“Elliot was in his own transition process at the time of shooting.”
Elliot was met with an outpour of support and love. Many fans also wondered how The Umbrella Academy would address Elliot’s transition into his storyline. That’s when Elliot let fans know they can say goodbye to Vanya Hargreeves and hello to Viktor.
During a recent interview with Esquire, transgender journalist Thomas Page McBee explained how he worked with Elliot and showrunner Steve Blackman to help introduce Viktor with a proper storyline.
“With every aspect of the show, his story required that his transness exist as a texture, not a defining character trait,” Thomas said. “The creative obstacles didn’t stop there. The events of Season 3 pick up immediately after Season 2, so Viktor could not have come to this realization about himself between seasons.”
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“Instead, his becoming would need to happen within the first episodes, and without the hand-holding usually provided for cisgender audiences.”
Many factors went into Elliot’s discussions with Thomas, including how Viktor came to discover his gender identity and the ways he’s choosing to embody that identity.
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“Steve and I used Elliot’s insights as a jumping-off point to form and neatly overlay an economical narrative on those existing scenes—one that echoed where Elliot was in his own transition process at the time of shooting.”
Steve helped flesh out the most realistic reactions from Viktor’s family about his transition. His siblings are aware of this life-changing news within the first three episodes of Season 3.
To learn more about Elliot, check out his full interview with Esquire. And be sure to watch Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy, which is now streaming on Netflix.
