This summer, the second season of “The Umbrella Academy” finally arrived, and for those who enjoyed the first season, it’s absolutely worth the wait. For those new to the franchise, the show contains an eclectic mix of elements like supernatural powers, talking animals, time-traveling agents, ghosts, androids, aliens, and an occasional apocalypse. However, at its heart, “The Umbrella Academy” is a story about the dysfunctional Hargreeves family as they try to find peace within a world of trauma and turbulence.
Season One began with many ‘what if’s’. What if a shrewd billionaire adopted children with signs of potential superpowers and began training them to become heroes? What if “Dad’s” methods (like referring to the kids as numbers rather than names) turned out to be emotionally abusive? What if one of the children died? What if one of them grew up to be “nothing special,” exhibiting no powers? And what if Dad suddenly passed away, leaving a group of disillusioned and aimless super siblings as his legacy?
These questions hooked me at the opening of the series. They held the promise of an intriguing plot and compelling characters, and for the most part, the first season delivered on this promise. However, it suffered slightly from overstuffing, as many shows with vast, complicated worldbuilding run the risk of doing. There were so many strong characters with complex backstories and motivations that, when factoring in things like alternate timelines, it got a little crowded. Ten episodes probably wasn’t enough to do justice to the show’s dark sensitivity. (I sympathize with the creators… there’s no way for a 500 word article to cover everything, either!) Fortunately, the story was cohesive enough to weather through this, and it left me wanting to learn more about the world and characters at the end of the season.
Note: The remainder of this review contains MAJOR SPOILERS for the first season. If you haven’t already seen it, hopefully I’ve piqued your interest.
Season Two dives deeper into a diverse set of characters, addressing our desire to watch them grow, and it invests time in a brand new setting. After escaping the end of the world in 2019, the Hargreeves find themselves in Dallas, but something’s gone wrong: they’re separated, scattered throughout the 1960s. This is actually brilliant; it allows the characters space to express their personality more uniquely and fully before reconvening. Each Hargreeves sibling leaves an imprint of their own on the decade. Diego becomes obsessed with preventing JFK’s assassination. Allison remarries and gets involved in the civil rights movement. (“The Umbrella Academy” isn’t color blind, and it doesn’t shy away from the ugliness that the sole black sibling in the family has to face.) Klaus uses his psychic powers (plus his lovable ghost brother) and knowledge of future events to start an intense cult. Luther kind of mopes around at the beginning, but finds employment as a boxer for Jack Ruby. Vanya, arguably the most dangerous of them all, develops amnesia and bonds with a small country family. Five, snarky as ever, searches for his siblings while becoming entangled in time-travel intrigue. Finally, it’s worth noting that Reginald Hargreeves, the Academy’s mysterious father figure, is still alive at this point in the timeline, and his story quickly becomes intertwined with that of the siblings.
If the second season had stuck to the same formula as the first, both seasons would have been weakened. Instead, the second season takes the series in a fresh direction and validates Season One as a springboard for character growth. That makes me excited for what’s to come in seasons that will follow. At the very least, more awesome soundtracks will come out.
Both seasons of “The Umbrella Academy” can be streamed on Netflix.
