#number 00.02

An Uninvited, Grown-Up Diego Hargreeves:

Everyone else: Luther stfu about the moon. Dad just did that to keep you away and busy.

The moon: *explodes*

Luther:

Okay so here’s the thing. I saw a meme going around that pointed out Reginald’s ridiculous priorities regarding Vanya’s destructive powers. (Number Seven kills seven nannies? No problem, build a robot. Number Seven cracks his monocle? Drug her and lock her up.)

But what the show didn’t mention - and what I’m really hoping becomes a plot point in the second season - is how the monocle is potentially the source of Reginald’s own “powers”. 

It’s unclear what those powers are, even in the comics, but I’d say it has something to do with perception and insight. (And oh, let me tell you in another post [tba] all about the motif of visibility and perception, how it is allegorised through windows and mirrors - even right here in TUA 1x01 with my Even Numbers Squad).

Take a look at this panel from Apocalypse Suite #5, showcasing the monocle’s power:

Looking at Pogo through Hargreeves’s monocle, Number Five sees what we can assume to be Pogo’s ‘origin’ - he is bought by Hargreeves (aka The Monocle) as a labrat for his experimentation into “the cerebral advancement of the chimpanzee” (AS #1). Something he would later receive the Nobel Prize for. 

This could also explain why Hargreeves knows about the apocalypse in the first place.

However, we can see that the monocle takes a considerable physical toll on its wearer. Consider, then, how strong Hargreeves must be to wear it all the time: it is perhaps both a source and conduit for his own (otherworldly) powers.

This could therefore be why, in the show, Reginald doesn’t blink at the murder of several nannies by a four year old, but is considerably worried when his monocle - the source of his powers - is cracked so easily. 

And then Diego drops it in a river.

So now a secondary point: what if, come season two, the monocle becomes a significant asset against whatever antagonistic force is at play? Maybe to understand what it was Reginald was trying to warn Klaus about in 1x07. This leads to Diego admitting he dropped it in the water and - he has to use his powers as the Kraken to get it back.