Spoilers ahead for The umbrella academy Season 2. In the second season of the Umbrella Academy, Vanya Hargreeves is a very different version of herself. In Season 1, she was lonely and bitter, moving from the marginalized family to the white violin due to long-repressed trauma. But in season 2, “there’s lightness about it,” says actress Ellen Page. It is because, for the first time in her life, she feels truly loved.
Season 2 begins right after the season 1 cliffhanger, during which Vanya’s brothers couldn’t stop him from inadvertently causing the apocalypse. In a final attempt to undo those events, the brothers travel back to Texas in the 1960s, except that they all end up separated. Vanya lands in an alley and stumbles confused on the street, where she is immediately hit by a car, making her forget who she is and all the trauma she has suffered. The woman he drives, a young mother named Sissy (Marin Ireland), then leads Vanya and the two of them slowly begin an adventure.
“[Vanya is] Happy, “Page says, noting that the relationship stands in direct contrast to the” incredibly abusive and manipulative relationships “Vanya had with Leonard Peabody (John Magaro) and his adoptive father, the late Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore).” I think falling in love for the first time and falling in love with Sissy is a big turning point for her, for her growth and as a person. “
Eventually, Vanya’s brothers track her down and she rediscovers her powers, but still struggles to control them. In one of the most climactic scenes, Vanya inadvertently transfers her powers to Sissy’s son, Harlan (Justin Paul Kelly), after she saves him from a life-threatening situation. The two already shared an inherent sense of understanding: As an autistic boy struggling to communicate verbally, Harlan is isolated from those around him in a similar way to how Vanya was, but this forges an even deeper bond.
“[Vanya is] hugged by Sissy and Harlan in many ways. She finds a sense of home [with them]”Says Page.” And then, of course, there is the most obvious thing that happens when she saves him and he doesn’t even know that’s going to happen. I think the connection [between them is] very deep, in terms of unseen feeling [and being] dismissed as a child. “
For Page, Vanya’s new sense of home this season was a refreshing change of pace. “She has been in a lot of pain for most of her life, so it was nice to make this season the happiest,” says Page. “She fell in love and gained inner strength. I hope that continues and that she can exist in the world in a way that feels true to her.”
