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Umbrella Academy’s Pogo Twist Teases A Sparrow Academy Secret
The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer reveals the strange fate of Pogo in the new timeline. Does his return tease a secret behind the Sparrow Academy?

Umbrella Academy’s Pogo Twist Teases A Sparrow Academy Secret

Pogo’s bouncing back in The Umbrella Academy season 3, but does his strange new career tease a dark secret behind the Sparrow Academy? Pogo’s CGI face might appear in every single season, but Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer introduces an entirely different variant. The Umbrella Academy‘s original Pogo served as a butler and friend to the Hargreeves siblings, but died when Viktor embarked on a sonic rampage. Set in the 1960s, The Umbrella Academy season 2 revealed Pogo was originally trained as an astronaut by Sir Reginald (chimpanzees can achieve their dreams too!), then developed human intelligence after being injected with Hargreeves’ life-saving serum.

As confirmed by The Umbrella Academy‘s season 2 finale, visiting the 1960s messed up history something proper. Reginald picked a completely different group of adopted children, and this “Sparrow Academy” evolved into a far more functional unit than their super-dysfunctional counterparts. Strangely, Pogo is nowhere to be seen in the Sparrow Academy’s mansion, and the Umbrella Academy season 3 trailer reveals Reginald’s furry friend now works as a tattoo artist at some shady establishment. He looks gruffer and more rugged compared to the butler from season 1, and “enforcer” is stitched onto his denim biker kutte.

So, what on earth happened to Pogo? Umbrella Academy‘s season 3 trailer heavily implies the chimpanzee wants nothing to do with Sir Reginald Hargreeves or the Sparrow Academy, and by the state of Pogo’s appearance, he departed the family mansion quite some time ago. Even though the Umbrella kids’ Dallas adventure broke history, Pogo’s fate shouldn’t be so drastically different. When the Hargreeves siblings met their adoptive father in the past, Sir Reginald and Pogo already shared a father-son bond. Reginald and Grace would read their hairy little child classic literature, and Pogo displayed love for the man who saved him. Logically, Pogo should still be Reginald’s closest aide in The Umbrella Academy season 3’s timeline. Does Pogo turning away from the Sparrow Academy prove the Umbrella replacements are far more villainous than they appear?

Pogo provided the Hargreeves family’s moral backbone in The Umbrella Academy‘s original history. He might’ve gone along with Viktor’s incarceration, but he never supported it, and always treated the seven children with respect and affection. Pogo defecting from the Sparrow Academy could mean Sir Reginald’s new team are so morally despicable, so lacking in love, the chimp couldn’t stand living among them a second longer. Other details woven through The Umbrella Academy‘s season 3 trailer support this theory. The Sparrows are uptight, ruthless and regimental, lacking the Umbrellas’ human flaws. Trailer scenes also include long dystopian flags bearing Sparrow Academy members alongside slogans like “CRIME’S THE PROBLEM – WE ARE THE SOLUTION.” Everything points toward the Sparrows being authoritarian peacekeepers rather than proper superheroes, and perhaps Pogo wanted no part of that.

Whatever his motivation may be, Pogo leaving the Sparrow Academy perfectly mirrors his original self. Before the Hargreeves kids ripped up the history books, Sir Reginald pushed every single child away until only Pogo remained. In the rewritten timeline of The Umbrella Academy season 3, the Sparrows all stand loyally by their father’s side, whereas Pogo is long gone. Maybe that’s why Five tracks Pogo down in this new timeline. The Umbrellas are at a major disadvantage against the Sparrows, so they need an ally who not only understands them, but hates Reginald’s new superheroes just as much as they do.

While the Sparrow Academy’s villainy could definitely account for Pogo’s emancipation, another potential explanation can be found. Back in The Umbrella Academy season 2, Diego interfered with Sir Reginald and Grace’s relationship, and his accusations ultimately broke the couple up. Since Grace was akin to Pogo’s mother, perhaps Diego is the real reason Reginald and his chimpanzee child don’t get along in season 3.