Review: The Umbrella Academy Episode 404 unearth’s a majestic mystery

The fourth episode of the new season of The Umbrella Academy continues to mix real-life history with off-the-wall superhero shenanigans in the best way.

There’s never a dull moment on The Umbrella Academy, and “The Majestic 12” proves that several times over. We get some intriguing new insights into Reginald Hargreeves, get another angle on Vanya’s powers, and get to know the real Lila. The stakes are raised as the apocalypse approaches.

Right off the bat, we’re thrown into a 1993 double homicide in London, featuring the Handler and an unknown suit-wearing assassin. The Handler discovers a little girl in a hidden compartment in the wall. Cue the montage as we see the Handler training Lila before coming back to the “present,” she orders her “Little One” to protect Number Five, the most wanted man in the Commission.

Meanwhile, Vanya tries to help Luther recover from the fight he threw after finding out Allison was married. Luther tells her that she was the cause of the last apocalypse. Angry at Five for keeping this from her, she returns to Sissy. Sparks fly and Harlan goes missing. Showing control she never had in the first season, Vanya raises an entire lake into the air to find him, and when giving him CPR, some of her power goes into him, bringing Harlan back to life.

Allison leaves Klaus to find her husband Ray, who is having a meeting without her. After her rumor stunt, they don’t trust her. Klaus — who last episode found a younger version of the man he fell in love with during the Vietnam War in the first season, Dave — tries to convince his eventually love not to enlist in the army, but gets a punch in the face for his efforts. Despondent, he relapses into a drunken haze.

Back at Elliot’s, Five unveils what he found at his father’s office: an invitation to a meeting at the Mexican consulate. After mentioning the name Hoyt Hillenkoetter, Elliot makes a connection to The Majestic 12, a secret government organization rumored to be involved in UFOs and other conspiracies. They suspect their father is a member.

Elsewhere, Allison runs into Luther at a BBQ joint, where the two reconnect. Later, Luther is kicked out of his place and head’s for Elliot’s, where he gets high out of his mind on nitrous with the conspiracy nut and tells him about the coming apocalypse.

Five, Diego and Lila crash the party at the consulate in the hopes of uncovering Reginald’s connection to the JFK assassination. Lila lies when Diego questions her about disappearing in the night, and Diego gets distracted at the sight of Grace, whom fans will remember is his robot mother. This, however, is the real-life woman who inspired that robot. At the moment, she’s Reginald’s date.

Upstairs, Five teleports into a closet so he can eavesdrop on the Majestic 12, who plan to kill Kennedy because he’s asking too many questions about alien activity. At one point, Reginald stops the debate after he hears his future son in the wall. He teleports out only to be attacked by the Swedes. Diego enters the fight, but their attackers prove formidable. Following orders, Lila protects Five over Diego. Before Reginald can leave, Five shouts something at him in Greek. Reginald hears it, but still gets in his vehicle and drives off.

The show does a great job of intertwining real-world events with its off-the-wall narrative, and the addition of the the Majestic 12 fits perfectly into Reginald’s shady background. If you’ve read the comics, you know this meeting reveals even more about Reginald than it seems to, but we’ll see if this season gets there.

Vanya’s ability to transfer powers to others is a very significant game-changer that will undoubtedly have dramatic effects on not just the rest of season 2 but the series overall. The scene where she lifted the lake to save Harlan was one of the most visually stunning moments of the season so far.

Seeing the real woman on whom Reginald based the kids’ mother raised some interesting questions. Why did Reginald chose her when it came to creating a mother for his children? Might he actually be capable of human feeling? And kudos to actor Jordan Claire Robbins for giing us a completely different kind of performance than the one we had in season 1.

This was another solid entry. The season continues to build momentum.

Episode Grade: B

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