The third season of “The Umbrella Academy” aired on Netflix on June 22, and it found the Umbrella siblings in an alternate timeline where Sir Reginald adopted six other children instead of the original siblings. The resulting Sparrow Academy is just one facet of their strange new alternate reality, which sends each character into a tailspin of their own.
“It felt like a brand-new show for me,” Justin H. Min, who plays Ben, tells POPSUGAR. “I got to actually act with these guys who I’ve known for two seasons now but never had a chance to really be in any scenes with. Unfortunately, this time around, it had to be in a much more aggressive, angry way.”
For Min, the season was a chance for Ben Sparrow – the alternate timeline’s version of Ben Hargreeves – to question his upbringing in the Sparrow family. “For Ben, he was fine being in this dysfunctional family of sorts, but being confronted with the Umbrellas – though they are also dysfunctional – he recognizes that there is a closeness and a bond to them that he’s never experienced as part of the Sparrows,” Min continues. “I think it makes him reconsider what family is and what family means to him. Toward the end of the season, he’s yearning for that sense of belonging.”
Related: Introducing The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Newbies, the Sparrow Academy
For Emmy Raver-Lampman, who plays Allison Hargreeves, the show involved a deeply introspective journey through layers of Allison’s trauma and grief – and a shift away from her siblings. “For the first time, we see her kind of make the decision to not put this family first, because she feels like they never put her first and she’s exhausted by that,” Raver-Lampman says. “She’s sick of being the one who has to sacrifice everything over and over and over again, to save the universe, to save a sibling, to save the family.”
Meanwhile, for David Castañeda, who plays Diego Hargreeves, the season was about taking on more of a fatherly role over new character Stanley, his alleged son. “Very quickly does he get grounded with the father responsibilities,” he says, explaining that Diego’s journey this season is about becoming a “stay-at-the-hotel dad” who has to “gain a lot of trust within himself to become a better father.”
When asked about their favourite scenes in season three, each had their own memorable answer. Min’s favourite is Luther and Sloane’s apocalyptic wedding sequence in episode eight, where the Sparrows and the Umbrellas have a chance to put aside their differences in the face of existential collapse. Plus, Min enjoyed “getting to play drunk” with Robert Sheehan’s Klaus and the rest of the cast.
“That’s just so exciting for this show as a whole – that we have the opportunity to tell Viktor’s story, which is also Elliot’s story.”
Castañeda’s favourite scene also involves a moment with Klaus from episode five. “One of my favourites out of many was the elevator scene with Klaus and Stan when he was wrapped in that carpet and we just sat there and had this moment of him worrying and me being like, ‘I might have to kill one of my siblings if they want to kill my son,'” he says.
As for Raver-Lampman, her favourite scene is “with Allison and Diego in the car before they go ruffle some feathers in the redneck bar,” she says, referencing a moment from episode four. “David and I have not had a lot of opportunities to have two-handers together, and so it was kind of the first time that he and I were alone in a scene together, which was really, really fun and overdue.” But the scene has a deeper significance. The moment allows them to find “this beautiful common ground of an understanding [of] their experience in season two and in the ’60s, specifically in Dallas,” she says. “The rest of their siblings will never understand what that was like.”
Another highlight for Raver-Lampman is the opportunity to portray Elliot Page’s character Viktor’s transition on screen. “The most amazing and most beautiful surprise of the season is going on this journey with Viktor through his transition,” she says. “I feel so honoured to know Elliot and watch him through his process, but also to be a part of a show and also be a character who gets to play opposite his character going through that and be a shoulder and an ear and a safe space. That’s just so exciting for this show as a whole – that we have the opportunity to tell Viktor’s story, which is also Elliot’s story.”
In a June 25 interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Page also praised how the show handled his transition on and off screen. “We were shooting right after I disclosed that I’m trans, in total isolation,” they said. “That was definitely an overwhelming period, but I feel so lucky that I was going to work and getting to be with so many supportive people.”
Related: Elliot Page Praises How “The Umbrella Academy” Handled His Transition
