‘The Umbrella Academy’ Returns With Peace, Love, and Nuclear Bombs — Season 2 Episode 1 Recap
The second season of The Umbrella Academy has dropped on Netflix. Last we saw the Hargreeves, they were escaping impending doom. But the problem with time travel? It often leads to more trouble. Read on for a recap. (Spoilers for Season 2, Episode 1 of The Umbrella Academy, titled ‘Right Back Where We Started From.)
Where are the Hargreeves?
As Ben states, it’s not so much a question of where they are, but when. The new season picks up where the last one left off: The 2019 apocalypse caused by Vanya. Five saves his siblings by transporting them through time. The only problem? While they all land in the same place (an alleyway in Dallas, Texas), they’re spread out over a few years.
First is Klaus (and with him, Ben), in 1960. Then comes Allison in 1961, and Luther (calling out for her, naturally), in 1962. Diego ends up in September 1963, while Vanya lands about a month later. Finally, Five finds himself, on Nov. 25, 1963, in the middle of yet another disaster, with all of his siblings engaged in a battle against Russian soldiers — and they brought nukes.
Five and Diego have conflicting goals
Just as Five discovers the horror of this latest situation, he’s transported back in time to 10 days before the nuclear catastrophe destroys the Earth. Hazel and his briefcase are responsible this time, and he advises Five, then dies. Five then enlists the help of salesman and conspiracy theorist Elliott, who has documented the arrivals of all of his siblings.
That’s how Five finds Diego, who is in a mental institution, obsessed with stopping Kennedy’s assassination. Five comes to visit him, and when he realizes Diego’s fixation, he leaves him there. Diego then escapes with the help of a fellow patient, Lila. But they’re followed by the newest villains: A group of silent Swedish assassins.
Klaus is still causing trouble
Each of the siblings has kept themselves busy in the interim. With three years on his hands, Klaus left Dallas for where else? The birthplace of the counterculture: San Francisco. In 1963, he’s on a road trip back to Dallas — for what reason, the audience isn’t quite sure. What we do know is that he and Ben are at each other’s throats — literally.
After their car breaks down, Klaus stops at a bar to wait for a bus. He plays poker and looks to Ben for help, but his fed-up ghost brother has had enough and screws him over. Klaus steals his opponent’s truck, high-tailing it out of town, and ends up arrested. It’s doubtful Ben will let him live this down, seeing as he wants to go back to the west coast.
Does Vanya have a new love interest?
When Vanya landed, she was hit by a car driven by a woman, Sissy. Since then, she’s been living with the family, seemingly without any memory of who she is or where she came from. She helps Sissy take care of her son, Harlan, while providing company for the woman, who’s in an unhappy marriage with Carl.
Sissy and Vanya have a late-night chat over cigarettes, and Sissy admits that she “has an escape plan.” There’s an undercurrent of tension between the two women, most noticeable as Vanya tells Sissy, “You’re plenty elegant.” Coming off her unpleasant “romance” with Leonard Peabody/Harold Jenkins, it’s hard not to be hopeful this time around.
Luther and Allison are fighting their own battles
Allison, meanwhile, has discovered what it was like to be a Black woman in the 1960s. Now fully healed from her injury, she has become involved in the Civil Rights movement, along with her husband, Raymond. They’re organizing a sit-in for Kennedy’s upcoming visit. But they’re faced with plenty of opposition, and Allison isn’t going to take it lying down.
Luther is using his strength in the boxing ring. He’s working for the strip-club owner Jack Ruby (yes, that Jack Ruby), earning him money and acting as his muscle. Just when it looks like we might learn why Luther’s living this way, Five appears. He tells Luther about the situation, but the latter refuses to help. It looks like Five has an uphill battle ahead of him.
