10 burning questions we have after 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 3 finale

Of all the Netflix-distributed sci-fi/fantasy series featuring an ensemble cast, superpowers, a mysterious suited man experimenting on numbered children, and stand-out musical sequences, The Umbrella Academy is my favourite. Even so, the series’ third season raised a lot of questions that are difficult to ignore.

I’m not talking about questions like “who is Jennifer?” or “what is Christopher’s origin story?” Mysteries such as these have a high likelihood of being addressed in the next season, or are clearly left deliberately unexplained — at least for the time being.

I’m even happy to leave significant questions such as “why was Lila scoffing down sushi while pregnant?” and “why didn’t a single driver who hit Klaus stop?” unanswered. After all, The Umbrella Academy‘s plot would have been considerably slowed by normal vehicular accident protocol and humans are frequently terrible people. (Reginald could have found some other way to repeatedly kill Klaus, but that would likely have resulted in a much darker tone than we got from the pair literally playing in traffic.)

However, there are some nagging questions that have left me wondering long past The Umbrella Academy‘s end credits, pertaining to everything from trivial issues to significant plot points.

In no particular order, here are 10 of the many, many burning questions we’ve been left with after The Umbrella Academy‘s Season 3 finale.

1. Where are the Umbrella Academy getting their money?

When the first edition Hargreeves arrive at the Hotel Obsidian, they’re forced to turn out their pockets in an attempt to rustle up enough cash for their accommodation. Luther eventually trades what I can only assume is a ridiculously expensive watch for two rooms, the scene firmly establishing that the Umbrella Academy aren’t exactly flush with liquid assets.

But then Allison takes a taxi ride to her home and back, Viktor gets a haircut, Five gets a brand new bespoke suit, and the siblings all drink what seems to be half of the Obsidian’s alcohol supply.

I can and will suspend disbelief in many situations, and could probably have excused all of this in other circumstances. However, The Umbrella Academy literally spends an entire scene establishing that the Hargreeves do not have any money. How are they paying for everything? Is Allison vigorously abusing her power offscreen? Do they all have valuable watches they’re able to pawn off? 

It’s more understandable later on in the season, as retail staff presumably get wiped out by kugelblitz waves and leave their wares open to looting. Luther did demonstrate few compunctions pilfering condoms from a disappeared seller’s stall and the elaborate wedding the gang pulls together at the end of the world could only be done by raiding the hotel pantry. But this doesn’t explain the Hargreeves’ earlier purchases, and certainly not the employment of professionals such as a tailor.

2. How did the Sparrow Academy get their names?

In The Umbrella Academy‘s original timeline, Reginald never named the Hargreeves children. Rather, they were given their names by Grace, the android mother he created to care for them. In contrast, the Sparrow Academy’s Grace is much more robotic and less loved than her counterpart, treated more like an annoying appliance than a maternal figure. So how did the Sparrows get their names?

It’s possible the Sparrow Academy named themselves or that their timeline’s slightly softer Reginald deigned to recognise their personhood. But Ben is still named Ben across both timelines, suggesting at least some shared provenance regarding how all the children were named.

Maybe Sparrow Grace was programmed to take on a more motherly role when the children were younger, naming them before she was later downgraded to a mere household gadget for some reason. Did something happen? That’s all just wild speculation for now.

3. How do Ben and Diego know Korean and Spanish?

Episode 8 of Umbrella Academy‘s third season features a delightful scene in which Ben and Diego have a heated argument, each slipping into Korean and Spanish respectively. It was a fun bit of improv from actors Justin H. Min and David Castañeda, and it was an excellent call to include it in the episode’s final cut.

But why do Ben and Diego know how to speak Korean and Spanish? Considering Reginald didn’t even name his kids, it’s difficult to believe that he cared enough to educate them on their cultural backgrounds. Even if Reginald did raise the kids multilingual because it would be beneficial for superheroics, it wouldn’t explain why Ben and Diego resort to those specific languages when angered. Perhaps manipulative, murderous Reginald is just more considerate and culturally conscious than we give him credit for. 

This is one question I’m largely happy to let go if it means we get scenes like the one between Ben and Diego. Even so, a throwaway line of explanation would be appreciated.

4. Why did Five get that tattoo and when did he establish the Commission?

Midway through Season 3, Five watches his future self die after Lila ejects him from an iron lung (a death which could have been prevented if they just slid the guy back in there, but that’s a rant for another time). Significantly, the older Five dies with an amputated arm and a mysterious tattoo on his chest.

Five is understandably shaken by the experience and would prefer to avoid that fate if possible. So why, when he discovers the origin of his deceased self’s body art, does he proceed to get the design inked on himself?

Setting aside the uncertainty as to whether he actually got the tattoo, as the ambiguous closeup shot of it being done offers some plausible deniability, why would Five try to close the loop on a future he wanted to change? Five’s whole thing is trying to avert a disastrous future, making this a strange and illogical moment of capitulation.

There’s also the question of exactly when Five supposedly established the Temps Commission, the organisation that oversees the space-time continuum. In order to do so, he would have had to jump out of this timeline during the short few minutes between losing his arm and the universe getting rebooted, however there didn’t seem to be any opening for him to do so.

5. Why was Luther carrying a moon rock around with him for three seasons?

Luther’s depressing four-year stint of social isolation on the moon occurred in the original timeline, before the events of the first season. So in order to have the moon rock to propose to Sloane in Season 3, he’d have to have been carrying it around with him throughout Season 2‘s adventures in the ’60s. And in order to have it during those retro time-travel shenanigans, he’d have to have been carrying it during the music hall showdown at the end of Season 1. Why would he have done this?

It’s possible that Luther had just popped the moon rock in his wallet, thus bringing it wherever he went. However, he had no reason to do so. He very clearly resented the time he spent on the moon, so why carry around a constant reminder?

This issue doesn’t really mean much in the grand scheme of things, and we’re probably supposed to ignore it for the sake of Luther’s cute moon rock ring proposal with Salone. Even so, it’s a little Fridge Logic moment that certainly raises a few questions.

6. What was the point of Klaus’ power upgrade and what did it actually do?

In the absence of his spectral buddy Ben, Klaus spends a good part of Season 3 training his powers under Reginald’s instruction. As such, he’s eventually able to dispel the spirits that terrorised him for so long. It’s some nice personal growth, and I’m happy for him. 

But Reginald has repeatedly proven he only does things that benefit himself or his own agenda. What benefit does helping Klaus offer? As Klaus is the only one who can see and interact with ghosts (unless he uses his power to make them tangible), gaining the power to banish them doesn’t appear to aid anybody but Klaus. 

It’s possible that Reginald’s interest was mere scientific curiosity or a pretext to endear himself to Klaus so he could use his alternate universe son to his advantage later. But that seems like weak motivation considering everything else going on and Klaus provided no such upper hand before Reginald violently shoved him off this mortal coil. (He got better.)

I initially assumed Klaus’ training montage in Season 3 was building toward some significant contribution to the finale fight, just like his efforts to manifest Ben did in the first season. When that didn’t happen, I thought perhaps we’ll see its effects next season. But with all of our protagonists losing their powers in the season finale, it may be a while before we see even the potential for a payoff. 

Of course, it isn’t unlikely the Hargreeves will regain their powers at some point in Season 4. Fingers crossed it happens sooner rather than later.

7. Why did Reginald make a deal with Allison?

Allison threw herself headfirst into her quest to become the Worst Hargreeves Sibling this season, even going so far as to use her power to sexually assault Luther. So it wasn’t particularly surprising that when Reginald approached her to make a deal, Allison agreed to work with the Hargreeves’ estranged, alternate universe father behind the Umbrella Academy’s backs. 

From Allison’s point of view, taking the deal was probably a no-brainer. It’s implied that Reginald told her he’d be able to reunite her with both her daughter Claire and her husband Ray — a temptation too powerful to ignore, particularly considering how much she’d spiralled by Season 3 and become estranged from her siblings.

But while it’s clear why Allison needed Reginald, it’s less clear why Reginald needed Allison. Allison doesn’t appear to effectively further Reginald’s agenda at any point and his plan to reboot the universe could have easily been pulled off without her negligible assistance. In fact, he may have been better off without her, as Allison ended up bludgeoning him over the head at a crucial moment. Though the full impact of this assault isn’t yet clear, it’s unlikely this was what Reginald intended. As such, the deal with Allison seemed to have no positive repercussions for him at all.

8. Why didn’t Reginald know where the seven bells symbol was?

In Season 3, episode 8, “Wedding at the End of the World,” a flashback shows Reginald overseeing the construction of the Hotel Obsidian. He is the planner, financer, and owner of the building, which was erected in his chosen location and to his exact specifications. So why doesn’t Reginald know where the seven bells symbol is in the Hotel Obsidian’s Japanese-themed mirror copy?

The primary action in the season’s final episode involves the Umbrellas and remaining Sparrows searching the hotel for the symbol. Once they locate it, thanks to Five’s photographic memory, Reginald wastes no time in telling them what they must do to activate it and reset the universe, indicating he has at least some knowledge of how it all works. Yet somehow he didn’t know where the important symbol might be located, despite having been intricately involved in its twin counterpart’s construction.

This issue may be related to the mysterious nature of the Japanese hotel. While not made explicit, it’s implied that this imperfect Hotel Obsidian copy is located in another universe, which would explain why it didn’t get vapourised with everything else. It’s possible that while Reginald oversaw the Hotel Obsidian’s construction, he wasn’t directly in charge of the alternate building and thus didn’t know precisely where the symbol was.

Still, it’s strange that the Hargreeves patriarch couldn’t even make an intelligent guess where such a significant feature might be placed in the exact copy of his hotel.

9. Why did The Umbrella Academy keep reminding us how much we loved Ghost Ben?

This one is more of a metatextual example, but it jumped out enough that I need to talk about it. The Umbrella Academy spends the whole of Season 3 talking about how wonderful OG Ben was, emphasising the fact that everyone loved the character. In his siblings’ own words, he’s remembered as selfless, kind, and literally “the best of [them].” However, these glowing recollections are all in service of emphasising that the Ben who was so adored is no longer with us, and has instead been replaced by an angry jerk. 

The end result is a bit like listening to your aggressive new boyfriend constantly talking about how perfect your ex was.

Don’t get me wrong, it would have been terrible if Ghost Ben had just vanished in Season 2 and was never acknowledged again. I love the sarcastic spirit and wish he were still around, floating along and judging everyone from beyond the grave. I’m glad his family are at least keeping him in their memory, and enjoy any acknowledgement that he actually existed.

However, such recollections did make the odious new Ben’s presence all the more offensive, cruelly teasing the remote possibility that the kind Ben was maybe, hopefully, somewhere in him — Klaus even semi-succeeds in bringing this side out of Sparrow Ben at the wedding after many drinks. However, these constant comparisons proved a constant reminder that Umbrella Academy got rid of one of its best, most loveable assets, leaving the series poorer for it.

Fortunately, Season 3’s final scene hints that yet another Ben variation may feature in the next season, which has the potential to help soothe the situation. Train Ben won’t replace Ghost Ben, but hopefully he’ll be nicer than Sparrow Ben. Granted, that isn’t a high bar.

10. Why did Ben wear such shiny shirts?

This isn’t as egregious a trespass as the previous ones, if it can be called a trespass at all, but I had to mention it: Ben has some truly awful shirts. I get that he isn’t supposed to be a likeable character, but dude. You can be a fully fledged jerk without looking like you’ve been vacuum-sealed in a cinema carpet.

Maybe Sparrow Ben’s shiny shirts are meant to hint that his horrible personality is an equally ostentatious act. After all, such bold and aesthetically disconcerting fashion choices make much more sense if their aim is to distract. But the whiffs of vulnerability Ben displays aren’t explored enough to solidify them, leaving us with nothing but an impenetrable wall of asshole squeezed into a tight top.

There’s always the possibility that Season 4 will explore Sparrow Ben’s psychological state and sartorial decisions further. But if I’m honest, I’m hoping we’ll either get our Ben back, or that the suited Train Ben becomes a bigger, kinder, more well-dressed part of the Hargreeves’ new reality.

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