The Umbrella Academy Season 2 ended on a pair of shockers. After believing Lila was a spy, hellbent on ruining the lives of the Umbrella Academy members, the Hargreeves siblings realized she was one of them. But meeting another of the Monocle's children wasn't shocking enough. When they got home, the Hargreeves met five more, and a different version of Ben — one who was alive, and far meaner than the one they'd grown up with. Now, all the Umbrella Academy Season 3 theories stemming from these twists are just a hint of how much more story there is to tell.
It never occurred to the members of the Umbrella Academy that meeting their father in 1963 would directly affect the future. But apparently, it did. Meeting Luther, Allison, Diego, Klaus, Five, and Vanya changed the Monocle's plans. He wanted kids who grew up strong and smart. He didn't consider it might be his fault how they turned out, or that being a better father to his adopted kids would create better adults. Instead, he assumed he'd chosen defective models the first time around, and then opted in the new timeline to go for a different set of children, and called them The Sparrow Academy.
It made for a very different present in 2019... and it means fans are frantically speculating how that will affect a potential Season 3. Here are some of the leading fan theories after Season 2's wild ending:
When the Hargreeves siblings land in the new 2019, the future has changed. But it wasn't just the creation of the Sparrow Academy. Vanya no longer set off the apocalypse, which is good. The Monocle isn't dead, which, well, some changes are to be expected. But then there's the fact the Umbrella Academy didn't exist in this timeline at all. Or at least, they didn't, until now.
Everyone knows wherever the Umbrella Academy members go, the end of the world usually follows. How long until it turns up this time? Fans think it'll be sooner rather than later.
When Vanya heads into the future with her family, she leaves Harlan and Sissy behind. But though she's removed her abilities from Harlan before she goes, she accidentally left a little of herself behind in him. The last fans see of Harlan, he's making his bird toy float above his hand.
Sissy will most likely have died by 2019, but Harlan will most likely still be alive, a man in his 60s, and still retaining some powers. Will those include calling out to Vanya? If so, a trip to California might be in order.
The most prominent theory is the one relating to the Monocle's new Sparrow Academy. Obviously, in 1989, he rounded up different children, having seen the hash he makes out of the ones who visited him in the '60s. Obviously, he picked Ben as one of those children, because he couldn't see the ghost that was with them.
But with 36 others to pick from, having Lila be one of them seems like a no-brainer, since she's one the audience already knows. Having her adopted by the Monocle instead of the Handler would be a fascinating contrast, and it could give Diego another shot at his love story.
Fans already know Klaus' meddling changed Dave's fate, making him enlist in the military years before he would have. Klaus assumed that means Dave will die all over again.
But what if it doesn't? What if sending Dave to combat at a different point in time puts him on a different course that survives the Vietnam War? The Monocle's fate has already changed, as has Ben's. Why not Dave's too?
Since fans already know Luther and Allison will forever never get together, why not bring back Season 2's love triangle in a new format? Ray, if he's alive at all, will be a very old man. But he may have a family, and very handsome son Allison can connect with all over again.
The job of the Commission is to keep time. They keep it on track; they keep time travelers from interfering. And in this case, they may need to remove a paradox of people who just turned up in a timeline where they don't belong: The Umbrella Academy.
One could argue, of course, that Herb and Dot sent the Umbrella Academy to the future. It's all their fault this happened. But when have such details mattered before?
The Umbrella Academy Season 2 is on Netflix now.
