The Umbrella Academy review: Episode 203 is powerful and full of twists

Siblings are reunited, powers are reignited, and sinister revelations come to light in “The Swedish Job.”

Worlds collide in “The Swedish Job,” bringing to bear some revelations that drastically affect the plan to stop the apocalypse. This chapter kicks off by catching us up with how Klaus became a Prophet; of course, Ben had a lot to do with it but gets very little credit in return.

But after Klaus becomes adored by all, he eventually gets bored and leaves his followers behind, ending up floating in a swimming pool in the back of his mansion when Allison tracks him down. They realize that Klaus was just in a holding cell with her husband Ray, and Ben scares the police into releasing him so he can make it to the sit-in at the diner.

Elsewhere, Vanya runs into the Swedes, who get more than they bargained for when they corner the White Violin. Even without her memory, Vanya’s powers are not to messed with. Five tracks her down the next day and gives her the rundown on the situation regarding who she is, where she is from, and how they escaped the apocalypse as a family.

Back at Jack Ruby’s club, the infamous owner tracks down Allison for Luther, who shows up at Allison’s house and runs into Raymond, fresh out of jail. The poor guy is crushed when he finds out Allison is married, and starts babbling to Ray, who’s a little irritated with Allison later since she never told him she had brothers who are now turning up at their house.

Back at Elliot’s shop, Lila tends to Diego’s stab wound and aggressively convinces him to rest before he goes back into action. Things start to get hot, heavy, and kind of rough between the two of them, both physically and emotionally, and it’s safe to say Number Two released the Kracken.

While Diego is asleep, Lila takes off and heads to the same pet shop viewers saw the Handler enter when she first arrived in the past and traumatized the small child. Lila reaches into a fish tank where she retrieves a hotel room key from a treasure chest decoration. She heads to the Handler’s room, for she is her daughter, and has been working for her the entire time.

The highlight of this episode is undoubtedly the sit-in sequence. It’s impressive that The Umbrella Academy can juggle tones like this, going from goofy to action-heavy to taking a real swing at depicting a traumatic period in the history of the United States, and drawing some parallels with our current time while it’s at it.

Allison wasn’t using her powers in the past and seemed to be enjoying it, but when the authorities abuse her husband, Number Three starts spreading rumors again. It’s a powerful moment that shows what happened when she reaches her limit, and Raymond’s reaction is perfect. He knows something is up, since no white police officer would ever listen to a black woman, especially in this time, in this place, in this circumstance.

The twist at the end with Lila was a triumph, and it will be interesting to see how the two wittiest characters on the show interact while carrying out whatever vengeful plan the very stylish Handler has up her sleeve.

It was kind of a letdown that we weren’t able to dive deeper into Klaus’ Prophet storyline. That feels like something that should have gotten an entire episode.

Three episodes in and the one thing The Umbrella Academy is excelling in above all else is the music choices. The tracklist this season has been nothing short of outstanding. It adds to the show’s chaotic, fun atmosphere.

“The Swedish Job” smoothes out the kinks from the last installment and keeps the momentum going.

Episode Grade: A-

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