the reveal of the
ambitious scheme Reginald cooks up. It adds a necessary layer of suspicion, which pays
off when Allison kills him. The green blood and sparking metallic skeleton is an extraordinary
visual queue, one that reveals to everyone that Reginald was not who he seemed to be.
It also illustrates the brilliance and dedication of Reginald, who purposefully built the hotel
around a portal he discovered. Once the audience discovers he is the founder of the hotel,
everything begins coming together, as the maniacal genius of The Monocle is revealed at last.
Potentially the deepest mystery of the season,
this Easter egg is quite intriguing. Unfortunately, even the comics can't
help viewers much here, but it does reveal some information about the elusive Jennifer.
In Episode 7, after a heated argument with Allison, Viktor runs to his old room,
which is now Ben's in the new timeline. On his table, there is a drawing of a beautiful
woman with the name Jennifer scrawled on the bottom. In the comics, The Jennifer Incident
is a newspaper clipping posted in Spaceboy's base on the moon. The accompanying photo is of
Luther with his hand blocking the camera lens. There are various other clippings visible,
including one with the headline "The Horror – Dead!" In the comics, Ben is referred to as
The Horror, and with this scene from the series, we can assume that "The Jennifer
Incident," and maybe even Jennifer herself, caused Ben's death in the original timeline.
The opening scene from the season 1 finale revealed Abigail Hargreeves, Reginald's love from
"long ago." It turns out that Luther was guarding her cryogenically frozen corpse on the moon,
though he's unaware of that fact. This adds a much deeper purpose to Luther's time on the moon,
while also exposing how selfish Reginald is to sacrifice his son's sanity and happiness.
Revisiting the flashback from season 1, there's another detail far more significant after the
events of the new season. The glowing orange particles that Reginald released into the air,
as the rockets were taking off, are the source of power for all the gifted
children in the series. It's also fuel for the otherworldly machine that averted
the apocalypse for the third time. Could Abigail be where the particles came from?
"I can't leave you. There must be another way."
Abigail is Reginald's singular purpose for every merciless action he has taken thus far.
This explains his triumphant expression, in the season 3 finale, when they're finally reunited.
After the kugelblitz annihilates everything in sight, "The Umbrella
Academy" makes a dramatic turn, and instead of the show's usual fade to black in the credits,
it fades to a blinding white. This stylistic choice emphasizes the gravity of the situation,
the undeniable power of the kugelblitz,
and the beautiful sacrifice Klaus makes so he would still be around to help his siblings.
The fade to white could also symbolize The White Buffalo that Klaus killed himself on. The White
Buffalo has a rich and deep Native American meaning that represents hope and abundance.
This is a surprisingly comforting note to end on after the kugelblitz devours everything,
but after The Umbrella Academy saved the world twice, it's not wise to doubt them at this point.
Russo's angelic score pauses for a brief moment before bursting into the rousing
"Umbrella Academy" theme. This music change reads
as a fitting call to action for our heroes to save the world, yet again.
If there is a fourth season of "The Umbrella Academy," Ben will surely play a big part in it.
The cryptic after-credits scene shows Ben sitting alone on a subway train reading. While you can't
exactly make out the book he's holding, you can overhear the conductor say where Ben is arriving.
Ben is riding to the Yeouido train station in South Korea,
but what is he doing there? Could this be related to The Jennifer Incident? One thing is for sure:
saving the world didn't bring Ben any closer to his siblings if he's traveling all the way
to South Korea by himself. His anger is certainly justifiable, but if he stays
alone and allows it to consume him, he could suffer a fate even worse than his original self.
It's also been speculated that this Ben is in fact
a doppelganger of the Sparrow version of the character. If that's the case,
what does it mean about potential doubles for the other members of the family?
The plaque that commemorates the donation of Obsidian Memorial Park feels more like
a slight against the saviors of space and time rather than a heartwarming tribute.
But knowing Reginald, and after seeing his egomania run rampant and take over the city,
it probably was meant to be a middle finger to his kids.
The icing on the cake of Reginald's less-than-sentimental donation is that
it was donated on their birthday, right down to the year. Reginald
was willing to let all seven of his gifted children die to be reunited with Abigail.
It's easy to believe he's not above a smug "gracious donation" such as this.
"As—le."
With their powers gone and The Monocle's true nature revealed,
what's next for this dysfunctional bunch of former superheroes? Hopefully, a fourth season.
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