The Umbrella Academy finale has reached us on Netflix and left the press and fans largely disappointed. While critics of the fourth season of the superhero series on Netflix were able to find some positive aspects, fans of the first three Umbrella Academy seasons were downright angry about the new episodes.
One point of criticism is the relationship between Lila (Ritu Arya) and Five (Aidan Gallagher), which even the most loyal fans probably did not see coming. Diego actor David Castaneda was also surprised by the story that suddenly puts Diego in a Love triangle with his wife and brother envisaged.
David Castaneda was shocked by the relationship between Lila and Five in the Umbrella Academy finale
As Castaneda explained in an interview with US Weekly, he was “pretty pissed off”when he first heard about the storyline: “I was angry. I talked to [unserem Showrunner] Steve [Blackman] spoke and said, ‘Hey, does it really have to happen like this?'”
During the fourth season of Umbrella Academy, Lila and Five are trapped in a time loop for seven years, during which they get to know each other better and eventually fall in love. Diego, however, who had already suffered marital problems with Lila in the previous episodes, does not notice her absence, as years in the time loop only mean a few seconds on Earth.
Watch a featurette for Umbrella Academy Season 4 here:
The Umbrella Academy – Season 4 Featurette (German subtitles) HD
Castaneda wanted to persuade Blackman to create a happy ending between Lila and Diego. But he refused to give any promises:
It wasn’t fun. I kept trying to talk Steve into it: “Who’s going to win? Come on, Diego is winning, right?” And he just said, “Well, we don’t know, maybe Five, maybe Diego, maybe both of them.” I said, “No, no, no. She has to be with Diego.”
For Castaneda, Diego and Lila had many experiences together and raised their children, which brought the two characters close together. According to Castaneda, Five only acted out of comfort when he started dating Lila in the time loop:
Five was just lonely, he is sad and it is cozy, because they are there together. You have needs. I understand that. But let’s be honest. Come on, Diego? Who could leave that hot guy?Umbrella Academy cast defends Lila and Five’s relationship
Ben actor Justin H. Min, however, cannot fully agree with Castaneda here. Because he sees Five’s love for Lila as genuine: “For Five, purple is everything, right? He has never opened up to anyone except Lila. Diego has the potential to get over it.”
Aidan Gallagher himself also believes that the relationship with Lila is very important for Five: “Five is pretty lost at the beginning of Season 4. And when Lila moves away, he falls into a Downward spiral of depression and nothing has any meaning for him anymore.”
Netflix
Aidan Gallagher and Ritu Arya in The Umbrella Academy
Lila actress Ritu Arya can understand both sides. On the one hand, there were massive marital problems with Diego, and on the other hand, he was the father of her children. At the same time, Five lied to Lila for months and prevented her from seeing her family again: “I think, it is complicated. Really complicated.”
Beware of spoilers!
Neither the fans nor the Umbrella Academy stars have found out what decision Lila makes in the end, as our superheroes decide to voluntarily sacrifice themselves in the finale. According to Arya, everyone can now decide for themselves how the story would have ended: “I think we can each find an answer for ourselves. One for each timeline.”