‘The Umbrella Academy’ Finale: A Huge Cliffhanger & [Spoiler] Has Powers?! (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
[WARNING: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 2 Episode 10, “The End of Something.”]
If you ever wondered whether the academy members ever had other siblings they didn’t know about, “The End of Something” answers that question — and the answer is yes.
In the Season 2 finale, Vanya (Ellen Page) races to save Harlan, whom she inadvertently gave powers when she saved him from drowning. The rest of the academy tags along for the ride, unaware that they’re riding to war with The Commission. Bullets fly. Tears are shed. Time flows both ways. And, of course, there’s a groan-worthy cliffhanger that we’ll hate waiting a year and a half to have resolved.
Going Toward the Light
We learn, through a flashback, that Klaus (Robert Sheehan) first manifested Ben (Justin H. Min) on the day of his funeral — Ben said there was a light and he thought he was supposed to go toward it, but Klaus talked him out of it.
Back in the present, the whole group’s wanted in connection with the Kennedy assassination, but Vanya (Ellen Page)’s seeing flashes of Harlan asking her for help, and she thinks she gave him powers when she saved his life in the beginning of the season. She asks her siblings to come with her to save the kid, but everyone agrees they have bigger problems right now.
Annoyed, she heads to the car on her own; then Klaus shows up and asks her if Ben “said anything about him” before he died. (Apparently, it wasn’t his fault Ben stayed around: Ben was too scared to go toward the light. This is a huge relief to Klaus). Then, one by one, the academy piles into the station wagon, and they head for Cissy (Marin Ireland)’s farm… with the last Swede on their heels.
Your Turn, Dear
They make it to the farm and Vanya convinces Cissy they’re not the bad guys, then she starts trying to get through the Harlan. Outside, The Handler (Kate Walsh) and Lila (Ritu Arya) show up, along with every single Commission field agent. Every academy member except Vanya is forced to run for their lives, which results in a couple incredibly cool scenes; Diego (David Castenada) deflects a barrage of bullets with a force field and, eventually, Vanya floats outside and sends a shockwave through the field, knocking all the agents unconscious (or maybe killing them? It’s unclear). Well, all but two: The Handler and Lila. “Your turn, dear,” mom tells daughter, and Lila unleashes Vanya’s power back at the siblings.
This scatters them across the farm, and Lila turns almost everyone’s powers back on them. She fights and wins against Luther (Tom Hopper), she “rumors” Allison into being unable to breathe (Luther saves her by giving her mouth-to-mouth), and then she teleports to fight Five. They struggle for a while, until Five gets her to stop and think about what happened the day her parents died. Why was The Handler on the job if execs never come on missions? She wasn’t after Lila’s parents. She was after her.
A New Family?
Diego enters then and tries to convince her The Handler was using her, much as Hargreeves had done for the academy. He makes her an offer: “We can be your family, if you just let us.” Lila takes a moment to think about it, and then — gunshots. Everyone in the barn gets a fatal gunshot wound, courtesy of The Handler, who also has Harlan. She turns to gloat over Five, who’s barely alive. As he dies, he remembers what Hargreeves told him about traveling back “a few seconds” in time… and he pulls it off.
Now knowing what’ll happen, he disarms The Handler as she enters the barn. Lila demands the truth and her “mother” starts to answer, but the last Swede shows up and shoots her. Lila then takes The Handler’s briefcase and blinks out of existence. The group makes peace with the Swede, who lays down his weapon and walks away.
Tying Up Loose Ends
Herb, who’s now the acting leader of The Commission until they can elect a new board of directors, gives the group a briefcase so they can get back to their time. But first, there are goodbyes to say and loose ends to tie up.
Vanya has to say farewell to Cissy, who won’t go to the future because she can’t be certain her son would be safe. Raymond (Yusuf Gatewood) finds a note from Allison in the book he gave her, encouraging him to keep going, keep fighting and keep his faith. Klaus presses a kiss to Dave’s dog tags before he leaves them behind, and Dave boards an army bus. The last Swede joins the remnants of Klaus’ cult. Cissy drives across the country, and Harlan levitates a bird toy in his hand, so he still has powers.
The Sparrow Academy
That night, the group heads back to 2019, and — surprise! — it seems like it actually works. They’re back in the Academy, together, and it’s the day after the world was supposed to end. Everyone’s happy and celebrating, until Diego makes a meaningful observation: “Why is there a painting of Ben on the wall?” Turns out, time-traveling wasn’t quite right that time, either, and now they’re in a different timeline where Hargreeves is alive… and he’s had no trouble replacing his Umbrella Academy. “This is the Sparrow Academy,” Hargreeves says, and, awed, the siblings look on as a different group of superpowered people assembles before them — including a guy who looks just like Ben.
“Shit,” the siblings say in unison. And with that, Season 2 draws to a close.
The Umbrella Academy, Season 2, Streaming Now, Netflix
