DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Episode 2, “Jean and Gene,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Someone should retitle this episode, “The Hargreeves and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day.” This outing finds our titular heroes back with their powers, although not by choice (ahem, Ben). Some of them have modified abilities; others have completely different powers altogether. “Jean and Gene” feels like a return to form with the darkly whimsical violence paired with unexpected needle drops that we’ve come to expect from this series. It’s fun, well-paced and action-packed.
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The Umbrella Academy, “Jean and Gene”
We open with Luther (Tom Hopper) waking up the following morning after the Hargreeves agreed to find Jennifer Grossman. He feels awful and chalks it up to whatever he ate at the teppanyaki restaurant. Luther arrives at the club for his shift, taking the stage as Spaceboy. Suddenly, his hangover-like illness vanishes, making way for a burst of energy. We see his body expand to look more muscular, complete with lots (and lots) of hair. Yes, Luther has his powers back.
The ladies really get into his performance. However, once Luther removes his astronaut suit, they flee at the sight of his wolf-esque appearance. Luther screams when he sees his overabundance of hair. Meanwhile, Diego (David Castañeda) notices he can perfectly toss people’s mail and packages onto their respective lawns/through mail slots. Diego cheers, realizing his powers have been restored. At the CIA, Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) examines intel on Sy Grossman when he disappears, reappearing at a subway station. In a blink, though, he returns to the CIA.

They’re Back
Later, Luther, Five, Diego, Viktor (Elliot Page), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Lila (Ritu Arya) and Klaus (Robert Sheehan) meet at the Hargreeves Home for Wayward Boys. Everyone admits that they feel sick with the return of their powers. Also, how did they get back their abilities? Suddenly, Lila opens her eyes, blasting two green laser beams through the room. She’s now the Cyclops of the Umbrella Academy. Luther is upset because she ruined the sconces, and he just installed those.
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Ben (Justin H. Min) emerges with two tentacles protruding from his back. He admits that he dosed them all with the marigold from Jennifer’s belongings. We flashback to the night before at the restaurant when Ben encouraged them to take shots of sake. He secretly poured a bit of marigold in each shot. Klaus claims he feels fine; we learn that he didn’t drink the sake. Klaus likes his new self. He doesn’t want to ruin what he has now. Aw.
Viktor is irate and starts pummeling Ben. Ben vomits, clearly as sick as the rest. The gang decides to visit Sy’s dry cleaning establishment to question him. Unfortunately, he’s not there. Our heroes find a map with New Grumpson, Maine, marked on it. That could be Jennifer’s location. They all decide to go on a road trip to Maine. Diego is excited as hell. Lila reminds him that they have three children, but hey, the in-laws can watch them, right?
Baby Shark
While on the road, the fam is subjected to “Baby Shark” on a loop. Diego claims he can’t change it. He’s in his dad(dy) era, and I love it. Everyone is still quite sick. Suddenly, Lila, Five and Allison start vomiting in the van. Viktor’s powers “explode” from him, smashing the van windows. Diego pulls over and orders his passengers to stop fighting and puking. Then, Diego tries to resist the urge to vomit. Side note: Diego initially refusing to pull over because they’re “making good time” is such a dad thing.
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Later that evening, Diego slaps himself on the face to stay awake while he drives. Everyone else is asleep save Five. Diego confesses to Five that he believes Lila is cheating on him. He saw her sitting in a cafe with some Greek dude with an awful mustache. Five keeps mum, refraining from admitting that it was him. He advises Diego not to blow up his life. So many people would kill for what he has — a family. Diego thanks Five for his wisdom. We see Lila open and close her eyes, having heard Diego and Five’s chat.
Finally, the gang arrives in New Grumpson, Maine. Five looks up Sy and Jennifer Grossman, which doesn’t bear fruit. Luther snaps a photo of his family to commemorate the trip. He’s such a dad, too. Ben storms off in a huff, deciding he can’t handle all of the Hargreeves together. Our crew heads into town and decides to split up to search for Jennifer.

New Grumpson, Maine
It’s Christmastime, and New Grumpson is in full holiday swing. Ben wanders into the local diner, where he meets Rosie (Victoria Sawal) and Gary (Aidan Devine). He isn’t very friendly to Gary, the Head of the Rotary Club and New Grumpson’s sheriff. Ben asks to speak to Rosie’s manager, thinking she’s rude. Plot twist: Rosie is the manager and owner. Having worn out his welcome, Ben storms off.
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Meanwhile, Luther finds new sconces for his dilapidated home in which he’s squatting (which also happens to look like his childhood home from another timeline). Allison and Viktor catch up. Allison wonders why Viktor never called her. He reminds her that a phone (and relationships) work both ways. He also acknowledges that they aren’t friends anymore, and that’s okay. Sometimes, friendships end.
Elsewhere, Diego throws axes to win stuffed animals for his three kids. I love Daddy Diego. Klaus, relegated to getaway driver since he doesn’t have powers, sits in the van. He passes the time by drawing tarot cards. He picks up the Death card, believing it spells doom. However, that card usually means transformation, not literal death.
SparrowBit Guy
Then, Klaus grabs the jar of marigold from the glove compartment. He seems to contemplate partaking before shoving it back in said compartment. Later, Rosie sees Ben sitting at the bus stop outside the diner. She knocks on the window, urging him to come back inside. Ben joins her at a booth. Rosie recognizes him as the “SparrowBit” guy. Hey, Ben truly believed his crypto thingie would take off. They exchange childhood sob stories — both come from families without parents. Well, biological ones, at least. Rosie adds that Gary is her step-uncle and all she has left.
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The proprietor of the antique shop, where Allison, Viktor and Luther lurk, emerges. Allison asks her if she knows Jennifer Grossman. The woman admits she doesn’t before whispering in the ear of a man who approaches her. Sketchy. Meanwhile, Five tries to “blink,” but he fails. No teleporting today, son. Lila thanks Five for not outing them the night before with Diego. Suspicious of Lila, Diego asks what she and Five are talking about.
However, our trio has bigger fish to fry. They notice the townsfolk won’t stop staring at them. Viktor, Allison and Luther encounter the same issue. Suddenly, the denizens of New Grumpson turn on our visitors, whipping out guns and firing on them. Diego and Lila take cover while bickering over who should save the day. Lila’s been having trouble summoning her laser beam eyes, so Diego believes he should be the hero. After all, his powers are more reliable. God, I love these two idiots.

Blinking Away
Next, Five finally manages to blink. He returns to the subway station. Five notices the strange symbols on the signage. Also, the announcer is speaking backward. He hops into a car. At the diner, Gary and the patrons turn on Ben. His tentacles burst out of his back. Of course, he hasn’t told Rosie that he has powers. Gary urges Rosie to go with him where it’s safe. However, she decides to stick with Ben. They’re definitely gonna fall in love, right?
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Then, Five gets off at a subway stop and emerges from a platform that leads into New Grumpson. He notices it’s the exact same location, day and time as where he was … only he’s in another timeline. Five gets back on the train.
Diego rushes out in front of the murderous New Grumpson residents. They fire on him. Diego spins through the air, the bullets ricocheting off him. Those bullets turn back on the residents, killing them. A man dressed as an elf approaches Diego from behind, his weapon raised. Thankfully, Lila lasers him in half. You always gotta one-up the spouse.
Will the Real Jennifer Grossman Please Stand Up?
Meanwhile, a woman runs toward Klaus. He exits the van to meet her. She claims she needs him to take her someplace safe. Klaus asks the woman if she’s Jennifer. She confirms this. Ben and Rosie run toward Klaus, as do Diego and Lila. All of them order Klaus to start the van. The woman turns on them, holding Rosie at gunpoint. We learn that Rosie’s real name is Jennifer — she’s Jennifer Grossman. Oh, and she doesn’t know who Sy is. Unfortunately, the fake Jennifer shoots Klaus in the chest before holding the real Jennifer hostage.
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Ben kills fake Jennifer with his tentacle as Diego shouts that Klaus is bleeding out. They carry him into the van. Then, they speed into town to pick up the others. Luther shields Viktor and Allison, taking the townsfolks’ bullets in the back. Five reappears beside them. Viktor releases a burst of energy to send the New Grumpson denizens flying backward. Allison’s eyes flash white, as do the eyes of those attacking them. One man shoots his fellow townsfolk before shooting himself. Whoa, Allison’s got an upgrade.

Suddenly, a Santa Claus with two assault rifles barrels toward them, sending bullets raining down on them. Thankfully, Diego plows him over with the van. Luther, Allison, Viktor and Five pile inside the vehicle, but not before Luther notices that all the townsfolk are wearing Hargreeves gear (Daddy Reginald).
Our fam sees that Klaus is dying. In a last-ditch effort to save him, Allison pours the marigold into Klaus’s bullet wound. It flows into his system.
He’s Alive
Everyone holds their breath as they wait. Thankfully, Klaus starts coughing back to life. However, he’s unhappy about his family giving him the marigold without consent.
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As if the Hargeeves weren’t already having a bad day, Dr. Jean (Megan Mullally) and Dr. Gene (Nick Offerman) Thibedeau slam their car into the side of the van, sending it toppling end over end. We see the gang move in slow motion. At one point, Ben and Jennifer’s hands touch, creating some kind of energy burst that looks like the marigold.
After the van stops rolling, Gene scoops up Jennifer and takes her back to his car. Jean spots Lila, who she knows as Nancy, and shakes her head. Jennifer reaches out for Ben, asking weakly for his help.
The Keepers drive away.
RELATED: Read our recaps for The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix.
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