The Umbrella Academy Stars Talk Five and Lila’s Surprising Subway Trip: ‘Of Course There’s Love There’ (Watch)
The following post contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy‘s complete fourth and final season.
We really thought we’d seen it all on The Umbrella Academy. A telekinetic cube named Christopher? A Footloose-inspired dance number that Diego hallucinated? Number Five in love with a mannequin named Dolores? Check, check and check. What more could shock us?
And yet, the Netflix series still found a way to surprise us in its fourth and final season, by way of an even more unexpected love interest for Number Five than Dolores: Lila Pitts.
During Season 4, Five and Lila — the latter of whom is married, with children, to Five’s brother Diego — discovered an underground subway system that journeyed through the space-time continuum, with each subway stop bringing them to the exact same moment in time, just in a different universe. At some point in their travels, Five and Lila got lost, and they spent the next seven years (!) trying to decode the subway system before Five finally found a way home. (Seven years in Subway Standard Time, at least; for everyone else above ground, the two of them were only gone for a few hours.) Over the years, their pseudo-friendship turned to affection, which turned to full-blown romance, making for an unforeseen love triangle when Five and Lila finally got home — and Lila had to tell Diego what had transpired.
“Lila and Five are so much more similar than they want to give each other credit for,” showrunner Steve Blackman posits in the video above. “They’re constantly fighting and bickering, but they’re the most alike. So seven years together — it made sense that something would have happened… It seemed like it was worth trying, and I thought it paid off.”
Ritu Arya and Aidan Gallagher, who respectively play Lila and Five, also weigh in on the relationship that bloomed between their characters (after getting a quick dance break out of their systems, which you’ll see at the start of our video Q&A; very Hargreeves of them!).
“They’ve spent seven years together? Away from life, just them two? I’m sorry, but you’re going to feel incredibly connected with someone, no matter what,” Arya adds. “I feel like, of course there’s love there.”
Press PLAY on the video above to get more thoughts from Blackman, Arya and Gallagher, then hit the comments and tell us: How did you feel about Five and Lila’s romantic storyline? (And if you’re craving more Umbrella Academy final-season coverage, be sure to check out our series finale post mortem with Blackman, and hear him explain why [Spoiler] never showed up in Season 4.)
I think I’m one of the few that actually was ok with this but it’s likely because it was supposed to be Vanya. I was one of he Five/Vanya shippers and they had a connection in the first 2 seasons and we know they created Lila for the show. It’s long been a theory she was created to replace whatever they had originally planned for Vanya before Elliot told them he was trans. This is no hate to Elliot or Viktor but knowing the comics it does feel Lila took over Vanya’s role. Diego was in love with Vanya in the comics, and I feel it’s likely now there was supposed to be a triangle with them and Five and they just used Lila instead. To make it less creepy I would’ve used the teen actress for Vanya or Lila instead, and it would’ve made more sense. If it had been Vanya and Five they finally had their chance, and then if it was younger Lila that would change adult Lila as she would’ve had memories of it too. I get what they were trying to do but it would’ve made more sense using the younger actresses.
While Five may be 19 physically, his consciousness is that of a man in his 60s. Using a teen actress in their romance seems just as wrong, if not more. Also, I understand why you used Viktor’s deadname as you discussed the comics and previous seasons. However, even if you are referring to someone pre-transition, it is best to use their chosen name. I assume you didn’t mean anything disrespectful and I’m not insinuating that, I just try to inform people that might not know.
What connection did Five and Viktor have the first two seasons besides siblings? I’m genuinely curious where people saw anything other than familial. Also, Lila has been in Diego’s life since 2.01 and was clearly his second love interest after Patch. Additionally it was QUITE obvious from the jump they never planned on incorporating Diego being in love with Viktor in the show ever. Elliot’s transition didn’t change anything because they clearly were never going to do that in the first place and Lila was there a full season before any of the transition was incorporated. And how would they have explained a younger actress? They jumped back at one of the stops and it stuck?!? … that would make the show even more ridiculous than it already was in the last season. They just never should’ve done this storyline in the first place.
The actors playing Five and Lila gave such wonderful performances, I totally bought that their affection and connection grew into love. Especially since Gallagher was so convincing as a well-lived man in a young man’s body. Loved it.
Are we there yet?
We are ;)
I just don’t like it. Most of the siblings were passengers. Vic got some cathartic bonding within different version of their dad. Their dad’s wife basically made the entire journey worthless. Instead of a chance for Diego and Lila to figure out suburbany, they throw highlight a love story….THAT THEY DIDNT EVEN RESOLVE. Sure they were heroes in the end with their sacrifice but, I’m just not feeling it honestly. I feel like, so much lesser degree, this was game of thrones all over again. Great start great middle horrible end. Endings are so hard to get right
He thinks it paid off 😂😂. Tells me all I need to know about why this season sucked so bad. These actors deserved better than these storylines.