The Umbrella Academy has returned on Netflix for its long-anticipated second season, but in true Umbrella Academy style, the finale left us with more questions than answers.
Lila (Ritu Arya) discovers that The Handler (Kate Walsh) ordered for her parents to be killed by Five (Aidan Gallagher), and just as it looks as if the Hargreeves family will finally have a happy ending, The Handler appears and shoots them all – seconds before she is killed by the final remaining Swede.
As he lays dying, Five uses his power to go back in time just seconds to save his family, disarming the Handler before she is shot dead by the Swede (Kris Holden-Ried) . Lila escapes the murder scene by reaching for the time travelling suitcase, while the Hargreeves return to 2nd April 2019 – the day after the original apocalypse.
While it appears things in the mansion back to normal superficially, the family are left speechless when Reginald (Colm Feore) appears alive and well, and tell them that this is not their home - rather, this is the home of the Sparrow Academy.
Perhaps the biggest twist of all is that Ben (Justin H. Min) who has previously only been visible to Klaus (Robert Sheehan), is actually now alive and well – with a whole new look and attitude.
So what does this ending exactly mean for the Hargreeves? And where did Lila wind up? We’ve got your questions answered…
Who are the Sparrow Academy?
With the Sparrow Academy appearing only as (quite literally) shadowy figures at the end of the second series, little is known about the newcomers.
However, we can make a few assumptions about where this mysterious new group may have come from.
At the very beginning of the first series, we were told that 43 women around the world gave birth at the same time – begging the question: “What happened to the other 36 children that Reginald didn’t raise?” The Sparrow Academy could be made up of other individuals with distinctive powers.
The comic book series, written by My Chemical Romance star Gerard Way, also points to who these figures could be.
While they’re yet to be namechecked officially, Way has revealed the fourth volume in the series will be titled The Sparrow Academy.
Discussing the book, he explained: “[It] deals with a very big reveal in the Umbrella Academy universe, something that had been secret for a long time.
“And our siblings learn a lot about what was happening behind the scenes, as well as discovering the true nature of some characters that have been with them since the beginning.”
Way continued to Forbes: “The series finally starts to answer the question: ‘What about the other babies born on that day, in that moment?’
“The Umbrella Academy siblings are not alone in the world anymore.”
What happened to Lila and is she now part of the Sparrows?
Lila was one of the more surprising newcomers in this season; having been introduced as a fellow impatient of Diego’s (David Castañeda) in the psychiatric ward, it soon transpired she was working as a double-agent for The Handler, her adoptive mother.
Looking to seek revenge on Five for killing her real parents, Lila’s world was rocked when Five revealed that he had been tasked by The Handler to commit the murders – with the Handler looking to steal Lila’s powers of superpower mimicry for herself.
The Handler was murdered by the Swede hitman before Lila could truly confront her about the situation, and used her opportunity to escape the oncoming massacre by grabbing a time-travelling briefcase.
Lila’s existence proves there are likely several others out there with powers similar to those in the Academy, so it’s not beyond the realms of possibility she could be part of the new Sparrow Academy.
Actor Ritu Arya has been deliberately cagey as to where her character then ends up.
“Bless her. She’s not having a good ride, is she?” she told Refinery29. “Firstly, she’s devastated - it doesn’t matter what she’s just heard about her mum.
“Your mum is murdered in front of your eyes. I can’t think of anything more horrific. So she just thinks, ‘I need to get the hell out of here.’”
Will there be a third season of the Umbrella Academy?
Netflix is yet to confirm whether we will see another chapter of The Umbrella Academy, but it’s clear from the season two cliffhanger, plus the upcoming release of the next volume by Way, that there’s far more of the story yet to be told.
The Umbrella Academy is also hugely popular with audiences, with the first episode of the first series having been watched by 45 million households, so if the second series has the same level of success a third season would be a no-brainer.
Showrunner Steve Blackman is evidently gearing up for more, telling Inverse that the third season “is going to be very complicated” for the Umbrella Academy siblings.
“They don’t have their home anymore, their father is alive and well - which he shouldn’t be - so needless to say there will be more destructive family madness,” he explained.
