Justin H. Min talks Heartbreaking Ben Scene in Umbrella Academy Season 2

Have you watched The Umbrella Academy season 2 yet? If not, make sure you get a couple of tissues with you because this season, there are plenty of emotional moments. And if you’ve seen the season already, you know what I’m talking about. So, before we move further, I must warn everyone that we are approaching spoiler territory. Please, proceed with caution.

The heartbreaking Ben scene in Umbrella Academy season 2

We see Ben actually die. Well, we see him die a couple of times. First, we see the funeral of Ben Hargreeves as a kid. And we actually get to see why and how Klaus (Robert Sheehan) brought him back using his powers. Klaus was not ready to let Ben go. That alone is going to make you weep. But that’s not the only moment.

We’re talking about that Ben scene with Vanya (Ellen Page). You know the scene where he ends up saving Vanya and ultimately the world. Diego (David Castañeda) discovers from Hazel’s tape that Vanya causes the apocalypse the second time as well. So, Diego, Klaus, and Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) go and try to stop Vanya from doing it. They’re trying to reach in but one by one they all end up fainting due to the strength of Vanya’s powers. Vanya, is at this point, completely unconscious and a slave to her own powers after the FBI pumps her veins full of truth serum and electrocution.

Ben ends up making his way to Vanya and enters into her mind and tries to bring her back. At that point, he sees his sister sitting in a curled up position and afraid of her own self. All her memories have come back and she’s afraid of what she’s done. But Ben tells Vanya to keep fighting. He also validates all her feelings of anger stemming from their childhood because their father treated her like a bomb. Ben explains to Vanya that she deserved better than how she was treated and that she never got to see her true potential.

“You’re not a monster. You’re my sister.”

That calms down Vanya but as the two are still standing, Ben begins to disappear. That’s because of him being in Vanya’s mind. Vanya gets emotional at him dying again but Ben shares he died 17 years ago:

“All the rest of this, these years with Klaus, it’s all been gravy. At least this time, I get to say goodbye.”

Then he asks Vanya for a hug because it’s been a long time since he was hugged:

Yep, I cried. We all cried here. Umbrella Academy really upped the game in this season.

Justin H. Min shares his thoughts on the heartbreaking scene

On his Instagram post, Justin H. Min, who plays Ben opens up about the whole scene:

ok. let’s talk about it. never before in my life have i been subject to so many photos and videos of people around the world crying, sobbing, and occasionally on-the-floor weeping. so for the distress we’ve caused, i’m…relieved we did our job. lol.

Justin H. Min furthers elaborates on how this scene makes perfect was Vanya and Ven because they both can easily understand each other:

this moment could only belong to the two of them. ben was the only sibling who could reach vanya in her darkest hour — not only because of his obvious ability to possess her but also and more importantly because of his capacity to understand her. ben has the clearest insight into who vanya is and how she feels because he knows firsthand what it means to be ignored, forgotten, isolated, and estranged from one’s family. and it’s only after vanya feels truly seen, heard, and accepted for the first time in her life that she allows herself to begin the process of healing and reconciliation. it’s a timely and poignant reminder for all of us.

The actor further thanked the director Amanda Marsalis for such a great job at directing this episode of Umbrella Academy. Moreover, he was also sharing praise for his scene partner, Ellen Page:

my sister @ellenpage for being the most incredible scene partner ever. there’s a reason why she’s *the* ellen page, everyone.