'The Umbrella Academy' Just Teased a Major Death in Season 3
Umbrella Academy spoilers follow.
As part of Netflix's Geeked Week, Umbrella Academy showrunner Steve Blackman just dropped some major season three teasers with the episode titles.
After the show ended with a shocker of a cliffhanger in season two, Umbrella Academy fans have been eager for any kind of information – particularly surrounding The Sparrow Academy, the new group of Hargreeves children created in an alternate present day the gang accidentally created.
While Blackman was hesitant to give too much away during Netflix's event, he did at least reveal some basic details of what's to come.
Speaking to hosts Mari Takahashi and Rahul Kohli, Blackman said: "What we love is we're doing a wilder, bigger, zanier, season than ever before. I think our emotional stories between this dysfunctional family, we're just building it up even more."
"There's some very big surprises with the family this year," Blackman continued. "There are some amazing changes that people will love to sort of dig into, and there's a lot of growth for this family this year in a way that people are just not going to expect."
"I can give you absolutely no hint, but I tell you that we have tonnes of Easter eggs," he added. "We love putting Easter eggs in for our fans, and there's more Easter eggs than ever this year than our previous seasons."
So, with the episode titles now at our disposal, we've done some digging. Here are the current theories and references hidden in the titles so far – did you spot anything else?
1. Meet The Family
This one is a little self-explanatory as we already know that The Umbrella Academy is about to meet the new (and seemingly improved) Sparrow Academy.
While the OG Hargreeves children eventually abandoned the superhero life they were forced into, the new Hargreeves' have clearly embraced theirs. Though, if the finale of season two is anything to go by, the Sparrows seem far more threatening than their counterparts.
"That's a little on the nose, this one's a little easy to figure out," Blackman admitted. "Now they get just weird…"
2. World's Biggest Ball of Twine
For anyone interested, there are actually several claims to this title.
One is a major tourist attraction in Cawker City, Kansas, and was created by Frank Stoeber before his death in 1974, using 1.6million feet of twine. The city now holds an annual 'twine-a-thon' to add to it, and in 2014, it entered the Guinness World Records at a whopping 41.42ft in circumference.
But the one we're likely interested in is situated in Valley View, Texas, and labelled the largest ball of string. It was created by JC Payne between 1989 and 1992, coming in at 41.5ft at last official measurement.
The Umbrella Academy has particular ties with Texas seeing as they spent most of season two in 1960s Dallas. Could this be a present day meeting spot of some old friends? After all, Allison left her husband Raymond behind when she joined her family in returning to their future. A reunion may be on the cards…
3. Pocket Full of Lightning
Aside from having Natasha Bedingfield’s 'Pocketful of Sunshine' now stuck in our heads, this one has slightly stumped us.
It could be a reference to one of the powers of the Sparrows. Or what's to come in episode four...
4. Kugelblitz
A kugelblitz, in its simplest terms, is a black hole created from light – a self-fulfilling prophecy of a being killed by its own creation. It's also loosely interpreted in English as "ball of lightning", and is therefore quite likely to tie closely with episode three.
In a way, Vanya (Elliot Page) can be interpreted as a kind of kugelblitz – with the energy created as the White Violin having the potential to wipe out the world. But if we're talking about a creator, then surely another theory is that Reginald Hargreeves may soon have his days numbered. Again.
Either way, this looks like it could be a destructive episode.
5. Kindest Cut
This phrase originates from "the unkindest cut", a term used in Shakespeare's play Julius Caesar. Never say comic-book shows don't have some cultured inspiration!
The unkindest cut is used to describe an insult, or painful betrayal by someone considered a confidante or friend. In Julius Caesar, it's used because Caesar's best friend Brutus was among those who stabbed him, and therefore delivered the 'unkindest cut'. So, in turn, the kindest cut means something painful, done or said out of love. A kind of cruel to be kind.
Someone is about to have something heartbreaking happen. Bring tissues for this one!
6. Marigold
"For our super fans, Marigold will mean something to them," said Blackman at the announcement. "It's something that we've set up over the seasons. It's something in the graphic novel that Gerard and Gabriel did."
Marigold is, essentially, the mysterious power that gave the children their powers in the first place – and we’ve seen it already on the show.
Speaking to AWN, VFX supervisor Everett Burrell explained Blackman wanted to use Marigold during the death of Ben. Those gold flakes of dust he disappeared into? That's marigold.
On its use, Burrell explained: "Hargreeves opens a jar and a marigold flies out into space; that's how the marigold gets into the kids' bodies. When Ben dissipates, Steve wanted the same marigold effect – that is almost like fireflies breaking off and crumbling."
Expect some major answers in this episode then if the title is anything to go by.
7. Auf Wiedersehen
The German word for "goodbye" does not scream a happy ending for many people, and online speculation leads to fear for Klaus (Robert Sheehan).
The reasons? First off, he's of seeming German heritage. Second, the fact he has goodbye tattooed on one of the palms of his hands.
Klaus is a fan favourite and a central member of the Umbrella Academy, so it could mean he's saying goodbye to someone, as opposed to dying. But at this point, we can't rule anything out.
8. Wedding at the End of the World
This title appears to be a My Chemical Romance reference. The song 'Party at the End of the World' appears as part of their Living With Ghosts demos which was released for the 10th anniversary of The Black Parade.
But the main question is: whose wedding is it?!
Luther (Tom Hopper) was very much in Singleville, Klaus is more Free Love after falling and losing Dave in the war, Five still looks like a teenager, and Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is technically still married. That leaves Diego, who was seen falling for Lila (Ritu Arya) last season, Vanya, or one of the Sparrows.
Either way, we're here for the party – without the side order of apocalypse.
9. Six Bells
There's not much to really decipher here at the moment, but Blackman promised there'll be a pay off.
"That will mean something to the audience when they have watched the season," he teased.
If we're going to try and crack the code, there are two official uses for "six bells".
The first is to tell the time on a ship, with six bells ringing to signify it's 3am/pm, 7am/pm or 11 am/pm. The second is to note how many church bells are in the local parish, which is why so many pubs in England are called The Six Bells. The more you know.
We don't see Five (Aidan Gallagher) and Diego (David Casta?eda) knocking back pints in London anytime soon though.
However, the number six has a defined presence on the show: there are now six Umbrellas and six Sparrows. That's if we're not including the mysterious box – sorry, the Existential Dread Inducing Psyckronium Cube named Christopher.
10. Oblivion
While The Umbrella Academy have had their fair share of dealing with apocalypses, Oblivion is actually far more likely to tie into the third comic book run.
Hotel Oblivion is actually more like a prison. It was created by Reginald Hargreeves to harbour the criminals caught by the Umbrella Academy. It's also on another planet, as Reginald is an actual alien (which we found out in season two).
During the course of the third chapter, it's discovered that a man named Perseus X broke every prisoner out of the Hotel. This could set up one hell of a chaotic season four…
The Umbrella Academy seasons 1-2 are now streaming on Netflix. Season 3 is currently filming.
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