The first season of The Umbrella Academy introduced audiences to a vast cast of characters, including time traveling assassins Hazel and Cha Cha. In the show's freshman season, Hazel eventually met Agnes, a donut shop employee with whom he struck up a relationship -- and it's the best part of Season 1.
Agnes appeared early in the series, serving Number Five a cup of coffee before he massacred the militia sent to kill him in Griddy's Donuts. Agnes then became a pivotal part of the story when Hazel and Cha Cha visited her to figure out Number Five's whereabouts. In their first meeting, Hazel and Agnes started talking and a blossoming romance slowly emerged.
The Umbrella Academy has been touted as a unique superhero story because its main focus is not on the superpower aspect but on the familial and social relationships of the characters. The show tackled the emotional trauma the Hargreeves children faced more than their powers, to the point Allison only uses her ability once in the series (with unsuccessful results).
The show's interest in shifting focus away from its superhero elements allowed for the introduction of the love story between Hazel and Agnes. From the start, Hazel was shown as a big softie, being more gentle and caring than his partner, Cha Cha. It is even revealed later in the season that Hazel has let some of his targets go free, such as the wife of one of his victims and an unnamed child in Japan. This introduced Hazel's more human side and how he is not too fond of his career anymore, wanting a change from constantly being on the road.
This all came to the surface when he met Agnes. Being aware of the upcoming apocalypse, Hazel's romantic feelings towards Agnes forced him to act impulsively. He started questioning what he was doing with his life and if his action were truly for the greater good. Hazel started his redemption arc right then and there in Griddy's. Meeting Agnes reminded him of how good humans can be and how living a life of murder and mindless following was not the best way to live. He saw Agnes' love for birds and her hope for the future, and it reminded him what being human truly meant.
While the Hargreeves family was fighting with each other, trying to argue about who killed their father and what's happening to the world, Hazel was questioning the morality of letting the world die when he has the power to stop it. Meeting Agnes seemed to be something Hazel never had the chance to do: Talking to someone overtly kind. He told her that he is constantly on the road, which means he does not have or has possibly never had the chance to fall in love. Agnes' kindness intoxicated him and made him feel something he has not felt in years, genuine care and love. Her positivity towards the world made him reconsider what he was doing in 2019 and if ushering in the apocalypse was the right thing to do.
Hazel and Agnes' relationship brings light to the gritty and dark season, which was fraught with broken relationships. The reveal Harold Jenkins is Leonard Peabody and was using Vanya to get revenge, in particular, existed in stark contrast to Hazel and Agnes' relationship. This then served to make Hazel and Agnes' relationship the only one that truly had both characters better each other by being themselves, allowing them to time-travel away into the sunset.
Luckily, Hazel and Agnes survived the end of the world and are now living somewhere in the past. This brings hope that this is not the end of their story and that they will pop up again in the second season. With Hazel being reformed, he could prove to be a helpful ally to the Academy, and with Agnes' help, he can use his skills to better the world.
Starring Ellen Page, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, Aidan Gallagher and Justin Min, The Umbrella Academy's second season begins streaming on July 31 Steve Blackman will continue to act as showrunner and executive producer, with Sylvain White serving as a new director. Season 1 of The Umbrella Academy is currently available on Netflix.