Editor’s note:
this article contains spoilers for the new third season of Netflix’s The
Umbrella Academy.
When it comes
down to it, The Umbrella Academy is a family — and nothing
makes that more clear than their reaction to Viktor’s transition in the newest
season of the show.
In the beloved superhero series, Viktor’s (played by
Oscar-nominated Out100 honoree Elliot Page) coming out was inspired by his
relationship with Sissy, the woman he fell in love with when the Umbrellas were
trapped in 1963. “She saw me for who I really am,” Viktor says about her in the
first episode of season 3.
It’s in the
second episode that we meet Viktor for the first time. After looking up when
Sissy died in a book in the library, Viktor sees a poster advertising men’s
haircuts and remembers the words Sissy said to him: “You don’t even notice the
box that you’re in until someone comes along and lets you out.”
When he
introduces himself to the family, he’s greeted with a simple “love the
haircut,” and when Diego calls him “Vanya,” he replies, “It’s Viktor.”
“Who’s
Viktor?” a confused Diego asks.
“I am. It’s
who I’ve always been,” he replies. “Is that an issue for anyone?”
“Truly happy
for you Viktor,” Number Five then says.
Later when he
talks to Allison and Luther, each of them takes it equally well. They
understand their brother and are happy to see him happy.
“You know, I
always hated mirrors, I thought everybody felt so strange in their skin. I
guess that’s not true right?” he asks Allison. When she asks what he sees in
the mirror now, Viktor replies, “me, just me.”
The Umbrella
Academy is showing that accepting someone’s
transition, especially if that someone is in your family, doesn’t have to be
the end of the world. In fact, the Umbrellas have dealt with the end of the
world, and their reaction to Viktor’s transition is the opposite.
Instead of
dramatic arguments or long conversations, the series shows little things like
Viktor talking to his brother about men’s haircuts, talking to his sister about
being himself, and just simply reintroducing himself to his family.
It teaches
audiences how they should treat a real-life transition by having the characters
react to the actor's real-life transition in the best way possible. It’s not
just Viktor who is getting his introduction here, it’s Page. This is the first
role we’ve seen him in since he transitioned, and he looks great.
Every time the
characters compliment Viktor’s haircut or say he looks happier is also a
comment on Page himself off the screen. And Viktor really does look better and
happier than Vanya ever did. He even has the confidence to become the Umbrella’s
leader. This is what you can do when you are able to be your true self.
Page has
channeled the real-life confidence he must be feeling into the performance,
making Viktor the emotional heart — and one of the most compelling characters —
of the season. By writing in Page’s real-life transition so naturally to the
character, The Umbrella Academy is paving the way for future
trans actors to feel the freedom to transition, even while in the middle of a
show. The show is giving an example of how to do trans representation right.
Viktor’s
transition really feels so natural in the third season, and that was definitely
helped by the show bringing on trans writer Thomas Page McBee to help craft the
story. With all the bad news about anti-trans rhetoric and laws, it feels great
to see a trans person be their best self and be celebrated for that, and that’s
exactly what the newest season of The Umbrella Academy does.
The Umbrella
Academy Season 3 is now streaming on
Netflix.
SOURCE: OUT DOT COM
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