The Umbrella Academy season 2 blew the first season out of the water with it’s concise storytelling and moving tales of what the Hargreeves went through while being separated and stuck in the 60’s. Join us here at Fangirlish as we break down the good, the bad, and the ugly of one of our favorite TV shows out there!
The Good
Season 2 of The Umbrella Academy felt more balanced if we’re being honest here. Season 1, I got to know the Hargreeves as part of a team and as siblings. But I never got the opportunity to know them as individuals just trying to make it through the day. Every episode of season 2 fixed all of that and built each and every single sibling up to the point where I know them and believe in their journey, to the moon and back.
I was especially surprised and delighted by Diego and Luther’s storylines. During season 1 I can without a doubt say that I didn’t give two shits about them. Diego was hard to connect with and Luther was love sick over Allison 75% of the time. Boring town, party of two. Season 2 fixed that by making them complex and independent characters worthy of getting to know better based on their own merit. Diego connected with Lila and found new and valuable parts of himself. And Luther survived on his own, discovering what really mattered in life.
The same thing could be said about Allison and Vanya but on a different scale. I already loved both of these characters from season 1 and I got to know them in season 2 in different facets that made them shine even more. They were challenged by the world around them, the missing bits they thought were gone forever, and by their inevitable reunion where Vanya didn’t remember their past and Allison did. This attention to detail makes it so The Umbrella Academy is a show for everyone!
No matter where you look, there are characters and situations in The Umbrella Academy season 2 that you connect with and understand. Yes, some of the situations might be bat shit crazy but the connection to the human condition through the Hargreeves is real and there for all of us to experience in season 2.
Now I need more.
P.S. Before we move on I’d like to send my love to Ellen Page. Every bit of Vanya that we saw this season, every life changing moment, was brought to life by this talented actress. She and her character are proof that love knows no bounds and that you are born this way, no ifs, ands, or butts about it.
The Bad
The villains of the story were kind of ehhhhh. I didn’t really care for them, the time they took away from the plot, or how they mucked up things for our fav Hargreeves. I know it was part of a build up in connection with what’s to come in season 3…but yeah. A little bored, a little too white, literally. And then the whole thing with the fish? Pass.
I have spoken.
The Ugly
Allison’s journey was and remains a stark reminder of the cruelty of the US when it comes to black people, the lives they lead, and the roadblocks put up by people who hate them based on the color of their skin. And that’s the reason why this is in “The Ugly” part of this review. Because black people deserve better than the shit they’ve been forced to take for decades.
Watching Allison confront that ugliness and hate spread across the US had to be a culture shock for her. Sure, things are still all sorts of fucked up in 2020 when you’re a person of color, but there’s something sickening about watching Allison confronting those who don’t even want them in their restaurant because “Whites Only!”
And she held her head high no matter what came her way; making me love her even more as a woman, a character, and as a symbol of hope. Even when things got hard, and holy shit did they get hard, Allison proved to those around her that she had the fortitude and the strength to not just survive but thrive. And that’s what makes Allison one of the most interesting characters on The Umbrella Academy. Periodt.
The Umbrella Academy season 2 is available on Netflix.
I didn’t even know S2 was out! I was waiting for it. More binge watching and S5 Lucifer is coming too!