After years of being scattered to the winds, with one amnesiac sibling thrown into the mix, reuniting all the Hargreeves children under one roof was always going to be a Herculean task. Yet, with the specter of an impending apocalypse looming large, solo escapades were no longer luxuries they could afford. Thus, at the dawn of this episode, Five sounded the clarion call for a full-fledged family gathering. At long last, the Umbrella Academy was poised for a momentous reunion, even embracing the ethereal presence of dear Ben, visible only to the eyes of Klaus.
Despite the production wizardry that blurs the lines of whether these actors truly shared the same space, the spectacle of witnessing the old familial dynamics reignite as the seven Hargreeves siblings bounced ideas off each other was sheer delight. Diego, unyielding, sought an apology from Vanya for a transgression she couldn't even recall. Five and Diego's bickering escalated, debating whether they should track down Reginald or preemptively strike him down before he altered history by assassinating John F. Kennedy. Luther, ever the pessimist, broached the haunting prospect that, akin to Season One, their noble quest to avert the apocalypse might inadvertently be the very catalyst that sparks it.
In the end, the meeting dispersed without much resolution, a testament to the half-season's journey still ahead. Yet, the relative levity of this familial congregation, and indeed, the entire episode, served as a poignant reminder that beneath its apocalyptic veneer, The Umbrella Academy is a whimsical tale, bubbly with levity amidst the looming doom. For a series so entrenched in the specter of the end times, its stakes can sometimes feel disarmingly low. We're constantly reminded of the countdown to the world's demise—six days and counting, folks!—yet, faced with such terrifying knowledge, Allison, Klaus, and Vanya chose to drown their sorrows in a daylong indulgence of alcohol and beauty parlor antics. (Granted, Klaus's antics are par for the course, but the other two's decisions seemed to defy logic.)
Yet amidst the gang's collective indifference towards the looming apocalypse, with the notable exceptions of Five and Diego, the series cunningly ratchets up the emotional stakes in captivating fashion. Following their meeting, Vanya's tender overture to Sissy, suggesting they flee into the sunset together, is met with Sissy's unwavering refusal to abandon her complacent, albeit unhappy, union with Carl, shattering Vanya's heart anew. This underscores the treacherous nature of a time-traveling romance, where the specter of reshaping one's destiny pales in comparison to the societal shackles of the early 1960s, rendering a romantic entanglement or shared parenthood between two women a formidable challenge.
Just as hope seems to dim on the trail, the family's fortunes take an unexpected turn. Reginald Hargreeves, possibly on the brink of acknowledging the truth about his unconventional offspring claiming to be his time-traveling children, extends a gracious invitation via a chauffeured limousine for a dinner party at his mansion. It appears that the next family reunion will finally embrace the elusive presence of their patriarch. But that narrative twist awaits its due in a subsequent chapter.
In the interim, amidst the long-awaited realignment of the Umbrella Academy, it's Lila and the Handler who steal the spotlight, orchestrating a cunning scheme. They cleverly deceive the Swedish assassins, making them believe Diego is within their grasp, and lead them into a deadly trap. The result? A spectacular explosion that leaves one assassin reduced to a bloody foot, marking a significant strike in their elimination game. Now, one down, two more to conquer.
While I've harbored reservations about the Swedish assassins, their introduction in the season's opener struck me as both clichéd and bizarre for the sake of being odd, their demise culminates in a hauntingly beautiful Viking funeral. As they lay the severed foot upon a boat and ignite it with an arrow, a brother's anguished howl echoes, a poignant reminder that even amidst this show's eccentric tapestry of characters, they too possess a humanity that occasionally transcends the absurd.
