How to live when the world ends? – review of the second season of the series “The Umbrella Academy”

We are all superheroes

Babies born in 1989 are undoubtedly special. They have powers such as teleportation, sound absorption, the ability to communicate with the dead. Their presence in a seemingly ordinary world is not accidental, and a certain Sir Reginald Hargreeves, who adopts and trains seven adepts, knows it best.

The story of this family is a classic family drama . The dysfunctionality of the relationship comes to the fore, while the elements of the presented world, consistent with the concept of the genre, constitute the background for the main plot. This dysfunction is even more pronounced in the new season, as the characters move back into the past. Reggie, the “good-natured” daddy, however, will not be willing to explain to members of his (otherwise future?) Family how to prevent the inevitable.

Dallas, 1960s

The beginning of the second season was easy to predict – when Piątka jumps, you never know where he will land. Each of the siblings got a new chance to build their happy (?) Life. And it looks like they really succeeded! The characters do not surprise us: Klaus (Robert Sheehan) has a quasi-hippie sect, and he is consistently accompanied in his adventures by Ben (Justin H. Min); Luther (Tom Hopper) is a combat master and gangster bodyguard; Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) fights for the civil rights of discriminated African Americans, and Diego (David Castañeda) suffers from a superhero complex and is currently in a mental institution.

The most disappointing is the way in which the creators showed Vanya (Ellen Page) in new episodes. The girl suffering from amnesia from the very first episodes does not hide her sympathy for her employer, which heralds a forthcoming romance. Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), on the other hand – as it is Number Five – will have to fix everything, otherwise … apocalypse awaits us all. The multifaceted nature of this season is based on two assumptions – each of the characters has established a life in the new reality and accepted the changes, the past however, it returns with the arrival of Number Five in the 1960s, which aims to reunite The Umbrella Academy!

With a message

It is inspiring that the creators of Netflix’s production treat the original, the comic by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, as an inspiration. They consciously redraw some of the stories (thanks Kate Walsh!) So that the viewer doesn’t feel bored and disappointed. On the other hand, two important themes are cleverly woven into the plot: homosexual love and the fight for the dignity of black people in the 1960s in the United States.

It is also worth noting that the action of the series takes place during an extremely important (and tragic) event in history – the attack on the thirty-fifth US President John F. Kennedy. Against the background of political motives, we observe how the dysfunction of the family deepens. The reality in which they found themselves allowed them to see that they must first accept themselves so that others could accept their otherness. In the second season of The Umbrella Academy, the emotions of the characters are important and the creators pay special attention to them – there are plenty of twists, outbursts of anger and passion. It’s dark, but not disgusting. The characters are multi-dimensional and the variety of plots allows the viewer to really have fun.

A word of praise

The greatest applause goes to Robert Sheehan (Klaus) and Aidan Gallagher (Number Five). It is not about a written script that conditions the character’s behavior, but about the work put into preparation for the role by the actors. It is worth mentioning that in the second season of The Umbrella Academy , Ben’s plot was developed in an interesting way, while the complicated relationship between Allison and Luther was somewhat relegated to the background, which from the viewer’s perspective seems to be better for the production.

I also like that Hollywood Ellen Page has stepped out of the shadows and now we can see her happy face. The time travel of the heroes has one more advantage – the characters who died in the first season return to the plot. It is not only the already mentioned Sir Reginald Hargreeves, but also Pogo (and attention – his creation, however, is different from the one we know). Back to the past makes the show a really good watch, although – this has to be taken into account – many of the storylines don’t obviously end, signaling that season three is coming. The ending makes it clear: we Hargreeves will be back, even though our world looks a bit different.