As the Hargreeves land back in 2019, The Umbrella Academy siblings are left to regroup but find themselves disconnected by their different opinions on how best to handle the situation with the Sparrows. The characters almost immediately pair off into more manageable partnerships, providing some interesting and unforeseen relationship dynamics for Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy in the process.
With a group of thirteen siblings all competing for Sir Reginald's approval, and the Kugelblitz threatening to annihilate the Universe, the group must find a way to work together, a seemingly impossible task when everyone has their own hidden agenda (except Klaus, who is very clear on prioritizing peace and love, man!).
Turn back now if you have not watched Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy yet and wish to avoid any spoilers!
9 Diego And Stanley
Diego suddenly finds himself with an incredible amount of responsibility, as he transforms from a bachelor to a father within a matter of seconds when a teenage boy is dropped into his lap. As annoying as this whole situation is, Diego couldn't have gotten a more perfect companion, because young Stan seems as disturbed and corrupt as his parents, and quickly fits right in with the rest of the Hargreeves.
Unsurprisingly, Diego's initial reaction is quite harsh, constantly reminding poor Stan of the inconvenience of his timing. The hardcore combatant eventually shows his softer side as he begins to take his parenting seriously, refusing to allow Stan's upbringing to resemble his own. At the end of the day, Diego appears to be more invested in Stan than Lila (even after the truth is revealed) and displays unexpected empathy and wisdom in his parenting techniques.
8 Luther And Sloane
What's the end of the world and all life as they know it, without a love story thrown into the mix? The Romeo and Juliet of the Hargreeves family, Luther and Sloane find themselves at opposite ends of this epic sibling rivalry between the Umbrellas and Sparrows, yet unable to take their eyes off each other.
In a case of love at first sight, this couple sneaks around like a bunch of high school sweethearts as they attempt to hide their love from the others (while keeping all the missing cashew-nut butter off the Sparrow's radar.) A seemingly perfect match, Sloane and Luther take all of five days to make things official, much to Allison's dismay.
7 Five And Lila
Probably the most unexpected team-up is between Lila and Five, who absolutely despise each other, to put things lightly. However, as the only remaining agents of The Commission with enough knowledge to operate a briefcase, this union is inevitable. As luck would have it, their extreme mutual hatred is exactly what Five and Lila need to connect on the same level and subsequently supply the broken briefcase with enough power to get the pair to The Infinite Switchboard and back, with enough information in tow to connect the dots.
Whether their little trip back to the Commission broke the tension, or the looming doom before they rendered all resentments moot, Five and Lila appear to almost tolerate each other from then onwards. Lila relinquishes her desire to end Five's life and the pair fall into the 'normal' sibling bickering habits expected from The Umbrella Academy.
6 Klaus And "Reggie"
As sweet and 'innocent' as this relationship is, befriending Sir Reginald certainly affected the overall timeline, as there is a significant shift in the power dynamics once Klaus has helped Reggie wean himself off his medication. Watching Klaus find hope in the thought of finally bonding with his father is simply adorable, however, a simple game of catch doesn't work out as he anticipated.
Ever the scientist, Reggie reveals that he is less concerned with building a relationship and more interested in carrying out experiments on his intriguing "son". Regardless of his insensitive tactics, Sir Reginald made great progress in unlocking Klaus's true potential, after murdering the poor boy numerous times first!
5 Jayme And Alphonso
These two didn't get much screen time, but out of all the Sparrows, they appeared to have the closest bond. The dynamics between the Sparrows appear to be every man for himself, however, Jayme and Alphonso always seemed to have each other's backs. From constantly teaming up in battles to simply acknowledging one another's jokes, many are left to wonder if their relationship is akin to that of Allison and Luther (before she got all rapey that is.)
When Harlan arrives on the scene in Season 3 episode 3, none of the Hargreeves have much time to react, but instead of doing everything they could to survive the unexpected blast, Jayme and Alphonso spend their dying moments reaching out to each other and their corpses are found mere inches apart, emphasizing the depth of their bond.
4 Allison And Diego
While Allison is spiraling out of control, the only one who does not seem concerned is Diego, who goes out of his way to assist his sister's self-destruction. Thinking that Allison just needs to blow off some steam, Diego takes her to a bar full of racists to participate in a guilt-free beat-down and the unlikely duo appears to have an absolute blast! Bruised and bloodied, Allison has fueled her rage rather than suppress it, and Diego couldn't be more thrilled to have a new, fun friend to play with!
Allison would likely have chosen the path of darkness eventually, (she was already on that track), but "Dr. Fuego's" encouragement certainly helped things along. Nevertheless, it's awesome to see these two bonding for a change, as viewers have only ever seen Allison and Diego at each other's throats.
3 Klaus And Five
When choosing somebody for emotional support, Five is not the one who pops into most fans' heads, however, everyone is well aware that Klaus is wire...differently! Feeling alienated and without purpose, Klaus makes it his mission to track down his birth mother and convinces Five to tag along for the ride, spinning their adventure into Amish country as a celebratory road trip between brothers.
Five and Klaus' absurd outing turns out to be a pivotal point in the storyline, as the Umbrella's black sheep discovers his mother had passed before his birth. He also inspires Five to sacrifice his retirement to uncover the truth behind their seemingly perfect timeline, which technically saves the entire Universe in the end (or at least allows Season 4 to be possible.)
2 Diego And Lila
One of the fan-favorite couples from Season 2 of The Umbrella Acadamy is back, and this time around, their relationship is even more messed up than before! Lila rocks up out of nowhere to drop her teenage son in Diego's lap, a cruel and unusual test to see if he is truly father material. The two unquestionably still have feelings for each other but are in severe denial and continue to rub each other up the wrong way... until that friction began to satisfy a different itch!
Diego and Lila's feisty rapport is in stark contrast to the lovesick puppies of Luther and Sloane, however, they are willing to risk it all for the sake of their family. Both surviving broken homes and abusive parents, Diego and Lila must circumnavigate their toxic traits if they wish to have any success in the romance department.
1 Klaus And Ben
It seems that regardless of the distinct hostility between the Hargreeeves, Klaus is determined to reconnect with his long-lost brother, but The Sparrow's Ben is having none of it. Nobody has accused Klaus of backing away from a challenge (wait...strike that!), as he relentlessly attempts to win Ben over, and it appears that this Umbrella is more successful than even he could have anticipated!
In Season 3 episode 8, the group of superhumans finally bond over their mutual disappointment in the destruction of the Universe, and, during their drunken stupor, the strong impression is given that things became quite hot and heavy between Sparrtow's Ben and Klaus. Regardless of what took place that night, the brothers appeared to have settled their differences in time for the Umbrellas to welcome Ben (reluctantly) into their fold.