‘The Umbrella Academy’s Aidan Gallagher & Ritu Arya Break Down Five and Lila's Surprise Relationship (2024)

[Editor's note: The following contains major spoilers for Season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.]

In the final season of the Netflix original series The Umbrella Academy, a reset of the timeline has stripped them of their powers and left them to find a new purpose. On that journey, they learn their father, Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), is alive and well and a mysterious group known as The Keepers are talking about a Cleanse, which certainly seems ominous. Viktor (Elliot Page), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Luther (Tom Hopper), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Diego (David Castañeda), Ben (Justin H. Min) and Five (Aidan Gallagher), along with Lila (Ritu Arya), quickly realize that they must restore their powers, even if some of them really don’t want to, because they need all the help they can get to set the world right again.

During this interview with Collider, Gallagher and Arya discussed how they felt about the way the relationship developed between their characters, as Five and Lila found themselves trapped in a different timeline for seven years, unable to get back to their families and loved ones. They also talked about what they thought of the series finale, filming their final ensemble scene together, who Lila was without her powers, Five’s mustache, how they shot the scene in Max’s Delicatessen with all the Five’s, and their favorite moments in Season 4.

The Umbrella Academy

TV-MA

Adventure

Comedy

Action

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

Release Date

February 15, 2019

Cast

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

Seasons

4

Streaming Service(s)

Netflix

Showrunner

Steve Blackman

Aidan Gallagher & RItu Arya Thought 'The Umbrella Academy' Series Finale Was Heroic and Powerful

Collider: How did you guys feel when you found out what the ending of this series was going to be? Did you feel like it was inevitable that they had to be consumed for it all to end?

RITU ARYA: I feel like it’s very heroic. They’ve all been on these very selfish journeys and they’ve been very independent, so it’s very gratifying to see that they don’t put themselves first.

AIDAN GALLAGHER: Just thinking about Lila as a mother, that’s actually a very powerful way of looking at it.

ARYA: I found that very satisfying.

It feels like it’s rare for an ensemble series to actually finish as an ensemble. What was it like to film that final scene together, as a cast, and to have everybody together for that moment?

GALLAGHER: It was a build up of a lot of years, emotionally. There are a lot of memories in the air when you’re doing that sort of thing. For me, personally, I felt the biggest reaction when I took the costume off. It takes a long time for me, emotionally, to really process things, and that hit like a freight train. And then, when I finally saw the last episode, that euphoric sadness and gratitude, and the memories of how that all felt, all came back. I think fans will have that same experience watching the final episode.

These characters have all gone on such a journey, and this season they really get to a point of self-acceptance. They’ve been through so many versions of themselves, in different times and with powers and without powers, that it’s just so interesting to see them all get to that moment, even if they do a little bit differently.

GALLAGHER: And what a perfect song too. That’s probably my favorite music pick of the show. It just feels so emotionally right for that moment.

Especially after all the “Baby Shark.”

ARYA: That was a surprise watching it, actually, because we were told a different song. When we were filming it, it was some random, equally annoying song. It was very annoying. And so, “Baby Shark” was a lovely surprise for us.

Ritu, what was it like to get to explore the powerless version of Lila? She’s had an entire lifetime with Diego and their family. What did you think of that side of her?

ARYA: It was great. It was really fun to play. It was very humbling and very human. She wanted a family so badly, but didn’t have one because of what she’d been through. She has that now, and she’s not really in a rush to get her powers back. She wants to have a normal life. But she misses the excitement and things aren’t going particularly well with Diego, so she’s torn. That was great to play. She’s a chameleon too, so I think she’s enjoying playing the part of this.

Aidan, how did you feel about the mustache?

ARYA: Finally, someone has asked a question about the mustache!

GALLAGHER: Wouldn’t it have been great if I got an evil mustache that twirled?

ARYA: It did look quite evil.

GALLAGHER: Ooh, news to me. But I’m glad it all worked out. It was itchy.

ARYA: It would just make him laugh sometimes. A scene would be broken because Aidan would just be laughing. I’d be like, “What are you laughing at?” And he’d be like, “My mustache.”

GALLAGHER: I looked so suspicious that it’s funny to me that it’s a disguise.

ARYA: He couldn’t really move his face as much because it would stretch.

GALLAGHER: We did a version of the prosthetic where it was split in the middle. That was okay, as long as I didn’t get too happy and smiley, which would be me doing a bad job as the character because he doesn’t really smile that much. So, as long as I didn’t do that, I could be quite expressive. That might have just been my acting. I was really toned down.

Ritu Arya Was Not Expecting the Lila and Five Relationship in Season 4 of 'The Umbrella Academy'

What was it like for the two of you to find your relationship this season? Was that surprising to you? What did you most enjoy about that?

ARYA: It was a big surprise. I was not expecting it at all. When I found out, I thought it was a joke, and it wasn’t. I was like, “Oh, okay.” And then, it made sense. They’ve had this real back and forth of true hatred and loathing. It was very satisfying to get to see them come together that way. And I loved filming it. It was really fun getting to be away from the real world for these few weeks, just filming in the subway and having this experience in a different timeline. I just thought it was such a cool storyline. I would have loved to explore it more, rather than just in that small amount of time, but it is what it is. It was such a cool concept.

GALLAGHER: The whole arc for Five in Season 4 is that he is without a purpose since there’s no real world to save, and he’s been like that for six years. On an existential level, he doesn’t know his place. He’s lived through every time period and not really had good human connections with people, so he just feels very isolated from everything and is drifting through existence. His family is fine. And then, when they get lost in the subway and he finds himself with somebody who he relates to, it becomes the purpose in his life to be there for that person. I think that’s a really relatable thing and it was a nice arc to get to play for the character.

One of my favorite moments this season is in Max’s Delicatessen with all the Fives. What did you think of that moment? What was that like to figure out and shoot? Did you have to just sit in pretty much every angle that they could possibly put you in?

GALLAGHER: Yeah. There’s one shot that ran like 15 times. That’s one big composite shot where they put me in various places. And then, there was one that’s two of me. It was a lot of head-scratching and shooting things over again, and getting the timing and eyelines just right, but it was so much fun. Paco [Cabezas] directed that episode, and we were just having an absolute blast coming up with all those different versions of Five. My favorite is the drunk, distraught Five in the corner, looking at a picture of his reality. There were tons of little things like that. It was a very fun sequence.

After not knowing what happened to Ben for so long, what was it like for you guys to find out the answer to that, but also to learn how much it would be tied into the entire ending of the series?

ARYA: I just felt really sorry for Justin [H. Min] because his costume sucked. He was so uncomfortable, which was quite funny. I thought it was such a cool story, with that forbidden love and the way that it creates a heated rash on them. I thought that was so cool. It essentially ends the world. It’s such a Romeo and Juliet story. I thought it was amazing.

I really loved the moment with Klaus, Luther and Allison sitting on the couch witnessing the drama unfolding between Diego, Lila and Five, just because it seems like those three are always the ones causing all the drama, so it was funny to see that it was your characters causing the drama. Was that a fun moment to play with?

GALLAGHER: I’m just recalling that Robert [Sheehan] had a really great improv there.

ARYA: In Season 3, I remember doing that, watching Viktor and Allison have their fight and eating cookies and Twizzlers. It’s funny that it was the other way around. But I didn’t really enjoying playing that. I didn’t like that, but you can’t like them all. It’s a hard one. She’s been away for seven years. She’s excited to see her kids. But she’s confused because she wasn’t expecting to have this moment with Diego. It was an interesting one.

For each of you, what would you say is your favorite moment in the final season?

GALLAGHER: Every time that we got to do a scene where it was the whole cast, those were just naturally the most fun because it was very fast-paced. I think the show is bonded together by the relationships between all the characters, and you’re seeing the show when you have one of those big group scenes where everyone relates and has different history to each other. We were always joking around and teasing each other in between takes. So, I would say those were probably the most fun to shoot.

ARYA: Same. I loved the big group scenes. We were always goofing around when we were not on camera. It felt like you were just hanging out with your family or your friends. It didn’t ever feel like work. And I loved all the stuff we got to shoot in the subway. It was such a joy to get to play that amount of time that had passed, and what had changed for your character and the situation. That was really, really fun to play. I loved the journey this season. It was definitely my favorite to play.

The Umbrella Academy is available to stream on Netflix. Check out the Season 4 trailer:

Watch on Netflix