The Umbrella Academy: An Unexpected Way Viktor and Luther Could Have Bonded
This family could certainly use some bonding.
Viktor Hargreeves is notorious for causing problems from time to time and triggering an occasional apocalypse here and there. He is not the only one to blame, however, with his family always there to fuel the fire of miscommunication. Number One, Luther, has also contributed to that, along with the rest of the chaotic superhero family.
Instead of constantly blaming each other for how things never work out, members of this family could try and bond. For instance, one fan theory on Reddit spotted what it deemed "a huge missed opportunity" to bond for Viktor and Luther — and, if we are completely honest, for pretty much everyone else.
According to the theory posted on Reddit, Luther appears to be struggling to deal with the fact that his appearance is no longer as perfect as it used to be before his father turned him into a gorilla-like creature. The same struggle might be more than familiar to Viktor, who has been through a lot before making peace with his true identity.
"So I felt like it would have been a very natural scene to see Luther and Viktor bond over this, with Luther being extremely understanding of Viktor's desire to look or be seen a certain way, reassuring him that he understands, perhaps standing up for him or helping another sibling "get it." Instead we get a goofy (still warm-hearted, but goofy) scene where Luther wants to reassure Viktor that he's loved by throwing him a party," Reddit user IAlbatross argued.
According to the fan, Luther was "dumbed down" since season 1 — apparently in the showrunners' attempt to make him more likable.
"Blackman evidently listens to fans; Ben's popularity was one of the primary reasons he was brought back for S2, and the Diego/Lila ship popularity was one of the deciding factors in bringing Lila back for S3. So Luther getting flanderized because there was so much hatred for him and the actor wouldn't surprise me," another fan, Aucielis, noted.
However, inner struggles and even appearance issues are familiar not only to Viktor and Luther. The Umbrella family certainly has another sibling going through a similar thing — Number Five, whose actual age is dramatically inconsistent with the age of the physical body he discovered himself in after his time travel. Clearly Five himself finds this detail more and more frustrating.
However, there is hope that season 4 will be able to focus more on the actual character drama now that Netflix has confirmed that it is going to be the final chapter for The Umbrella Academy. With the show no longer forced to chase good numbers and adjust the characters and the story to the ratings, there is a possibility that there will be more depth and character exploration in the final run.
The premiere date for the fourth season of The Umbrella Academy remains to be scheduled.