Who is Lester Pocket/Harlan in Umbrella Academy season 3? His real identity explained

22 June 2022, 20:13

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By Katie Louise Smith

Lester Pocket is introduced in Umbrella Academy season 3, but who is he? How is he connected to Viktor? And what are his powers?

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The Umbrella Academy season 3 packs a whole lot of storyline, a whole load of end-of-the-world antics, even more bombshell reveals and countless new characters into its 10 episodes – including one who changes the game for the Umbrella Academy siblings forever. (Well, in this timeline, at least.)

The character of Lester Pocket (played by Callum Keith Rennie) is first introduced as a mysterious man travelling across America with a suitcase full of cassette tapes with the various sounds on them. But viewers soon come to realise that there's much more to the character than previously thought.

Here's your recap on Lester Pocket's true identity and how he's connected to Viktor and the other siblings. Obviously, there'll be Umbrella Academy season 3 spoilers ahead! Read ahead with caution if you haven't finished the season.

Who is Lester Pocket in The Umbrella Academy season 3?

Umbrella Academy season 3: Lester Pocket's real identity and connection to Viktor. Picture: Netflix

WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE UMBRELLA ACADEMY SEASON 3!

If you haven't finished all 10 episodes, bookmark this page and come back once you're done. You've been warned!

Who is Lester Pocket?

In episode 3, we learn that Lester Pocket – the mysterious guy with the suitcase full of tapes – is actually Harlan Cooper, Sissy's young son from season 2. And in episode 4, we finally learn what happened to Sissy and Harlan after Viktor and the rest of the Hargreeves siblings left them in the sixties to jump forward in the timeline.

It's revealed that Sissy and Harlan moved away from Texas following the Umbrella Academy's departure, but Harlan's powers and dangerous outbursts meant they had to keep moving cities, and ultimately ended up changing their name.

In season 3, we meet Lester as a grown man, but following Viktor's attempt to save his life back in the '60s, he still possesses a very dangerous power.

What happened to Harlan in The Umbrella Academy season 3? Picture: Netflix

What are Lester Pocket/Harlan's powers?

In season 3, episode 3, we learn that Lester/Harlan's powers can kill people instantly. During a confrontation between the Umbrellas and the Sparrows at the Hotel Obsidian, Lester emits a huge blast of energy from his chest, killing Jayme and Alphonso.

Lester explains that he cannot control his powers, and has to listen to sound waves to focus and stop the outbursts from happening – hence the suitcase full of cassette tapes. Lester also explains that he can feel people who have powers because he's connected to everyone through the particles, adding that he hears an unbearable tuning fork noise in his head whenever they get closer to him.

In flashbacks, we learn that Lester/Harlan struggled to control those powers as a child. Whenever he got angry, or felt some kind of strong emotion, things would happen. He exploded a rabbit, blasted bullies away from him on the playground, and when his mother Sissy dies, his powers reach a devastating peak as he kills the doctors and nurses in the hospital room.

How did Lester Pocket/Harlan get his powers?

Lester/Harlan's powers go back to season 2, and are linked to Viktor.

In the second season, Harlan ends up drowning and Viktor saves him by doing CPR. Despite saving his life, Viktor unknowingly transfers some of those mysterious golden particles (Marigold) of his own power to Harlan.

Over the course of season 2, we see that the powers begin to manifest whenever Harlan gets angry. At the end of the season, Viktor transfers the power back to him but it's later teased that Harlan still possesses some kind of residual power.

Umbrella Academy season 3: Viktor's Marigold particles were transferred into Harlan in season 2. Picture: Netflix

How did Lester Pocket/Harlan kill the Umbrella Academy's mothers?

At the end of episode 4, it's revealed that Lester/Harlan's outburst of power when Sissy died resulted in the deaths of the Umbrella Academy's birth mothers. They all died on October 1st 1989, meaning the original Hargreeves siblings were never actually born in this timeline.

At the start of season 3, it's revealed that only 16 women gave birth to children on October 1st in this timeline, rather than the 43 in the original timeline. This is because Harlan ended up accidentally killing the other 27 women.

Harlan explains that on the day Sissy died, he thought he felt a connection to Viktor, but he actually ended up connecting to their mothers (through the Marigold particles), just minutes before the Umbrella kids were born. Harlan tried to break the connection, but his powers broke free and he ended up killing the mothers instead.

What happens to Lester/Harlan in Umbrella Academy season 3?

Later in the season, Harlan manages to transfer his power back to Viktor, freeing him of his decades long torment. But shortly after that happens, Allison kills him once she learns about the death of her birth mother. She then delivers Harlan's body to the Sparrow Academy, as they also wanted him dead as justice for their siblings.

At the end of season 3, Allison ends up pushing a button that appears to reset the entire universe. While Harlan died in his original timeline, it's unknown if he'll pop back up again in the new universe. We'll have to wait until season 4 to find out if his story continues...