In case you missed it, The Umbrella Academy season two releases on Netflix on July 31st. Based off of the comic series by Gerard Way (yes, that Gerard Way), TUA follows the lives of seven estranged super-powered siblings as they must band together once again to stop the incoming end of the world. The first season was released in February 2019, so it’s been some time since we’ve seen the Hargreeves siblings. If you’ve heard a rumor that you forgot what happened last season, don’t worry, we’re here to get you back up to speed. Spoilers ahead for The Umbrella Academy season one.
Who Are The Hargreeves Siblings?
Episode one, “We Only See Each Other At Weddings And Funerals”, begins on October 1st, 1989. On that day, 43 women around the world, who weren’t pregnant until this moment, inexplicably gave birth at the same time. Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), an eccentric billionaire, adopts seven of these strange babies and trains them to become superheroes. Eventually, the children grow up and grow apart, living their lives outside of the Umbrella Academy.
Flash forward to today, where “Number One”, aka Luther (Tom Hopper) is living on the moon with his super strength, “Number Two”, aka Diego (David Castañeda) is fighting crime as a vigilante with his deadly accuracy, “Number Three” aka Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is a world-famous actress who avoids using her compulsion powers, “Number Four” aka Klaus (Robert Sheehan) is getting out of rehab once again, and “Number Seven” aka Vanya (Ellen Page) plays in the local orchestra.
What Happened to Sir Reginald?
All of the remaining Hargreeves siblings receive the news that Reginald has died, leaving his legacy to them. Luther immediately suspects foul play, leading him on an investigation into Sir Reginald. In the meantime, the estranged family reunites for a funeral, where Number Five (Aiden Gallagher) reappears from where he had time-traveled as a child, bringing with him the news that the world would be ending eight days from then. By the end of the first episode, we’ve seen all seven siblings, as it is revealed that “Number Six”, aka Ben (Justin Min) is dead but can communicate with Klaus, who can speak to the dead.
The Commission
Eventually, Five shares what happened to him with Vanya, while he and Klaus begin to track down the owner of a mysterious mechanical eye who, according to Five, is critical in the coming apocalypse. However, Five also has two time-traveling assassins named Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) on his tail, trying to stop him from doing whatever he plans to do. Hazel and Cha-Cha work for a group called The Commission, a group which Five seems to have a past with.
What exactly is The Commission? Well, as is revealed, it is an agency led by The Handler (Kate Walsh) that keeps tabs on all timelines and makes sure that time flows as planned. The coming apocalypse, which the Hargreeves are trying to stop, is part of this timeline. Since averting the apocalypse would mess with the timeline, The Commission is trying to stop Five from stopping the apocalypse.
Vanya’s Powers
At the beginning of the show, we’re lead to believe that Vanya was born powerless, unlike the rest of her siblings. As the show progresses, however, it’s revealed that Vanya is actually the most powerful of the siblings and that Sir Reginald used medication and Allison’s compulsion powers to suppress her ability to turn sound into energy. Since she had no prior training with her powers, their manifestation essentially turned her into a weapon of mass destruction known as the White Violin.
Leonard’s Plan
This awakening of Vanya’s powers was all formulated by Leonard Peabody/Harold Jenkins (John Magaro), who was born on the same day as the Hargreeves siblings, but as a completely normal person. Since he was rejected by the Umbrella Academy, he formulated a plan when he discovered Sir Reginald’s notebook that Klaus had thrown away earlier in the season. By getting close to Vanya romantically, he was able to convince her to ween off her medication, eventually allowing her powers to manifest. Throughout their relationship, Leonard became more and more violent towards Vanya, mocking her and calling her weak. In a fit of rage, Vanya had murdered him using her powers.
Allison’s Fate
Allison was the first to become suspicious of Leonard, and as a result, Vanya got mad at Allison for interfering with her romantic life. Though Allison meant well, Vanya was too blinded by both her relationship and her awakening powers. In another burst of uncontrolled power, she slits Allison’s throat with a violin bow. While Allison lives, the encounter causes her to lose her ability to speak, meaning she cannot use her powers as they require her to say “I heard a rumor” before the command. In the trailers for season two, it is shown that Allison regained her ability to speak, which does occur in the comics, but it is currently unknown how this happens.
The Apocalypse
It turns out, all along, that Vanya was the harbinger of the apocalypse that Five had warned them all about. Vanya destroys the Hargreeves’ manor, murders Pogo, the family’s sentient monkey assistant, and prepares to go to her upcoming orchestra performance. The remaining siblings vow to stop her and The Commission, who are trying to protect Vanya from her siblings so the apocalypse happens as planned. The performance quickly turns into mayhem, as Luther forces Vanya to use her powers.
The siblings manage to stop gunmen from The Commission in the theater, with help from Klaus who is able to channel Ben and his powers of becoming an eldritch monstrosity to do so. After a long battle, it is Allison who manages to stop Vanya by defeating her with a gunshot. Unfortunately, this causes Vanya’s built-up powers to consolidate and shoot at the moon, which gets destroyed, causing the apocalypse.
What’s Next For The Hargreeves?
In order to save themselves, Five uses his time travels abilities to get all of the siblings out of the theater, a sequence in which we see the Hargreeves revert to their teenaged selves. As seen in season two promotional material, they have all ended up, as their adult selves, somewhere in the 1960s. Once again, the apocalypse threatens them, which is also connected to the plot to assassinate President John F. Kennedy. The Hargreeves are their weird selves, but their problems just got a whole lot weirder.
If you can’t wait for The Umbrella Academy season two’s premiere, you can rewatch the first season on Netflix right now and the trailer for season two below.
