‘The Umbrella Academy’ may have ended on a low note, but let’s talk about the highlights

The Umbrella Academy finished not with a bang, but (spoilers ahead!) with somewhat of a slow moan, as the Hargreeves siblings were consumed by the Cleanse and eradicated from history. Though many found the fourth season left a sour taste, let’s look at some of the series’ brighter moments.

Based on the Dark Horse comics, The Umbrella Academy is a series filled with oddities, violence, and downright weirdness, making it one of Netflix’s more popular original shows. The show follows the lives of the powered-up Hargreeves siblings and all the wacky and traumatic scrapes they get themselves into and out of. From the very beginning of the series, the siblings have been trying to stop one apocalypse or another. When one timeline is saved, another pops up with yet another apocalypse to defeat.

The final season proved that the siblings’ very existence was the reason for all these apocalypses, and that in order for them to stop, they needed to remove themselves, and the marigold within them, from the universe completely. This ending wasn’t to everyone’s taste, with the fourth season having been labeled rushed, confusing, and a disappointment. In saying that, the show has overall been well received and has had some stunning moments. Let’s review those moments now and see which have been the best of the best.

10. Number Five

The fifth episode in season one focused on one of the more enigmatic family members, Five. This episode focuses on the tragedies of time travel as we discover more about Five, where he has been, and what he has been through since he disappeared from the Hargreeves’ residence all those years ago. It wasn’t just Five’s trauma we had to watch, but also Klaus, who, through his own curiosity, stole Five’s briefcase and wound up in 1968’s Vietnam War, where he witnessed horrific things.

9. Right Back Where We Started

Season one left us on a massive cliffhanger, with the siblings jumping out of the way of the oncoming apocalypse and … right into another one. Five’s powers land them all in 1960s Dallas, Texas, but they don’t all land at the same time, with Five arriving last and witnessing his siblings fighting against yet another apocalypse. In “Right Back Where We Started,” Five must now gather all his scattered siblings once more, but with some of them having spent quite some time here already, they are settled and, as per usual, not on the best terms.

8. Run Boy Run

Following the introduction of the world in the first episode of season one, episode two, “Run Boy Run,” serves to up the tension in the show as we learn more about the apocalypse that looms. This episode allows us to also meet new antagonistic characters in the form of Cha Cha and Hazel, time-traveling assassins, which adds a new layer of danger and wackiness. The episode works well to deepen the characters of the siblings, allowing us to see just how fractured the family really is and how only healing that will save the world.

7. 743

Season two, episode nine, the season’s penultimate episode, was an emotional one. Similarly to the first season, another apocalypse, yet again caused by Viktor, is on the horizon, but this episode is where the story deviates.

Whilst Diego, Allison, and Klaus fail to physically reach their sibling, it is Ben in his ghostly form who finally gets through to her. Upon reaching her mentally, he says, “Dad treated you like a bomb before you ever were one. You aren’t a monster. You’re my sister.” He uses the last of his (spiritual?) energy to do this, sacrificing himself for good in the process. This episode highlighted the love the siblings have for one another and was an emotional sendoff for the character … until season three.

6. Wedding at the End of the World

In a series full of violence, arguments, and tragedy, season three, episode eight, was one of the more wholesome episodes. Luther and Sloane, despite yet another incoming apocalypse, wish to be joined in marriage whilst they stare down their demise. Though there are still rifts between family members, they come together to share in the happiness, and even their awful father, Reginald Hargreeves, produces some heartwarming words for the pair. It’s a wonderfully sweet episode that cuts through the dire straits they are in, allowing the audience to really feel the weight of what is to come.

5. The Day That Wasn’t

Another fan favorite for being wholesome—until it’s ripped away, at least—is season one episode six, “The Day That Wasn’t.” In this episode, despite the apocalypse looming, the Hargreeves siblings are all focusing on their own struggles. This episode sees them all take steps forward in their personal progression, Klaus calls on the ghost of his former lover Dave, Allison and Luther get to have their dance, Diego discovers Grace and Pogo have been lying, and Viktor discovers that they were given medication to reduce their powers. All this disappears in a second as Five rewinds the clock and the day never happens.

4. Öga for Öga

Episode seven of season two had us all banging our heads into the walls wondering why, oh why, can’t the Hargreeves siblings follow simple instructions when the fate of the world is at stake? Five has 90 minutes to gather his siblings, and they are all running amok while he tries to fix the problem. Though some of them make it in time, the others don’t, mainly because of people they have grown to love in the ’60s. The episode also reminds us of just how deadly Five is after he murders 11 people with an axe without breaking a sweat.

3. I Heard a Rumor

Season one, episode eight was one of the most shocking of the show. Allison’s power has always been a scary one, disturbingly so in fact, as she can control anyone who can hear her whisper “I heard a rumor.” When facing off against Viktor, who has just discovered Allison’s role in her memory loss, Allison has her throat slashed, with Viktor fleeing, leaving the brothers to find Allison bleeding out. This episode really escalates the story of the season, proving to the audience how unstable Viktor is, as well as how deadly.

2. The End of Something

The season 2 finale really brought out the big guns—in this case, Lila. Her character has been an interesting one to watch throughout the season, but here is where we discover that Lila has powers just like the Hargreeves siblings. Lila’s powers are extremely dangerous given that she can mimic all the other powers, with many interesting one vs. one fights. The Handler then takes it upon herself to kill them all, which Five then undoes with his powers, leaving only the Handler dead in the end, and the siblings hop through time back to 2019—only it isn’t their 2019.

1. The White Violin

Season one’s finale is quite spectacular. With Viktor’s powers fully unleashed, we see them for the threat they are. The siblings all come together to try to stop Viktor, but they are too late. The apocalypse happens. The buildup to this moment is what makes season one so wonderful, and the payoff is well worth it. As the siblings await their demise, Five pulls one last ditch effort, transporting them all back in time in the hopes they can fix this mess, but where they have headed to we just don’t know, leaving a great cliffhanger for the second season to pick up from.