Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for Season 3 of the Netflix series, The Umbrella Academy.
Season 3 of Netflix's Umbrella Academy introduces viewers to several new and memorable characters, from the formidable Sparrow Academy to the mysterious Lester Pocket (Callum Keith Rennie). One newcomer, however, has left a particularly significant mark on Diego Hargreeves (David Castañeda): Who exactly is Stanley?
Played by Euphoria fan-favorite Javon Walton, Stanley is a messy (but lovable) little scamp introduced in Episode 1, "Meet the Family." His interests include stealing, making Molotov cocktails, and accidentally killing his uncle with a harpoon gun. Oh, and he's Diego and Lila's (Ritu Arya) son…allegedly.
Lila shows up at the Hotel Obsidian and drops Stanley off, introducing him to a shocked Diego as their son. She says that she has looked after him for 12 years, so now, it's Diego's turn. Throughout the season, Stanley shows a desire to impress his dad but is constantly sowing chaos that Diego (who has no idea how to take care of himself, let alone take care of a 12-year-old) has to figure out how to deal with. When the Sparrows show up to do the exchange with the Umbrellas — Marcus (Justin Cornwell) for the suitcase — Stanley comes speeding down the hallway holding up a Molotov cocktail. He drops it, setting fire to the hotel, and Diego's form of punishment is to make him clean up the hotel rooms with Klaus (Robert Sheehan) as his babysitter. Right off the bat, you know that with these two wild cards together, shit is definitely going to hit the fan.
While in the White Buffalo Suite, Stanley picks up a harpoon gun and begins to play with it, accidentally shooting it through Klaus's chest, killing him. (Granted, Klaus is immortal, but poor Stanley doesn't know that.) Stanley tries to deal with the situation himself until Diego catches him with cleaning supplies that he is going to use to dissolve the body. Of course, the situation resolves itself when Klaus jerks awake as Diego and Stanley drag his body, wrapped up in a carpet, into the elevator. The father/son duo scream, and Stanley shouts, "You told me he was dead, puta!" (Stanley doesn't know how to speak Spanish, but naturally, he knows what puta means.) Despite all of Stanley's antics and Diego's utter shock at having a 12-year-old son dropped in his lap, Diego grows fond of Stanley and starts to embrace his role as Stan's father.
In Episode 6, "Marigold," Diego and Lila can't find Stanley and go through the tunnel in the White Buffalo Suite to look for him. While on the other side, Lila drops a bombshell: Stanley is not, in fact, their son.
So, Who Is Stanley?
If Stanley isn't Diego and Lila's son, then who exactly is he?
As they are searching for Stan in Hotel Oblivion, Lila says that "Trudy" is going to kill her. When Diego asks who Trudy is, Lila casually replies, "Stan's mum." She slowly turns and says to an utterly bemused Diego, "Stan is not our child. Fancy some sushi?" Say what you want about Lila, but she knows how to keep a relationship spicy.
Lila, stress-eating "dead bloody fish," tells Diego that she "borrowed" Stan from her mate Trudy for the week, which is Lila's way of saying she kinda sorta kidnapped him. Trudy apparently went on holiday for a week, and Lila thought Stan could use some fun. But more importantly, she wanted to take Diego for a test run. She says, "I wanted to see what kind of dad you'd make. You know, stress test. Kick the tires." Diego, of course, loses it, and says that Stanley deserves better. But Stanley is in on the whole thing, Lila says, and she "loves that little criminal more than [Diego] ever will."
As it turns out, Stan is just fine — he popped out to get a slushie and a Slim Jim. He's not fine for very long, however. Another Kugel wave sweeps through Hotel Obsidian, this time taking poor Stanley with it.
In Episode 7, "Auf Wiedersehen," we see Stan and Lila in a flashback. Lila's friend and bandmate, Trudy, is not the most emotionally available parent, and Stan is clearly left on his own a lot. So, it is no wonder that Stanley sought Diego's attention and approval, even though he knew Diego was not really his father. Lila confesses to Diego in Episode 7 why she lied about Stanley. She says, "I'm a coward. Dropping a kid in your lap and seeing if you'd reject us and run felt safer than telling you the truth." She tells him that she is pregnant, and this time, it is actually Diego's child. Stan was a test run to see if Diego would actually step up to the plate and support her and their baby.
Unfortunately for poor Stan, Lila's little scheme got him blitzed (although, he would have gotten blitzed either way). Still, Stanley was a lovable little criminal who deserved more, even if he had pyromaniac tendencies and an ear infection that caused pus that smells like cat puke to leak out of his ears. Netflix has not announced if The Umbrella Academy will return with another season, but here's hoping that we will see Stanley again — ear infection and all.