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Reddit Theory Explains Why Number Five Getting Older in 'The Umbrella Academy'

Reddit Theory Explains Why Number Five Getting Older in 'The Umbrella Academy'
Image credit: Legion-Media

He just had two hectic weeks trying to stop a couple of apocalypses. But seriously…

In 'The Umbrella Academy ', things get weird every now and then, but even weird things need to make sense.

Number Five is the youngest and the oldest member of the Umbrella Academy at the same time: following his disappearance after he, being a 13-year-old boy, attempted time travel for the first time, he spent several decades in the post-apocalyptic world. Then, he managed to return back to his timeline, but ended up in his 13-year-old body because he messed up his calculations.

But it's not the time travel peripeteia that confuses the fans. In the show, the siblings usually have around one week to stop a looming apocalypse, both in season 1 and 2. However, the actor is aging, because obviously, it takes years to shoot what is shown as weeks in the series.

The issue has never been addressed in 'The Umbrella Academy', though. Despite having spent two weeks in his timeline, Number Five grew noticeably older.

There could be several ways for 'The Umbrella Academy' to explain the bizarre fact, and these fan theories on Reddit perfectly sum it all up:

"I'm predicting a short time jump at the beginning of season 3 to explain Five's age and Victor's transition," – /TheOneTrueJack.

Maybe the actor's age wasn't a problem before, but not it definitely is, and will be even more of a nuisance when season 4 production begins (as you may or may not recall, Netflix renewed 'The Umbrella Academy' for yet another season way before season 3 premiered).

"The show Five it has only been about 2 weeks since he was turned from 58 year old to 13 year old again. But they can explain that with time traveling and it affecting his body. The question is mainly asked because in the comics, Number 5 is stuck in a 10 year old body. He does not age, but Aiden will, so the show will need to comment on it soon," – /Anam97.

After all, the guy time-traveled dozens of times in just a couple of weeks, so it would be natural to explain his weird aging by the side-effects.

"In the comic, his body is in a form of stasis that prevents him from aging. The show's explanation could very easily be that his first jump back to the academy messed with his clock in another weird way making him age a bit faster," – /spideralexandre2099.

There is a good chance the creators will have to use some of these explanations (or come up with their own) in season 3, which premieres on June 22 on Netflix. Who knows – maybe the events of the upcoming season will finally last more than one week, so no explanation would even be needed.