The Umbrella Academy is one of the coolest shows on Netflix. This series focuses on the Hargreeves family, a squad of superhumans who never quite live up to the superhero destiny that their alien adoptive father Reginald has laid out before them.
The characters in the show are the most charming and intriguing aspect of the series, and for the most part they are well drawn and complex. However, there appear to be some significant inconsistencies with their characters, both as individuals and in relation to one another. What is it about the TUA characters that just doesn't make sense?
Why Allison And Luther Don't Quite See Each Other As Siblings
One of the strangest dynamics between the characters in the series is between Luther and Allison Hargreeves. They acknowledge each other as siblings just as they do with the rest of their family, but their behavior would indicate that they certainly don't feel that way, even if they pay lip service to the idea of it.
But the question is, why? Why is it that these two in particular don't seem to have a sibling bond like the rest of the family?
The Varied View On Murder
Despite the fact that all of the Hargreeves children grew up together and were raised with the same basic educations, ideologies, and morals, it is somewhat understandable that they might develop new ideas and beliefs once they left the nest. But their perspectives on murder seem to be very discordant.
Five is obviously very comfortable with it for understandable reasons, but Luther has made his stance against it known, while Allison and Klaus (who don't seem to have a habit of killing people) treat the murder of the Swede brother extremely casually.
Reginald's Epic Failure
Calling Reginald a bad parent would be an understatement, but what is so odd about his character in general is that he manages to seem so prescient and yet is an abject failure in all of his goals.
He seems to have an inkling that the world will end, he creates a team of superheroes to fight against it, he seems to know some very specific details about it (when it's coming, that the moon is involved, etc.), but he basically causes the apocalypse instead of preventing it.
Diego's Daddy Issues
Every one of the Hargreeves children has a lot of issues with Reginald, and with the exception of Luther, they all seem to absolutely loathe him across the board.
But what sticks out like a sore thumb about Diego is that despite the fact that he seems to be angrier at his father than anyone, he is still doing everything he can to be the hero that Reginald always raised him to be.
Klaus' Cult Following
Not to impugn Klaus' abilities when it comes to scam artistry, but it's a little odd that he managed to build up an entire cult around himself in a matter of a few months, even with his extraordinary power show.
Firstly, it seems like Klaus has zero interest in actually leading those who follow him, and secondly, he doesn't really have any philosophical ideas to share with them, so how did his sect get so much traction?
Reginald's Bad Acting
Most of the world would never expect that someone who appears to be human would actually be an alien in disguise, but honestly, aside from Reginald's actual appearance he doesn't do a very good job of acting human.
Given how much weird stuff exists in the universe of The Umbrella Academy, it's a little strange that Reginald doesn't try to be a bit more inconspicuous.
Leonard's Super Insight
Perhaps it stems from the fact that Leonard has just been obsessed with the Umbrella Academy ever since he was a kid, but considering that he's little more than an unhinged stranger, it's actually pretty insane that he manages to completely unravel Vanya and the Hargreeves family in a matter of days.
How exactly he is so insightful and skilled at psychologically manipulating people is a mystery.
Vanya's Varying Self-Control
Vanya very well may be the most dangerous member of the Umbrella Academy, but it's honestly hard to get a read on that because her ability to control herself seems to be so all over the place.
Granted, she was on medication for most of her life, but the fact that she went the vast majority of her life without incident, then within a few days destroyed the world, and then was transported back in time and seemingly had no problems controlling herself without her medication seems wildly inconsistent.
Reginald's Attention Getting Behaviors
While the idea of a squad of child superheroes is pretty cool, something that is still unclear about Reginald's parenting style is why exactly he pushed his kids into the public eye so intensely.
There doesn't seem to be much added benefit to making the entire family super famous, and it seems like there would be a lot of potential down sides to it.
What Are Their Superpowers, Exactly?
It's not unbelievable that the Hargreeves kids might have undiscovered dimensions to their superpowers, but the rapidity and convenience with which they seem to discover or repress those powers is confusing.
As a perfect example, for one moment Allison uses her rumor power to "blow people's minds", except their heads literally explode when she says that, an ability that has never been seen before or since. Their powers seem to vary from moment to moment without explanation.