The Umbrella Academy season 2 saw the Hargreeves trying to find a way to reunite in the 1960s while also stopping a new apocalypse – and on the way, Harlan got superpowers, and thus could be the one to trigger the apocalypse in season 3. Based on the comic book series of the same name by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy debuted on Netflix in February 2019 and was a big success, even surpassing one of the streaming giant’s most popular titles. The Umbrella Academy season 2 arrived in July 2020, and while it answered some questions left in season 1, it also opened a lot of doors for the third season.
The Umbrella Academy follows the Hargreeves, seven adopted siblings who, along with other 36 babies, were born on the same day, at the same time, and none of their mothers were pregnant when the day began. These seven kids were adopted by eccentric billionaire and scientist Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who as they developed unique superpowers, trained them and formed a superhero team called “the Umbrella Academy”. The siblings parted ways and didn’t speak nor see each other until Reginald’s funeral, after which they joined forces to stop the fast-approaching apocalypse. Sadly, the end of the world was triggered by their supposedly powerless sister, Vanya (Ellen Page), and after failing to stop it, they ended up traveling through time and space to a safer place thanks to the powers of Five (Aidan Gallagher).
As Five had never jumped with five other people, they ended up scattered in Dallas between 1960 and 1963. The Hargreeves began building their own lives after being unable to find their siblings, with some of them getting married (Allison), others starting cults (Klaus), and some others joining families after losing their memories, as was Vanya’s case. Just moments after landing in 1963, Vanya was hit by a car, and the woman behind the wheel, Sissy, took her in. Vanya became an important part of Sissy’s family and bonded with her son, Harlan, who she saved from drowning – and in the process, she unintentionally passed some of her powers onto him. By the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2, Harlan still had some of those powers, which makes it possible for him to be the one who triggers the next apocalypse in season 3.
Why The Apocalypse Is Still Inevitable In The Umbrella Academy
The apocalypse was the core of the Umbrella Academy’s problems in season 1, and it continued to be an issue in season 2, but with a different outcome. Season 2 revealed that the Hargreeves brought the end of the world with them, and when Five landed in 1963, he arrived at the exact moment of the apocalypse and witnessed his siblings fighting to protect the Earth. As the season progressed, it was revealed that Vanya was once more the source of the chaos, but Ben was able to stop her from doing it all over again by possessing her and talking to her. However, as she had previously passed some of her powers onto Harlan, his powers began to get out of control, and he became a possible trigger of the end of the world – which, thankfully, Vanya was able to stop.
The Hargreeves are inevitably linked to the apocalypse, and now that The Commission as it was known no longer exists and is out of agents thanks to the Handler, what’s left of it will struggle to make sure nothing messes with the space-time continuum, which makes it even easier for a third apocalypse to take place – and this time, Vanya won’t be the trigger, but she will still be linked to it somehow.
Harlan’s Powers Are Linked To Vanya’s (& He’s Dangerous)
When Harlan heard Vanya was leaving, he ran away. Vanya found him in a lake and used her powers to save him from drowning, unintentionally passing onto him some of them, which the series showed through some orbs, just like the ones seen in Reginald’s jar in season 1. Harlan’s newly acquired powers began to go out of control and became a possible trigger of the apocalypse. Luckily, the Hargreeves went to his aim and Vanya was able to calm him down and take his powers away – though not all of them, as it was later revealed that he retained, at least, his telekinetic abilities.
Harlan displayed the same powers as Vanya, with his eyes even turning white like hers. Although Vanya took some of them away, that doesn’t mean that what’s left in him can’t evolve and reach the same levels as Vanya’s powers or even more. Vanya can be very dangerous when she loses control of her abilities, and as it’s unknown if Harlan will ever get the training needed to control his, he can be even more dangerous than Vanya.
The Umbrella Academy Needs To Avoid Repeating Vanya Doing The Apocalypse
Vanya was the one who provoked the apocalypse in The Umbrella Academy season 1, pushed by Leonard Peabody, who wanted revenge on the Hargreeves after Reginald humiliated him in public. When trying to stop her, Allison fired a gun next to Vanya’s head, which made Vanya redirect her energy out into space and destroying the moon, which in turn destroyed the world. Thanks to some footage given to Five by Hazel about the assassination of John F. Kennedy, the Hargreeves learned that Vanya was once more the one causing the apocalypse in 1963, with Diego pointing out that Vanya “will always be the bomb” – but that doesn’t mean season 3 has to follow that path again.
By the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2, Vanya had a lot more control over her powers, to the point where she could work alongside her siblings. Her relationship with all of them also improved a lot, and she’s no longer being left out. With that in mind, the next apocalypse shouldn’t be on Vanya but on something or someone else, and the series should now give Vanya a break – and with that, it would avoid boring the audience with the same formula.
What A Harlan Apocalypse Would Mean For Umbrella Academy Season 3
Harlan being the one to trigger the next apocalypse would be a big shake-up for the Umbrella Academy team, and would prompt a lot of discussion among them. The Hargreeves wouldn’t be saving one of them this time but someone unrelated to them – except for Vanya, who does have a connection with him beyond the fact that she loves him as she was part of his family, as there’s also their link through their powers. That would trigger the conflict of some of the Hargreeves not minding about killing Harlan in order to prevent another end of the world while others would side with Vanya.
With Harlan as the cause of the apocalypse, a time heist would be more possible in The Umbrella Academy season 3. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment in season 2, the designs for the Televator can be seen in Reginald’s secret room – in the comics, the Televator is an artifact that allows its users to travel through time and space, in a much safer way than Five’s jumps. If Reginald continued with those plans and the Televator exists in season 3’s timeline, the Hargreeves could use it to go back in time and either prevent Harlan from getting powers, making sure all his powers are taken away, or helping him control them. Another possibility is the Umbrella Academy siding with Vanya and the Sparrow Academy being the ones looking to kill Harlan and thus save the world, triggering an interesting conflict between both teams, with the possibility of joining forces at some point.
Harlan having powers is not something The Umbrella Academy can establish and then forget, and season 3 will have to go back to that one way or another. A third apocalypse is inevitable, and to avoid further repetition, Vanya should now be allowed to act as the hero and not the trigger of conflict, and Harlan taking the place of the cause of the end of the world is a good alternative that opens many doors for both the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy teams.
