Spoiler Warning: The Umbrella Academy Season 3​​​​​​

The Umbrella Academy, a Netflix Original television show based on a Dark Horse Comics series of the same name, has been a delightfully quirky romp since its first season dropped in 2019. There have been ups and downs (though, admittedly, there have been mostly downs) for the superpowered Hargreeves family, and audiences have enjoyed the character’s tribulations every step of the way.

The storylines in The Umbrella Academy, though peculiar and oftentimes nonsensical, are complimented by emotionally complex narratives that are able to make audiences forget about even the most ridiculous plotlines. Said storylines are made possible by the excellent cast of character actors that portray the titular Academy’s members, the adopted Hargreeves: Elliot Page’s (X-Men: Days of Future Past, Juno) Viktor, Tom Hopper’s (Black Sails, Game of Thrones) Luther, and David Castenada’s (End of Watch, Sicario: Day of the Soldado) Diego, to name a small selection.

However, perhaps the most talented actor among this impressive cast is Emmy Raver-Lampman. She portrays Allison Hargreeves, who has the ability to order others to do whatever she says. Here are some of the reasons why Emmy Raver-Lampman is electric in The Umbrella Academy season three as her character arc changes.

Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Performance

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Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison Hargreeves has had perhaps the most emotionally strenuous storyline on The Umbrella Academy, which is definitely saying something, given the trials and tribulations of her adopted siblings. She has lost many loved ones, and every time it seems as if she’ll be able to steal a moment of happiness, it’s ripped away.

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Though Emmy Raver-Lampman is no stranger to acting, The Umbrella Academy absolutely represents her highest-profile role to date. Thankfully the show’s creators discovered the immensely talented Raver-Lampman or the deeply complex Allison Hargreeves might have lacked the appropriate depth.

Allison Suffers Too Many Losses

Throughout season three, Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison Hargreeves is dealing with a seemingly insurmountable level of loss. First, she has spent the bulk of recent seasons separated from her daughter, Claire, who is in the full custody of Allison’s ex-husband Patrick. He left Allison after seeing his superpowered ex-wife use her mind control abilities on their daughter. Even worse, after the events of season two, Claire simply does not exist.

Additionally, when the Umbrella Academy members find themselves moored in the sixties, Allison Hargreeves marries a civil rights leader, Ray. When the family returns to the present, Ray obviously isn’t around anymore, having died several years prior at a ripe old age. Given this level of loss, it’s clear why Raver-Lampman’s Allison has an emotional turn in season three.

Allison Betrays The Umbrella Academy

Near the end of season three, the world is once again about to end, this time due to the all-consuming ball of paradoxically created energy known as the kugelblitz. In order to gain the favor of The Sparrow Academy, the Umbrella Academy’s alternate reality counterparts, Allison kills Harlan Cooper (Callum Keith Rennie), an older man who Elliot Page’s Viktor Hargreeves saved as a boy in the sixties.

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The murder of Harlan is not the only way in which Allison Hargreeves betrays her family. Near the end of season three, Allison makes a deal with her adopted father, Colm Feore’s (The Chronicles of Riddick, For All Mankind) Sir Reginald Hargreeves, to by whatever means necessary, force her family into life-threatening guardians of the mysterious, reality-bending Hotel Obsidian. Though she ultimately chooses to save the lives of her siblings, stopping Sir Reginald Hargreeves before he finishes his work on the strange alien vessel that was underlying the hotel, Allison’s betrayal represented a previously unthinkable turn for the character. Emmy Raver-Lampman excellent portrayed this internal conflict.

Despite having been easily the most beloved character in previous seasons of The Umbrella Academy, Allison found herself portraying something more similar to a villain in the most recent season. However, because of Emmy Raver-Lampman’s incredible acting chops and the ways in which the show’s writers were able to craft a storyline that gave justification to her familial betrayal, its unlikely that any fans of The Umbrella Academy have fully changed their minds concerning the character.

The ending of The Umbrella Academy season three was a bit strange for Allison Hargreeves, albeit welcome: her daughter Claire once again exists, and it seems that Allison is, impossibly, married to Ray, the civil rights leader she married back in the sixties. Something doesn’t quite add up, and it seems as if more heartbreak is around the corner for the fan-favorite character.

If there is another season of The Umbrella Academy, audiences will be once on the edge of their seats for more Allison.