As one of Netflix’s best and most binge-worthy series, The Umbrella Academy has taken both viewers and its characters across space and time in unpredictable yet meaningful ways. With the final season among this week’s streaming highlights (at least for those with Netflix subscriptions), the Hargreeves family will have one more shot to save the universe without botching all the timelines. Not all of the drama is so large-scale, however, as fans will also see Elliot Page’s Viktor facing off with the family’s patriarchal machinator Reginald Hargreeves.
It’s a big season for both Viktor and Page himself, who spoke to People about how “significant” the difference has been filming Umbrella Academy post-transition, saying that the biggest change of all is inherent to being more comfortable while portraying Viktor. Here’s how he put it:
That's been the big shift for me is having a lot of my experience post coming out as trans, or even this last season having been on T for a bit. The difference is so significant, and I love it. Hopefully, I'll continue to get to act and see how it impacts my work.
Page notably came out as a trans male in December 2020, months after the second season of The Umbrella Academy hit streaming, and in the thick of the COVID pandemic, which helped to prompt the public admission. He recevied a wave of support in response, and the Netflix series was quick to adjust the actor's casting notations and other mentions across its many sites and outlets.
For those who can’t wait to see Viktor in action, Elliot Page teases that his character will indeed stand up to his figurative father figure about all of the trauma he’d faced over the years, saying the scene is “so juicy,” and that it’s the culmination of so much of the character’s journey to that point.
Speaking to how gratifying it’s been for him to witness and experience Viktor’s progress, Page said:
To play this character and to know that where he started at the beginning of this whole show, just so folded in on himself, he hardly knew how to talk to people or connect with people and then now we really see him more solid in himself. He still has some stuff to deal with, like dude could probably work on some of those anger issues, but he's on his way. It felt really good to see him really step into himself and have a new sense of self-worth.
Page has spoken about how open and supportive showrunner Steve Blackman was regarding the actor coming out, and was positive about working that into the comic book adaptation's storyline for the character. Blackman later faced a round of accusations about workplace behavior, including the allegation that he exploited Page's transition for storytelling purposes, but the latter hasn't vindicated those claims.
At this point, we’re still unsure of how Viktor and the rest of his Hargreeves siblings will fare in the final season, which follows up on the Season 3 finale that took most of the characters’ powered-up abilities away, while also splitting them up. And all within a timeline where Reginald Hargreeves (and possibly the “real” version of Grace) seem to be in a position of great power.
The Umbrella Academy is one of many TV shows ending in 2024, with Season 4 arriving on Netflix on Thursday, August 8. Head to our 2024 TV schedule to see when everything else will arrive before the year is up.
