The Umbrella Academy season 3 appeared to confirm Abigail was the reason behind Luther’s moon mission, but the truth may be far more insidious. The Umbrella Academy season 3 provided more answers than ever to the twisted motivations of Sir Reginald Hargreeves. The billionaire was endlessly cruel to all of his children, who are each defined by their respective traumas at the hands of their adopted father, but Luther in particular bore the brunt of Reginald’s manipulation.

A flashback sequence during The Umbrella Academy season 3, episode 9, “Seven Bells,” offered details of Luther’s torment and isolation during his exile on the moon. The sequence revealed that Reginald’s wife, the pivotal Umbrella Academy season 4 character Abigail Hargreeves, stood cryogenically frozen on an area of the moon Luther was restricted from entering. Reginald’s previous assertions that Luther’s moon mission was greatly important seemed to imply that his son’s role was as Abigail’s guardian. However, Reginald’s actions towards Luther suggest another reason.

Reginald Sent Luther To The Moon To Isolate And Control Him

Luther sitting in a car in Umbrella Academy, Season 2

Luther has suffered the consequences of his father’s actions, as well as of being isolated from his siblings and the wider world, throughout The Umbrella Academy. Despite everything Luther endured because of Reginald, he would still obey and respect his father, and this only made him more susceptible to Reginald’s cruelty. Reginald seemingly realized that Luther was the easiest Hargreeves sibling to influence, and committed to exploiting him above the others. Reginald manipulated and controlled the only adopted child still seeking his approval, and Luther ended up broken and damaged enough for Reginald to justify the risky, ape-infusing emergency surgery.

Reginald had to act before Luther rebelled, as the other Umbrella Academy Hargreeves siblings had. After butchering his son, Reginald decided to distract him. Reginald sent Luther to the moon, where he was isolated, ignored, and kept busy with aimless research. Keeping Luther away from his siblings, who had already recognized Reginald’s wicked nature, meant Luther could not gain their enlightened perspective. This upheld Luther’s obedience to Reginald throughout The Umbrella Academy. Reginald then ultimately killed Luther, once again using his son as a disposable pawn in his own greater schemes, and removed the potential threat of an emotionally liberated Number One.

Luther’s Backstory With Reginald Makes Him Even More Important For S4

Umbrella Academy Luther Tom Hopper

Following The Umbrella Academy season 3’s dramatic conclusion, Luther is finally a fully developed adult, unshackled from his father’s unrealistic expectations which plagued his youth and locked him in arrested development. Reginald’s control and cruelty directly caused three life-altering events for Luther, which he has finally moved on from. The fact his ape features disappeared after Luther returned in The Umbrella Academy season 3’s finale symbolized this.

Luther is no longer his father’s creation, and the true Luther within is finally revealed. The Umbrella Academy season 4 will finally receive the benefit of an emotionally stable Number One. All it took was for Reginald to kill him. Following Reginald’s reset of the universe in The Umbrella Academy season 3’s finale, his motivations are even less clear, but already far more dastardly.