In The Umbrella Academy Season 3 finale, the group undergoes a change they never prepared for. Luther’s body changes are perhaps the most notable.
Warning: Contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 3.
In The Umbrella Academy Season 3 finale, Luther’s body changes from a human-ape hybrid to just appearing human. Luther, also known as Number 1, is theoretically the leader of The Umbrella Academy, the group of superpowered children adopted by Sir Reginald Hargreeves. The Umbrella Academy season 3 sees the group transported to a whole new timeline where they must faceoff against The Sparrow Academy, a different collection of children that Hargreeves adopted after they altered the past in The Umbrella Academy season 2.
Before the start of The Umbrella Academy season 1, the Umbrellas split up with only Luther remaining loyal to Hargreeves, leading Number 1 to go on a solo mission to stop a biochemical threat. During the mission, Luther is critically wounded and Reginald Hargreeves injects a mysterious serum into his chest to save his life. The serum heals Luther but also transforms him from the neck down into a human-ape hybrid. Besides physical changes, this transformation increases Luther’s super-strength and durability. The mutation causes Luther to feel more lonely and insecure than ever before, a matter that is exacerbated during his four-year mission on the moon which is only interrupted after Hargreeves’ death in The Umbrella Academy season 1. While Hargreeves’ funeral does bring the group back together, they are reluctant to fully return and recommit to The Umbrella Academy and to Luther.
The end of The Umbrella Academy Season 3 shows the loss of The Umbrella Academy’s powers as they find themselves in a new reality. As they do not have their powers, it makes sense that Hargreeves never adopted them in this timeline. AS a result of this, Luther was never sent on a solo mission where he nearly died. Without the dire consequences of the mission, Luther was never injected with the ape serum and without the serum, Luther’s body looks human once again. While this may bring Luther joy temporarily, it poses problems for the siblings as The Umbrella Academy does not exist in the new reality. This possibly means that Luther and the Umbrella Academy members were born into families where they grew up without special abilities.
The reversal of Luther’s body transformation comes at an odd time for his character. Season 3 shows Luther coming to terms with his appearance with the help of Sloane. For the first time in the series, Luther is happy and at peace, even at the end of the world. Additionally, this confidence helps Luther to stand up to Hargreeves by choosing to reject his mission into Hotel Oblivion at the end of The Umbrella Academy Season 3. This is a huge step for Luther who has struggled to move past his desire for his father’s approval, and now Luther is finally secure enough to follow his own path with Sloane.
Since The Umbrella Academy Season 3 ends with the group splitting up, Season 4 may pose many questions for the once-superpowered team. If Luther regains his powers, he will likely not regain his ape body. This would be a huge departure from his permanent comic-book appearance which depicts Luther’s head on a Martian ape’s body. This would also eliminate Luther’s body image issues which is a common theme in previous seasons as well as the comics. While Luther may finally look normal, the loss of Sloane is likely the main conflict he will face in The Umbrella Academy Season 4. Whether Sloane is somewhere in this new timeline remains to be seen, however, one thing is for sure Luther and the Umbrella Academy can’t seem to catch a break.
The Umbrella Academy season 3 is now available on Netflix.
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