Episode 8 of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy is all about memories and Vanya exploring and controlling her hidden power after the incident involving Leonard.
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.
ok i didn’t see that coming. i’m bummed to see her go *sniffle*