Umbrella Academy cast looks back on what makes Netflix series so groundbreaking

The Umbrella Academy, which was made into a Netflix series from a comic book written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá, released its fourth and final season on Thursday.

What began in Season 1 as a loose but ambitious story of seven orphans with superpowers reuniting to save the world from the apocalypse — a danger their brother discovers after accidentally time-travelling to the future and back — laid the groundwork for future seasons, albeit with a growing number of characters and subplots.

The show, which features Halifax-born Elliot Page and musical theatre star Emmy Raver-Lampman, has found success while increasing representation through its characters and their ability to work through genuine trauma.

Warning: some spoilers ahead.

Looking back on their work, cast members said there were several emotional journeys their characters went on that will resonate with them for a long time.

Canadian actor Elliot Page said his journey as Viktor Hargreeves was one of the most important parts of his time on the show.

After Page came out as transgender in 2020, his character, originally named Vanya, was reintroduced to fans as Viktor ahead of Season 3 in 2022. The actor continued that journey in Season 4.

"Viktor and the beginning of Season 3 and ... coming out as trans, of course, I will never forget that," said Page.

He also looks back fondly on the experience of shooting in and around Toronto.

"Getting to have four seasons of the show, which meant spending basically half the year for many years in Toronto, was an absolute dream," Page said.

The Umbrella Academy released its final season Thursday. Looking back on their time with the show, the cast said there were several emotional journeys they won’t soon forget. (Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix)

Deep themes set show apart

The final season follows the siblings as they navigate losing — and eventually regaining — their supernatural abilities, travelling through alternate timelines and, of course, trying to save the world…. again.

While the show has often juggled timelines and time travel — tropes that seem to be popping up all over now, from Oscar winner Everything Everywhere All At Once to D.C. and Marvel's never-ending multiverses — the way Umbrella Academy does it while navigating more complex themes sets it apart.

The show explores themes of family, trauma, racism, gender identity and abuse.

In Season 2, when the siblings are sent back in time to avert the apocalypse, Allison Hargreeves finds herself in Dallas in 1961, during the American civil rights fight. Allison (who is played by Raver-Lampman) begins working at a salon and becomes an integral part of the movement.

In Season 2, when the siblings are sent back in time to avert the apocalypse, Allison Hargreeves (played by Emmy Raver-Lampman, left) finds herself in Dallas in 1961, during the American civil rights movement. (Christos Kalohoridis/Netflix )

Raver-Lampman said preparing for that season was among "the hardest work that I've ever done."

"To be able to go on Allison's journey just as an actor, but also as Emmy the human being, and a Black woman in this industry" was also among "the most rewarding and the most educational and the most profound" work she's done, she said.

A 'family show, at its core'

Central to each season has been the theme of family. Aidan Gallagher, who plays the character Number Five, describes Umbrella Academy as a "family show, at its core."

The series dissects how familial trauma can impact people individually. Being raised by Reginald Hargreeves — a man who trained his children to be a world-saving team first and a family second — has left the Hargreeves children ill-equipped to be emotionally available for each other. So much so that they end up losing touch for years, only to reunite as adults for their father's funeral.

Despite their traumas, the Hargreeves are eventually able to come together and form what Reginald couldn't — a proper family.

One of the best examples of this evolution is an emotional scene in the show's finale.

"I'm just glad we're all together in the end," says Viktor as the siblings, holding hands in a circle, await their fate.

Reflecting on the scene, Raver-Lampman said, "a lot of what you're seeing on camera was very genuine heartbreak and sadness ... it was gut-wrenching."