The Umbrella Academy Fans Have An Eyebrow-Raising Theory About Five's Body

"The Umbrella Academy" never pretends to make sense. In this case, that's probably a good thing because any attempt to insert logic into the Netflix series only leads to mental ruin and more than a few migraines. With 43 virgin births, children with miraculous abilities, and endless time travel, maybe looking too closely is more trouble than it's worth. And yet, what fanbase would be complete without a dedicated core of theorists trudging through the story with a fine tooth comb and a stubborn refusal to accept things as provided? 

In this way, the plans of Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) have come under fire and left several questions, the least of which is the real reason why he doesn't have a name. He's one of seven core adopted super children with a personal knack for time travel. The weirdest, most headache-inducing issues in "The Umbrella Academy" center around this guy. When he isn't assassinating presidents or romancing mannequins, he's flinging his family across the planet's chronology in a desperate struggle to avoid doomsday. Some of his antics in the second season have left theorists questioning the direction in which the series went. 

In a subreddit dedicated to "The Umbrella Academy," u/akirasekai posted their theory about Five's inexplicable 13-year-old form. They said, "in Season 2, Five forced his old (but 14 days younger) self to go through [the] portal, so he doesn't disappear [and] gave him the right formula ... doesn't that mean the one with [the] young[er] body will disappear because he never came back with [the] wrong formula? Original Five [only had the body of a] 13-year-old because he made a mistake in the formula, but this time second Five goes back in his old adult body."

If that was hard to follow, here's the breakdown. Five is only a child in the Netflix series because he goofed up his time travel math. If he had done it correctly, he would have returned to his family as an older man. In the second season, Five time travels to just before he tried to rejoin his family and provides his past self with the correct time math. In doing so, his past self can time travel without changing forms. Despite correcting this for himself, Five remains a child, and the Redditor's question is why? 

The theory they seem to purport is that once Young Body Five sent Old Body Five away with the correct formula, he created a branching timeline in which Young Body Five has no further part. It also allows the show to ignore continuity, which Forbes felt was annoying but not destructive to potential enjoyment. Like we said earlier, "The Umbrella Academy" never pretended to make sense.