This forgotten “Umbrella Academy” character deserved so much better

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.

Few modern superhero series offer as many interesting characters as Netflix’sThe Umbrella Academy. Based on the comics by Gerard Way And Gabriel BaThe hit series has captivated audiences for years, astonishing them with its story of an adopted superhero family trying to overcome the apocalypse (and their own petty drama). The show’s finale is finally here, giving audiences one final installment of the grim yet hilarious narrative they’ve come to love, and giving the main cast cathartic, if not heartbreaking, endings… sort of. Despite some of its successes, this show made numerous confusing character choices. Such choices detracted from the finale the series had been building toward, and hampered many of the story arcs the series had spent entire seasons developing. One character was conspicuously absent from this final episode, despite being a fan favorite and brought back at the end of season three. He was one of the show’s most grounded characters, a compelling presence that gave the series some much-needed gravitas, but also introduced one of the best story arcs this series has ever seen. The decision to marry the show’s most supportive and loving husband, Raymond Chestnut (Yusuf Gatewood), was one of the biggest mistakes of the fourth season.

The Umbrella Academy

A dysfunctional family of adopted superhero siblings reunite to solve the mystery of their father’s death and prevent an impending apocalypse. As they confront their past and battle outside threats, their fractured relationships and unique powers create a mix of action, drama and dark humor.

Release date

15 February 2019

Seasons

4

Pour

Colm Feore, Cazzie David, Genesis Rodriguez, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher, Elliot Page, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Jordan Claire Robbins, Jake Epstein, Mary J. Blige, David Castaneda, Justin Cornwell, Justin H. Min, Britne Oldford, Adam Godley, Tom Hopper, Javon “Wanna” Walton, Ritu Arya, Cameron Britton, Sheila McCarthy

History of

Steve Blackman

network

Netflix

Directors

Jeremy Webb

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“The Umbrella Academy” has problems with the sound

Even in a superhero genre full of “edgy” versions of classic comic book stories, The Umbrella Academy manages to stand out; it focuses on a group of children with superpowers who were adopted by the uncaring billionaire Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), an elusive man who trained them to be superheroes and gave them plenty of father complexes in the process. The series focused on these crime fighters as adults, with characters like the forgotten Viktor (Elliot Page) or hyperfocused Diego (David Castaneda) shows how much this childhood ruined their social development. Although all of these people were interesting, few were as complex as the only sister of the group, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), whose power allowed her to alter reality and the minds of others by simply beginning her sentence with “I heard a rumor.” Although she faced realistic problems such as a failed marriage and a strained relationship with her daughter in Season 1, these were quickly replaced in favor of the pranks of her family and the controversial romance between her and her adoptive brother Luther (Tom Hopper). At the end of the first season, Allison had her throat slit in a violent altercation and the strength she had relied on was ripped from her as the entire family was shot through time to Dallas, Texas in 1961.

When Allison was stranded in the South during the Jim Crow era, it was a terrifying moment for her. However, she was lucky enough to find refuge with the town’s local black community – namely, a civil rights activist named Raymond Chestnut. Season 2 was a reckoning for every member of the family, but that was especially true for Allison, who realized how much using her powers had cut her off from the world around her. Allison’s many facets had always existed, but Raymond revealed how narrow her point of view really was. Ray helped her adjust to this new time and inspired her to fight against the horrors of racism and unjust policing. He was one of the most refreshing characters the show had ever introduced – an everyman who wasn’t one of the fantastical elements of this series, emphasizing just how severe the Hargreeves’ impact on the world was. In a series with killers as puppy masks and talking goldfish, it’s easy for viewers to forget the seriousness of this premise and the grim tone it began with. Raymond provided a much-needed grounding point, and while it was sad to watch Allison leave him behind when she returned to the present, viewers were overjoyed when she literally rebooted the universe in Season 3, bringing back not only him but also her – now her – daughter Claire (Coco Assad).

“The Umbrella Academy” ruined its own cliffhanger

Not paying a cliffhanger is one thing, but The Umbrella Academy did something even worse when it came to Raymond Chestnut: they forgot about him entirely. The final part of the series moves forward a few years and shows a now powerless Allison having to deal with moody teenager Claire while her husband is away. Klaus makes an offhand remark that makes it clear that Raymond abandoned Allison and her daughter in this timeline, a shocking outcome for many reasons – And not least because this contradicts Raymond’s entire characterization up to this point! Ray was always portrayed as an infinitely kind-hearted man, passionate about the well-being of others, reminding Allison and those around her of the compassion instilled in them as children. He was a glue not just for the family but for the entire series, a connection to the larger world outside of their superhuman conflicts that was noticeably missing in that wild final season.

The relationship between Raymond and Allison gave the show the seriousness it needed to balance out the often offbeat comedy. The show has always had a talent for spicing up its dark storylines with fun silliness. Raymond was entertaining, but the first character to really go beyond humorous coping and provide insights how the group’s recklessness deeply hurts those around them and themselves. In an environment full of superheroes, monsters, and aliens, it’s easy to forget how devastating these comical actions can be to the normal world at large, with even apocalypses usually only shown from the main group’s point of view rather than the chaos that surely reigns throughout the world. His knowledge of human issues helped instill a sense of justice in these former/aspiring heroes, which he passed on to Allison for Season 3, which would have proven exceptional in helping Season 4 reach a satisfying climax. But even beyond what he could give, and even if his inclusion didn’t do anything for the final season’s plot, one thing is for sure: Raymond deserved so much more than being turned into a work-shy dad and a guy who abandons his family.

Raymond Chestnut deserved better in “The Umbrella Academy”

Although Raymond Chestnut was one of the most compelling characters in the series, he was not the only The Umbrella Academy character who delves into the darker themes of this show. Klaus has struggled with the trauma of an abusive childhood since the beginning of the show, and in season 4 we saw Lila (Ritu Arya), Diego’s wife and former assassin, struggles with the horror of losing all the people she loves after finally getting them back. But as great as these storylines were, the wild plot developments and weird comedy they brought meant that they rarely got the serious spotlight that such intense emotions demand. Much like Raymond was lost in that final installment, these characters (and many others) experienced shocking narrative developments that lost so much of the depth they had accumulated up to that point.

Raymond was the first character to realize how disastrous the family’s actions were, and helped Allison – and by extension her brothers – finally care about the world outside their dysfunctional unit, giving each of them some essential characterization that continued to exist long after his introduction in Season 2. The series benefited greatly from him, and while we’ll never know what Season 4 could have been for Raymond, each of his scenes suggested that he would have only helped her further while remaining the loving man Allison met so many years ago. And by not only forgetting him, but choosing to tarnish this great character, the show fired an important character, which was just another problem on top of the others that plagued the final season.

The Umbrella Academy can be streamed on Netflix in the US

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