The later episodes of The Umbrella Academy Season 2 made an unsettling revelation about Reginald Hargreeves - already one of the most enigmatic characters in the show. The mysterious old man was always very quirky, and his cold, ruthless treatment of his children suggested that something wasn't quite right - but it took almost 2 seasons for viewers to find out he is not entirely human. So, is Reginald Hargreeves really an alien?
Who Is Reginald Hargreeves?
Reginald Hargreeves is the emotionally abusive adoptive father of the seven main characters in The Umbrella Academy. The eccentric billionaire, entrepreneur, and researcher, soon establishes himself as the last person one would expect to adopt seven children; he never acts fatherly towards them and his cold treatment is largely responsible for the main characters' stunted emotional growth and toxic traits.
Reginald Hargreeves dies very early in the first season, and he's only seen through flashbacks until his children get trapped in the 60s and meet him again. Despite that, he is one of the most significant characters plot-wise and the events of Season 1 would never have kicked off if he had not died mysteriously.
It can be argued that Reginald Hargrees very much pulls the strings of the plot through his absence, as the Umbrella Academy members are forced to reunite and co-exist after a very long time to investigate his demise. And this is not even where it all started. As the story goes on, we find out that the reason behind his adoption of seven magically gifted children was his wish to save the world.
At this point, it's still unclear what exactly he wanted to save the world from - especially given that one of these children, Vanya, almost brought the apocalypse twice, and Reginald's neglect and abuse played a major part in that. So, could the threat Reginald trained his children for be out of this world?
Related: Is The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Coming to Netflix on March 2022?
Is Reginald Hargreeves an Alien?
As Season 2 and the comic confirms, Reginald Hargreeves is, in fact, an alien who masquerades as a human. Quirky as he may be, he didn't give any major clues of not being human until later in Season 2, where he removes his mask to get rid of some of his enemies.
His status as an alien expresses his extreme longevity, given that he hasn't aged at all since the early 20th century, and, when seen in the 60s, he's still identical to the father the Umbrella Academy members knew. So, why is an alien posing as a human, and why is he trying so hard to save the world he doesn't seem to care about much? Hopefully, The Umbrella Academy Season 3 will provide some answers!
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