The Umbrella Academy’s David Castaneda Reflects on That Surprise Season 4 Romance
The Umbrella Academy star David Casta?eda had mixed emotions when he found out about the surprise romance that rocked the show’s final season.
Warning: Spoilers Below for season 4 of The Umbrella Academy.
“No, I didn't understand. I was pissed off,” Casta?eda, 34, exclusively joked to Us Weekly of the shocking plot twist that saw his character, Diego, in an unexpected love triangle with his wife, Lila (Ritu Aryu) and his younger brother Five (Aidan Gallagher). “I was angry. I talked to [our showrunner] Steve [Blackman] a few times. I was like, ‘Hey, does this really have to happen?’”
While season 4 of the Netflix series largely revolves around the Hargreeves siblings losing — and subsequently gaining back — their powers, Diego finds himself having marital trouble with Lila as the duo attempt to live everyday lives. When Lila finds herself stuck in between timelines with Five, the duo are forced to survive alone together for seven years, leading to romantic feelings developing between them.
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Diego, meanwhile, is clueless that Lila and Five are even missing, as days in the time loop are mere seconds on earth. When Lila finally returns and confesses her feelings for Five, the brothers are left at odds over where her heart actually lies.
“It wasn't fun,” Casta?eda shared of shooting the story line. “And I was always trying to convince Steven, ‘Who's going to win? Come on, Diego's going to win, right?’ [And he would say], ‘Well, we don't know, maybe Five, maybe Diego, maybe both.’ And I was like, ‘No, no, no, no. She’s got to be with Diego.’”
Casta?eda argued that Diego and Lila, who met in season 2 during a stay at a mental institution, had a real relationship worth preserving. After dating for years, they finally tied the knot during the season 3 finale before welcoming two kids together. Five, he told Us, had different motivations.
“Five was just, like, he’s lonely, he’s sad, it's convenient, they're there,” he said. “You got needs. I get it. But let's be real. Come on, Diego? Who can turn down that hot cake?”
Not all of the cast agrees with Casta?eda’s point of view. Justin H. Min, who plays both Ben Hargreeves and Ben Sparrow on the show, argued that Lila served an important purpose in Five’s life.
“For Five, Lila is everything, right? He hasn’t opened himself up to anyone except to Lila,” Min said, noting that Diego would be more likely to get over the heartbreak than his young sibling. “Diego has the potential to move on.”
Gallagher, for his part, shares a similar perspective to Min. The actor told Us that Lila eventually becomes the “color” in Five’s life that “gives him real purpose.”
“[Five is] very lost at the beginning of season 4,” Gallagher, 20, explained to Us. “And then when [Lila’s love] goes away, he's very sort of in a downward spiral of depression and nothing matters.”
Aryu, for her part, sees why her character would want to fall in love with Five — but also understands why her connection with Diego would remain paramount.
“It’s interesting because she's away from her family for seven years,” she told Us. “It wasn't working with Diego, but he is the father of her children, and it's all about the children really for her.”
There’s also that minor issue of Five being less than honest with Lila. As the two are trying to build a life for themselves in the time loop, Five discovers a paper that will help them find a way back home but hides it away for six months in order to preserve their romance — keeping Lila away from her children.
“Lila spent [so] many years with this person; they've looked after each other, and so they definitely have a huge love and admiration for each other, but it's hard because he lies to her about finding a way out,” Aryu continued. “And that's six months she could have had with her kids. That is taken away from her. So I think it's complicated. Really complicated.”
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Lila, unfortunately, never gets to make a choice either way; the group sacrifices themselves for the greater good when they realize that they must combine their marigold (the substance in their bodies that gives them superhuman powers) in order to create a utopia.
As for who Lila hypothetically would have chosen — if they hadn’t all destroyed themselves to save the world — Casta?eda believes that she eventually would have worked it out with Diego. Aryu, however, has a different theory: one very in tune with The Umbrella Academy’s overarching theme.
“I think we'll find a different answer for ourselves,” she told Us. “One of each and each different timeline.”
Season 4 of The Umbrella Academy is now available on Netflix.
With reporting by Yana Grebenyuk
