Content Warning! This List Contains Spoilers For Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy!
The quirky hit show, The Umbrella Academy recently released its exciting third season, following the Hargreeves as they inadvertently cause yet another apocalypse. Following the explosive events of season 2, they have returned to 2019, but not the one their familiar with. The Umbrella’s meddling in the past altered the timeline, essentially erasing themselves from reality and replacing them with the less likable Sparrows.
As with previous seasons – along with all the apocalypse eradicating life in each timeline – there are many deaths. Some surprise the audience, while others break their hearts, but overall, these are the most shocking deaths thus far.
The Handler
Kate Walsh returned as the Handler in season 2, this time as the primary antagonist, but that would be the end for her. Like the best villains, her own machinations come back to haunt her. She became the head of the Commission but wanted Diego killed to get him away from Lila, so she orchestrates a plan to have the Swedes hunt him down.
She arranges the death of Oscar, implicating Diego. However, when the last standing Swede returns, Axel kills her, having learned she played them all. She actually dies twice since Five reverses time to stop her from killing his family. It was still quite surprising since she’d become such an integral figure in the show. Now that they are in a restored universe, it wouldn’t be surprising to see The Handler pop up again in season 4.
Harold Jenkins
While Five was busy trying to avert the apocalypse in the first season, Viktor was finally getting close to someone. Of course, that person turned out to be the same person Five was hunting: Leonard Peabody aka Harold Jenkins. He harbored severe resentment toward the Umbrella Academy for being rejected by Reginald Hargreeves in his youth.
Harold’s death, while satisfying since he was the bad guy, was shocking because it was an intentional kill, and it set the stage for Viktor to become the villainous White Violin and bring about the end of the world. He wasn’t just knocked back by Viktor’s powers; he was killed painfully, impaled by the objects around him as he begged for his life.
Alphonso & Jayme
Season 3 introduced the Sparrows, the largely unlikable counterparts to the Umbrellas. Reginald Hargreeve chose different children and he trained them differently, so in this reality, they become true superheroes. However, like in The Boys, they are not all good. Alphonso was the Sparrow Number Four, while Jayme was Number Six.
Alphonso could reflect back physical harm to his opponents, but his body still becomes scarred and broken in doing so. Jayme, on the other hand, spits psychedelic venom – which led to the epic dance-off in the season premiere. Both died before they could really fight against the Umbrellas at Hotel Obsidian, being killed by Harlan. Their death was shocking to both characters and fans since it seemed likely the Sparrows would be around for the long run.
The Umbrellas & Lila
Fans were utterly shocked when gunfire rained down on the Umbrellas in the season 2 finale, killing them all. They were not alone since The Handler went even further and killed her own daughter, Lila, who had been loyal to her mission thus far. It wouldn’t be the only time in The Umbrella Academy that major deaths would be erased.
It would be another matter if it was one or two of the main characters, but it was every member of the Umbrellas and Lila too. Plus, it came after seemingly averting the apocalypse, so it seemingly come out of nowhere. Thankfully, Five was still strong enough to curb the destruction and revive everyone.
Marcus
With the exception of Sloane, Stanley, and Marcus, the many characters introduced in The Umbrella Academy season 3 were exceptionally unlikable. Sloane’s fate is left ambiguous at the end of the season – though she was with the other survivors, she didn’t appear when the universe was reset. Stanley was erased unexpectedly by the Kugelblitz, but Marcus’ death to the mysterious force was far more shocking.
He still got to take part in the dance battle, and it looked like he could’ve made a level-headed ally to the Umbrellas, but his curiosity forced him to touch the Kugelblitz, and thus he was destroyed. Audiences hadn’t seen anything of the like yet in The Umbrella Academy so his death set the stage for the new horrors they face. He wouldn’t be the only Sparrow to die this way as Fei would also be absorbed by the Kugelblitz, along with most of the world.
Reginald Hargreeves
The Reginald Hargreeves from the Sparrow Timeline was a vastly different character from his original counterpart. At first, he could seem like a softer person in comparison, treated like an inconvenient prisoner by his new children. While he does show off a more sentimental side to himself, he also shows that he’s just as maniacal and cruel as ever.
In the season finale, he is ready and willing to sacrifice any of his children from all realities to achieve his goals. He enters into a deal with Allison – broken by the loss of her daughter and husband in this new reality – but when she sees how his plan is killing everyone, she strikes. Allison kills him, cutting his skull in two. The gore and finality were quite shocking, but of course, it didn’t last since he established a failsafe with restored him with even more power and influence in the new universe.
Ben
Ben aka Number Six’s original death before season one was the catalyst for the Umbrellas eventually breaking apart. Unlike the comics, which solely feature Ben in flashbacks, The Umbrella Academy incorporated him into the main cast using Klaus’s powers. He became a steady and fun part of the show until he sacrificed himself to protect his dying siblings from Viktor’s unleashed power.
Ben’s final moments are incredibly tragic and beautiful, sharing one last hug in reality with Viktor before he ceases. His absence was sorely felt through the subsequent episodes. That is until the Umbrellas return to 2019 and meet his Sparrow counterpart. He is entirely different than the Ben they loved, a cruel and power-hungry person, which led him to participate in some of the best fights in The Umbrella Academy season 3.
Pogo
Throughout season 1, Pogo was shown to be more of a father figure than Reginald ever was to the Umbrellas. While he was keeping incredibly important secrets from them, he was still treated as an integral member of the family. That was not the case for the Sparrow timeline, as he had left Reginald to become a member of a biker gang.
Pogo’s death came as true shock to audiences because it was Viktor’s very first. Unlike Harold Jenkin’s death, this was a clear attack against the family, against the years of emotional torture that Pogo stood by and watched. Now that the universe has been restored, perhaps Viktor can try to restore a relationship with Pogo.
Luther
Fans knew not to trust Reginald, but unfortunately, Luther did not. Following two hard seasons, he finally found some peace and happiness in meeting Sloane. This led to a more cheerful Luther throughout the seasons – and plenty of hilarious Luther memes from fans. However, because he was the one to visit Reginald at that moment, he was the one to die.
When Reginald struck Luther it still came as a big surprise. Even more so when audiences watched his body destroyed by the kugelblitz. As with many deaths in The Umbrella Academy, it still didn’t feel fully real until that moment. He did return to save Sloane from the Guardian, but he still disappeared, leading to the audience really believing he is gone for good. Of course, he was restored with his siblings, but now he’s lost Sloane.
Klaus
One of the weirdly funniest bits throughout season 3 that really sets The Umbrella Academy apart from other shows was all of Klaus’ deaths. The first shock comes when Stanley accidentally kills him, which led to the discovery that he is in fact immortal. This led to him and Reginald going on a weird father-son trip to experiment – which meant he was just consistently killed by cars and trucks on a strangely busy street in the middle of nowhere.
This discovery helped showcase a different side to Reginald, but he did what only Reginald could do when he left Klaus behind to die from the kugelblitz, seemingly serving his final purpose. He tragically threw himself on the horns of the white buffalo, and like Luther, it seemed like that might be his true final action. In the end, though, that didn’t stop his powers from working, and he was revived, but that does take away from how unexpected almost every single one of his deaths this season was.