‘Umbrella Academy’ Fans Are “Cringing” Over Shocking Age-Gap Romance In Season 4: “We Need An Apology”

The highly anticipated final season of The Umbrella Academy recently premiered on Netflix. But fans were horrified to learn the show went in a controversial direction and put two of the Hargreeves siblings in a completely unexpected love triangle ahead of the series finale.

In Season 4, Five (Aidan Gallagher, 20) and Lila (Ritu Arya, 35) become trapped in a seven-year time loop and begin pursuing a romantic relationship with each other after they teamed up to investigate a mysterious group.

The development came as a serious shock to fans considering Lila was married to Five’s brother Diego (David Castañeda) and shares a family with him, though the season showed her struggling in her new life. But it also raised concerns considering they have a rather confusing age dynamic. Lila first met Five in Season 1 when he was just 13 years old. But he later becomes trapped in the future and does not get reunited with his family until he’s 64, though he still has the appearance and body of an 18 year old.

Fans on social media were quick to point out the age gap and express how disappointed they were with the show’s direction.

“We need an apology from The Umbrella Academy writers for whatever that atrocity is between five and lila… i’m cringing so hard right now,” one viewer wrote on X.

“Not The Umbrella Academy writers making me hate five after him being my comfort character for almost 4 years bruh,” another fan wrote. “That dogshit between him and lila was so fucking unnecessary.”

this is how five looked when lila met him btw. he was a child pic.twitter.com/toCjnkIsT5

— emily 🪩 TUA S4 ☂︎ (@fivefolklore) August 8, 2024

Other fans lamented that the show ended with Diego and Five being on bad terms due to Five’s relationship with Lila. “You mean to tell me it ended with them hating each other,” a viewer wrote. “I’m sick. umbrella academy how could you do this to me.”

In an interview with Us Weekly, Castañeda expressed that he was not happy with the fact that Lila chose Five over Diego, considering they spent several seasons establishing their relationship. (It’s also worth mentioning that Casteñeda and Arya are dating in real life.)

“No, I didn’t understand. I was pissed off,” he said. “I was angry. I talked to [our showrunner] Steve [Blackman] a few times. I was like, ‘Hey, does this really have to happen?’”

He added that filming the storyline “wasn’t fun.”

“I was always trying to convince Steven, ‘Who’s going to win? Come on, Diego’s going to win, right?’” Castañeda said, noting that he felt like the relationship was “convenient” for Five. “You got needs. I get it. But let’s be real. Come on, Diego? Who can turn down that hot cake?”

But Blackman defended the “big swing” he took in Season 4. “I felt that Five had to have a love story. I mean, he’s a 64-year-old man in the body of an 18-year-old. So we thought he could have a love story,” he told Netflix publication Tudum. “And I thought, ‘How can he have a love story? He’s not the kind of guy who’s going to date.'”

He explained that he saw “an opportunity with Lila” but knew it may not play well with viewers. “We tried it. I don’t know how the fans are going to take it,” he confessed.

Though it was rather unexpected, Blackman expressed that he felt like their romantic storyline was “perfect.”

“You could believe that they would be together,” he said of the finale. “We wouldn’t let them rehearse the kiss. We got him to the point just before the kiss, and then we let them do [it] on the day and it was just perfect.”