The more things change, the more they stay the same. The Hargreeves kids are still their same weird selves, but the world around them? Even more weirder than before. Welcome back to the world of the super dysfunctional superheroes of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba’s The Umbrella Academy.
Truth stares itself in the face in several ways for the Hargreeves clan. Some see its ugly side (Vanya). Some prefer to head it off at the pass (Allison). And others get it sent to them (Diego and Luther). The question is: what will they do with these truths? Sit down at the table with us for “A Light Supper.” As always, spoilers within.
1. Allison’s Voice
The opening of this episode reveals Allison’s life in Dallas before the rest of the family dropped in. Her vocal chords still in tatters, she’s also in immediate danger with some local bigots chasing her. She finds refuge in the hair salon that later employed her and introduced her to Ray — a return to her literal and figurative voice.
And she reveals the powers of that healed voice to Raymond, learning the lessons of the dissolution of her 2019 marriage with the importance of honesty and open communication. It’s not just her reveal of what she can do, but demonstration of it, both for good and for evil. It’s relieving truth for Allison, but less so for Ray as he’s questioning the foundation of their entire marriage.
At this point we have to assume that her vocal chords somehow heal on their own, a surprising turn given the damage Vanya inflicted last season. It almost feels a cop-out of sorts, since the way this storyline gets resolved in the comics is very different and more significant to the story.
Allison’s first marriage dissolved when she wasn’t completely honest about her superpowers. And even when she’s upfront and honest, it seems her second marriage is also in danger. Luther was the one to initially want nothing to do with the family, but Allison certainly has cause to also walk away.
2. Early Deployment
Try as he might, Klaus wants to prevent David’s death on the battlefield, using his prophet status in his cult to convince David that he has the gift of future sight. When sharing intimate details like favorite foods and books doesn’t work, he hands over David’s dog tags to him.
It doesn’t change David’s mind too much. In fact, he reveals that he enlisted early and is shipping out soon. So his death in Vietnam in 1968 doesn’t appear to be that fixed point in time that we thought. He could end up dead on the battlefield earlier, or he may survive – – both of which will have implications for our timeline. Butterfly effect, anyone?
In the moment, you can’t help but feel for Klaus. Between this and his insistence to his cult members that he’s nothing but a fraud (which also backfires), you just want to root for him to have a happy ending.
And it would be no surprise to me that to see him eventually run even closer to his family, even while some of his siblings run the other way. If they can fix the future to prevent him all this pain, why not take up the offer, costs be damned?
3. Mother Versus Daughter
Lila’s relationship with her mother is showing the cracks. She’s jealous that The Handler gives Five a prime assignment offer over her, but The Handler knows better. Something – – or someone – – distracts her, so she engages the help of our Swedish friends to remove the distraction of Diego by providing them with the location of Elliott’s store (their safehouse).
(Unfortunately, Elliott ends up being home and eventually ends up dead, the two remaining Swedes taking him in out in “Öga for Öga” – – literally translated as “an eye for an eye,” a revenge killing for Diego’s trick that led to the death of the third Swede last episode.)
I wonder now just what Lila will end up doing when she finds out her mother put the hit out on her friend. Does this prompt her to finally switch sides?
Continued belowWe’re spending so much time with her I feel like there’s more to her story than just love interest for Diego or The Handler’s daughter. The Handler found Lila in 1993 (as we learned in “The Majestic 12”) and she was very young then, looking about four or five. That puts her birth in possibly 1988 or 1989.
Could she be another one of the powered children born on October 1, 1989?
4. A Very Not-Light Supper
Throughout the episode, everyone receives an invitation from Reginald for a dinner meeting so he can get to the bottom of just who they are. It goes . . . about as well as you expect. He doesn’t believe anything that his adult children from the future tell him, much less how their powers work. He dismisses everything they say and do with the arrogance that they recognize from their childhoods. And you would think this would bond the kids to work together (it’s the one thing in common – – the father they hate) . . . and initially that’s the case, not wanting to show off their superpowers like trained animals.
But five minutes later, Vanya’s exploded a lovely fruit centerpiece, Diego’s showing off knife tricks at the bar, Five does some teleporting (which impresses Reginald somewhat), and Luther shows off his hairy ape-like chest. It all proves that no matter how much you hate your family, you will still go ass over head (as my mother would say) to seek their approval.
It’s a very non-superpowered moment (Five’s recitation of Homer in Greek) that at least wins Reginald over to one of them, and he’s willing to spend some time with Five to hear their situation. Which is good timing because Five needs some advice . . .
5. Corporate Takeover
Early on, I thought The Handler was rogue from The Commission as a means to enact revenge against Five. Not quite. She wants Five’s help in bringing down The Commission, promising him a role in what she creates from the ashes as well as safety for him and his family. Everyone back in their old timeline, no apocalypses.
Like any good job offer, Five questions the deal because he wants to find another way. He tries to seek that in a post-meal drink with Reginald. Awkwardness of a teenager drinking cognac aside, he’s asking about the logistics of time travel and how to get it right. Reginald does dispense some advice on that and then some, but that advice (to start gradually) doesn’t exactly help the current situation. This is not a time for gradual anything.
The Umbrella Academy is not often a show that dabbles too much in the sentimental. But this was a nice attempt at father-son bonding, as well as a showcase for how well Aidan Gallagher plays the old soul trapped in a young body, using it desperately to relate to his father in some way.
By the closing credits, Five’s back to his old boss and a new assignment: head to 1980s Wisconsin to take out The Commission at one of their board meetings. Bring on the parachute pants and shoulder pads- – and another attempt at major time jumps for a man/boy who can’t seem to get it right. Perhaps The Handler knows this and is setting him up to fail. We’ll find out next week.
Notes Found in Five’s Old Commission Desk (our Afterthoughts section)
- Luther farts when he’s nervous, and apparently it’s very fragrant.
- Sissy and Vanya do make amends after their fight from last episode, as well as plans to run away. What they don’t know is Carl is watching, and that’s a clear sign this will not end well.
- My Catholic upbringing tells me that can’t be an accurate bingo hall. Where are the nuns?
We’ll see you next Tuesday for “Öga for Öga” (which as we learned above translates to “an eye for an eye” so that should tell you how this one is going to go) and let us know what you thought of the episode in the comments!
