Euphoria

A no-nonsense, yet hilarious and engaging take on the real problems teenagers face today. Euphoria doesn’t shy away from the tough topics – from depression, bullying, and pressure to be virginal and yet not a prude to drug abuse, social media scares, and the struggle to find yourself in a world that is trying hard to tear you down. The series manages to turn every episode into a can’t stop-won’t stop watching experience, not to mention the soundtrack that will take over your playlists. Zendaya shines as the series’ protagonist but the broader cast is as diverse and fantastic as they come. Definitely recommend binging this in one go! – Mimi Koehler

The Dragon Prince

Created by some of the people behind Avatar the Last Airbender, this show has some of the greatest storytelling and animation currently airing. The Dragon Prince showcases an incredibly diverse cast of characters as they try to journey through a fantasy land to take home a baby Dragon to its mother and prevent a war. I’m in love with this show – Julia Fleur

The Umbrella Academy

Based on the graphic novel by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, Netflix has produced a series which is fantastic. Following 7 adoptive siblings with unique powers, The Umbrella Academy follows its own rules, while not taking itself too seriously. Trained by their adoptive father to become a superhero group who fights crime, they must face their social and mental issues as adults, after their father’s death. I guess I have watched this extraordinary family at least four times alone in the first half of 2019. It is amazing on every level possible and the cast is great, which leaves you greatly entertained. – Isabella Stocka

Dark, witty, and action-packed, The Umbrella Academy has everything! Gerard Way’s original family of superheroes came to life thanks to Netflix and did not disappoint. With memorably poignant scenes and an outstanding soundtrack, I couldn’t be more excited for the second season. Good luck choosing you favourite character (although Klaus will most definitely win your heart first)! – Ankara

The Politician

The humour of Glee meets the teenage darkness of 13 Reasons Why. In this witty dramedy about a high school student election, we follow Payton Hobart in his ambition to one day become the president of the United States. It is incredibly entertaining to see these teenagers take a high school student government election so seriously. There’s a lot of hijinks and scheming that makes for a lot of fun, but behind its light façade reveals the kind of pressure to be great that teens are under today. It’s hilarious and entertaining with shockingly real moments. The entire first season of The Politician can be found on Netflix. – Gabby Gamez

Carnival Row

I’ve been missing a good fantasy series! Carnival Row is set in a Victorian-inspired world with some intriguing characters and creatures, all the while touching on topics that are relevant to today’s world. While I was a little disappointed with some parts of the plot being somewhat obvious, the series features a very talented cast and I’m even more intrigued to see where the series goes in season 2. – Elise Dumpleton

Workin Moms

Season 3 of this show dropped earlier this year and I have been bingeing the whole thing on Netflix recently. It follows people just trying to balance work and a family after having a child. Whilst it’s not always laughs, it doesn’t take itself too seriously and I think all of the actors are great. I am not even a parent but this show gives me a good giggle with all the silly bits and it’s a great pick me up. Catherine Reitman writes, produces, and stars in the show and she is wonderful. – Sarah C

Pennyworth

If you always wanted to know more about Batman’s butler, this is the show you have to watch. Alfred is a young man who has returned from war and plans to run a security service. When his path crosses Thomas Wayne’s, he found himself intertwined in a different profession. Pennyworth shows the audience an original story of everyone’s favourite butler. – Isabella Stocka

Good Omens

The long-awaited television adaptation (as it has been successfully adapted previously for radio by the BBC) of Neil Gaiman and Sir Terry Pratchett’s much-loved novel. Written and adapted by Gaiman himself, it manages to be brilliantly faithful to the source material while adding some new characters and elements that enhance and add to the story. The production design and effects are wonderfully idiosyncratic, the score is great (particularly the opening theme and its “left in the car and turned into a rock anthem” counterpart for the ending theme) and so is the cast, no matter how small or incidental the part. But the beating heart is the duo of Michael Sheen and David Tennant as Aziraphale and Crowley. The whole series plays like a love letter to the book and to the late Sir Terry Pratchett (to whom there are also a couple of nice Easter Eggs that pay homage). – Carolyn Percy

Chernobyl

Produced by HBO, this historical drama miniseries tells the heart-breaking and devastating story of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. This five-part series is led by Jared Harris, Stellan Skarsgard, and Emily Watson. Chernobyl tells the story of how the disaster occurred, the people involved in the disaster, and the lesser known stories of the people that responded to the disaster; the firefighters, the physicists, the volunteers, and the teams of miners who were tasked with digging a tunnel under the destroyed reactor. It is largely based on the book “Voices of Chernobyl” which was written by the Belarusian Nobel Laureate Svetlana Alexievich, who was at the time of the disaster a journalist living in Minsk, the capital of the then Byelorussian Soviet Socialist Republic.

This miniseries, while a clear dramatisation, is hard hitting and presents the devastating result of not only the reactor explosion but the destructive secrecy and corruption of the reactor management and the Government in the aftermath. The series depicts the simplified truth, ensuring the viewer does not require a degree in nuclear physics to understand the implications of the explosion and the actions of the people involved. Chernobyl is dedicated to all who sacrificed and suffered and is hard hitting, gritty and leaves you with an understanding of the question: “What is the cost of lies?” – Ellie King

The Good Place

If you haven’t started this show yet, what the fork are you doing, man? The fourth and final season premiered back in September and though many fans are incredibly sad to say goodbye, it is proving to be a fantastic end so far. The show makes you root for every character and believe they can be better people while also making you laugh out loud at every turn. The show really pushes boundaries and makes you reconsider what a sitcom can be, and it absolutely excels. – Gabby Gamez

Jane the Virgin

Family drama slots together with high-octane capers in this gloriously diverse show about a young woman who is accidentally artificially inseminated during a routine check-up. The first four seasons follow Jane’s life through the trials of coping as a pregnant virgin and then eventually as a mother. Season 5 is an incredible conclusion to the heartwarming (and often heart-wrenching series, successfully wrapping up each storyline in its usual chaos and humour. From Jane’s dream of being an author to her final romantic decision, the show celebrates love in all its forms; it’s about chasing dreams and being kind, motherhood and family. – Tom Hitchen

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend

I could watch this show on repeat and never get sick of it. What more could you want from a show than catchy tunes about procrastination, textmergencies, wanting to go to the zoo, and mental illness? Following Rebecca Bunch’s journey to West Covena to rekindle an old flame ends in weird antics and absurd songs. There are points where you question everyone’s sanity but the phenomenal cast makes it effortless to still love every individual despite their odd flaws . A perfect balance of humour, heart and relatabilty makes this my favourite show ever. – Emma Knight

What was your favourite 2019 TV show? Tell us in the comments below!

The post The Nerd Daily’s Favourite 2019 TV Shows appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Judging from comments and the now 37,822,891 views of the song on YouTube, it seems everyone is singing Tiffany’s “I Think We’re Alone Now” and dancing the binge watch hangover away, myself included. I have been waiting for an adaptation since I purchased my copy of the graphic novels in 2008 on which it was mentioned that it had been optioned for a movie.

Now, after 10 episodes, Netflix has left us with a major cliffhanger. Considering how much they promoted the show worldwide and the fact that our favourite seven wannabe heroes are breaking every record possible, surely it is just a matter of days until Netflix officially announces Season 2. It would be fantastic for the series to continue because not only does the show leave some questions unanswered, but also the award-winning comic book by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá does not give you any hints how the story continues. Season 1 covers the events of both comic books and after years, Volume 3 will be published in August this year. However, re-reading both volumes between my second and third time watching the show, it only made more questions pop up.

Now with the series ending with the siblings travelling through time, we see them transform into their younger selves. So the burning question is: will season 2 start with them all being 13 years old again and changing how Vanya grew up? As much as I enjoyed seeing the younger students, I do not want to lose the adults for long. Or perhaps was this just a little sentimental moment from the creators to show us that this was the last time they were truly a team and family, and now they are again? If they travel back through time, only for a couple of days or even years, it for sure will be an emotional ride for all of them.

This brings me to the most chaotic assassins in the history of assassins. Did Cha-Cha survive? Where has Hazel transported himself and Agnes using The Handler’s briefcase? If and how will they be part of the show? The possibilities are endless.

Also, I would like to know why the actress who played “Kenny’s mother” appeared four times in the season. She was seen at the bank robbery, on the bus with Klaus, at the rave, and at the bowling alley. Does this have some kind of bigger meaning? Is she related to the Commission or perhaps just a gag?

As much as we want to know what will or could happen in season 2, I want to know more about the siblings also. They had to go through a lot in the one week they saw each other after 17 years of silence.

LUTHER

“He needs to answer to me for what he did. For sending me up there. I sacrificed everything for him, my entire life. I never left this house. I never had friends. And for what? For nothing.”

Luther—the loyal soldier who blindly believed in everything his father said and sacrificed everything for the greater good. No life, no friends, and as he said, he never even left the house. After realising that he was manipulated and shipped away—even if Reginald did it with having a reason—Luther lost 30 years of his life which he will never get back. We cannot blame him for getting drunk and partying his brain away in the course of a day, even if it is poor timing. What I wish for our fearless Number 1 is that he should start asking himself what he wants and make it happen, if they survive the apocalypse of course. But before he comes to this, he should also step down from his pedestal and not play that leader card anymore. Because let’s face it, Luther is kind of responsible for Vanya’s apocalyptic break down and he seems to be for Ben’s death, too. More teamwork and less dictatorship. Oh, and kiss Allison so that this time it really happened!

DIEGO

“You wanna know why I left? Why I left the Academy. Because that’s what you do when you’re 17. You move out, become your own person, grow up. At least I make my own decisions. You’ve never had to hold down a job. Pay bills.”

Tough on the outside, vulnerable on the inside. Diego definitely cares for his siblings even if he does not want to show it, but please do, because we want to see more of it. After he switched off Grace and loses Patch, he starts to show that he wants his siblings safe. We can see that the most with how he is around Klaus. In the first episode, he sees that Klaus is talking “to himself” in the backseat of his car and when he got him out of the veteran bar, he makes sure that Klaus will not get harmed. It may be covered under sarcasm but I can see through it right into his big heart. He cares deeply and someone should start caring for him as well because for me he is one of the two most broken ones of this family.

ALLISON

“I just had an advantage. I mean, from the time I was little I used to get everything I wanted. With Dad, with my career. But now, I know nothing in my life was real. So I’m starting over. I just didn’t think it would be so hard.”

We think we know about her the most—she left the Academy and started a new life as an actress, became a mum, and does not suffer from anything that Reginald did to her. However, Allison realises quickly that not much in her life ever was truly real. Using her powers to get everything she wanted does bring up the question—did the man she married even love her and did she really deserve all the roles she got? Now, that she cannot speak she finds herself in a vulnerable and helpless position. It will be interesting to see her cope with that, but I also hope that she will be able to talk again soon. Although first, she needs to have a serious conversation with Vanya and Luther.

KLAUS

“Well, for one. You spent the last ten hours beating me senseless, and you’ve learned absolutely nothing. I mean, nobody tells me shit. The truth is, I’m the one person in that house nobody will even notice is gone.”

Klaus is the one character I am craving so many answers about. Let me break it down to you:

• How exactly did he manage to come back to his time just hours after he started his time travel journey?
• Why did he not use the briefcase earlier to get out of there and take Dave with him? Klaus is too desperate to see Dave again, so how long has he been in the war alone? I have so many questions about the briefcase. How did he figure out how to use it?!
• He definitely could not get high there and he also would not be able to be drunk all the time, so how did he cope with all the ghosts he must have seen?
• What about Ben? No matter if Klaus is high or not, Ben is always around. Maybe Klaus could not let go of Ben after he died and he unknowingly conjures him. After all, they seemed to be always close.

I really hope, and I think I am not alone in this, that his siblings will finally take him seriously and not just see him as the addict. Because, let’s face it, seeing dead people since birth is nothing anyone could cope with easily. Knowing how Reginald treated him, even if he knows that Klaus is capable of more, it does do bad things to a person’s mind. In episode 10, after Vanya breaks free from her prison, she goes through the bedrooms and remembers how rude her siblings have been to her. When she stops at Klaus bedroom, you clearly can see that he has a bottle of alcohol sitting next to his bed. I do not support what he is doing, but I understand the reasons why.

Besides needing all these questions answered, he is also the one who has the most potential to evolve, as a person and when it comes to his powers. Also shout out to Robert Sheehan and his incredible acting.

FIVE

Vanya: How did you get back?
Five: In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time.
Diego: That makes no sense.
Five: Well, it would if you were smarter.

Talking about perfect acting, this young man does a marvellous job playing a 13-year-old with the consciousness of a 58-year-old when he’s 16 in real life. It definitely seems as though Five is in need of a name. My Chemical Romance fans would name him Frank, after Frank Iero the former guitarist of Gerard Way’s band. Frank has no problem with that and Aidan seems to approve, seeing how he had responded to it:

https://t.co/kZyjbtgiuG

OMG @FrankIero knows who I am!!!! #FanFreakingOut #mychemicalromance #UmbrellaAcademy

What do I do???

— Aidan Gallagher (@AidanRGallagher) February 23, 2019

There is also a lot we don’t know about him and what happened to him during his time working as an assassin. Five and Vanya seemed to have a close bond as kids and he also used her book to write down his equations about time travel.

As Aidan mentioned in an interview, he was the one cast member who was a fan of the graphic novels before he heard of the audition and he does take you behind the series on his YouTube channel as well.

BEN

“Klaus. Klaus. Breathe. You’re in the worst of it now. Just try and stay calm. You know what the worst part of being dead is? You’re stuck. Nowhere to go. Nowhere to change. That’s the real torture, if you gotta know. Watching your brother take for granted everything you lost and pissing it all away.”

I think we are all on the same page when it comes to Ben: how the hell did he die? Unfortunately, the graphic novels do not give you anything about his death. Being constantly around Klaus, high or not, it is fair to assume that he may be stuck in-between and could be brought back to life by Klaus? Certainly, he is the one character we know the least about and they can really give him any kind of past and potential future, as long as they consider Way’s vision.

Until then, I have a simple question. We all are freaking out that Ben punches the drugs out of Klaus, but Ben has already been holding a book in episode 2. So, is there a library in limbo or how can he just sit there holding a book and read?

Vanya refers to him as the glue that has held the family together and after his death, they started to break apart. We got a glimpse of that when Ben is talking to Klaus that he has the power within him to control his powers and that he has to help Luther. Maybe all these family needs is to be complete again.

VANYA

“Our father never missed an opportunity to remind me that I was ordinary. A hard thing for a little girl to hear. If you’re raised to believe nothing about you is special, if the benchmark is extraordinary, what do you do if you’re not?”

Besides Ben, Vanya is another character of which the graphic novels do not tell the reader much about. Therefore it is amazing to see how big of a part she has in the show. Being invisible since childhood, she obviously does not have a lot of self-confidence and that is the only explanation of how she was able to fall in love with a complete stranger in less than 7 days.

Vanya always felt lonely and not loved, blaming her father for how her siblings have treating her but what now? Besides Allison and Five, no one really had her in the picture, until Luther put her away. It seems the siblings will have a change of heart because the only way they can prevent the apocalypse from happening is by showing her love.

Side note: A little easter egg is hidden in the show is that Gerard Way wrote praise for Vanya’s book, which you can see in the first episode.

SIR REGINALD HARGREEVES

“As much as you must strive for individual greatness, and strive you must, for it won’t come to you of its own accord … you must also remember that there is no individual stronger than the collective. The ties that bind you together make you stronger than you are alone. They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you. And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful. We can accomplish anything when we accept responsibility together. This is what creates trust. Together, you will stand against the reign of evil.”

Dear Papa might be dead, but I am all in for a flashback episode because I have some serious questions. In the graphic novels, Reggie is an alien and at the beginning of episode 10, we see him let some strange lights out of the jar while there are a couple of spaceships outside, which look exactly like the one in the comic. So, is he an alien in the show as well or does he come from the future to change time? He knew about the apocalypse and he was definitely older as his look gave away.

But let us come back to those lights—by any chance, were there 43 of them in this jar? Did he create those children?

We get to know Reggie as a heartless person who does not see the children as children, but more like soldiers and subjects for his experiments. So if he did not care about them, why did he gave Vanya his wife’s violin and after discovering that her powers are uncontrollable, not kill her? Maybe Klaus will be able to use his advanced powers and conjure him once more for questioning.

THE SIBLING BOND

We get introduced to these bunch of broken souls as lone wolves. Bearing in mind that they are now adults and seeing how they all have changed, for better or worse, it does not give them the feeling of comradery, in fact, they probably feel how lonely they truly are. Showrunner Steve Blackman explains it in a way I cannot agree more in his Entertainment Weekly interview:

“They think they’re so different, but in that one moment, with that one song playing, they’re all dancing. They think no one else is, but they’re all doing the same thing. Deep down, they’re all desperate for the same thing, which is acceptance and being a part of a family again. If only they could just take a minute to tell each other! But they won’t, and that’s the fun of the show, seeing if maybe one day they’ll figure it out and also possibly save the world.”

And we do see as the season continues that they slowly start to care and help each other. In the end, they act as a team again and we can only imagine what they are truly capable of working as one. After all, the message of The Umbrella Academy is, as Way says it “that we’re all screwed up and that we’ll have an easier time if we do this together”.

What do you hope to see in the second season of The Umbrella Academy? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Hopes For Season 2 of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

Marvel who? There’s a new kid on the block, and it’s hanging out, showing off its powers, on Netflix Road. Meet The Umbrella Academy, a whimsically warped superhero series that genre fans will likely gobble up with glee.

Faithfully adapted – for the most part that is – from the eponymous comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, this labour of love by Steve Blackman follows a dysfunctional family of scattered superheroes. Brought back together after a 12-year separation by the mysterious death of their adoptive father, the disparate group resolves to track down those responsible, with plenty of mischief along the way.

The ensemble cast is captivating in myriad ways as seven siblings adopted by the cold and calculating Sir Reginald “The Monocle” Hargreeves (Colm Feore), whose sole objective was to raise a brood of world-saving superhumans. Their interactions between each other, from quarrels to bonds, are so irresistibly credible that they take the spotlight from start to finish.

Each of the Hargreeves orphans brings something individual to the table. We’ve got Tom Hopper’s super serious Luther (Spaceboy/Number 1), stuck with the super-strength body of a Martian ape after a botched mission, right through to Ellen Page’s meek Vanya (The White Violin/Number 7), a whiz at the violin but with no superpowers to speak of – think Meg Griffin’s nail-growing superpower but even more unavailing.

They’re joined by David Castañeda’s rebellious Diego (The Kraken/Number 2), a breath-holding knife-thrower, and Emmy Raver-Lampman’s narcissistic Allison (The Rumour), a celebrity with the power to alter reality through telling fibs. Then there’s Robert Sheehan’s irritating Klaus (The Séance/Number 4), a drug-addicted, kinetic medium, and Aidan Gallagher’s The Boy (Number 5), a curmudgeonly time-traveller – and a funny one at that – recently back from half a century of being trapped in an apocalyptic future and now stuck in the body of his 13-year-old self. Last but not least, Justin. H. Min’s Ben (The Horror/Number 6) is the odd one out. Killed during a mission, he’s now a ghost who appears only to Klaus.

It’s clear that the purse strings haven’t been controlled super tightly here; otherwise, The Umbrella Academy wouldn’t be such a polished visual explosion. A feast for the eyes, the series is absolutely brimming with snappy cinematography.

Off-kilter camerawork – Wes Anderson springs to mind – sets the scene for gloriously high-octane, often split-screen action sequences. These are often wrapped in a quintessential cape of slow-motion to offer a nice balance.

A killer soundtrack gives this series a real zany spark. It doesn’t get more eclectic than Morcheeba, My Chemical Romance, and Marilyn Monroe, does it? Forget scoring; the sound team here has mastered the art of the needle drop, conveying meaning through well-placed tunes. The technique hasn’t been applied this well since David Ayer’s The Suicide Squad.

The Umbrella Academy is undoubtedly the smart outcome of some true blue-thinking. It unrolls an original story with clandestine exhilaration and boundless energy. Sadly, though, this highly resourceful show isn’t without its kryptonite. It’s fair to say that the series is a bit lost in terms of tone, some of its waggishly forbidding subtleties failing to share the playground fairly with some of its obvious genre tropes. The Umbrella Academy also plods along at an incredibly languid pace, with some heavy bloating in the middle of the 10-episode run. This is something Netflix viewers are seeing time and time again; most recently with You. The series could sure do with a few episodes being shaved off, but for those with the patience to see it through, things do pick up after the lull.

As superhero enthusiasts weep at the loss of most Netflix Marvel tie-ins, as well as the potential cancellation of others in the very near future, The Umbrella Academy fills the lacuna adequately. It’s a fresh but nutso family-drama take on the do-gooding superhuman milieu and a brilliantly oddball whodunnit to boot. It may be a skosh too weird for some lovers of caped crusaders, but if you aren’t overwhelmed by its eccentricities, this superhero romp is a wonderful watch.

What did you think of The Umbrella Academy? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Review: ‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season One appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, Vanya is distraught over what she did to Allison, but winds up killing Leonard for his lies and manipulation. The Hargreeves brothers manage to save Allison, however, she won’t be able to talk for some time. Hazel and Cha-Cha go head to head until The Handler appears while Vanya returns to the Academy, but since her siblings know what she did to Allison, they lock her up in a cell. However, Vanya’s powers flare and she is seen escaping at the end of the episode.

The White Violin

The episode begins “long ago” where a much younger Hargreeves (Colm Feore) brings a violin to his wife, however, she tells him to take it with him and find someone who will love it as much as she has. She says she will die there, but she won’t allow him to, and tells him to leave. He releases some kind of energy into the air as missiles launch in the distance. We then see Hargreeves at a wharf set to board a ship and upon his arrival, he finds his way to a store called D.S Umbrella Manufacturing Co, which is for sale.

In the present day, a now changed Vanya (Ellen Page) with her pale skin and ice blue eyes escapes from her cell and Pogo (Adam Godley) tells the siblings to flee the Academy. As she makes it upstairs, she peers into the rooms of her siblings and recalls various memories of them being mean to her before she destroys their room. Meanwhile, Diego (David Castañeda) and Klaus (Robert Sheehan) race around in search of Grace, but Diego gets knocked out by falling debris. Klaus realises the roof is about to fall, but Ben is somehow able to drag them to safety.

Vanya continues destroying the Academy when Pogo tries to bring her to sense and make her stop. While her appearance returns to normal, she asks if he knew and he claims Hargreeves hoped to protect Vanya from herself. When he confirms he knew, Vanya uses her power to lift him into the air, throws him across the room, and impales him.

The siblings escape and Diego thanks Klaus for saving his life. As Vanya leaves, she destroys the Academy completely. Luther (Tom Hopper) tells them that Pogo and Grace died when Five (Aidan Gallagher) rushes towards them and says the apocalypse is still on as Harold was merely the fuse, but Vanya is the bomb. As the helicopters begin circling, they all disperse.

‘Barracuda’ by Heart begins to play as Vanya dons a suit and takes her violin with her, and also destroys a car when the driver yells at her. While taking the bus, she recalls seeing the violin near Hargreeves and he allows her to use it.

A Second (or Tenth) Chance

The Handler (Kate Walsh) points out how poorly Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J Blige) have done and the pair try to speak up for themselves. Hazel then says if they were to do what they were told, they should have killed each other and he explains the messages. The Handler realises what Five has done and offers them a new mission: protect Vanya Hargreeves at all costs. If completed, Hazel can resign and be with Agnes, and Cha-Cha gets a new partner and her record expunged.

Meanwhile, the siblings meet up at a bowling alley and Luther wants to stop Vanya, but Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Diego agree they have options. However, when Klaus sees an advertisement in the paper about her concert, Luther and Five agree to stop her. When Klaus speaks up, Luther shuts him down until Diego stands up for him, which is clearly the first time ever. He explains that Ben actually saved Diego’s life and tries to demonstrate, but it doesn’t work. Klaus then lets it slip that Luther lost his virginity which causes Allison to walk off. Luther goes after her to apologise, but she says she needs his voice as she wants to call Claire. He speaks to Claire for the first time and says things that he clearly intends and feels towards Allison.

The siblings start to discuss their plan when a group of agents from The Commission come in guns ablazing. Diego hits one of them with his knife, which causes the agent to fall and start the sound system and lights. ‘Saturday Night’ by Bay City Rollers starts blaring and Luther begins hurling bowling balls at them, while Klaus opts to throw a cake. With no way out, the siblings exit via the bowling lanes.

As for Five, he receives a message from The Handler and realises he received it because one of the sweets he took had a tracker in it. He opens the fortune cookie and finds a note with the motel room number on it and makes the jump. He arrives at the motel to find The Handler and she offers him a few options and he realises it was a distraction and jumps back to his siblings.

Afterwards, Hazel say The Handler’s deal isn’t real as they’ve caused far too much trouble. They follow Vanya and after Cha-Cha undoes her seatbelt, Hazel drives forward and she goes flying through the window. Hazel arrives back at the motel with The Handler having a shower and shoots her in the forehead. He frees Agnes and they kiss.

The Apocalypse Is Nigh

The concert begins with Vanya assuming her spot as first chair and the siblings arrive at the theatre. Allison wants to go in alone, but Luther isn’t for it at first and eventually allows her to enter. However, Diego realises Luther is using Allison as a distraction so they can get Vanya. Allison is in awe of Vanya until Diego and Luther come rushing at Vanya from both sides of the stage. With a flick of her bow, she sends a tidal wave of energy towards the crowd causing mass panic and she plays at a more intense level. The Commission agents begin entering the theatre while Allison is not happy about what Luther did and motions that they need to get the violin off Vanya. Five arrives while Klaus is outside getting a bite to eat and Cha-Cha is walking towards the theatre.

Klaus runs into the theatre and his hands begin to glow blue and he’s able to make Ben manifest, which allows him to use his monstrous tentacles to kill some of the agents. While Ben and Klaus are tearing apart agents (and also feeling super proud of himself), Cha-Cha appears and Diego and her go head to head. However, Diego can’t bring himself to kill Cha-Cha because Patch wouldn’t be happy with his choice.

Vanya continues playing which sees her clothes and violin begin to turn white while the theatre starts to crumble. The brothers decide to come at her from all angles in hopes one of them will make it to her, but she uses her bow again and this time holds the four men in the air with chords of light. However, behind her, a crying Allison holds a gun to Vanya’s head and sees her brothers are dying, but instead of shooting her, she places the gun right near Vanya’s ear and shoots. Vanya drops her brothers and a beam of light shoots from her and hits the moon. Vanya collapses, but she still lives. However, it seems the moon is exploding with asteroids coming right for Earth…

Five says it doesn’t have to be the end and says he’ll use his ability to time travel and take them with him. Hopefully. They all agree to go, but Luther is concerned about taking Vanya with them except Five says she will always be the cause of the apocalypse unless they fix her. Holding hands, Five creates a portal and we see the younger versions of them until they disappear and the theatre disappears in fire, along with the end of everyone else, including Cha-Cha, and Beeman. That being said, Hazel and Agnes are seen leaving in a blue light with a briefcase in tow!

Overall Thoughts?

What a season! What a cliffhanger! Firstly, I didn’t give this episode a 10/10 because it’s episode 10, but more so because it just had everything rolled into 45 glorious minutes. From the banter and quips to the emotional moments and plenty of action, the episode also saw each character get a significant amount of screentime while also pushing for last moments of character development. I’ve said it numerous times in other recaps, but Klaus is possibly my favourite Hargreeves sibling, not only because he’s played by Robert Sheehan, but mostly since he’s severely underestimated and he’s finally given his big moment in the episode. This was clearly obvious with his siblings shocked to see their brother Ben, or Number Six, appear to assist them in defeating the agents from The Commission.

As for the ending, well, let’s hope we’ll be getting a second season to see how the Hargreeves siblings go in trying to fix Vanya. Perhaps every season will just see them ultimately fail and bring on the apocalypse until finally they get it right five seasons later? No? Regardless, I want more.

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.10 ‘The White Violin’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, Leonard and Vanya worked on controlling and exploring her powers, along with seeing flashbacks of a young Vanya using her powers under the tutelage of Hargreeves. As for the Hargreeves brothers, Luther got laid for the first time while Klaus tells them how Hargreeves planned his death to bring them together. The brothers then team up to go after Allison as she went to investigate Leonard/Harold Jenkins and to find Vanya. Unfortunately for Allison, she winds up getting her throat slit after remembering Hargreeves making her use her power on Vanya so she’d believe she was ordinary.

Revelations

We begin in 1993 where a young Vanya is being asked to finish her breakfast by her nanny and she tries cheering Vanya up with some singing. However, everything gets to Vanya and she throws the woman across the room. It appears to happen several times until she ends up with Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins), however, when she gets flung back into a cabinet, Grace just gets up with her head on backwards and Vanya then does what she’s told.

In the present day, Vanya (Ellen Page) and Leonard (John Magaro) return to his house and he helps get rid of Allison’s blood. He begins to tell her that her brothers will be coming for her because of what she did. Later on, Vanya finds Hargreeves’ journal and so Vanya confronts Leonard. He continues manipulating her when she asks about who Harold Jenkins is and she realises Allison was telling the truth. He reveals he killed the first chair violinist and begins to torment Vanya, but her powers begin to surge and it raises Leonard off the ground and he’s stabbed with multiple items. She then returns to her apartment and hears the voicemail from Allison, which causes her to cry.

The brothers arrive back at the Academy with Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman and Grace says one of them will need to give blood, so naturally Luther (Tom Hopper) says he will, but his blood is more compatible with Pogo’s now. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) then offers his, but it’s too polluted according to Pogo (Adam Godley), so Diego (David Castañeda) offers his and passes out at the sight of the needle.

Afterwards, Grace says Allison will live, but her vocal cords have been severely damaged and they’ll have to wait and see if she can talk again. Luther watches over and talks to Allison, and she later wakes up and he tells her not to talk and offers her a notepad instead. She tries to Luther that Vanya has powers when Pogo walks in and he says this is the last of Hargreeves’ secrets.

Time To Dance

Diego and Five (Aidan Gallagher) want to find Leonard, but Klaus wants to sit this one out until a knife winds up very close to his lower extremities. Diego, Klaus, and Five find Leonard dead and so Five places the glass eye into Leonard’s socket as it matches perfectly, but he believes it can’t be that easy and wonders who killed Leonard. They return to the Academy to see if Vanya came back, but she’s not there.

Klaus heads to his room and searches for drugs as he can’t be sober anymore and Ben acts as a voice of reason. Klaus agrees much to the surprise of Ben, however, he proceeds to put the pills into his mouth and Ben winds up punching him and knocking them out of his mouth. The pair are shocked that Ben made contact or ‘Patrick Swayzeed’ him, but Ben believes Klaus was the one that did it.

Enjoying a margarita, Five opens the Academy door to find Hazel (Cameron Britton) pointing a gun at him and invites him in. However, Hazel isn’t there to hurt them until Diego comes flying in and starts kicking the shit out of him and stabs Hazel in the leg. Oh, he also bites his ear until Five jumps and smashes a vase over Diego’s head and knocks him out. Hazel then tells Five he wants to help stop the apocalypse, but Five tells him Jenkins is dead so the impending apocalypse should be over. Before Hazel leaves, Five learns it was Cha-Cha who killed Patch and leaves his guns there in hopes to clear Diego’s name. Meanwhile, Agnes arrives at her motel room and finds Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) there.

Hazel returns to the motel and Cha-Cha intends on making Hazel watch Agnes die. The two assassins break into a fight to the tune of ‘Sunshine, Lollipops and Rainbows’while Agnes calls out for the both of them to stop. Cha-Cha then uses a garrote wire to strangle Hazel, but he breaks free while Cha-Cha goes to kill Agnes. Time stops and The Handler (Kate Walsh) appears, but now with scars on her face.

Reunited (Again)

Vanya makes the decision to return to the Academy and Luther tells her Allison lived. She confesses what happened in the cabin and he hugs her, except he’s actually strangling her. Her powers begin to flare and the Academy begins to shake, but she passes out before she can do any damage. She then wakes to find herself in the cell again with her three brothers watching on and Klaus and Diego are shocked by the revelation of her powers. Klaus and Diego want proof and want to help her when Allison appears and asks Luther to let Vanya go. Allison says it was her fault, but Luther won’t let Allison pass and they all leave.

As Smith Western’s ‘All Die Young’ plays, Luther tries to comfort Allison but she won’t have it; Klaus tries working on his powers; Vanya remains distressed; Grace cooks for Diego; and Five returns Delores to the department store and says goodbye to her.

While in the cell, Vanya sees a young version of herself in the reflection and she goads Vanya and says they must act against their siblings. Vanya begins to panic until she hears the sound of her own heart racing and her powers begin to flare causing the wall of the cell to fall. It seems her powers have taken over now with her pale skin and blue eyes.

Overall Thoughts?

As mentioned in another recap, I’ve read the graphic novels and while it was clear from the first episode there was going to be changes, I am incredibly glad they didn’t go full graphic novel with Vanya, especially since the other villain isn’t present in the television series. It was great to see that they kept it subtle with the pale skin and eyes, and teased it as she learned more about her powers. I think perhaps Klaus has been one of my favourite characters in the series, so it was enjoyable to see his powers develop, especially since he is capable of a lot more in the graphic novel, which can also be said for the others as well. That being said, I’m glad they didn’t include all of their powers in the series as it may have been a bit much to incorporate and see them in use.

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.09 ‘Changes’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, the siblings relive the day again thanks to Five going back in time, but everything is different as he convinces them to help stop the apocalypse and find Harold Jenkins. It’s revealed Harold Jenkins is actually Leonard Peabody and he seeks revenge as he wanted to be part of the Academy since he was born on the same day. Leonard whisk Vanya away to a cabin and ends with Vanya’s powers surging and accidentally killing two of the three men that were attacking Leonard. Meanwhile, Luther went on a bender and ended up at a rave and Klaus tried to help him, but ended up communicating with Hargreeves who informed him that he killed himself to bring the siblings together.

Lessons and Memories

As Etta James’s ‘Stormy Weather’ plays, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) continues making her way to Leonard’s cabin and recalls a moment from a year ago with her daughter who asks to hear a story about the time the Umbrella Academy defeated the robbers. Claire wants to hear more stories and starts to get angry so Allison turns to her and says “I heard a rumour…” and next thing we know is that Claire is ready for bed, but Allison’s husband Patrick saw the whole thing. She arrives at the cabin and begins sneaking around and sees Vanya’s violin case, but nobody is home.

Vanya (Ellen Page) wakes up at the hospital as Leonard (John Magaro) wants to leave and says he can come back tomorrow to be fitted for a prosthetic eye. She asks a nurse about the three men, but it seems two died at the scene and the other is in critical condition. They return to the cabin and Vanya isn’t happy with what happened, but Leonard suggest that they work together to control it.

While Vanya plays her violin, Leonard reads Hargreeves’ journal and we flashback to Vanya learning to use her ability, but she shatters the glass. Another training lesson with Hargreeves (Colm Feore) sees her shatter all of the glasses along with his monocle and he decides to conclude her training. With some new knowledge, Leonard takes Vanya into the woods and she recalls the night before and how the sound of the engine was resonating and became louder until her energy erupted from her. Leonard tells Vanya to concentrate and the wind picks up significantly and she’s thrilled she can stop it as it seems her power is tied to her emotions.

Afterwards, the pair eat lunch but Vanya wants to practice her violin, but Leonard isn’t thrilled. She practices for a while then heads back in except the door slams shut and Leonard isn’t anywhere to be found. She recalls a moment when Hargreeves took her to a secret bunker and Hargreeves and Pogo shut her in a cell to see if her behaviour could be regulated. In the present, she begins to panic and picks up her violin again while hearing what Leonard said when he was trying to train her. As she plays the violin, her powers surge.

Cherries and Chances

Luther (Tom Hopper) wakes with a monstrous hangover and the rave girl in his bed. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) wanders down the hallway ringing a bell when Luther comes rushing out and it Klaus is ecstatic when he realises that Luther just lost his virginity. Klaus, Luther, and Five (Aidan Gallagher) gather for a meeting and Klaus tells them he saw Hargreeves and what he said. Pogo (Adam Godley) confirms this as he and Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) assisted in helping Hargreeves. Grace’s programming was adjusted so she would be unable to administer first aid and Luther is angry at Pogo.

Meanwhile, Diego (David Castañeda) remains in a cell and Beeman (Rainbow Francks) tells Diego again that it doesn’t look good. He wishes Diego luck with a handshake and after he leaves, Diego holds a pair of scissors. Back at the Academy, Five is trying to figure out how Hargreeves knew when to kill himself so he rallies Klaus to help while Diego returns to the Academy and tells them that Allison is in danger. The three brothers find Luther at a pub and he’s brooding significantly about what Hargreeves did and he doesn’t want to help. However, Diego gets Luther interested when he says Allison went after Leonard so the brothers all rush off.

As for our hitmen, Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Agnes are on their way to start their new life even though they’re stuck in traffic. They eventually arrive at a motel, but he’s leaving her there as there’s something he must do first. Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) freed herself and heads to the diner and finds a map that shows her where they are headed. Not missing an opportunity, she blows up the diner.

Rumor No More

Allison finds herself stuck in the same traffic as Hazel due to the police investigating the accident that Vanya caused. Allison speaks with one of the officers, who is a little starstruck by her, and overhears that the perp has woken up at the hospital. She tells him she’s researching for a role as a small-town cop and convinces him (without her powers) to allow her to tag along.

Allison and Sergeant Cheddar speak with the perp and they learn a guy hired the men to start a fight in front of his girlfriend, but they took it too far. Later on, the perp disappears while the nurse confirms she saw Vanya and so Allison returns to the cabin where Vanya is still playing.

Surprised to see Allison, Vanya tells her she is the one causing all the movement outside while Allison tells her about Leonard. Vanya doesn’t want to believe her and she’s struggling with the knowledge of her new power when Allison recalls seeing a four-year-old Vanya in the cell taking medication. Hargreeves then made Allison use her powers on Vanya to think she’s only ordinary. However, in the present, Vanya is angered by this and her powers flare significantly and as Allison goes to use her powers on Vanya to calm her, Vanya strikes out with her violin bow and slashes Allison’s throat. She immediately comes to again when Leonard rushes in and seems happy by what she’s done before he rushes her to the car.

To the sounds of Hooverphonic’s ‘Mad About You’, the four brothers eventually make it to the cabin and Luther finds Allison dead on the floor.

Overall Thoughts?

It was great to see Vanya learning to use her power, despite its destructive capabilities, but here’s hoping she slashes Leonard’s throat soon too. While little happened for our other characters, it was fantastic to see the Hargreeves brothers working together for once, and ultimately, the death of their sister will only help further the cause.

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.08 ‘I Heard A Rumor’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, Five began working for The Commission and The Handler, but he had other plans and ended up stealing a time travel briefcase and jumping backwards so we ended up losing a whole day and the episode really. The episode saw Luther and Allison kiss, Klaus recalled his time in Vietnam and attempted to sober up with the help of Diego, and Vanya fell out (again) with her siblings and seemed to cause a little destruction and also found that Leonard has Hargreeves’ notebook.

Meet Harold Jenkins

Three Dog Night’s ‘One’ plays and we begin on the seventh hour of October 1st 1989 as a woman goes into labour. Mr Jenkins meets his son, but his wife dies at the hospital. Now a young boy, Harold plays with Umbrella Academy figurines and it seems he doesn’t have the best upbringing with his father and gets backhanded after not bringing him a beer. Harold fashions his own uniform and mask and heads to the Academy, which is surrounded by adoring fans. The children and Hargreeves (Colm Feore) arrive and enter the Academy, and Harold explains that he was born on the same day and believes he is like them. However, Hargreeves tells him he has no power and never will, and the crowds laugh at him. He returns home and he is further beaten by his father. Angered by this, Harold kills his father with a hammer and ends up in jail for 12 years. After his release, he visits the Academy and sees Klaus (Robert Sheehan) throw the contents of the box into a dumpster and retrieves Hargreeves’ journal, and it’s revealed Leonard (John Magaro) is Harold Jenkins.

Since Five (Aidan Gallagher) essentially rewound the day, he speaks with his siblings about Harold Jenkins, but Leonard is upstairs retrieving the Hargreeves figurine again and overhears this. After they leave, Vanya’s (Ellen Page) destruction to the street still occurs as she already fought with her siblings.

Back in the Academy, Five is trying to convince the others that Harold Jenkins will bring on the apocalypse and somehow he succeeds. Luther (Tom Hopper) still plans on searching through his father’s files while Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Diego (David Castañeda), and Five head to the police station to try to see if Harold has a record. Diego speaks with Chuck Beeman (Rainbow Francks) in a back alley near the police station, but he doesn’t want to help as they are looking at Diego for Patch’s murder. Meanwhile, Allison tries calling Vanya and leaves a message apologising when Diego  returns with the file and Allison tells them that Harold is actually Leonard.

Meanwhile, Leonard takes Vanya to his family cabin so they can find out what Vanya is truly capable of. Vanya is hesitant to try as she’s seen it ruin her siblings lives, but he urges her on to move a boat in the middle of the lake. When Vanya begins to laugh at her futile attempts, Leonard starts to get frustrated as she’s not trying hard enough. The pair take a break and have dinner, but when they leave the restaurant, they find a group of men hanging around Leonard’s car. One of them slaps Vanya’s ass and they begin bashing Leonard. Vanya becomes so distraught that it causes a burst of energy to emanate from her causing the men to be flung backwards.

Gunshots and Farewells

The trio go to Leonard’s house where Five blinks into the house, Allison goes around the back, and Diego goes subtlety crashing through the front. Allison heads upstairs and goes straight for the attic that she missed last time and discovers the figurines and posters of them. Five falls to the floor as he’s bleeding out from a gunshot wound so they return to the Academy when Diego sees Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) for the first time again. Grace takes care of Five while Allison and Diego decide to investigate another address listed, which is the cabin Leonard’s grandmother owns. As they exit the Academy, Diego notices the police are coming his way and they take him into custody.

Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) still receive their notice about Five’s contract being cancelled and Hazel receiving his notice to terminate Cha-Cha. They go through the motions once again going into the woods, but we see Hazel talking about birds, and Cha-Cha seems to think that perhaps Hazel is talking about a simpler life with her. Hazel goes to see his waitress lover and wants her to leave with him and she agrees. He then returns to the motel and finds Cha-Cha’s message to terminate him and quickly hides when she returns and knocks her out again. Cha-Cha wakes to find herself tied up and Hazel tells her that he wants out. Cha-Cha threatens both Hazel and his waitress, but he can’t do it and leaves.

Time For A Rave

Luther faces the same moment of realising Hargreeves never looked at the information he sent and resorts to drinking, which Klaus is surprised by. Luther wants Klaus to conjure Hargreeves, but he’s not sober enough to do so yet and hasn’t previously answered so the brothers share a little heart to heart before Luther drunkenly storms off to explore the world.

Klaus goes after Luther, but he’s struggling since he’s trying to sober up and Ben urges him to continue. He finds a shirtless Luther at a rave, and it’s not the best place for Klaus to be right now in his current state. Somehow he manages to find the willpower to throw away a pill Luther holds up, but he begins to struggle and sees the pill on the floor nearby. As he crawls across the floor, his memories of Vietnam intermingle.

A group of men decide to go after Luther as he’s dancing with a girl and so Klaus tries to intervene and gets knocked out. He wakes to find himself in black and white, and judging by the conversation he has with a young girl, it appears he’s in heaven. She says “he is waiting for you” and runs towards a cabin only to find himself in a barbershop and it turns out the “he” is Hargreeves. In death, Hargreeves is disappointed he’s only just been conjured and that Klaus only scratched the surface of what he was truly capable of. Klaus mentions how Luther found the unopened letters, and it seems Hargreeves does regret it for a second, but he follows with that he should have burned them all. He continues on about how they were purposely raised that way and in order to bring them together again, it had to be something momentous that would reunite them….and that was his death. Just as Hargreeves is about to tell him something important, he is brought back to reality.

As Radiohead’s ‘Exit Music (For A Film) plays, the end of the episode sees Klaus leaving the rave, Diego in a cell, Luther hooking up with a girl, Allison driving to find Vanya, Five in bed, and Vanya at the hospital recalling how she stopped the men.

Overall Thoughts?

While ‘The Day That Wasn’t’ had some exciting outcomes, this episode made up for the moments our characters lost, especially with Luther going on a bit of a bender and heading a rave. It was great to see some of the siblings work together properly for once, along with Klaus trying to help Luther and also finally being sober enough to talk to his father. But alas, of course their time was cut short, so perhaps he was about to tell him about Vanya? We’ll see!

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.07 ‘The Day That Was’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, we’re introduced to The Handler and The Commission who employ Five for a period of time until he returns to the Academy, while Klaus returns from his little time travel trip, except he isn’t the same man that he once was as he travelled to 1968 Vietnam. It’s revealed that Vanya isn’t so ordinary, and that it has something to do with being off her medication and Leonard is all for it. In exchange for his siblings to live, Five agrees to work for The Commission once again, but he most definitely has some kind of plan…

A Trip To The Past

We begin in A Shau Valley, Vietnam in 1968 when Klaus (Robert Sheehan) arrives with a flash of blue light and the sounds of bombs and sirens overhead. The troops are called into action, and Klaus is forced to don a uniform and handed a gun to prepare for battle. Next thing we know Klaus is enjoying drinks and dancing to ‘Soul Kitchen’ by The Doors and kissing a fellow soldier by the name of Dave (Cody Ray Thompson). Returning to the present, Klaus flushes his drugs and Luther (Tom Hopper) gathers the siblings for a meeting about the impending apocalypse. He ends up having to spill the beans that they all fought together and ended up dead. Great chat.

Meanwhile, Five (Aidan Gallagher) finds himself with The Handler (Kate Walsh) in 1955 and he’s introduced to The Commission’s headquarters and to Dot, the person who managed his reappearance and helped coordinate Hazel and Cha-Cha. The Handler gives Five a particularly challenging case—Hindenburg. However, it seems Five might have other ideas and tries sending a message to kill Karl Weber, but The Handler intervenes except it seems Five may have solved the case. He then steals the case file off Dot’s desk and tries to read it in the bathroom, but The Handler interrupts him and then invites him to lunch.

Family, Who Needs Them?

Leonard (John Magaro) convinces Vanya (Ellen Page) to invite her siblings to her first performance, and so she takes him to the Academy and she finds her siblings all discussing the apocalypse. Upon seeing Leonard, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) says they’re discussing a family matter, which only upsets Vanya and she calls them all assholes. Leonard claims he left his jacket and heads back upstairs, but he also takes the figurine of Hargreeves. As Vanya and Leonard walk the streets, Vanya is angry and in the background there are cars moving and lamp posts bending. Leonard points out the destruction, and Vanya doesn’t believe it could be her.

Meanwhile, Luther says him being on the moon for so many years must have something to do with it, so he wants to find Hargreeves’ research. As for the others, Klaus isn’t looking so well and leaves along with Diego (David Castañeda), leaving Allison and Luther behind. However, Allison wants to be with her daughter and leaves too. Later on, Klaus asks for Diego’s help as he’s trying to get sober and Diego realises that Klaus is doing it so he can see Dave again before the apocalypse. Klaus has a flashback again to being on the frontlines and realising Dave has been shot, but Klaus ends up conjuring and seeing Dave.

Allison is preparing to leave when she looks at the heart locket with A+L on it. She has a flashback to a night they snuck out to enjoy snacks and dance, however, Hargreeves (Colm Feore) found them.

Luther then searches for his father’s moon related research and Pogo (Adam Godley) points out that it’s hidden beneath the floorboards. It seems Hargreeves never looked at the research as he thought sending Luther to the moon would give him purpose after his accident. Allison finds a disheartened Luther and he tells her about the research, so she decides to take him up their secret spot and continue their feast from that night Hargreeves found them. He notices the necklace and the pair decide to head out into the world for some fun. They end up at the park, but Allison needs to leave for her flight and so Luther chases after and asks her to dance. Entering a dream-like sequence, they’re all dressed up with the park covered in lights, Luther with his normal body, and dancing to Toploader’s ‘Dancing In The Moonlight (2001 Remix)’. Back to reality, the pair end up kissing and she invites him to come with her.

Diego is surprised to see  Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) up and walking again and so Diego asks her what the last thing is that she remembers. She notices Pogo in the distance and she says the last thing she remembers was over a week ago. Diego and Grace venture outside for a walk and she confesses her and Pogo have been lying.

At Leonard’s house, Vanya discovers Hargreeves’ notebook under Leonard’s bed and she reads about herself. Hargreeves says she is dangerous and recommends mood altering medication to keep her sedated.

Rewind

Hazel (Cameron and Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) have their contract to kill Five cancelled and Cha-Cha really isn’t happy. When Hazel heads out, Cha-Cha receives another message saying she can terminate Hazel for immediate extraction. They later head to the woods and Hazel suggests perhaps they help to stop the apocalypse. She points a gun to his head, but she’s unable to go through with it.

Afterwards, she sees Hazel with the waitress and she’s not happy. She returns to the motel and it’s revealed, to the sounds of Gin Wigmore’s ‘Kill of the Night’, that Five was responsible for the terminating Hazel message and also sent one to terminate Cha-Cha. The Handler isn’t happy and she tries to shoot Five, but he ends up throwing a grenade at her and blowing her up. He grabs a briefcase, destroys the others, and the day begins again… Ultimately, Grace’s near-confession is gone, the moment shared between Luther and Allison never happened, Vanya doesn’t discover the notebook, and Klaus doesn’t conjure Dave.

But now, according to Five, it appears they must stop Harold Jenkins.

Overall Thoughts?

Learning more about The Commission was interesting, even though it appears the knowledge might not be required after Five destroying parts of the headquarters. That being said, I’m sure they’ll be back. Yet again, Robert Sheehan delivered a wonderful performance with trying to sober up and remembering his time in Vietnam along with Dave. This is an episode that will probably frustrate many others, as it did for me a little with the whole rewinding time and losing the character and plot development that happened. Perhaps it was actually Five that royally screwed the timeline, we’ll have to see!

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.06 ‘The Day That Wasn’t appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, how Luther ended up with an ape-like body is revealed, while Hazel and Cha-Cha torture Klaus in order to find out more about Five. Meanwhile, Diego and Luther look after Five; Patch decides to head to the motel in search of the hitmen and ultimately winds up being killed; and lastly, Klaus escapes with the time travel briefcase and gets zapped to somewhere in time.

The Past, Present, and Future

‘In The Heat of The Moment’ by Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds sets the tone as Five (Aidan Gallagher) pulls Dolores along in a wagon through an apocalyptic wasteland. From ash falling to snow, Five ages to a middle-aged man, and then another scene sees him sporting some long white hair and sitting and drinking in a destroyed library having a chat to Dolores. Five hears a noise and he’s shocked to see a real human standing in front of him.

Flash to the present, Five is talking to Luther (Tom Hopper) about the apocalypse and Luther seems angered that Five didn’t say anything sooner, while Five tells him they all died in the future. Diego (David Castañeda) comes storming in and he blames Patch’s death on Five and they both want to know what’s going on. Five explains that Hazel and Cha-Cha work for his ex-employer, who is known as The Handler, and they’re there to stop Five.

Returning to the future, Five meets The Handler (Kate Walsh) for the first time and she works for The Commission, who look after preserving the time continuum, and they want to recruit Five for five years. At the end of his contract, he can return to the time and place of his choosing. We see a montage of Five ‘correcting’ and ‘manipulating’ time, including the time of JFK’s assassination. It seems Five was biding his time to figure out how to return and so he broke his contract and returned.

With a flash of blue light and to the sounds of Big Thief’s ‘Mary’, a bloodied and sad Klaus (Robert Sheehan) appears on a bus again. He gets off the bus and destroys the time travel briefcase with many tears and screams. Meanwhile, Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) are looking for the briefcase when they receive a violation message and it seems Klaus travelled to 1968. Cha-Cha wants to head back to the Academy, but they’re going to do some research first.

Bloody Time

Klaus enjoys a long bath back at the Academy and it seems he may be suffering from some kind of PTSD as he hears sounds and sees lights. Five checks in on Klaus and notices the dog tags and new tattoo on Klaus and realises he time travelled. According to Klaus, he was gone for a year and Five was hoping he’d have the briefcase so he could go back and start over to prevent the apocalypse. Five then works on an algorithm to see who might have the greatest impact on time so he can kill them. Luther won’t let Five kill just anyone, so he threatens Dolores, which causes Five to give up.

Pogo (Adam Goodley) is trying to repair Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins), while Klaus wanders the Academy looking at the damage. Klaus goes for a ride with Diego and he gets dropped off at the VFW (Veterans of Foreign Wars) and he finds a photograph that he tears up over. Diego wants to know what’s going on while one of the veterans starts to tell the brothers to get out and ends up with a bar fight. A close up of the photograph shows Klaus serving in the army back in 1968.

As for our hitmen, Hazel returns to the diner for some more doughnuts and he joins the waitress for her lunch break and it seems she enjoys bird watching. Hazel opens up about his dislike for his career and the pair end up holding hands. Meanwhile, Klaus opens up to Diego in the car that he loved someone when they notice Hazel leaving the diner, so they decide to follow.

Hazel and Cha-Cha return to their motel, and Diego places a tracker on their car, but Hazel spots him. The hitmen then receive a note from Five who claims to have the briefcase and wants to meet with them, but they need to avoid Diego who is watching them. Klaus pulls Diego out of the line of fire just in time, but now their car has slashed tyres.

Hazel and Cha-Cha meet with Luther and Five and it seems Five wants them to get in touch with The Handler. While they wait, an ice cream truck approaches and a smiling Klaus waves out of the window and drives right towards Hazel and Cha-Cha. Time freezes for everyone but Five and The Handler appears. Five wants her to stop the apocalypse and instead she offers him a job and the chance to be older again, so in exchange for agreeing, Five wants all of his family to survive. He agrees and leaves with her causing time to resume where everyone escapes to the sounds of Gerard Way and Ray Toro singing ‘Happy Together’.

An Opportunity

Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) brings breakfast to Vanya (Ellen Page), but she’s heading off to see Leonard, and Allison expresses her concerns once more as she thinks he seems too perfect. Vanya ignores the concerns and meets with Leonard (John Magaro) at a cafe where Fiction Factory’s ‘Feels Like Heaven) plays in the background. Leonard notices her happiness and Vanya thinks perhaps she might be fine off her medication, along with telling him about Allison’s concerns. Apparently there are now auditions for first chair as the other girl stopped turning up and Leonard is all for Vanya trying out…. Hmmm.

Allison heads to the library to see if she can find any information on Leonard and later goes to see Vanya to tell her that she could barely find anything on Leonard, but Vanya won’t have a bar of it. Allison heads to Leonard’s to search his house, meanwhile, Vanya auditions and while she’s playing the violin, it appears something is happening as the people become interested and a light emanates from her instrument.

At the end of the episode, Vanya goes to see Leonard after her audition and says she’s never played without her medication. The pair then kiss and well, the aftermath seems to cause Vanya’s powers to emanate from her once more and we see the other violinist dead in his attic along with Hargreeves journal.

Back at the Academy, Grace is functioning and Pogo asks if she remembers, which she does, and that she cannot tell the siblings…

Overall Thoughts?

Definitely a step up from the previous episode with it mostly due to Robert Sheehan’s performance, but also, the whole concept of The Commission and learning about Five’s role in it was quite interesting and certainly adds to the series overall. For those rolling their eyes over Leonard, it was clear from the start that it wasn’t good news for Vanya, but we didn’t know how or what he would do to her, and it’s only the beginning…

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.05 ‘Number Five’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.

In the previous episode, we see Vanya and Leonard spend more time together; the Hargreeves siblings must decide what to do with their mother, Grace; and Hazel and Cha-Cha break into the Academy causing a fight, which ends with them capturing Klaus

Playing Frankenstein

The episode opens with Morcheeba’s ‘Blood Like Lemonade’ playing with a very normal and muscular Luther (Tom Hopper) lying on his bed at the Academy seven years ago. Peering into empty rooms, it’s clear Luther is just a little lonely, especially when he rides a bike around the Academy. He then receives a mission from Hargreeves (Colm Feore), but it goes wrong and he arrives back at the Academy in critical condition. Hargreeves asks for the serum, much to the reluctance of Pogo (Adam Godley) and Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins), and after weeks or possibly months, Luther wakes to find his body now very large and hairy and resembling that of an ape.

Back in the present, Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Luther find Grace and Allison believes the two hitmen deactivated her. Luther then reluctantly opens up to Allison about what happened. Meanwhile, Vanya (Ellen Page) wakes up at Leonard’s (John Magaro) house and the pair walk to Vanya’s next rehearsal with the promise to have dinner soon.

Later on, Allison goes to check on Vanya and finds someone in the apartment and takes him down, however, it’s only Leonard. Allison decides to meet Vanya after her rehearsal and tells her about what happened to Grace. The sisters then go have a few drinks together, and Allison has her suspicions about Leonard, but Vanya says she likes him. Back at her apartment, Vanya finds flowers from Leonard and she calls to thank him whilst he is pouring Vanya’s medication down the sink.

A Little Torture

Hazel (Cameron Britton) and Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) are strangling Klaus (Robert Sheehan) to find out where Five is, which results in Klaus enjoying it a little too much and the blood pumping to other lower extremities. They then try waterboarding Klaus, but he just gargles and swallows and so the pair start destroying his drugs and also eating his chocolate, which has added special ingredients that they’re unaware of. He begins to tell them that Five hasn’t been making any sense since he got back and that he’s fixated on this eye.

Now high, the hitmen head to MeriTech and they begin destroying the lab while having a little dance in between. The whole building is up in flames by the time Five (Aidan Gallagher) gets there. Meanwhile, Patch (Ashley Madekwe) finds Diego (David Castañeda) on her doorstep and he confesses to her that his mother died, along with the fact the two hitmen turned up to the Academy and that his brother is missing. Patch then investigates the fire and turns up at the motel where the hitmen are staying, but she calls and leaves a message at the boxing gym first to ask Diego to be his backup.

Seeing Dead People

In search of Five, Diego and Luther find Five’s van and realise he might be at the public library, but their search comes up empty until the find Five drunk with his arm wrapped around Dolores. Diego and Luther take Five to the boxing gym and Diego receives the message from Patch. He arrives at the motel to find Patch dead.

At the motel, Klaus is remembering being younger when he was locked up by Hargreeves so he could confront the spirits, but Ben brings him back to the present. When the hitmen return to the room, Cha-Cha is annoyed that Hazel didn’t put the do not disturb sign out as the room was serviced. The hitmen left a message for Five on the van and wait for him to turn up, whilst Klaus remembers his childhood once more.

Back in reality, Klaus sees a woman named Zoya, and it appears she was a victim of theirs. Dozens of them begin to appear and tell Klaus their stories and the hitmen a little thrown by what Klaus is conveying to them. It seems Hazel let someone’s wife go, and Cha-Cha isn’t pleased. While the hitmen are in the bathroom discussing Hazel’s actions, Klaus bangs his head on the table in hopes Patch will hear him as she walks past. She enters and frees him and Hazel begins shooting while Klaus starts climbing through the vent and taking their time travel briefcase with him. Cha-Cha then comes from behind and shoots Patch.

At the end of the episode, Klaus makes it on to a bus and opens the briefcase, which makes him disappear with a blue flash.

Overall Thoughts?

Admittedly, this is probably my least favourite episode thus far and it seems we’ve hit a bit of a lull. That being said, it was enjoyable seeing Klaus sober up and seeing his abilities come into play more! I read the graphic novel earlier this year and I’m hoping to see his other abilities included in the series, and possibly the next episode will be a step up!

What did you think of the episode? Tell us in the comments below!

The post Umbrella Academy Recap: 1.04 ‘Man On The Moon’ appeared first on The Nerd Daily.