We don’t have long to wait now until the second season of The Umbrella Academy, which arrives on Netflix this July 31st. The series has been putting out some excellent promos and a trailer that promises a lot of time travel weirdness for the Hargreeves siblings. One of the more striking elements in the materials for season 2 though involves Klaus seemingly running a cult, and ScreenRant have a theory as to why this has happened.
At the beginning of the second season of The Umbrella Academy, the Hargreeves have been scattered throughout the 1960s as the result of time travel gone wrong. Each sibling appears to have landed at a different point in time and space, with the plot of early episodes most likely following how they reunite. Klaus is shown leading a cult, with the theory saying that this is linked to his traumatic time in the Vietnam War.
During season 1, Klaus was accidentally transported back to the 1960s, and fought in the Vietnam War, meeting and then losing what we later learn was the love of his life. Given that season 2 takes place between 1960 and 1963, leading up to a new apocalypse around the Kennedy assassination, Klaus could have started a cult as an attempt to prevent the conflict in Vietnam from escalating later in the decade.
If, as it appears, Klaus’s cult is based on peace and love, and presumably linked to his powers to speak to the dead, then he could be trying to prevent his partner Dave from ever going to war. It’s an intriguing theory, especially since it implies a deeper reason for Klaus’ actions than just starting a cult for the fun of it. Klaus also seems to still have his deceased brother Ben at his side, so there may be a longer-term plan to the cult. Alternatively, as the latest trailer also suggests, Klaus could just be ignoring Ben as much as possible.
Either way, we should know soon whether Klaus’ cult is more than just a fun escape for a character with a history of distracting himself from his powers. With fans excited about the return of the Netflix series, including those who want to join Klaus’ cult, season 2 of The Umbrella Academy can’t come soon enough.