At first glance, Netflix's newly released character posters for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 appear relatively straightforward, with each image spotlighting one of the seven Hargreeves children. However, they could be hinting at some important plot details. Here's what we've gleaned so far.
The Umbrella Academy Season 1 saw the Hargreeves siblings come together to try to prevent the end of the world. Despite their best efforts, they fail, and decide to travel back in time so they can try again. Without an official synopsis or a trailer, all we know about Season 2 is that it will take place in a different time period.
Poster Order
Many fans were quick to notice that this batch of posters was not posted in the siblings' numerical order. Instead, the order this time is 6, 4, 3, 1, 2, 7 and 5. In February, another series of posters was released in numerical order, so this new sequence probably means something. Some have speculated it could be a date and time to which the Academy will travel: 6:43 1/2/75. Others have theorized it could be coordinates of some sort. It could also be a reference to promotional images from Season 1, in which the siblings, with the exclusion of Ben, are placed in a circular formation. The order would then follow roughly a counter-clockwise pattern, reflecting how the family will be going back in time.
Time Period
Judging by their new outfits, the Hargreeves appear to have traveled back to the 1960s or 1970s. This suggests that Season will follow the source material's second arc, "Dallas," in which the Academy travels back to the 60s. What isn't clear, however, is whether or not the Academy will all end up in the same place. After all, Number Five has never taken anyone with him while time traveling before.
Even more telling, Klaus and Diego are both sporting long hair while the other brothers look the same. Of course Ben always looks the same because he's dead, but this doesn't explain Number Five and Luther's relatively unchanged appearances. Perhaps Number Two and Number Four will arrive a couple years before the rest of their siblings and have to blend in while they wait. This would explain why Luther and Five don't appear to have aged, although we don't actually know how Five's aging process works. Or maybe they just felt like growing their hair out while Luther and Five didn't.
Diego's Mystery Object
Each character holds an umbrella that partially obscures their face, but Diego is the only character that is holding an additional object. It appears to be a long, thin, grey or silver object. It could be a knife, his usual weapon of choice, but it seems pretty small compared to the ones he usually wields. So what else could it be? A pen? A tool? We'll have to wait to find out.
Allison's Missing Scar
Back in Season 1, Allison and Vanya got into a fight that led to Vanya slashing her throat. Allison almost dies but the brothers manage to save her. Unfortunately, her vocal chords are damaged and she can no longer use her powers. Allison's neck is bandaged for the rest of the season. One would expect such an injury to leave a scar, but Allison has no such mark in this poster. In the comics, Allison gains her power back when Number Five's former employers restore her vocal chords using their advanced technology. Maybe Allison's lack of scarring here indicates that the Commission will do the same, following the plot of the "Dallas" arc.
Five's Blood Splatter
Of all the Hargreeves, Number Five is the only one who's smiling, perhaps because time travel is his forte. His face has also been splattered with blood, which could mean a couple different things. In the comics, Number Five is supposed to assassinate John F. Kennedy but he jumps through time to reunite with his family instead. With the Academy traveling back to the 60s, maybe he'll revisit this event. On the other hand, Five is a skilled killer so the blood could belong to any number of adversaries.
All in all, these clues appear to indicate that Season 2 will be following a similar plot to the comic book arc, "Dallas." Since The Umbrella Academy Season 1 made several changes to the story and characters, Season 2 can't be completely faithful to the source material but it might be more comic-accurate this time.
Based on the Dark Horse Comics series created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy stars Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Justin Min. Season 1 of The Umbrella Academy is currently available on Netflix and Season 2 will be released on July 31.