The Best Umbrella

This is my final look for this series looking at representation in media of transgender people. I saved the best for last, Umbrella Academy. Umbrella Academy is a superhero show on Netflix loosely based on a comic book series by the same name. In the show, we follow an adopted family of superheroes. The character in focus for this video is Viktor Hargreeves. I want to start off with the meta. Viktor is played by Elliot Page who came out as transgender after the filming of season two. As a response to this, the showrunners wrote the character as trans, and in season three the character came out as well. So we can, in retrospect, look at their evolution as a character throughout the show as linked to them figuring out this part of themself. At the start of the show, we see Viktor on medication for an unknown reason and feel throughout their childhood that they were left out and trapped by their family. Spoilers ahead. We then learn that the medication she was taking was stifling her power, and if we want to read into this, it is analogous to how trans people were and are often supplied antidepressants instead of HRT treatment. The anti-depressants do not truly help them but often hold them back. And when, in the third season, he comes out, he has full control of his power. Away from the plot, we see the best coming out that could have possibly happened. When they do so, people are immediately receptive and respect his new chosen name and even invite him to be the best man at his brother’s wedding. This is in reflection of his past, where he felt like an outsider, had no power, and was abused, to now where they are included, have power, and are treated with love. It is some of the best representation possible. Not to mention that they have an unclear sexuality, giving them plenty of room to grow but allowing them complexity most characters don’t have. I can not wait to see more of them.

After going through some rough spots in media it really does warm my heart to end it here on a hopeful look at what can be. Having a thing I can point to and say, ‘There look, they did it, so you can too.’ Next week, I will be collecting all of my thoughts and laying out the genre of trans representation today in popular media, where it shines and also where it needs some work.