- "When something seems too good to be true, it's usually anything but."
- —Allison Hargreeves[src]
Allison Hargreeves is one of the forty-three children born on the same day in 1989, to a mother without any previous signs of pregnancy. She was one of seven adopted as a baby by Sir Reginald Hargreeves whose intention was training them to save the world. Ranked by their individual usefulness, Allison was Hargreeves' Number Three with the ability to influence events by prefacing any statement with "I heard a rumor."
After Five fails to prevent the apocalypse half caused by Vanya , she finds herself in Dallas, 1961 during the height of the American Civil Rights Movement. Separated from her siblings and coping with the loss of her voice, Allison navigates a segregated and racist southern society.
Allison is played by Emmy Raver-Lampman in the Netflix adaptation of The Umbrella Academy.
Contents
Biography[edit | edit source]
As a child, she was used by her father for her powers. He forced her to use her ability to make Vanya forget she also had powers and placed a psychological block on her mind that made her believe she was only normal. This is a major plot point in the series. She had a romantic relationship with Luther throughout her life, beginning at young age, but continuing after they met again at Reginald Hargreeves's funeral (Episode 1).
Prior to the series, she married Patrick, on whom it is implied she used her powers to initiate their relationship: 'I heard a rumor that you love me'. She has a daughter named Claire with Patrick.
Her marriage broke down after Patrick witnessed Allison using her powers on their daughter, after which he gained full custody of Claire. In this way especially it is clear that Allison began abusing her powers for personal gain and ease of life, her awareness of which acts as a motivator for her behaviour, particularly towards Vanya, throughout the season.
Civil Rights Movement[edit | edit source]
When Five transports all of the Umbrella Academy back in time to avert the apocalypse, Allison finds herself in Dallas, 1961, at the height of the American Civil Rights Movement. She quickly stumbles upon Odessa's salon, where she begins working shortly after.
She quickly becomes an integral part of the movement, and years later in 1963, Allison is an integral part of the sit-in before the arrival of JFK in an attempt to gauge the attention of the media. The sit in is initially a failure, and Allison, along with her husband, Raymond Chestnut, are escorted off the premises by the police.[1]
Relationship with Raymond[edit | edit source]
Allison initially enjoys a close and stable relationship with Raymond, who she met during her time at the civil rights movement. Things begin to go south for the two when other members of the Umbrella Academy, particularly Luther begin showing up in Dallas.
Raymond becomes confused over Allison's history and, when she is reluctant to explain, he leaves their house together and refuses to talk with her. As a result, Allison realises that her only chance to salvage the relationship with Raymond is to explain about her past and her involvement with the Umbrella Academy. Raymond is initially reluctant to believe her, but when she shows him her abilities, he believes her.
Their relationship comes to a head when Allison is ready to return to her rightful place within the timeline with the other members of the Umbrella Academy. Allison asks Raymond to return with her, but he is reluctant, citing that 2019 is not like 1963, and his duties are not finished. Nonetheless, Raymond tells her that the years they spent together have been the best of his life.[2]
Personality[edit | edit source]
Allison is a determined woman with a kind heart and strong values. She has displayed her kind-heartedness on many occasions, particularly with her sister Vanya. She welcomed Vanya home, despite the book she wrote and even stated that she was glad Vanya had come.
Allison is also a very emotional woman, often being driven out of her feelings instead of rationalizing, such as when she went to confront Harold Jenkins on her own. She can also have the tendency to have outbursts at those who catch her in a bad mood. However, she is not completely hysterical, as she does give thought to her actions and reflects heavily, most notably on the use of her power. After being caught using it on her daughter and losing custody, she seemed to swear off using it, refusing to do it even during a confrontation with Cha-Cha, a highly skilled assassin.
Allison seemed to abuse her power of suggestion in her childhood and as a young adult, using it to advance her career, manipulate those around her, and even force someone to love her. This shows a deep insecurity in her, and her actions seem to haunt her consistently, causing her to act impulsively to avoid thinking about her regrets. She is strongly against using her power, even when her life is endangered. As seen where she shed tears when Vanya began to lose control, begging her not to make her use her power.
Despite everything, Allison has a deep love for her siblings. She goes especially out of her way to show love toward Vanya, seemingly as a way to make up for the cruel way she treated her as a child. She even forgives Vanya instantly after she almost kills her, and smiles warmly at her during her concert.
Powers and Abilities[edit | edit source]
Powers[edit | edit source]
- Mental Manipulation: By prefacing a statement with "I heard a rumor," Allison can compel people do whatever she desires. Although she initially abused her power by using it for personal gain, her ex-husband, Patrick caught her using the ability on her daughter, Claire and she realized her use had been exploitative and stopped using it unless she had to. However, in order for her power to have effect she must be close enough to a subject that they can hear her.
- Reality Manipulation: As seen during her childhood, where her father had her use her powers to suppress her sister, Vanya's own powers. Allison's ability to mentally affect others using her voice can also to a certain degree at the time, manipulate and influence reality. Later as seen during the second season, Allison can now cause spontaneous phenomenon to happen to whenever she uses her voice on others, as seen where she had caused the heads of three men to explode after she used her mental suggestion on them.
Abilities[edit | edit source]
- Skilled Combatant: Like many of her siblings, Allison possesses extensive physical and combative training, making her a capable athlete and martial artist.
Relationships[edit | edit source]
Patrick and Claire[edit | edit source]
Allison was married to Patrick, and they have a daughter named Claire. After Patrick witnessed Allison using her power on Claire, he filed for divorce. Patrick received full custody of Claire.
It was later revealed that Allison had used her powers on Patrick to start their relationship, hinting that he may have not had any actual romantic feelings for her.
Luther Hargreeves[edit | edit source]
As well as being adopted siblings, there is also a strongly-implied romantic attraction between Luther and Alison Hargreeves, who are portrayed as childhood sweethearts who never got over one another.
Raymond Chestnut[edit | edit source]
Raymond is Allison's husband during the time jump to the 1960's. They were married almost a year before Allison returned to 2019. Raymond saw Allison rumour a cop and that caused ripples in their relationship.
Differences Between Comics[edit | edit source]
- In the show, Allison's powers can influence peoples thoughts, feelings and actions and thus chooses to (unlike the comics) become an actor. In the comics, she can slightly alter reality; when she visits a store that's out of a desired item, she uses her powers and it appears. However, like many of her siblings in the show, she has yet to discover the full potential of her abilities.
- The show depicts Allison's romance with Luther as a long-standing legitimate attraction, while the comic implies she is using her powers to manipulate Luther in order to cope with her divorce. Contrary to the comics, she is portrayed in the show as much more compassionate and far less deliberately manipulative.
- Alison's appearance also differs from her comic book counterpart who has lighter skin and shoulder-length purple hair.
Gallery[edit | edit source]
References[edit | edit source]
See More[edit | edit source]
| The Umbrella Academy Characters on Netflix | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| The Umbrella Academy | Luther • Diego • Allison • Klaus • Number 5 • Ben • Vanya • Sir Reginald Hargreeves • Grace • Pogo | ||
| Villains | Hazel • Cha Cha • The Handler • Leonard Peabody • The Swedes • A.J. | ||
| Other | Lila Pitts • Harlan Cooper • Sissy Cooper • Raymond Chestnut | ||
