Style may not be the only reason cell phones don't exist in The Umbrella Academy. First and foremost, the lack of cell phones plays a critical role in the show's interweaving narratives in that it complicates communication between the Hargreeves siblings at key moments in the plot. And while forcing characters to find and use landlines — or communicate face-to-face — is a stylish choice in and of itself, we can't help but wonder if many of the The Umbrella Academy's key twists and turns might've played out differently if character's weren't so isolated and unreachable.
On season 1 of The Umbrella Academy alone, a simple call or text might actually have saved humanity. That said, however, what The Umbrella Academy achieves sans cell phones is proof of how much more intriguing a story can be without devices enabling instant communication. The Umbrella Academy star Ellen Page even offered a pointed opinion on the "cell phones in movies" problem during an interview with Screen Rant, stating bluntly that "cell phones are just ruining narrative."
Narrative implications aside, there may be more to the no cell phone story than we think. Aidan Gallagher, who plays the time-jumping Number 5 on The Umbrella Academy, threw a compelling curveball when he responded to a sharp-eyed Twitter fan who questioned what era the show is set in. Gallagher's response was both curt and cryptic, offering that "it's a TIMELINE — not YOUR timeline." That answer opens up a whole other can of narrative worms — could The Umbrella Academy be set in a reality in which cell phones never get invented, or perhaps does it exist on an alternate timeline where the modern tech we know doesn't come around until much later? After that time-traveling shocker of a season 1 finale, we're really hoping The Umbrella Academy gives a definitive answer to Gallagher's "timeline" tease on its upcoming second season.
