tv-music

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 2.01

Right Back Where We Started

I went into Season 1 with very little to no expectations, having no real idea what the show was about. But going into the first episode of the 2nd Season of The Umbrella Academy my expectations were extremely high - and boy it did not disappoint. 

We start this episode pretty much where we left off, with the siblings travelling in time to escape the apocalypse. They land in Texas, all in the same alley but not all in the same year. First off is Klaus and Ben, who find themselves in 1960, then Alison, dropped into 1961, Luther, a year later in 1962 and Diego, Vanya and Five are all dropped into 1963, albeit in completely different months. Vanya is awake when she lands in the alley but understandably is disoriented, she runs in the road and is instantly hit by a car (I say hit, it looks more like a small bump) Five on the other hand lands in the centre of a war zone, with his siblings firmly in the middle of the action. The siblings are all fighting together and all seem as though they are in complete control of their powers (which is a first). Just as Five runs out to join the action, he is stopped by an older looking Hazel, insisting that if he wants to live, he needs to go with him. As Five and Hazel use the suitcase to escape, the rest of the siblings stand together as the world ends once again - phew all that action and already and that's before the credits have even rolled and needless to say, I am excited.

We follow Hazel and Five, back again to the same street, different time, as Hazel explains that the end of the world now takes place in November 1963. He informs Five that they have travelled 10 days earlier and this should be enough time to stop it - I like Hazel but he could have given Five more time surely? It’s a time travelling suitcase after all he could have given him a little longer - a bus stops and 3 white haired men with guns show up clearly looking for Five, Hazel has just enough time to pass the suitcase over and save Five before the men shoot and take him out - I realise Hazel’s story was over but I still didn’t expect them to kill off a main character in the 1st 10 mins of the season. 

With the suitcase destroyed, Five doesn’t have a lot of choice on where to go, after some very astute observations he makes his way up to see the man we saw watching his siblings as they landed - as Five talks to him, he reveals the ‘alien behaviour’ he has seen - giving Five the information he needs so that he knows that his plan may not have gone exactly as he had hoped, but his siblings are alive although they are stranded throughout time, but seeing as though he’s the last to arrive he should be able to find them all. 

We find Diego as an inpatient, clearly still working through his Daddy issues - but Diego’s just playing them, wanting to get discharged earlier than planned - surely he must realise that shouting about how someone’s going to kill the president in 10 days time (is it a coincidence that this is the same day the new apocalypse is due to take place), only makes a case for his stay to be extended. Not long after, Diego’s told he has a visitor and he’s taken to see Five waiting for him. Five explains to him that there’s a new apocalypse and he needs his help, Diego on the other hand is still convinced that he needs to save the president first and Five informs the guards of Diego’s escape plan, leaving him in the hospital.

Diego is placed in a straight-jacket, sedated and placed into a padded room after his visit with Five and even then he is determined to escape. Unfortunately for Diego, the 3 white haired men show up as he is attempting his escape and he ends up being joined by Lila, who saves him from a bully of an employee - Lila's doing well at playing a little less than sane but that’s exactly what I think she’s doing, playing at it. I have no clue how she fits into anything yet but I don’t believe for a second that her being around Diego was a coincidence, as we all know coincidences don’t exist in TV. Diego and Lila, against all odds, manage to evade the men and escape the hospital

Next we see Vanya, she’s living with the woman who knocked her down the day she arrived in the alley and has no memory whatsoever about who she is or how she got there. It’s sad that Vanya doesn’t know who she is but at the same time she seemed happier than we have ever seen her 

Vanya seems to have formed a close bond with Sissy, who seems less than happy with her life - there are definitely vibes between these two 

Klaus and Ben are next up and first things first - Klaus looks incredible! Klaus’s attitude on the other hand doesn’t seem to have changed much and he and Ben seem to need some time apart, which is a shame when your only connection to the physical world is the person you need time apart from. After losing at poker, (mostly due to Ben messing with him) Klaus finds himself in a fight and steals a truck to get back to Dallas - classic Klaus

When we catch up with Alison, she is happily married to Raymond, who seems to really love her. She's used her 2 years to really build a life for herself, and not one that she may want to leave so easily. 

Holding a meeting at a beauty parlor, Alison and her husband are interrupted by a clearly racist man sticking his nose where is doesn’t belong and for that he gets literally kicked to the curb by Alison - good for her, he was an arsehole

Luther is a far cry from the guy we’re used to seeing, when we catch up with him he’s in the middle of what i have to assume is a less than legal fight and seems to have no qualms about hurting people - I have never really connected with Luther and by the end of season 1 I was less than happy with the ridiculous decisions he was making but even I felt sad seeing the change and pure misery on his face. 

To quote Five, Luther’s hovering like an ambitious stripper in a bar when he realises that Five is there, Five makes his second attempt of the day to reunite with one of his siblings and for the second time that day he fails - Luther doesn’t care that the worlds ending and isn’t down to help this time 

We end the episode here, and as the episode title spells out for us, we’re literally back where we started, the siblings separated and only days away from the world ending and just like with the end of the first episode of Season 1, I’m all in 

Extra Thoughts:

Agnes passed away but her and Hazel had 20 years together - I’m glad they got their happy ending

If Vanya has no memories, how does she know her name? Is there something I missed? 

The version of ‘Crazy’ playing while Diego escaped solitary was stunning - the music on this show never disappoints 

None of the siblings have found each other in the time they have been there but Five drops in and finds 2 of them in less than a day - I know that Five is the smarter sibling but how hard did the others really try? 

#tua #tua review #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #alison hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #hazel #the umbrella academy review

[tv-music]

Maybe they're here for Kenny's birthday

Klaus Hargreeves

#tua #tua quotes #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #quotes #klaus hargreeves #tv #tv quotes #the umbrella academy quotes

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 1.10

The White Violin

In the season one finale we pick up pretty much where we left off - Vanya seemingly possessed by her own power and destroying anything and everything that she comes across. The worst moment for me was when she killed Pogo - I know he was in on all of Reginald's secrets but that was brutal. Vanya walked away from the house with it completely destroyed, leaving her siblings reeling.

As the house falls down around them Diego and Klaus are knocked down by some debris and as Klaus tries to wake Diego to stop the ceiling from killing them, they are both suddenly moved out of the way by Ben. Similar to the previous episode where Ben punched Klaus and actually made contact with him he once again was able to somehow make physical contact with his brothers and save their lives 

Outside the academy, or more accurately, standing in the ruined mess that is now the academy, the siblings come together as Five realises that not only is the apocalypse still on track but that Vanya is the cause 

They gather together at a local bowling alley now their home is destroyed to come up with a plan to stop Vanya. Luther is all set to doing anything to stop her, yeah great idea genius, like treating her like a threat rather than a sister isn’t what got you into this mess in the first place. Klaus, Diego and Alison on the other hand want to help her not hurt her 

The bowling alley is attacked by what we have to assume is the commission, the siblings escape in style with another great musical number behind it (the music choices on this show have been incredible)

Five goes to meet The Handler, she has an offer - go back to being alone after the apocalypse indefinitely or stay and die with your siblings, what a deal - in truth the real reason was so she could distract him while his siblings were attacked. 

Cha Cha and Hazel are having to answer to The Handler about their failed assignment, with poor Agnes still tied up, as The Handler enjoys some takeout - you know as you do while you plot to make sure the death of billions of people still takes place. They are given their newest mission - keep Vanya safe.

While watching Vanya, Hazel purposefully crashes the car so Cha Cha goes headfirst through the windshield - I would think this a cold move but after what Cha Cha did to Agnes I can’t say she didn’t deserve it.

He makes his way back to the motel room to save Agnes and wastes no time in shooting The Handler in the head (not buying that she’s dead, Five blew her up and it didn’t finish her off)

The siblings arrive at the concert hall, with Luther still being his moronic self and underestimating his siblings - seriously how was this guy ever considered the leader - as they try to stop Vanya from ending the world 

Vanya is playing as first chair and sees Alison watching from the audience, the two share a small smile, it's been obvious for a while that all Vanya wants is to feel accepted and here for a split second she seemed to be happy. That is of course before Luther’s plan fails before they've even had a chance to execute it, no surprises there. Five and the commission's hit-men show up just as Klaus realises too late that they’ve arrived. As he runs in with the late warning he channels his power as he never has before, bringing Ben into the physical world long enough to use his power and stop the commission - maybe now they’ll stop underestimating him. During all the commotion Cha Cha shows up - seriously how is she still walking around? - and Diego attacks. Before he kills her he thinks back to his conversation with Five and let’s her go. 

The male siblings attempt to stop Vanya as she becomes stronger and stronger (the change to the white suit was amazing) but they are no match for their sister and her newfound powers. I’m not completely sure what she was doing at that point but it looked like she was literally sucking the life out of her brothers, that is before Alison shot a gun next to her, breaking her concentration on all the sounds and she collapsed, but not before a shot hit the moon and the apocalypse began - looks like them stopping Vanya is actually what caused the apocalypse.

As the debris of the moon begins hitting the Earth, Five comes up with a plan - he’s going to try, for the first time ever, to time travel and take his siblings with him. As plans go it’s crazy but they have less than a minute before their deaths so anyone can see why they went with it. They take each others hands and time travel to god knows where just as the world ends

Five spent the entire season trying to stop the apocalypse and in that he failed miserably, but if we’re being honest, it wasn’t the world he wanted to save, it was his siblings - and as the world burned around them that is exactly what he did

And with that, Season One of The Umbrella Academy comes to an end. I've really enjoyed this show, and have no idea where things are heading in Season Two, but I cannot wait to find out … Bring it on!

Extra Thoughts:

The woman coming over to ask if Five wanted to come and join Kenny birthday as long as it was OK with his 2 dads (Diego and Klaus) had me in stitches

In the flashback to Vanya getting the violin, was it me or was Reginald smiling when overhearing her speak to their Mum about how she was going to practice and become extraordinary

It was nice to see Hazel and Agnes get away before the apocalypse hit, they deserved the happy ending, Cha Cha on the other hand, I can’t say I’m sad about her ending

Vanya didn’t say a word this episode, but I felt every ounce of pain, anger and sadness in every scene - Elliot Page did a phenomenal job portraying that

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #alison hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #diego hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #ben hargreeves #pogo #hazel #cha cha #the handler #tua review #tv #tv review

[tv-music]

You just Patrick Swayzed me

Klaus Hargreeves

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #klaus hargreeves #tua quotes #ben hargreeves

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 1.09

Changes

The penultimate episode begins with a look at Vanya’s childhood, back when she still had powers, and boy, did the writers do a great job convincing me that Reginald may have been spot on about hiding Vanya’s powers from her - how many people did we watch a very young Vanya kill? It also explained to us why their Mum is a robot - so Vanya couldn’t kill her. 

A grown up Vanya seems to be in shock after slitting her sister’s throat at the end of the last episode, as Leonard continues to try to manipulate her. She thinks Alison's dead and all she wants is to explain to her siblings what happened, but Leonard convinces her she’s special.

Vanya later finds her Dad’s journal at Leonards house and finally sees him for what he really is (it’s about damn time) Leonard tries to manipulate her once more but it seems as though the fog has finally lifted. Leonard then tries a different tactic, at least I think that’s what he was doing, by berating her and calling her ordinary, just like dear old dad used to but this backfires in a major way. Her powers kick in (and really do seem to possess her) and she kills Leonard. Well I can’t pretend I’m sad about that

The siblings arrive back at the house and Alison is somehow still breathing (Im no medical expert but surely she wouldn’t have survived that in the real world) and Pogo and their Mum start working on trying to save her

She wakes up with Luther by her side but due to the damage to her vocal chords, she can’t speak. She grabs a notepad and tells Luther about Vanya’s powers, Pogo steps in and finally reveals all

Klaus decides he’s had enough of being sober and goes searching for pills while being lectured on life by Ben, as Klaus continues to be, well, Klaus, Ben punches him and for the first time since dying, makes physical contact. It seems that now Klaus is sober, his powers are growing - is this what Reginald meant by how he hasn’t scratched the surface of what he can do? 

Five and Diego continue with their mission to try to stop the apocalypse and make Klaus join them. When they arrive at Leonards house they find his body, and Five confirms that this is who the eye belongs to. Five, as usual, has the right train of thought, if Harold doesn’t cause the apocalypse then what does? It’s been clear to the viewers for a few episodes that Vanya must be the cause, it’s about time the siblings caught up.

Hazel shows up at the house while Five is having a lovely little date with Dolores. Just as Hazel is about to tell Five why he’s there, Diego attacks him for his ex's death, while Five just sits back and watches, all he’s missing is a bit of popcorn. He finally knocks Diego out and hears what Hazel has to say, he wants to help stop the apocalypse, Five tells him its done and they part on good terms - but not before Five gets the answers Diego needs, Cha Cha killed his ex and Hazel produces the gun to prove it. 

Agnes returns to her hotel room and finds Cha Cha waiting for her. Seriously, what is her deal? Why does she care so much about Hazel moving on with his life? Why can’t she just be happy for him - I’m really not enjoying this part of the show and wish she would just go away. Hazel returns to the motel to find Agnes tied up and Cha Cha waiting for him and the two begin fighting - the handler shows up just in time which to be clear is the only reason i’ve mentioned this part of the episode at all - she survived and now she’s pissed.

Vanya finally arrives at the house and finds Luther waiting, to Vanya’s credit she doesn’t try to lie about what happened, she’s nothing but honest and asks Luther is she can see her. Luther said all the right things and even opened up his arms for a hug, but it was clear from his demeanor that something was off. Instead of just hugging her, he squeezes her until she passes out and locks her up just like their Dad did when they were kids- what the fuck were you thinking Luther?

Diego and Klaus seem less than happy about the situation, both making the point that she’s their sister and that she doesn’t need to be locked up, she needs their help. Alison shows up and also tells Luther to let her go, insisting that it was her fault but Luther won’t budge and let’s face it he’s physically stronger than them all so they don’t have much of an option

Five returned Dolores to the store in what was truly an emotionally charged moment, watching him say goodbye to the inanimate object that was his only company for so long was heartbreaking 

Down in her cell, Vanya began speaking with her childhood self - I’m not sure what to call it - and she tapped into her power once again, this time using the only noise she has, her own heartbeat. Her powers truly are incredible, but they also seem like they’re not actually her. It really does seem like she’s possessed while all this happens and are nothing like the Vanya we see any other time. When any of the other siblings use their powers they are simply them but with powers whereas Vanya doesn’t feel or seem like her at all. Is this how it’s supposed to be? Was this explained and I’ve just missed it? I’m not sure but that final shot of her having broken out of her prison was truly terrifying - her siblings better watch out

Extra Thoughts

Five and Klaus’s conversation about addiction - and Klaus’s very astute observation that Five is addicted to the apocalypse - was brilliant. These two are by far my favourite characters and I love watching them interact

Luther really pissed me off this episode - why could he not understand what Vanya needed in that moment. Klaus literally said it to him - she’s scared, she’s just found out about this new power and doesn’t know how to control it - she needs their help

Surely once Luther was distracted by Alison not speaking to him, one of the siblings could have gone down and let her out 

There’s some irony in the fact that the Five’s spent all this time searching for a way to stop the apocalypse and the first person he told when returning way back in episode 1 was the person who causes it (of course at this point I’m also willing to make an argument that Luther was actually the one that caused it by acting like their awful father rather than just being there for his sister)

#tua #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #klaus hargreeves #five hargreeves #diego hargreeves #alison hargreeves #luther hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #ben hargreeves #pogo #hazel #cha cha #the handler #tua review #review #tv

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy

It’s been 3 days since I last watched an episode of Umbrella Academy but things have been so busy I just haven’t had time which is killing me as the last ep I saw ended with Vanya slitting Alison’s throat and then fleeing with Leonard... I NEED to know what happens next. I hope I get to watch the next couple eps this weekend and then I can get started on season 2 :)

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #review #tv #tv review #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #alison hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #diego hargreeves #pogo #hazel #cha cha

[tv-music]

a little hard to trust anybody who wears corduroy

Diego Hargreeves

#tua #diego hargreeves #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #tua quotes #quotes

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 1.08

I Heard A Rumour

We begin the episode joining Alison on her drive to find Vanya and warn her about her murderous boyfriend. During the long and lonely drive Alison finds herself thinking about the past, the fact that she used her power on her daughter is not new information, but as we heard the various things she’s used her power to get it's no wonder she doesn’t know if anything in her life is real - ‘I heard a rumour that you loved me’ - really Alison? 

As she’s looking for Vanya she comes across the crime scene from the night before and lies to the cop about some research she's doing for a movie in order to tag along on his investigation. They visit the hospital and speak with the surviving thug, and yep shocker, Leonard set the whole thing up. Later in the episode it’s revealed that the last survivor has left the hospital but no one seems to know where he is. Alison is told to stay put by the cop but after finding out her sister is no longer at the hospital either she leaves to find her

Leonard and Vanya are checking out of the hospital when Vanya hears that 2 of the 3 men she involved in the incident the night before have died, that's pretty big news to take in and Leonard didn’t even flinch - seriously Vanya you’re still not wary of this guy? Back at the cabin, Leonards reading through Reginald’s journal and we’re treated to a flashback of Vanya’s training, it seems as though Vanya never really managed to control it. During her next practice in the forest, Vanya finally realises what it is that fuels her power and taps into it, this time on purpose. Later in the day Vanya has a moment of panic and decides to practice her violin as Leonard is out

Back at the academy Klaus is still sober and shares his conversation with their Dad with his siblings, he killed himself to bring them back together (Klaus’s delivery of that line made what should have been a serious scene quite funny) His brothers aren’t convinced at first until Pogo finally tells them the truth about that night. Five finally asks the question that I’ve been wondering, just how did their Dad know about the apocalypse, of course they don’t really have the answer to it or the time to wonder about it too much, they only have a couple days at best after all

Diego’s still in jail after his arrest but as it turns out not everyone is convinced of his guilt and he finds his way out. He gets back to the house and wastes no time in telling Five and Klaus that their sister is in trouble, they go to find Luther who is still feeling sorry for himself and drowning his sorrows - seriously what part of worlds going to end in 2 days does he not understand? He doesn’t want to help at all, that is of course until they tell him Alison’s gone after a convicted killer by herself and then he’s literally running out the door to help

Cha Cha’s broken free and determined to make good on her threat to Hazel, she heads straight for Agnes’s diner and blows it up - Hazel should be afraid cus she means business

Alison makes it back to the cabin and finds Vanya alone there, Vanya reveals to her that she does have a power and Alison tells her the truth about Leonard and tries to get her to leave. Look, I know it’s been a rough week for Vanya, her Dad’s death, reuniting with her siblings, meeting Leonard and discovering she has a power which she then uses which inadvertently causes the death of 2 people, but seriously why is she arguing with Alison about who Leonard really is? They’ve known each other for 5 or 6 days at most, what possible reason would Alison have for making this up?

There's a series of flashbacks in this episode, showing Vanya’s training up to and including the events that led to Reginald making her and everyone else think she was ‘ordinary’ but the final of these flashbacks is revealed to us and to Vanya by Alison. Alison explains that she was brought to the chamber Vanya was being kept in as she was ‘sick’ and her father asked her to rumor her into thinking she was just ordinary - this explains why Vanya has no memory of having a power in the first place. 

I’m sorry but Vanya’s reaction to this is just ridiculous, I get it, like I said before she’s had a bad week but blaming Alison for something their Dad made them do when they were 4 is completely unfair - no Vanya, Alison didn’t do this to you, your Dad did, Alison was a child who was manipulated by an adult, even you must be able to see that. 

This revelation led to an increasingly volatile argument between the sisters as Vanya’s emotions raged and she lost control of her powers, trying the only thing she knew Alison attempted to rumour her, but before she could get the words out, Vanya lashed out and slit her throat. There was instant regret, as this action brought Vanya back to herself and she desperately tried to stop the bleeding, before Leonard arrived and dragged her away from her sister, leaving Alison bleeding out on the floor alone. If that doesn’t wake Vanya up to who he really is then nothing will. 

It’s not clear how long it’s been between Vanya leaving and the brothers arriving, but when they do Luther rushes to Alison who seems to be still alive - I’ve said before that I don’t feel any real fear when it comes to main characters being in dangerous situations (the exception being GOT and any viewer of that show will understand why) and to be honest, I’m not too worried about Alison. This is a show about people with supernatural abilities and therefore I’m sure there will be some way to save her life, the fact that she was still alive when the episode ended supports this. The moment itself however was shocking and made me physically gasp - it was a truly holy shit moment. I’m not sure what I was expecting in the moment Vanya learned the truth or how she would react but I sure as hell didn’t think she would turn on her sister in such a vicious way - it really did seem like something else had taken over Vanya in those moments, like it wasn’t really her, and if her Dad had seen her turn like that too when she was younger I hate to say it but maybe he did what he thought was best at the time. I still disagree with his actions, hiding her powers from her and treating her so awfully throughout their childhood, but I can see the reasoning behind it

Extra Thoughts

I really enjoyed the animation at of the Umbrella Academy during Alison’s bedtime story to her daughter 

Was it just me or did Reginald look genuinely afraid of Vanya at one point during her training? - I noted this down while watching the training scene and now I’ve seen the episodes ending it makes a lot of sense

I’m sure I’ve said this before but the music choices in this show are incredible - that whole department deserves a raise 

It was nice to see an episode revolving around the women of the academy but I did miss Five and Klaus not having as much to do this episode

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #diego hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #alison hargreeves #hazel #cha cha #pogo #tua review #tv #tv review

[tv-music]

We didn't choose this life, we're just living it

Five Hargreeves

#five hargreeves #number five #tua #tua quotes #tua five #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy

[tv-music]

You know what else is insane? I look like a 13 year old boy, Klaus talks to the dead and Luther thinks he’s fooling everybody with that overcoat. Everything about us is insane

Five Hargreeves

#five hargreeves #tua #tua five #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 1.07

The Day That Was

We begin this episode with the story of Harold Jenkins, born on the same day as the Umbrella Academy kids, his mother died in childbirth leaving his father an alcoholic mess who takes his problems out on his son using his fist. Harold is a big fan of the academy and is convinced that as he shares their birthday he may be one of the 43. Dressed in his homemade uniform he tries to join the academy only to be told by Reginald that there is nothing special about him. When he returns home he is hit by his father and finally snaps, rather than get the beer his father asks for, he grabs a hammer and puts an end to his Dad’s abuse once and for all. He gets 12 years for the crime, and just 5 days earlier, the day we meet the siblings no less, he watched Klaus throw away dear old Reginalds diary and collect it himself. As he does this we get to see Harold's adult face for the first time, and to the surprise of absolutely no one, it’s Leonard. This brings us nicely back to where we left off in the last episode, with Leonard (I know his names Harold but for the sake of simplicity I’ll keep referring to him as Leonard) in the house taking one of the figurines but this time, as he overhears the rest of the family meeting take place, we see the first change caused by Five’s appearance, he realises they know his real name, even if they don’t actually know it’s him. 

The siblings continue their meeting, and Five convinces them that they need to work together to figure out who Harold is and he, Diego and Alison investigate. They go to the police station in order to get Harold’s file, when Diego is informed he’s a suspect in his ex’s death - no real surprise there. When Diego gets the file, Alison immediately recognises Leonard and informs her brothers who he is. I’m glad that it wasn't dragged out and the 3 of them head over to Leonard’s house to investigate. It doesn’t take long for them to find his weird shrine but when they do Five collapses and they realise he was seriously injured. They take him home and while their Mum is caring for him, Diego mentions theres another address they can check, unfortunately as he and Alison leave the house, Diego is arrested for his ex’s death so Alison heads out alone

Luther is still convinced that this has something to do with his time on the moon and once again deals with the discovery that there was no real mission. With no Alison to comfort him this time and no Diego to tie up Klaus, Luther and Klaus are left with each other. We’ve not really seen much interaction between these two characters so this was interesting to watch. This was the first time I felt any real sympathy towards Luther, when he literally started crying on Klaus’s shoulder I felt genuinely sad. I was also surprised by the turn this episode took with these two characters, Luther looking to feel numb and forget the way Klaus does and Klaus having to be the responsible one, a role reversal that didn’t feel forced or for laughs but just two people both going through something difficult, Klaus grieving for Dave and Luther realising who his father really was. 

Luther’s gone to the club and Klaus is following reluctantly, being led by Ben, to try to stop him. Klaus understandably doesn’t want to go in, but Ben makes it clear that Luther would do it if it were the other way round, no questions asked. I understand Klaus’s reluctance, he’s trying to get clean and a place like that is going to be really difficult for a newly sober person to be. While in the club, Klaus, already struggling with his addiction, started having flashbacks as part of his PTSD - give the poor guy a break. Klaus sees Luther in trouble and tries to help, almost getting himself killed in the process (or was he actually dead for the duration? I’m not sure if that was how it was intended) Klaus enters what we can only assume is the afterlife and while there he finally gets to speak with his Dad and gets some answers. Reginald wastes no time in expressing how disappointed he is in his son, while taking no responsibility for the damage he’s caused. He did reveal the answers to the mystery surrounding his death - he killed himself to bring them back together in order to save the world -  did he never think of just treating them better and speaking to them? Of course, in true tv fashion, Klaus returns to the land of the living just as his Dad is about to tell him something important

Leonard, realising that the Hargreeve siblings know his real name and it’s only a matter of time before they find him and reveal all to Vanya, takes her out of the city and to a remote cabin in the woods - it’s like Vanya’s never seen a horror movie before. 

It’s dark, they’re alone at a creepy lake and Leonard is more than a little insistent on Vanya tapping into her power - at this point I’m screaming at Vanya to see the red flags here, why isn’t she getting warning signs from how insistent he is on her having a power and figuring out how to use it while isolating her from her family? I know she’s had a tough life but come on. He takes her to dinner and when they get back to the car, there's a group of men there ready to start a fight over absolutely nothing. In Vanya’s desperate attempt to help Leonard, she inadvertently uses her powers and causes what looks like an awful lot of damage to the attackers. I find it hard to believe that this was a coincidence, she was struggling to tap into her powers and he knows they’re rooted in her emotions, Leonard hired them, I’m sure of it. When Vanya is allowed in to see Leonard at the hospital he’s wearing an eye patch - it was his eye Five found

There’s no real changes to Hazel and Cha Cha’s  day which is unsurprising but it was interesting to see it from Hazel’s point of view. Instead we see the aftermath to Hazel knocking out Cha Cha, Hazel tells her he’s leaving and he hopes she can respect that, but Cha Cha makes it clear that she can’t stating that if Hazel doesn’t kill her she will kill him and Agnes - why is she so bothered by him moving on in his life, I never got any romantic vibes from them and no ones that bothered by a coworker or friend changing paths

Diego’s in prison, Five’s injured at home, Klaus is still sober and has some answers from their father he surely needs to share, Luther is high/drunk and continuing his party, Vanya is at the hospital with a newly eyeless Leonard and Alison is on her way to find her - the episode ends with the siblings all in very different places, in more ways than one - they all need to come together and fast if they have any chance of stopping the impending apocalypse

Extra Thoughts

I grow more and more fond of Diego every episode, him jumping through a glass window, when both Alison and Five had already found ways into the house and could have let him in had me laughing. The fact that the door was unlocked just made it better

Everything in the afterlife being black and white other than Klaus’s shirt was genius, but it was heartbreaking to see Klaus thinking he was going to see Dave but getting his Dad instead

I hope the story line with Diego being arrested goes away fast - it wasn’t surprising but was just unnecessary seemingly only there to separate the siblings 

#tua #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #five hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #alison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #ben hargreeves #reginald hargreeves #pogo #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #hazel #cha cha #tua review #tv #tv review #review

[tv-music]

No Review Today

I haven’t had time to watch the next episode, The Day That Was, which is so frustrating as I cannot wait to see what happens next - I am officially addicted to ‘The Umbrella Academy’ 

#tua #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #luther hargreeves #alison hargreeves #diego hargreeves #pogo #hazel #cha cha #umbrella academy review #tv

[tv-music]

Who cares if Dad messed us up? Are we going to let that define us?

Five Hargreeves

#tua #umbrella academy #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #quotes #tua quotes

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy 1.06 Review

The Day That Wasn’t

Episode 6 begins with a look into what the past 10 months for Klaus have been like, he disappeared from the bus and was dumped slap bang into the middle of a war zone. In the midst of the war, Klaus found love and looked genuinely happy for the first time since we met him. Back in present day he appears to be flushing his stash when Luther interrupts and announces it’s time for a family meeting - yeah cus they always go so well. Luther then brings all of the siblings (apart from Vanya) up to speed, announcing the world's ending in 3 days, also dropping on them that they have technically already tried, and failed to stop it. Luther's not much of a leader, the meeting ends with not one of them on board to try to stop it, and all deciding to spend the time they have left dealing with their own issues

Hazel and Cha Cha arrive back at their motel, bickering like an old married couple, having just been played by some of the Hargreeve siblings. To make things worse they receive a message that they are no longer trying to kill Five and are to wait for further instructions. The moment Hazel leaves the motel room however, Cha Cha gets those further instructions - exterminate Hazel. 

Cha Cha leads Hazel out to the woods, ready to complete her next assignment and kill her partner but she can’t do it - maybe she’s not as heartless as she seems. 

She seems to regret that decision when she realises that Hazel is falling for Agnes - was this romantic jealousy or simply the fact that she has no one but him and he’s clearly planning to leave the business (I can’t imagine Agnes would be interested in his life as an assassin) 

The Handler is giving Five the grand tour of the Commission's headquarters, and in turn we get a look into how this all works. It was definitely easier to follow than I thought it would be. Five is given his case and The Handler leaves him to it, seemingly happy with how things have played out - surely she doesn’t think it will be that easy

Five is seen to be working hard, and making it abundantly clear that he does not want to make friends. As he goes to send a message to the field agents, The Handler stops him and checks what it is he’s up to, she doesn’t trust him, which is fair, but in this instance, he was simply doing his job, or so it would seem. That is of course until he steals a file on the Apocalypse trying to gain information on the situation, well no one can say Five isn’t trying

Five finally puts his plan into action, knocking poor Gloria out, sending individual instructions to Hazel and Cha Cha to take each other out, before stealing a briefcase, destroying the Commission’s storage locker full of them to make sure he can’t be followed and blowing The Handler up in the process. He also saw the original message that Gloria was supposed to send to Hazel and Cha Cha - protect Harold Jenkins

Vanya arrives at The Umbrella Academy, while her siblings are still having their ‘meeting’, having not been invited - that’s just going to push her further into Leonard’s grip. Leonard of course makes an excuse to go back into the house and steals one of the action figures of Reginald - I’m starting to get the feeling that his plan has more to do with the academy than it does with Vanya. 

Vanya’s understandably angry when she leaves the house, and while she walks down the street, ranting to Leonard, she’s causing all kinds of mayhem in the process - the girl has some power behind her. Later in the day she finds her Dad’s journal, documenting that she has ‘uncontrollable power’ and that he has begun sedating her.

Klaus wants to get sober in order to speak with Dave, but being aware of the hold his addiction has on him he asks Diego to help him - and of course by helping him he means to tie him up as tightly as possible so that he physically can’t get high. One of my favourite moments of the episodes - and possibly the series so far - was seeing Klaus and Diego open up to each other, it was a really touching moment in what has been a crazy show so far. Klaus is a hilarious character who is often the one providing the laughs - it's a testament to the actor that he can pull on the viewers heartstrings just as easily. Another Klaus scene that got to me this episode was Dave’s death, it was heartbreaking to see Klaus desperately shout for a medic when we all knew it was too late, not going to lie, it brought tears to my eyes. He finally got sober enough to see Dave but as the title told us, this was never going to stick. 

As Five finished causing chaos at the Commission, he used the briefcase to return to his siblings, arriving in the middle of the family meeting from the beginning of the episode and in doing so, reversing everything we have just seen - the only person’s day that actually happened now, is Five’s. He hands them the instructions for Hazel and Cha Cha that he intercepted and they respond with, ‘Who the hell is Harold Jenkins?’ - I would put money on the fact that it’s Leonard’s real name, and that every viewer put two and two together when watching the episode 

Extra Thoughts:

I know she’s a supposed to a villain, but I love The Handler, I hope she’s not gone for good

I know I haven’t mentioned Luther and Alison’s ‘day that wasn’t’ but that’s because there is nothing about that part of the episode I want to remember - still gives me the ick

Reginald sent Luther to the moon simply to ‘give him a purpose’ - seemed like a polite way of saying get rid of him if you ask me. Reginald really was a cold bastard

The Handler has sweets that actually tastes of specific decades - I wonder who decides what the decades taste like

Five’s clearly a much better leader than Luther, it took him less than 60 seconds to get his siblings to agree to stop the Apocalypse

#tua #the umbrella academy #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #diego hargreeves #luther hargreeves #alison hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #pogo #reginald hargreeves #hazel #cha cha #the handler #tua review #review

[tv-music]

I'd like to apologise... that you are depriving some village of their idiot

Klaus Hargeeves

#tua #the umbrella academy #umbrella academy #klaus hargreeves #quote

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy 1.05

Number Five

We begin this episode, entitled ‘Number Five’, with Five (shocking I know), not long after he’s arrived, post apocalypse. Using a clever montage to show him growing older, alone, other than Deloras and let’s be honest, he looked less than sane - who can blame him really. During a tense ‘conversation’ with Dolores about his drinking, The Handler shows up and we return to the present day with Five finally telling Luther and Diego the truth.

Before we go any further with the siblings, let’s go back to The Handler. She reveals she works for an organisation that’s tasked with protecting time, offers him a job (which is pretty much an assassin) and gives him a 5 year contract. Five used them to figure out his way back to his siblings to save them. The Handler sent Hazel and Cha Cha after him because he broke his contract and is now trying to change the timeline. Well that clears that up

Klaus reappears on the bus, but this appears to be a very different version of the guy who disappeared the night before. Even before he got off the bus and broke down, he looked destroyed and my heart was already breaking for him. Adding to the struggle of being constantly haunted by the dead, the trauma of being kidnapped, tortured and going through with withdrawals he then travels in time, gets stuck for 10 months in a war and is now suffering from PTSD and the grief over losing a loved one - he said it himself, it’s been a long night  

He hitches a ride with Diego to a veterans bar and ends up getting into a fight just for being there. I know it was a bar for vets, and he clearly doesn’t look like one, but they could have just left him be, the guy was clearly struggling. But no, one of the regulars had to pick a fight and got Klaus riled up. Diego finally started acting like a brother, realising something was wrong with Klaus and made sure he had his back

Klaus joins Diego on his stake out and they have what seems like the first real conversation in a long time, before spotting Hazel and following him. 

Vanya’s medication is missing, but we already knew that. She meets Leonard for breakfast and wastes no time in trash talking her siblings to this virtual stranger - I’m not judging her for it, she’s clearly never really had anyone who’s given her this kind of attention and told her she’s special. And given the timing, with her Dad’s death and reuniting with her less than warm and loving siblings it's no real surprise she’s become so easy for Leonard to manipulate. 

Vanya has an audition for first chair after the original one (yup I still don’t know her name) has gone missing. Convenient much? Her audition is flawless and during it something weird was happening to what I assume were sound waves - she’s off her meds and weird things are happening here, this is obvs related to her power. She arrives at Leonard’s later that evening to tell him she got first chair, explaining how she felt everything more deeply without her meds. As Vanya and Leonard get a lot closer, the camera follows the sound waves to Leonard's attic, where we see original first chair lady’s body wrapped up in plastic and dear old Reginald's journal, which explains how Leonard knows as much as he does. 

Five figures out through some unfathomable maths that if he kills a gardener, he’ll be able to stop the apocalypse. It seems an awful thing to do and Luther agrees so he stops Five by threatening Dolores, which obviously works. Instead of murdering an innocent man, Five and Luther arrange a meet up with Hazel and Cha Cha, just as Klaus and Diego try to take them out - sorry guys it’s not going to be that easy

The meet up happens, Luther carrying an empty briefcase that they pretend to be their time travelling contraption, and tell them if they want their briefcase, they need to call The Handler because he wants to speak with her. She arrives and freezes time just as all hell was about to break loose. Diego and Klaus have followed our assassins in the ice cream van and just as the shooting and chaos begin, she arrives. Five tells her he wants the apocalypse stopped and he won’t stop until it is but she is prepared for him. She wants him to work for them again, in management - this guy broke his contract, killed the first set of men sent to kill him and has made Hazel and Cha Cha, who are supposed to be the best they have, look like a pair of bumbling idiots - he must be damn good at his job for them to forgive all that. Five agrees to her terms, on the condition that his family are spared and safe. Before he leaves and time unfreezes, Five makes just enough changes to the scene to avoid disaster and his brothers escape, with Hazel and Cha Cha releasing they have been played. 

The episode closes with Pogo having fixed their Mum, asking if she understood and warning her that the children must never know… hmm i'm thinking whatever he’s keeping from them is doing much more harm than good

Extra Thoughts

The song playing as Klaus reappeared and broke down outside the bus was beautiful, I’ve never heard it before but would love to know what it is - if you know then please let me know the name/artist 

Alison’s researching Leonard, nice of her to do something useful, and she cannot find anything on him - clearly Leonards not his real name 

Hazel and Agnes are really sweet together 

I’ve said it before and I will say it again, the kid who plays Five is an incredible actor

#tua #the umbrella academy #klaus hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #alison hargreeves #five hargreeves #ben hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #pogo #reginald hargreeves #tua reviews #review

[tv-music]

Umbrella Academy Review 1.04

Man on the Moon

When I last left the academy, which granted, was earlier today, Hazel and Cha Cha had found Five’s home, but still failed to find him, so they had taken Klaus instead. I’ve grown attached to Klaus in the 3 episodes we’ve spent together so I was hoping we would get right into how he’s doing, you understand my concern given the last person these two took captive in order to find Five is now dead. Instead the episode opened with a look at what life was like for Luther, before his Dad had sent him to the moon. Turns out I wasn’t completely wrong when I said the guy doesn’t look fully human - he was sent on a mission alone as he was the only one stupid enough to not run away from their Dads toxic home environment - and almost died. The only way to save him also physically changed him for good. As interesting as it is to see how Luther gained his current physical appearance, I’d still rather be watching any of the other siblings, they’re just simply more interesting. 

Vanya’s still over at Leonards after the event of the previous night, seems like she thinks she’s found a kindred spirit in him, poor Vanya’s heading for a fall

Later in the episode we see Alison at Vanya’s, who finds Leonard inside the apartment as he was returning keys. He says he let himself in as he needed to use the bathroom but let’s face it, only Vanya’s falling for that. We see the real reason Leonard was there, to take her medication and destroy it - this has to have something to do with the power Vanya clearly has, but doesn’t know about. The real question is, what does Leonard know that we don’t? And why/how does he know it? 

When we catch up with Klaus and his kidnappers, they’re trying to torture information out of him, but instead they are just turning the guy on - hey whatever floats your boat pal. My fear for Klaus instantly disappeared, he’s just too good of a character to have him in real danger. I know most shows don’t put their main characters in any real danger, but as any GOT viewer will know, this is not something you take for granted after being heartbroken continuously by that show.

The longer Klaus goes without a fix the more spirits seem to be visiting him, it seemed clear in the first episode that he remains high/drunk in order to get rid of the dead but seeing how afraid and distressed he was at the dead visiting was awful. The pysical torture, Klaus would have taken all day but the moment they started to destroy his drugs he sung like a bird, all the while watching them devour his ‘special chocolate’ - seriously where are these guys from that they didn’t recognise the plant on the wrapper? What followed was one of my favourite moments so far, watching Hazel and Cha Cha dance around, high as kites, fully masked, while burning the lab down was brilliant. Although Five’s devastation as he arrived just in time to see his only lead quite literally go up in flames defo brought me right back into the story. 

Diego opened up to his ex about his Mum’s ‘death’ and it becomes apparent that he believes that Five is the one who’s been kidnapped, not Klaus. I guess when your lifestyle is anything like Klaus’s, going missing is not uncommon. 

Diego and Luther really don’t get on, Diego isn’t nice to any of his siblings but he seems to be the worst with Luther, is there a reason for this? Is it just because Luther is so far up his Dad’s arse Diego can’t stand it? Maybe they just don’t click, sometimes people don’t, siblings or not, but either way, there’s some serious tension there, although they seemed to have a more mature conversation while looking for Five, finding him at the library, ‘drunk as a skunk’ and clutching Dolores

Things with Diego went from bad to worse this episode, as when his ex-girlfriend called because she knew where his brother was, leading to Diego realising that Klaus was missing, she went in alone and ended up being killed by Cha Cha. Diego was the one who found her but he left before the police arrived - that’s got to come back around to bite him surely - although with only a few days till the end of the world what will it matter in the grand scheme of things. 

In all the commotion with Diego’s ex (no idea what her name is) Klaus managed to escape through the vents, taking Hazel and Cha Cha’s suitcase with him.

While sitting on a bus, clutching the suitcase, having got away from the killers, Klaus attempts to open it, and promptly disappeared from the bus

Where is Klaus? I guess that’s a question that will be answered next episode, or at least it better be. 

Extra Thoughts:

Every time we see more of what kind of man Reginald Hargreeves was, my hatred of him grows - seriously locking you son in a crypt so he will get over his ‘fear of the dead’ is just ridiculous and cruel beyond belief.

Drunk Five was so much fun to watch, although he was also a talker, we finally found out a little more about his time before he came back. He was an assassin, just like Hazel and Cha Cha and according to Five, he was the best of the best

It was great watching Klaus mess with Hazel and Cha Cha with the names of the people they killed, and use secrets they were keeping to make them turn on each other

The music choices in this series are top notch - not a misstep so far on that front

#tua #umbrella academy #five hargreeves #luther hargreeves #diego hargreeves #alison hargreeves #vanya hargreeves #klaus hargreeves #ben hargreeves #pogo #reginald hargreeves #hazel #cha cha