The Umbrella Academy” is finally out and fans could not be more excited. After season one debuted on Feb. 15, 2019, the show gained massive traction because it was based off an original comic written by Gerard Way and illustrated by Gabriel Bá. Overall, this season showed an excellent amount of character development, plenty of new and improved special effects, and a consistent plot that blended well with the season. 

The show’s premise is based on the idea that on Oct. 1, 1989, 43 women across the globe gave birth. These births were exceptionally extraordinary, because of the fact that none of them were pregnant when the day first began. An eccentric billionaire named Sir Reginald Hargreeves traveled the world to find these children and pay the mothers off to adopt them. He was able to get seven of them, and these children were soon to become the super hero team called “The Umbrella Academy.” 

However, when they were adopted, they were not given proper names like a normal child would. These children were referred to by number, only later by their “mother,” a humanlike robot created by Hargreeves, would they be given actual names. This was because Hargreeves did not truly see them as children, they were just abilities, or test subjects, because of the fact that all of the kids except for Vanya, or Number Seven, had supernatural abilities spanning from superhuman strength, to time and space travel. Instead of having normal childhoods, they spent their days training to be super heros with their “father” or going on missions to save the day. 

At the end of season one, Vanya had gone rogue due to all the abuse she had suffered in her life by not only her father, but her siblings as well for being the only child without powers. Vanya’s anguish ended up causing her to be a catalyst for the end of the world, which her siblings realised too late. In an attempt to save all of their lives, Number Five, with the ability to travel through space time, sent them all back to the 1960’s. This would mark the end of season one, and the beginning of season two, as they each arrived in the 60’s one year apart from each other.

Five’s solution; however, only proved to be temporary as he had found out that the apocalypse followed them there and Five is tasked with the challenge to band the family back together and save the world. To help him, Five employs the help of a new character, Elliot, who has been logging the strange time anomalies caused by people coming out of time rifts in the alleyway behind his house. After Five discovers this, he convinces Elliot to help him find his family and Elliot informs him where to locate Diego, also known as Number Two. Shortly after getting there, Five finds out Diego is locked up in a mental facility, to which viewers are then introduced to Lyla. 

While at the mental facility, they are met with some of the main antagonists, “The Swedes,” who are a band of three brothers whose goal is to kill and capture the family from this timeline. While Five, Lyla, Diego, and Elliot are trying to figure out how to stop the apocalypse, viewers are shown what the other siblings are doing. Number One, also known as Luther had become a bodyguard to Jack Ruby, a nightclub owner, who is famously known for killing Lee Harvey Oswald. Allison, who is Number Three, is a civil rights activist with her husband Patrick. Klaus, Number Four and Ben, Number Six are off running a cult called Destiny’s Children. Vanya was hit by a car when she got teleported into this period and picked up by a woman named Shirly and her son Harlen, who she instantly built a strong connection with. 

Eventually,  they are all able to connect and face the different obstacles thrown at them for the rest of the season. One of the main themes portrayed in this season is that family is important no matter how broken. This season showcased the importance of personal growth and how fundamental it is to be the best and most proficient version of yourself. This really drew viewers in and got them invested into the different characters.

Another thing that really stood out to everyone was the special effects. The special effects this season were incredible, from random explosions to the new developments in the characters powers. They are able to accurately depict things like bullets freezing mid-air and even a time vortex. A moment where this was beautifully executed was the opening scene, where all of their powers are shown in the fight against the Soviets and nuclear war. 

Compared to season one, season two really blew viewers away. This time around there was more character development, a more consistent plot line and the special effects really changed our mindset towards how we view the strength of each character. Due to all of this the overall the rating for this season is a 5/5.