Umbrella Academy's David Castañeda Was "Angry" About Five And Lila Romance

15 August 2024, 11:54

Umbrella Academy&squot;s David Castañeda was "angry" about Five and Lila romance storyline — Umbrella Academy's David Castañeda was "angry" about Five and Lila romance storyline. Picture: Michael Buckner/Variety via Getty Images, Netflix

By Katie Louise Smith

"I was angry [...] I was like, 'Hey, does this really have to happen?'"

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If you absolutely hated the Five and Lila storyline in The Umbrella Academy season 4, you're not alone... David Castañeda, who plays Diego in the show, also hates it. In fact, when he first found out about it, the whole thing made him "angry".

The Umbrella Academy's final season hasn't gone down well with fans, with thousands of strongly-worded complaints popping up on social media about the controversial ending, the glaring Sloane plot hole and that shock romance between Five and Lila.

The whole Five and Lila thing has sparked a tidal wave of scathing comments – some fans have even suggested that it's completely ruined Aidan Gallagher's fan favourite character for them. The cast also have strong feelings about it.

In an interview with Us Weekly, David revealed how much it "pissed" him off and confessed that he tried to persuade showrunner Steve Blackman to change it.

Umbrella Academy's David Castañeda calls out season 4's love triangle between Diego, Lila and Five. Picture: Netflix

In season 4 episode 5, Five and Lila (Ritu Arya) get lost in the time-travelling subway system and end up getting stuck down there for seven years after failing to find their way back to their timeline. As a result, the two grow closer and end up having a full-blown romance.

When they eventually return to the correct timeline and reunite with their family, Lila ends up telling Diego what happened and the whole things causes a huge rift between Diego and Lila and Diego and Five. So much so that Diego and Five end up dying on bad terms.

"I didn’t understand – I was pissed off," David told Us Weekly. "I was angry. I talked to Steve [Blackman] a few times. I was like, 'Hey, does this really have to happen?'"

The Umbrella Academy season 4 sees Lila have an affair with Five. Picture: Netflix

Discussing the actual filming of the scenes, David admitted: "It wasn’t fun. And I was always trying to convince Steven, 'Who’s going to win? Come on, Diego’s going to win, right?' [And he would say], 'Well, we don’t know, maybe Five, maybe Diego, maybe both.' And I was like, 'No, no, no, no. She’s got to be with Diego.'"

Diego and Lila have been one of the show's most popular pairings since season 2. They first met in a mental institution, fell in love and eventually got married in the season 3 finale. The couple went on to have three children who all appear in season 4.

Continuing his criticism of the storyline, David then joked: "Five was just, like, he’s lonely, he’s sad, it’s convenient, they’re there. You got needs. I get it. But let’s be real. Come on, Diego? Who can turn down that hot cake?"

Umbrella Academy cast reflect on the show ending

The rest of the cast don't quite agree with him though, and have all given Five and Lila the benefit of the doubt.

Speaking about the storyline, Justin H. Min, who plays Ben, said: "For Five, Lila is everything, right? He hasn’t opened himself up to anyone except to Lila, Diego has the potential to move on."

And as for Aidan and Ritu themselves? "[Five is] very lost at the beginning of season 4," Aidan says. "And then when [Lila’s love] goes away, he’s very sort of in a downward spiral of depression and nothing matters."

Ritu also looked at things from Lila's point of view: "It’s interesting because she’s away from her family for seven years. It wasn’t working with Diego, but he is the father of her children, and it’s all about the children really for her."