S02.E01: Right Back Where We Started

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

After dropping his siblings into an alley in Dallas -- in different years -- Five scrambles to track them all down and stop a new doomsday threat.

Dropping on Netflix, Friday, July 31, 2020.

[Chaos Theory]

I missed this show.  Vanya is going to be the most interesting character for me being In the past with a half way decent family and no memory.    Still decent start with Five chasing everyone else around time.

[blueray]

Not a bad start of a season. I was glad that they recapped a bit as I hadn't seen season 1 in a while. I missed why Klaus wanted to go to Dallas? It seems kind of random unless that was where he originally appeared but even so why go back there. And I guess we'll find out why his brother (forgot his name) wants to go back to san fransico. Couldn't he just go unless he needs to interact with the living to do what he wants to do.

I like that Vanya is in a nice family. But somehow it seems off in an acting sense. I couldn't place what it was. And I like that Alison is also in a happy relationship. 

[tennisgurl]

Great to see this show again, in all its dysfunctional glory. So Five sent his siblings back in time (in their adult forms) but to different times, but all around the same few years and all in the same place. However, in typical Hargreeves fashion, they all spiral off into various hijinks and problems and such, with Allison (who got married!) and Vanya (who is a nanny and is bonding with the mom) being the best of, seemingly at least. Five is trying to find them and fix yet another world ending catastrophe, although this one was maybe not their fault? Also at some point, they actually become a real superhero team? Complete with cool matching outfits?! What?!?

Hazel! No! 

The show has always had such a retro aesthetic, it really feels perfectly at home in the early 60s. So we are doing something with the Kennedy assassination, the plot of Red Dawn, and...an actual milkman conspiracy? I love this show, I am so happy to see it again. This is going to be a wild ride. 

Vanya is going to have a lot to take in once she gets her memories back. Not only is she from the future, not only does she have superpowers, not only was she the neglected child of a superhero experiment/family whos adopted father covered up her story breaking powers, not only was her boyfriend a psychopath, not only do her other siblings also have powers, but she had a mental breakdown in the future and destroyed the world! 

[DearEvette]

I liked the intro, how they all dropped in the same alley but one year apart and how their lives diverged.

Diego: Of course he is the only one who landed out of the sky on his feet ready to fight. And Of course he would try to save Kennedy.

Allison: Very curious about how she went from basically a mute stranger in a strange land to being married, owning a hair salon, and involved in organizing the movement all in 2 years.

Vanya: No memories.  But gets taken in by a family and by all accounts looks like she is treated well.   Seems to have had it the cushiest.

Klaus and Ben: Klaus' outfit alone is worth the episode.  Those glasses kill me.  I loved their slap fight.  Welcome comedy

Number Five: I swear Aidan Gallagher's casting on this show is perfection.  If ever someone felt like a world weary, cynical 80 year old in a 16-year old body it is him.

Luther: What is going on with his storyline?  He makes me sad.

Poor Hazel but at least he had 20 years with Agnes.

Can't wait til they all get together.

[formerlyfreedom]

So excited to see Ben have a bit more to do so far this season! I'd have to say most of the time, he's my favorite sibling. Although Diego certainly does not hurt my eyes, and I'm kind of a sucker for his bad-boy image. Not so much his hair - to quote my grandmother, 'how can you see anything with all that in your face?' - I was predisposed to dislike Lila, (aka 'my competition' 😉), but I have to say, I actually think she's a good partner in crime for Diego).

Interesting that Luther ended up at Jack Ruby's club, and it seems unintentional, whereas Diego was very much seeking out Lee Harvey Oswald. 

Allison is happy, although I'm sure that won't last long. Klaus is fine - he's very much himself, and maybe I'm just a bit over it at this point? But I do like him and Ben together. Vanya's in a strange place compared to the rest of them, and yet she is by far the most content.

So sad about Hazel, but I'm also glad that he and Agnes got their 20 years together. The creepy blondes with the guns - apparently they're hunting the UA?

[CailynA]

Long hair looks better on Klaus than Diego though even on him it's not bad but Klaus had me drooling! 

So the woman that "hit" Vanya with the car took her in?

Allison is happy, yeah that won't last.

Hazel, NO!!! I nearly cried.

Of course Luther works for Ruby, of course.

[festivus]

My show! 

 

Great start, music was on point. I think I'm going to love Diego's new friend. Allison found the hottest guy in Dallas and married him. Sad about Hazel. Not surprised that Luther wasn't able to make his own life. I knew he was gonna say "I don't give a shit" but it was still funny.

[Paloma]

Most of the "look" (costumes, scenery, etc.) seemed perfect for the era, in a comic book sort of way, but Klaus's outfit didn't quite make sense to me, even for San Francisco in the early 1960s. I thought his look was more typical of the late 60s hippie style (when I was a teenager), but maybe he was dressed more like the "bohemians" in late 1950s SF. Or maybe his look was just Klaus being Klaus. In any case, I was surprised that he wasn't beat up when he went in the bar (or anywhere he went in Texas).

[dargosmydaddy]

Diego was my favorite character in season one, mainly because I loved how we got to see his softer side through his various relationships (Patch and Mom mainly, but I also loved his relationship with Klaus, which I thought was the best/ most realistic sibling relationship in the show... they annoyed each other, but they also consistently had each other's backs even beyond apocalypse-related shenanigans). So I was very pleased that this episode had lots of Diego, and that he continued to be his aggressive, fairly competent, quietly hilarious self. (The line about, "You don't understand it, but it was an excellent reference," made me lol.) And I like Lila and am interested to see what they end up doing.

Other than that, I'm loving confident Ben and him putting Klaus in his place. Not loving all the new hairstyles, but oh well. I hope it doesn't take too long for everyone to find each other again. If they're all still in Dallas (other than Klaus, who's on his way), shouldn't they have found each other by now? At the very least, Diego's mugshot was in the paper, and Carl mentioned something about putting out missing notices (also in the paper?) about Vanya... and we saw that Allison reads the newspaper. I guess Luther doesn't?

[chaifan]

I'm not convinced Vanya really doesn't have her memory.  I think it's possible she realized very quickly that she was in the past, and faking memory loss after being hit by a car was a convenient ploy to buy time while she figured things out.

Great first episode, though!  Love #5, loved the slap fight in the middle of the road, loved that Ben totally fed Klaus the wrong information in the poker game. 

I don't quite understand how the rest of the siblings didn't find each other, especially Luther, who is pretty hard to miss. 

[nomodrama]

On 7/31/2020 at 9:06 AM, tennisgurl said:

Five is trying to find them and fix yet another world ending catastrophe, although this one was maybe not their fault?

Or maybe it is totally their fault, Diego is already trying to alter the timeline by saving Kennedy. That would probably have a pretty big effect on history. 

On 7/31/2020 at 9:06 AM, tennisgurl said:

Allison (who got married!)

So is it pretty much certain at this point that

Spoiler

Allison rumored Luther? Because once again, she spent just a little time away from her siblings and she has already managed to completely move on with her life, marrying some new guy while Luther is couldn't make it one year without finding someone else's order to follow. He has probably spent this whole time pinning after Allison, while she's fine and happy with her new life. That can't be the product of actually being in love with her. 

I liked all their different arrivals and the ways that they all handled themselves when they landed. Of course, Diego lands in an Iron Man pose, classic Diego.

I love all the siblings and I don't have a favorite, so I'm excited to see what they do apart and together. 

Edited August 1, 2020 by nomodrama
hit submit too fast

[Anela]

I was going to put this off, but it's overcast here today, so I decided to start, and I'm glad that I did. Although, I did want to re-watch the first season. I've only just remembered the part about their mother, last season (not sure if I should write everything I was about to). 

 

5 minutes ago, nomodrama said:

Or maybe it is totally their fault, Diego is already trying to alter the timeline by saving Kennedy. That would probably have a pretty big effect on history. 

So is it pretty much certain at this point that

  Reveal spoiler

Allison rumored Luther? Because once again, she spent just a little time away from her siblings and she has already managed to completely move on with her life, marrying some new guy while Luther is couldn't make it one year without finding someone else's order to follow. He has probably spent this whole time pinning after Allison, while she's fine and happy with her new life. That can't be the product of actually being in love with her. 

 

I'm not sure about that, unless you've seen something about it in the next episode. I thought she was pining for Luther - her husband bought her the book, and mentioned that she looks at the moon every night. 

I wonder if Allison will end up using her power on that guy who gave them trouble. 

Edited August 1, 2020 by Anela

[gail56]

One thing I don't get is that last season right before they all disappeared into the past, they all changed into their child selves, like 5. Now they are in their adult forms again, except for 5.  I don't know if they knew what they were going to do in season two, but that scene made me think that at least for the beginning of this season, they were all going to be children again so they could fix Vanya, as 5 said they were going to do that. With the little recap at the beginning of this episode, they showed them as adults before 5 zapped them away. So I don't know if they changed their minds with where they were going.

That said, it was a really good episode, I just had to adjust my expectations of what the season would be about.

Edited August 1, 2020 by gail56

[Paloma]

7 minutes ago, Anela said:

I thought she was pining for Luther - her husband bought her the book, and mentioned that she looks at the moon every night. 

I wonder if Allison will end up using her power on that guy who gave them trouble. 

Pining for Luther makes sense, but surprisingly that did not occur to me while watching. I thought she was looking at the moon because its destruction was the cause of the apocalypse and of the family being thrown back in time. 

I hope Allison does use her power to protect herself, her husband, and their fellow activists if that guy comes back with a group of good' ol' boys prepared to commit violence. But I'm wondering (1) how long it took for her to recover her voice (since it might have been difficult for her to survive without being able to ask questions or talk, and (2) whether she has used her power at all since she got her voice back. She could use it to change the world for the better by, for example, going to a school board or town hall meeting and saying "I heard a rumor that you believe people of all races are equal." But maybe it only works one on one.

[nomodrama]

2 hours ago, Paloma said:

I thought she was pining for Luther - her husband bought her the book, and mentioned that she looks at the moon every night.

This is an interesting observation that I also did not consider. I love Allison and I think her super power is one of the toughest to manage as it is the most morally questionable one, but she did say she used her power to get whatever she wanted as a child so it always makes me wonder. I was really annoyed last season when she was so indignant that Luther had gotten laid, like she expected him to remain celibate forever while she was married and had a kid. She has shown that she has strong feelings for him, I'm just not sure I'm convinced it's love and not just possessiveness. I'm only up to episode 2 though, so hopefully things will get cleared up on that in time. 

I'm liking the paranoid (or maybe not so paranoid) guy who documented all of the landings, and the crazy lady teamed up with Diego. White haired guys seem appropriately creepy even if they are kind of cookie cutter. The leader looks so familiar to me but I can't quite place him....will need to dig up his past work to figure it out. 

[Guest]

3 hours ago, nomodrama said:

So is it pretty much certain at this point that

  Reveal spoiler

Allison rumored Luther? Because once again, she spent just a little time away from her siblings and she has already managed to completely move on with her life, marrying some new guy while Luther is couldn't make it one year without finding someone else's order to follow. He has probably spent this whole time pinning after Allison, while she's fine and happy with her new life. That can't be the product of actually being in love with her. 

 

I didn’t see it that way. Luther has never followed Allison. He let her go rather than disappoint their father. I saw his immediately finding someone else to follow is inability to survive without his father not Allison. 

[formerlyfreedom]

Just a reminder - this is to talk about the first episode. If you want to talk about future episodes, please take it to that topic, or to the final topic. Spoiler tagging future stuff will also get posts removed going forward. Thanks.

[Hanahope]

I too was surprised they didn’t turn into children like then of S1 suggested.  
I wonder why they showed up at different times.  I guess that’s one way to reset Vanya.

[SnoGirl]

3 hours ago, Hanahope said:

I too was surprised they didn’t turn into children like then of S1 suggested.  
I wonder why they showed up at different times.  I guess that’s one way to reset Vanya.

I was disappointed too that they weren’t kids, but now I think maybe the ending of season one was my symbolic with the shot of them as kids. For one fleeting second, Five looked around and saw the family he left. The family that finally came back together on their terms.

Loved all of the reentries of the siblings. Luther’s literally made me laugh out loud. I was surprised we saw the siblings and their powers so suped up. Vanya was badass.

[ahisma]

9 hours ago, nomodrama said:

White haired guys seem appropriately creepy even if they are kind of cookie cutter. The leader looks so familiar to me but I can't quite place him....will need to dig up his past work to figure it out. 

Every time I saw him I kept thinking he looked like a young Michael McKean. It’s not him, but that’s what was the “familiar” factor to me! 

[dory]

Oh Great 2 minutes in and i'm confused LOL

[Morrigan2575]

I can't believe the Hazel actor did all that S2 promo to die in 2 minutes. I really grew to like him. I'm happy Hazel got 20 years with Agnes but, sad that he's dead.

My, my, my, Yusuf you are looking fine! 😍

I like how they handled the introductions, getting to see them all land and, move on. I don't understand how they all landed and, remained in Dallas (except for Klaus) and, never found each other. I love and adore Ben but, I hope they find a way to have him interact with other siblings.

I also like how the show starts with another apocalypse that they have to stop and, most likely caused. I'm now hoping that each season involves them getting 10 days to stop an apocalypse that they caused. 🤣

[shrewd.buddha]

I think that Umbrella Academy is a bit too "out there" for my tastes - - and I think I am sort of over shows that are based on timey-wimey jumps, resets, etc. (We just recently finished up 'Dark'.)
But I do give the show credit for swinging for the fences. 

Just some observations: 

• Would Allison's 'rumor' powers really work that way (heads exploding).? And would her powers work on someone who doesn't speak English or is deaf? 
• Will every season be based on trying to prevent an apocalypse in 8 or 10 days? I am hoping this season they don't do another "day that never happened" reset after significant events have happened. That always feels like a cheap stunt with time travel shows. 
• For the record, Number 5 has never managed to stop an apocalypse. In season one, he managed to change the circumstances a bit - - but it still happened - - he just escaped it at the last second. His siblings have died in two timelines so far - - depending on whether you think new timelines are created or there is just one and things can actually be changed by altering the past.. 
• I wonder why no one bothered to look for their 'Dad',  who should be alive the 60's.  Maybe they did and that will be addressed. 
• I think I am going to miss the Umbrella Academy house, Pogo the chimp and robo-Mom. But with timey-wimey shows, anyone can come back at any time ( I feel certain that Hazel will still be around). 

Edited August 3, 2020 by shrewd.buddha

[tennisgurl]

I love that Diego did the superhero landing when he fell out of 2019, thats just so Diego. For as much as Diego hates his dad and resents his attempts to turn him and his siblings into a superhero team, he is the one that is most attached to superhero tropes and actually did grow up to be something of a superhero, albeit a vigilante low scale type, unlike what Reggie seemed to be planning. Like Diego become a superhero partially to spite his dad. 

"Its the superhero landing! They all do it! So impractical!" -Deadpool  

[MisterGlass]

On 8/1/2020 at 4:26 PM, nomodrama said:

The leader looks so familiar to me but I can't quite place him....will need to dig up his past work to figure it out. 

I recognized him but couldn't think of the name.  Kris Holden-Reid.  He's a Canadian genre show regular.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I too was surprised they didn’t turn into children like then of S1 suggested.  

I forgot about that, and I even did a complete re-watch of Season 1 before starting this. I tend to agree with a post upthread that they might have had something else in mind for Season 2 when they shot that ending, and then changed their minds at some point afterwards. But I haven't read any of the comic books so who knows.

I can't get over how different Allison looks with different hair. I almost don't recognize her.

Gotta love the music on this show. Having everyone drop out of the sky to the beat of "Right back where we started from" by Maxine Nightingale had me bopping around the room. I don't get exactly why they would end up in Dallas of all places - that feels a bit contrived to me - but whatever. Vanya having amnesia is a little too convenient as well.

The unfortunate thing about shows like this is there's no way to prevent child actors from aging. This is supposed to be the same day we left them in Season 1 and yet Five is visibly two years older. Oh well.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

I don't get exactly why they would end up in Dallas of all places - that feels a bit contrived to me - but whatever. 

I assumed it was because Five was in 1963 Dallas before he returned home. Something to do with the calculations he mentions but never explains. 

[The Companion]

On 7/31/2020 at 10:31 AM, blueray said:

And I like that Alison is also in a happy relationship. 

It was nice to see her happy (relationship wise). Going back to that time period would be hell for her, but I love that she found a way to fight without her powers.

On 8/1/2020 at 10:28 AM, chaifan said:

I'm not convinced Vanya really doesn't have her memory.  I think it's possible she realized very quickly that she was in the past, and faking memory loss after being hit by a car was a convenient ploy to buy time while she figured things out.

 

My initial instinct was to assume she was faking it. It would help her cover up why she didn't have a past and it would help her cover up any slips she might make with regard to the time period.

On 8/1/2020 at 12:25 PM, Anela said:

I thought she was pining for Luther - her husband bought her the book, and mentioned that she looks at the moon every night. 

 

This was my interpretation of the scene.

 

A solid firsr episode. I loved the apocalyptic opening. It was really cool. The music was fantastic and I loved the costumes. 

It's an interesting setup. In some ways similar to the first season (they are all scattered, mysterious assasins, apocalypse) but it felt fresh to me anyway. 

[Danny Franks]

Well that was quite the opening scene. Despite the dubious historical veracity of Soviet soldiers and tanks on the streets of Dallas, and Soviet ICBMs being able to reach the city (the Soviets really didn't have the technology or the logistics to stage an invasion of the USA), it was cool seeing the Umbrella Academy fighting together as adults, and especially cool seeing Vanya fighting alongside them.

I liked Diego's new friend, but I wonder at the idea of integrated (both in gender and ethnicity) mental wards in the early 60s. Doesn't seem right, especially in Texas.

And it was nice to see Vanya actually happy and relaxed, even if it's only because she has amnesia (or is it just Changnesia?). The husband was a bit of a tool, but probably fairly typical of an early 60s southern 'businessman'.

Robert Sheehan must be beside himself with glee, whenever he sees his costume and hair designs for this show. He just gets to be completely crazy and weird, while still oozing cool.

I watched the season one finale again before this, and was reminded of how upset Alison was that Luther had sex, even though she herself has been married and has a kid. Now, in the past, she has another husband so hopefully Luther can actually find someone to be happy with and not have to feel guilty about it. That "big sensitive one... crying a lot" has been tortured enough.

Looks like Luther has found a way to work out his issues, at least. Not a good way, of course, because he still needs to have all that self-loathing.

I always like Kevin Rankin, so it was a nice surprise to see him in this. A very X-Files-y conspiracy theorist who has been tracking all seven of them.

So this season is building up to the Kennedy Assassination. Everything converging to stop it or make sure it happens as it should. Hopefully the execution of it is better than Stephen King's 11.22.63.

[blackwing]

 

On 8/2/2020 at 1:10 PM, dory said:

Oh Great 2 minutes in and i'm confused LOL

Exactly how I felt too.  The recap helped a little, but so much about this already has me confused.  My main question... why were they all dropped in different years?  Did events at the end of last season necessitate it?  I don't understand why Five dropped them all into different years but then spent the rest of the episode visiting each of them and trying to bring them back all together.  Also, I don't understand what happened with Hazel.  He was old.  So was this a future Hazel from 2040 finding Five in 1963 to warn him?  What was the whole point of bringing him back only to kill him?

They seemed to have changed Luther's look?  I recall in the first season when he took his shirt off, he was huge and hairy, and I think his upper body was actually transformed into a gorilla's body because of the serum that Hargreeves injected him with?  This season it was hard for me to tell, but he doesn't look the same as last season.  His skin looks more leathery and painted with dark stripes as opposed to actual ape hair?

 

On 8/1/2020 at 12:45 PM, Paloma said:

I hope Allison does use her power to protect herself, her husband, and their fellow activists if that guy comes back with a group of good' ol' boys prepared to commit violence. But I'm wondering (1) how long it took for her to recover her voice (since it might have been difficult for her to survive without being able to ask questions or talk, and (2) whether she has used her power at all since she got her voice back. She could use it to change the world for the better by, for example, going to a school board or town hall meeting and saying "I heard a rumor that you believe people of all races are equal." But maybe it only works one on one.

Will be curious to see how they explore her powers this season.  During the battle just before the nuclear bomb went off that Five witnessed, she did use her power on three combatants at once.  So she can affect more than one at once.  Her power is interesting to me because it seems limitless and because of the morality.  Her power is some kind of suggestion / mind altering. like what Professor X can do to make people forget things or to get them to do things.  I remember in the comics him questioning a number of times whether it was right to do so.

Allison looks so different with different hair and without the blue (?) contact lenses.  I wouldn't have recognized her at all.

Edited August 17, 2020 by blackwing

[dargosmydaddy]

44 minutes ago, blackwing said:

My main question... why were they all dropped in different years?  Did events at the end of last season necessitate it?  I don't understand why Five dropped them all into different years but then spent the rest of the episode visiting each of them and trying to bring them back all together. 

Five didn't do it on purpose; it's just how it happened. He wasn't always super skilled when it was just him time traveling, so presumably bringing five extra people (and a ghost) short circuited things even more. And of course was very helpful for plot purposes, because nothing should ever be simple for the Hargreeves.

47 minutes ago, blackwing said:

Also, I don't understand what happened with Hazel.  He was old.  So was this a future Hazel from 2040 finding Five in 1963 to warn him? 

Hazel traveled back in time at the end of season one to avoid the 2019 apocalypse; he had one of the commission suitcases and brought Agnes with him. I forget if he said what year he traveled to (he did say he had twenty good yeas with Agnes before she died), but presumably somewhere in the 1920s or so? So Hazel had been living in that timeline for decades, then found Five in 1963 to try to warn him (and give him the Frankel footage). (I'm a little unclear how he knew young Five would be there, though...)

[Paloma]

9 hours ago, dargosmydaddy said:

So Hazel had been living in that timeline for decades, then found Five in 1963 to try to warn him (and give him the Frankel footage). (I'm a little unclear how he knew young Five would be there, though...)

Spoiler

If Hazel knew that adult Five was supposed to assassinate Kennedy in 1963 (maybe he knew this from the Handler or just from working for the Commission),

he could have made an educated guess that young Five would go to 1963 to try to fix the timeline. 

Edited August 18, 2020 by Paloma
Spoiler tagged because I can't remember if this plot point was addressed in Season 1.

[Rockstar99435]

I finally got a chance to start season 2. I'm loving it so far, but I'm confused by the "We have 10 days to save the world...again!" plotline. I'm not a soldier and have no strategy skills, but doesn't it take longer than 10 days to plan an invasion? You'd need to organize transport for thousands of people and for all of the vehicles (trucks, tanks, smaller planes, etc) they'd need once they got here. You'd need to organize transport for all of the food those thousands of soldiers would need, and fuel for all of the vehicles. You'd need to organize resupply lines and other war stuff. If Russian is full-scale invading Texas, then whatever domino that started this apocalypse has to have already been tipped, right?

I normally like Diego, but it feels like he is carrying the Idiot-ball for plot related reasons, and I hate it. I'm pretty sure rule one of time travel is don't announce to everyone that you are a time traveler sent to stop a future event, unless you want to end up locked in a mental hospital. Diego is way too smart to be that dumb, and Diego isn't that smart. If the writers needed him locked up so he couldn't reconnect with his siblings, it makes more sense to have him be jailed because of some racist judical system issues, but maybe they thought it'd be too close to Alison's storyline?

I'm loving all the rest of the siblings and can't wait for them to be reunited. Especially Alison and Vanya. Their relationship is so interesting and I want more of it.

[Paloma]

On 8/17/2020 at 11:25 AM, blackwing said:

They seemed to have changed Luther's look?  I recall in the first season when he took his shirt off, he was huge and hairy, and I think his upper body was actually transformed into a gorilla's body because of the serum that Hargreeves injected him with?  This season it was hard for me to tell, but he doesn't look the same as last season.  His skin looks more leathery and painted with dark stripes as opposed to actual ape hair?

I just rewatched this episode and thought the difference in how his skin looks is because he is shaving the ape hair down to the skin. Having long ape hair would be hard to explain and might be dangerous to him, but if it's shaved down he just looks more or less like an ordinary (though extra-muscular) hairy guy. At first I thought he was tattooed, but shaving seems to make more sense.