With the release of the eagerly awaited third season of The Umbrella Academy, many new mysteries and questions concerning our characters have been revealed. The Umbrella Academy is now in a new alternate timeline where Reginald Hargreeves did not adopt them when they first arrived in 2019. (Colm Feore). Instead, he made the decision to adopt other kids after meeting them in 1963 back in Season 2. In this timeline, Reginald Hargreeves founded the Sparrow Academy, although it’s not immediately evident how this would effect the cast of individuals we know today.
The addition of Lester Pocket (Callum Keith Rennie), an elderly man who appears to be on a quest to find the Umbrella Academy, is another ostensibly new character that this season introduces. With little to distinguish him other than his bag and his propensity to listen to white-noise sounds like bees and cornfields when he is overwhelmed by the noise of his surroundings, he appears to be fairly unique. In the meantime, Viktor (Elliot Page), thinking back on his connection with Sissy Cooper (Marin Ireland), begins to wonder what happened to her when the Umbrella Academy left in 1963. He learns that Sissy was associated with the six Hargreeves, or The Kennedy Six as history now refers to them, a group of communists thought to have planned the killing of President John F. Kennedy. Sissy was ultimately added to the FBI’s Most Wanted List for killing her husband; she is believed to have passed away on October 1, 1989, using a fictitious name.
Lester’s identity isn’t revealed until the Sparrow Academy attacks the Umbrella Academy in the Hotel Obsidian following a failed exchange. Viktor recognises who he is witnessing when Lester fires an energy blast so powerful that it instantly kills Jayme (Cazzie David) and Alphonso (Jake Epstein) from the Sparrow Academy as he witnesses the mayhem and bloodshed taking place in the hotel lobby. It comes out that Sissy’s son Harlan Cooper (Justin Paul Kelly), whom we first met in Season 2, is Lester Pocket. When Viktor tries to save Harlan from drowning in a lake in Season 2, Episode 4, giving him mouth-to-mouth, he gives Harlan some of his strength, giving him similar telekinetic skills. Viktor isn’t able to get rid of Harlan’s newfound powers, at least not until the Commission learns about them at the end of Season 2. The opening scene of Season 2 features Harlan floating a wooden sparrow toy as a reminder that their relationship is still very much alive.
After Victor leaves, Sissy changes her name to Dana Pocket, and her kid is given the new name Lester. Sissy and Harlan leave to start their lives again after Victor leaves. Even though he can now verbally speak, Harlan finds it increasingly difficult to manage his powers as time goes on. Without any support, he eventually hurts other people and animals when lightly provoked. As the years go by, this ultimately leads to Sissy and Harlan having to pack up and restart their lives repeatedly, but they never give up faith that Viktor will return to them. But eventually, we begin to notice Sissy’s condition deteriorating.
Sissy is passing away from her illness in the hospital on October 1st, 1989, the same day the six Hargreeves and the other superpowered babies were born, and a grown Harlan is by her bedside. Harlan has the ability to sense the energy of other super-powered kids who are similar to him and Viktor, and as Sissy’s heart monitor goes flat, he detects what appears to be Viktor’s energy in space. The Umbrella Academy’s moms, who are preparing to give birth to infants with superpowers, are the source of that energy. He is so overcome with emotion and telekinetic energy that he unwittingly causes brain haemorrhaging in the mothers of the Umbrella Academy. Harlan is responsible for the Kugelblitz, which is currently posing a threat to the universe, as well as the Grandfather Paradox.
Viktor wants to assist Harlan and see if he can discover a method to resolve the Grandfather Paradox without endangering Harlan after learning about what Harlan has gone through as a result of the power he granted him. The Sparrow Academy is now out for blood, and they demand that the Umbrella Academy turn over Harlan in exchange for a stop to their war after Harlan killed Jayme and Alphonso. In order to fully strip Harlan of his powers for the final time, Viktor must first smuggle him out of the hotel. When his sister Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) discovers him in the act, Viktor begs her for help and she drives him to a run-down 1950s cafe in the middle of nowhere. Once Viktor encounters them there, he and Harlan collaborate to enhance Viktor’s skills so that the two of them can permanently eliminate Harlan’s talents.
While Harlan seems to possess the same telekinetic and energy abilities as Viktor, he is also able to draw strength from living things by tuning into their energy waves. In contrast to Viktor, who would take telekinetic energy from auditory sounds, he has a power he refers to as his “Marigold” that allows him to physically feel energy sources and then draw power from them. Additionally, Viktor is easily overwhelmed when he tries to teach him how to channel energy in the same way as he does, leading Allison to try and stop them. When she accomplishes this, she comes into contact with his energy bubble, which gives her powers a boost and raises them to new heights, demonstrating that he has the ability to increase power.
After successfully removing Harlan’s powers together with Viktor, Harlan casually brings up how he killed all of their moms during a conversation with Allison, believing that Allison despises him for it. Allison, on the other hand, had not been informed about this, and when she finds out what Harlan has done and how Viktor purposefully decided to keep it a secret from everyone, she is indignant beyond belief. In addition to being upset with Viktor for defying them all, Allison holds Harlan responsible for all the sorrow she has experienced this season, including the loss of her daughter. The last time we see Harlan, Allison is carrying his body to the Sparrow Academy. Allison resolves to take control of Harlan’s destiny, and Viktor’s response to the end of the world is influenced by Harlan’s death.