The Umbrella Academy boss defends season 4's most controversial moment
"I wonder what the fans will take of that moment. But I think it's an earned moment."
*Warning - contains full spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 4*
The fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy is now available to stream on Netflix, and it has not arrived without some controversy, particularly surrounding one major sequence.
The moment in question happens in episode 5, when Lila and Five get stuck in the waypoint between timelines, and strike up a romance, despite Lila being married to Five's brother Diego.
Speaking exclusively with RadioTimes.com, showrunner Steve Blackman has defended this storyline, explaining that he felt the romance was "an earned moment".
He said: "Well, you know, I sat with the writers and we said, 'What would happen if you spent seven years with someone and we're starting to give up ever coming home?'
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"I mean, some of it speaks to the domestic problems between Lila and Diego. And part of it has to do with that, as much as Five and Lila would hate to say it, they're very similar."
Blackman continued: "They've been fighting so hard all the seasons, but alone, they realised they have a lot in common. They're very similar people. So, you know, I wonder what the fans will take of that moment. But I think it's an earned moment.
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"But remember, it's not a few days, we've been together now trying to stay alive for seven years. And I thought it was a great moment."
Lila actor Ritu Arya told RadioTimes.com that she initially thought the plotline was a joke when it was pitched to her, saying: "I literally laughed, and I was like, 'Haha,' and then when I read the script, I was like, 'Oh, they weren’t joking!'"
Meanwhile, Five star Aidan Gallagher added: "I had a similar reaction. Well, at first it's, like, just fully unexpected, because the characters always seem at odds with each other.
"But it sort of flipped like a magnet at a certain point. I was like, 'Oh, that actually makes a lot of sense, personality-wise.'"
The Umbrella Academy season 4 is streaming now on Netflix – sign up from £4.99 a month. Netflix is also available on Sky Glass and Virgin Media Stream.
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