I loved the first season of Umbrella Academy, so much so that I saw it twice and with my very busy schedule (and this was pre-quarantine) that’s saying something. So I was naturally thrilled at the announcement of a second season and infinitely grateful it escaped the production nightmares of a world in a pandemic. The second coming…err…season of the live action adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s Dark Horse comic series makes a strong comeback with a tighter story, visible growth in the characters we have come to love and directly proportional to that growth-more powerful performances from the actors portraying them. There is also a strong and secure world building for the Hargreeves siblings; who seem to be always on the run to try and stop the apocalypse, this time in Dallas Texas, in November 1963, days after the assassination of JFK.
Don’t Know Much About History
The first few minutes of the first episode starts off with a bang, its fast moving and a lot is happening so-sit tight. Tip. If you haven’t seen the series yet (it drops on Netflix on July 31) it would be a good idea to brush up on your history, try to review the key players in the Kennedy Assassination, just so you won’t be overwhelmed with information. I’m a bit of a history buff myself and have devoured almost every book, documentary or movie I could get my hands on. Right after the end of the first season, the siblings escape the apocalypse in 2019 and are scattered from 1960 to 1963 in Dallas Texas. While they each have been busy with their own personal agendas, they have to come together to stop a nuclear apocalypse in 1963, save JFK, fight off the Commission and you know return to 2019. Just a regular day as a member of the Umbrella Academy eh?
There were a lot of things that I loved about the second season, my only qualms was the lack of a dance number (that “Dancing Under The Moonlight” with Luther and Allison from season 1 is still my favorite) but aside from that I really enjoyed the growth of Allison’s (Emmy Raver-Lampman) character, who in the first season used her powers to become a famous celebrity. Allison’s trip to 1961 puts her smack in the middle of a civil rights movement. A scene where she is part of a sit-down demonstration which in turn turns into a riot is extremely relevant considering that the BLM (Black Lives Matter) movement happened just a few months ago. Just think about it, these characters in the 1960s were plotting, planning and fighting for equal rights, its already 2020 and the same thing is still happening.
One thing I didn’t like? Lila (Ugh. I hate her character). I can’t stand her messy eyeliner and greasy hair, nor her eventual role in the final episode of the season. I liked the concept but not the character.
I do miss Mary J. Blige’s Cha-Cha.
Of course, the music is as good as ever, my new favorite fight scene and music accompaniment is Number Five VS. Lila to the tune of The Interrupters “Bad Guy” originally by Billie Eilish. I love that they gave Ben (Justin H. Min) more material this time around because he deserves it! I had tears stinging my eyes during his big dramatic scene. Vanya (Ellen Page) discovers love from a mother and her autistic son. She no longer has to just deal with her loneliness and anger towards her family, and this has affected how she controls her immense power, and given her a less end of the world goal. The whole series culminates in a nail biting finale of infinite proportions, an unexpected one at that, I was at the edge of my seat and dare not take my eye of the screen. And the way things wrapped up~I’m definitely looking forward to what’s up next! The solid world building this season has allowed for more exciting possibilities.
If Only I Could Turn Back Time
There is such a fascination (and conspiracy) with Kennedy’s assassination. A lot of What if’s? What could have been? The second season is loosely based on the “Dallas” comic book of the Umbrella Academy, which of course is about Number Five’s (Aidan Gallagher) association with the Kennedy Assassination. Stephen King also tackled the concept of saving Kennedy through time travel in his novel 11/23/63 (which I read), there is also a limited series of that novel starring James Franco (which I also saw). In case you want to check it out.
We’re in such a weird pocket of time right now. Like the world stopped and we’re just living the same day again and again. I bet we’d all do anything to stop 2020 (and/or this pandemic) from ever happening. There’s a line in the series that Luther (Tom Hopper) says that stuck with me and I couldn’t help but find relevant during these uncertain times; he says:
“No one gets to tell us how we deal with the end of the world.”
And I feel that also goes the same for us, during this pandemic, while in quarantine and in isolation. It doesn’t matter if we’re mixing dalgona coffee or baking the latest pastry trend, or recording an entire album in secret then surprise dropping it to the world. Or maybe, just enjoying a series you’ve been looking forward to. The second season of “The Umbrella Academy” drops on July 31 on Netflix.