Note: contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season one and the comic series.
Comic book stories are often preoccupied by death, even if the heroes and villains who populate them rarely stay dead for long. Umbrella Academy is perhaps even more fixated on the afterlife than most thanks to the impending apocalypse that loomed over the entirety of season one.
In the first season finale, Five (Aidan Gallagher) and his siblings fail to stop the world from ending after Vanya (Ellen Page) accidentally blows the moon apart and sends huge chunks crashing down to Earth. However, time travel has played an important role in Umbrella Academy from the get-go, and in the final moments of season one, our favourite misfits travelled back in time, hoping to prevent the apocalypse from ever taking place.
Although we still don’t know where the team end up going exactly, it looks likely that The Commission will continue to be involved somehow in season two, and if that’s true, then Hazel and Cha-Cha won’t be far behind.
When we last saw Hazel (Cameron Britton), he was all loved up with Agnes (Sheila McCarthy), staring into her eyes as apocalyptic fires raged in the background. At a casual glance, it looked like this could spell the end for them both. However, a glimpse of the time-travel suitcase in Hazel’s grasp hints that the pair escaped and started a new life together in another time period before the world ends.
Britton told IGN that he doesn’t know whether his character will be back for season two just yet: "Hazel wants nothing more to settle down with a simple life. I hope the best for him, I hope he doesn't have to get back in there and fight anymore, but knowing him, he would if he had to."
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The Commission have already proved that their reach is infinite and if the big wigs want Hazel back, then it’s likely that he’ll be dragged out of retirement in season two. Things are more complicated when it comes to his partner though.
While Hazel travelled back in time for his very own happy ending, Cha-Cha (Mary J Blige) appeared to die in an explosion that engulfed her completely. However, it seems rather strange that the assassin spent her last moments on earth trying to call someone using a pay phone...
Blige is also in the dark about her character’s fate, but during an interview with IGN, she acknowledges that it’s possible Cha-Cha might have survived: "She's picking up the phone, she's trying to get out. I believe she may be calling The Commission. She's trying to figure a way out."
In previous episodes, Five contacted The Commission through these exact same means, so it’s clear that the writers are hinting that Cha-Cha could return in season two with their help.
However, if the source material is anything to go by, she might soon regret this decision.
Umbrella Academy has deviated from the comics in some surprising ways, but if season two turns out to be a more faithful adaptation, then death might still be on the cards for Hazel and Cha-Cha later down the line – even if they do return for a second season.
In the Dallas run, Hazel and Cha-Cha kidnap Klaus (Robert Sheehan) just like they did in season one, but here, the mixed-up hero uses his psychic powers to possess Cha-Cha and kill them both. If season two draws inspiration from this disturbing arc, then Hazel and Cha-Cha might wish that they’d never come back at all.
Whether the pair are killed by Klaus or not, it’s also possible that Hazel and Cha-Cha could return in the form of flashbacks and, with all of the time meddling that’s going on, the writers could also revisit past versions of the assassins too.
This might all sound rather complicated, but in a show where talking monkeys and robotic mothers are the norm, truly anything is possible.
The Umbrella Academy is streaming now on Netflix.
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After teaching in England and South Korea, David turned to writing in Germany, where he covered everything from superhero movies to the Berlin Film Festival.
In 2019, David moved to London to join Digital Spy, where he could indulge his love of comics, horror and LGBTQ+ storytelling as Deputy TV Editor, and later, as Acting TV Editor.
David has spoken on numerous LGBTQ+ panels to discuss queer representation and in 2020, he created the Rainbow Crew interview series, which celebrates LGBTQ+ talent on both sides of the camera via video content and longform reads.
Beyond that, David has interviewed all your faves, including Henry Cavill, Pedro Pascal, Olivia Colman, Patrick Stewart, Ncuti Gatwa, Jamie Dornan, Regina King, and more — not to mention countless Drag Race legends.
As a freelance entertainment journalist, David has bylines across a range of publications including Empire Online, Radio Times, INTO, Highsnobiety, Den of Geek, The Digital Fix and Sight & Sound.
