DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Episode 1, “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Our favorite chaotic, dysfunctional family is back and living relatively normal lives in Reggie’s alternate universe. Of course, getting what you want—a life sans powers—might not be the winning ticket to happiness. However, the mysterious Keepers could be the key to injecting excitement into the Hargreeves’ lives. The Season 4 premiere isn’t the show’s strongest. Still, it lays the groundwork for the overarching narrative and boasts fun performances, especially from real-life married couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman.
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The Umbrella Academy, “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want”
We open six years after the Hargreeves family’s arrival in AU 2019. We see Dr. Jean Thibedeau (Mullally) and her husband, Dr. Gene Thibedeau (Offerman), smoking two brothers during a euchre tournament. A mysterious man pulls them aside with a suitcase of items from other timelines. Jean finds two DVDs for Love on Loan 2; however, both covers boast different actresses, one of whom happens to be Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Raver-Lampman). Jean is ecstatic.
The man wants 10 grand for both DVDs, but the Thibedeaus can only do five grand. Jean reluctantly hands over an envelope full of cash. When the man turns around to leave, Gene shoots him in the head. Then, he scoops up their money.
Later, in Nova Scotia, Canada, a woman barges into a bar, looking for Viktor (Elliot Page). Upon finding him, she tosses her keys. She’s breaking up with him. After she departs, a bar patron pokes fun at Viktor, claiming he’s slept with every woman in town.
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Getting the Gang Back Together
Next, Luther (Tom Hopper) calls Viktor to ask if he plans to attend Grace’s birthday party. Grace is Diego and Lila’s daughter. Viktor claims he can’t leave; he owns the bar. Luther tries to persuade his brother to skip town for a few days.
After Luther hangs up, we see him take to the stage for a dance as “Spaceboy.” He works at a strip club. However, he’s not a very good stripper. Hey, at least one woman is really into his routine. Meanwhile, Diego (David Castañeda) is a delivery driver for RPS (Ready Priority Shipping). He urinates into a bottle while his supervisor tears him a new one over the phone.
Elsewhere, Lila (Ritu Arya) chats with her parents while preparing for her daughter’s birthday party. It’s a stressful time for her. One woman stopped behind Lila blares her horn, which, naturally, garners a response from her. Our former assassin threatens to disconnect the woman’s brain stem if she continues honking her horn. Old habits die hard.
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Family Ties and the Keepers
Then, Ben (Justin H. Min) finds Luther eagerly awaiting him after his release from prison. Allison shoots a commercial for laundry detergent. Upon realizing the shoot will run later than expected, Allison calls someone to pick up her daughter, Claire, from school.
We see Klaus (Robert Sheehan) escort Claire (Millie Davis) home. He’s in hypervigilance mode, anxious about the perils that could befall them on their walk to Allison’s house. Meanwhile, Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) boasts a mustache and pretends to be Jerome at a meeting for the Keepers. It’s a support group for folks who recall the other timelines.
There, Five speaks on his experience, from being trapped in a future apocalypse for 45 years to being present for JFK’s assassination. He validates everyone’s experiences, claiming that these other timelines are, in fact, real. Afterward, the support group leader asks Five to attend a party that evening with him.
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Abandon the Mission
Later, Five returns to the CIA headquarters. He removes his disguise and pays a visit to his supervisor. Five relays what he learned from the Keepers meeting. His superior orders Five to abandon this mission. He believes the Keepers are harmless.
Elsewhere, Luther asks Ben how he’s been. They haven’t seen each other in four years. Ben is going to live with Luther per his probation requirements, and he doesn’t look too enthused about that. As for Luther? He’s thrilled to have a roommate.
Next, Allison finds Klaus and Claire downstairs in Klaus’s room. We learn Klaus has been sober for three years. As a result, he’s developed a phobia of just about everything. It’s clearly his trauma taking control – I’d love for my baby to be happy for once.
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Klaus tries to persuade Allison to attend Grace’s birthday party, but the latter states she has an important callback the next day to prepare for. However, he’s free to go to the party with Claire.
Stuck With the Umbrella Academy
Later, Luther takes Ben to Grace’s birthday party against the latter’s will. Ben reminds Luther that he lost his family – the Sparrow Academy. But guess what? You’re stuck with the Umbrellas, dude. Lila finds Diego putting candles in the cake. She reminds him that the piñata comes first, then the cake. It’s not precisely paradise in the Hargreeves-Pitts household.
Meanwhile, Five learns that Ben went to prison for crypto exchange. He insists the feds only pursued him because he’s a maverick like Elon Musk. Ick. Five reminds Ben that he bankrupted 100,000 people, so that’s kind of a big deal.
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Allison drops off Klaus and Claire at the party. Klaus is wearing latex gloves, which he usually boasts when going out in public. He attempts to convince Allison to head inside with them, but she declines, insisting that nobody wants her there. At the same time, Diego asks Five if the latter’s supervisor has reviewed his resume. Diego wants to join the CIA. His dickhead superior at RPS is making life difficult. Five lies, claiming Diego’s resume is moving up the chain.
Paranoia
While Klaus reunites with Luther and Ben, Diego and Lila argue over Lila’s whereabouts that morning. He notes that this piñata is from the East side, not the West side, as she claimed. Lila asks Diego to retrieve the soda, but when he refuses, she decides to do it herself.
Outside, Lila spots Allison in her vehicle, vaping weed. Lila pops in the passenger seat and takes a hit from Allison’s pen. Now that they’re both sufficiently high, the pair heads inside. Allison is paranoid, asserting that nobody wants her there. Lila insists on the contrary until she sees how awkward everyone is around Allison.
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Allison and Luther reunite. It’s an – you guessed it – awkward reunion. Remember when Allison used her powers to SA Luther in Season 3? I’m trying to forget that myself. I hope they address it, though.
After that, Diego vents about married life to Luther. It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. However, Luther adds that having a family is something he and Sloane always wanted. Realizing he was insensitive, Diego apologizes. Poor Luther.
A Kidnapping
Viktor arrives at the party that evening. He encounters Sy Grossman (David Cross), a man who wants Viktor to go for a ride in his van. That always ends well. When Viktor refuses, Sy tasers him.
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Then, Luther goes ham on the piñata, inadvertently knocking the cake out of Diego and Lila’s hands. Grace cries. Clearly, Luther has issues he must work through. Lila informs Diego about her book club, so she leaves for that.
Sure enough, Five and the Keepers’ support group leader run into Lila at a party. Five is disguised as Jerome, and Lila pretends to be Nancy. Five pulls Lila aside and urges her not to blow his cover. Lila admits that domestic life has been quite the adjustment. I imagine the “assassin to wife and mother” pipeline isn’t easy.
Jean and Gene
Lila and Five sit with the party attendees as Jean and Gene emerge. Lila whispers their names to Five. As it turns out, the Thibedeaus founded the Keepers. They present a slideshow on “The Umbrella Effect: A Practical Study of Contemporary Post-Modern Malaise and Timeline Purification.” Jean explains they can return to a “restored and correct timeline.”
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The slideshow displays a series of artifacts from the other timelines, including figurines of our titular Umbrella Academy, photos of Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) with his resurrected wife, Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell), pamphlets from Klaus’s ‘60s cult and strollers with the Umbrella and Sparrow Academy logos.
Jean and Gene claim that the Powers That Be, aka Reginald, are trying to cover up the truth about the other timelines. However, all will be remedied with the Cleanse. The Thibedeaus overhear Lila and Five talking. They ask the duo to stand up. Jean and Gene recognize Lila, aka “Nancy,” while Five introduces himself as Jerome, who works in the Orlando office.
The Cleanse
Five asks the Thibedeaus to explain the Cleanse. Gene reveals that some believe the Cleanse is the end, while others consider it a “great restoration.” Five asks the married couple what they think. They evade answering, instead declaring they’re preparing a lecture on the Cleanse. Gene urges Five and Lila to give out their information, and they will receive an invite.
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After that, Lila and Five sit in a cafe. Five wonders if Reginald’s timeline reset didn’t work as intended, especially if all these artifacts from the other timelines are here. He urges Lila not to tell the family—not even Diego. Lila wipes food off Five’s mouth, joking that Hargreeves men don’t know how to eat. Sure enough, Diego spies this from afar, only seeing the back of Five’s head. He assumes Lila is having an affair. Ugh, I hate this narrative choice.
Elsewhere, Luther and Ben arrive at home. Luther is squatting in the old Umbrella Academy building, although in this timeline, it’s “Hargreeves Home for Wayward Boys.” Ben’s not a fan of the squatting situation. Luther finds a letter addressed to him, stating that Viktor has been kidnapped. The rest of the family arrives to discuss their next steps. Even though they’re powerless, they still have to save their brother. Right?
Saving Viktor
So, they all pile into Diego’s van. They barge into Sy Grossman’s dry cleaning establishment. Five leads the charge with his gun, keeping on the lookout for the kidnapper. The family finds Viktor bound to a chair. Sy emerges, also with a weapon. He admits this is his first kidnapping, hence why it’s rough around the edges. Sy calls them the Umbrella Academy, a moniker they haven’t heard in six years. He kidnapped Viktor in the hopes the whole family would come to his rescue.
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Five insists the Umbrella Academy isn’t real. However, Sy pulls out a newspaper clipping featuring our titular (formerly) superpowered siblings that proves otherwise. He informs the gang that said clipping was among a box of items in the trunk of his daughter’s car. Sy’s daughter, Jennifer, started attending meetings for the Keepers a year ago. One day, she stopped talking to him. Sy hasn’t seen Jennifer in three months. He hopes our heroes can help find her. Sy admits he tried calling the authorities, but that yielded no results. He also believes he’s in danger.
Five agrees to find Jennifer. He takes her belongings, undoubtedly artifacts from the other timelines. His siblings protest, claiming they no longer have their powers. Sy thanks the Umbrella Academy for their assistance. Five tells him they’ll bring her home in 24 hours.
Marigold
After this, Five procures a jar of marigold from among Jennifer’s things. Why does she have this? The gang eats at a Japanese-style teppanyaki restaurant and discusses potentially consuming the marigold to regain their abilities. So far, everyone save Ben would rather remain powerless. Ben surreptitiously pockets the marigold for himself.
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The siblings decide to part ways for the night, but not before Ben encourages them to drink sake shots (even sober Klaus partakes). Ben reassures Luther that he’ll see him at home — he simply wants to enjoy some shrimp first. Ben pulls out the marigold and pours a little into a shot glass. He downs it.
The Umbrella Academy Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix.
Geek Girl Authority Crush of the Week: ALLISON HARGREEVES
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What I do: I'm GGA's Managing Editor, a Senior Contributor, and Press Coordinator. I manage, contribute, and coordinate. Sometimes all at once. Joking aside, I oversee day-to-day operations for GGA, write, edit, and assess interview opportunities/press events.
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