The Umbrella Academy Season 2 Easter Eggs, References & Review.
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Welcome to What Did I Miss where today I am talking about season 2 of the Umbrella Academy and going over all the Easter eggs, references, and conspiracy theories I could find. While the first season of the Umbrella Academy showed the team moving forward by coming together, the second season pulled them back apart and into the past in a violent & explosive storyline that changed the face of the group, as well as the present timeline. The Kids from yesterday showed up in 1960’s Dallas this time and were charged with once again stopping the world from being destroyed which may or may not be due to the shadowy dealings of their adoptive father. The popularity of the show has made the Umbrella Academy the most watched show on Netflix, and you may think by now you have heard it all. But “I heard a rumor” that you watched this whole episode and told me in the comments if I missed anything. This is What Did I Miss.
This is your spoiler warning for this episode, as I will be going over the events that occurred during the second season and referencing the first season as well as the comic books. Even if you name is not Agnes, you may have noticed a lot of birds in this season. Before the release of season 2, the shows official Instagram page revealed there would be 43 sparrows hidden throughout the season. This was a clear indicator that the sparrow was somehow connected to the 43 special children all born at the same time in 1989, which we found out in the last scene meant there is a new team of adopted powered children known as the Sparrow Academy. The Sparrow Academy is featured in the comics, but it remains to be seen if the show will mimic the team entirely.
In this new timeline, Reginald Hargreaves has met everyone in the Umbrella Academy before he adopted them, and he had the foresight to not adopt them again and instead adopted six other children. Ben was not with the team in 1963, at least in a corporeal form, so it makes sense that he was still adopted since all Reginald Hargreaves probably knew about him was that he died fighting with his team. As far as any other differences between the teams, besides that green floating box, the names of the teams may be a clue to their purpose as it seems that Reginald Hargreaves named things based on their usefulness to him. He even gave the children numbers to rank their obedience to him instead of using their names. As a team, he really treated the team like they were umbrellas, he used and deployed them when necessary and discarded them without a thought when he did not need them. A sparrow, however, is a bird that is said to be a loyal follower incapable of independent thought that feeds on insects and scraps. This may be exactly what Reginald wanted in his new team, a team of mindless followers that would not question his authority or want for anything else. Another coincidental reference to birds may be the year 1963, where most of the season takes place in, which was the same year that the Birds by Alfred Hitchcock was released.
There were a lot of references to other movies in this season too, starting with the Avon movie theater marquee that is located outside of the alley where all the Umbrella Academy lands in Dallas. When each team member lands a different movie is listed that has something to do with their character. When Klaus & Ben arrive the movie the “Curse of the Undead” is playing, which is an obvious reference to Klaus’s ability as well as Ben stay in purgatory. When Alison arrives the movie that is playing is named the “Curse of the Werewolf”, which is a reference to her fixation on the moon that even her new husband recognizes. When Vanya lands the “Kiss of the Vampire” is listed on the marquee, which I believe is foreshadowing her using her ability to save Harlan’s life while also transferring her power to him. When 5 arrives, the war has already started so I do not believe the theatre would still be listing new movies and in fact the Kiss of the Vampire is still listed. I could not read the marquee when Luther & Diego arrive, so if anyone can let me know. Before Luther goes out for a run, we see a homeless man carrying a placard that reads, “The End if Nigh”, this is a reference to the Watchmen and the character Rorschach. There are some similarities between the two independent comics, such as the growing tension with Russia, and I think it is not a coincidence that we see the man start walking towards the right and Luthor run the opposite way. Almost as if the show is telling us that yes there are similarities in the plots, but this show is going another way. Speaking of Luther going for a run, his outfit and movements are a direct reference to Sylvester Stallone working on his steps in Rocky. When he slips, I immediately thought of 5’s line about Diego as being like Batman but think lower. In this case Luther would be Rocky, but lower.
When all the siblings fall out of the Temporal portal, Diego is the only one to land on his feet. I have two theories about this as well as the jump he pulled off in the season 2 opener. I think that him being able to land on his feet like a cat might be an extension or evolution of his powers. If I understand them correctly, he can control the trajectory of any object he throws, so if he were to throw his own body it would make sense that he could control that on a super powered level as well. Or, this is a way to highlight the fact that Diego sees himself as a great vigilante, so he must hit the superhero landing and he must do the superhero flip. The superhero landing has been parodied multiple times, most famously by Deadpool in his last movie. The flip reminds me of Roy Harper from Arrow, and he had to flip everywhere he went, and it became a joke for the fans and was even referenced in the show. When new old new 5 fight old new old 5, the former says that that he can do this all day. This is a reference to Captain America’s fight with himself during Avengers Endgame. The X-Files are referenced when 5 states to Elliot that the “Truth is out there”. You could also say that the Smoking Man is referenced in the design of one of the members of the Majestic 12, but that could also just be the use of the evil “Man in the Black Hat” archetype. Also, when the future is changed Vanya blows up the federal building and the first X-Files movie starts with an incident at the Federal Building in Dallas which also deals with an alien coverup.
Number 1/Luther gets his heart broken after learning that Alison is married, and he goes and eats his feelings with some delicious Texas BBQ. In the comics Luther does gain a good amount of weight and this was going to be in the show, but after the release of Endgame and the popularity of “Fat Thor” the writers removed it from the show as to not be repetitive. But honestly, since the comic was written before the movie the show had every right to leave it in. When Ben possesses Klaus, Klaus says, “Did you just Patrick Swayze me”? This is a reference to the movie “Ghost” which I have not seen so I might as well say this scene references a scene in Family Guy that references the movie “Ghost”. The 3 eccentric hitmen chasing after the siblings go by the name “The Swedes”. These characters are not in the comics and are meant as a replacement for Cha-Cha and Hazel who may be dead at this point, I will talk about that theory in a second. I believe these characters are based on Gaer Grimsrud who was a hitman that was known as the Swede in the movie Fargo and played by Peter Stormare. Speaking of Cha-Cha and Hazel, Hazel says a variation of a famous line from the time bending saga the Terminator, “If you want to live come with me”. During the scene where the Handler returns to the commission, we see an agent carrying Cha-Cha’s mask, which may mean she is somehow still alive. I really loved both Cha-Cha & Hazel, and I was sad they were not in this season for the most part. The actor who played Hazel is named Cameron Britton and if you want to see him in something else, I recommend watching a show on Netflix called Mindhunter. He plays a real-life serial killer in jail named Ed Kemper, and his performance carries the gravitas of Hannibal Lector and the calm cool of Todd from Breaking Bad. The show itself is a bit uneven in my opinion, but his performance is amazing. Cha-Cha was of course played by Mary J Blige, who I really thought did an amazing job. Even though, and this is in no way a knock on her performance, but every time she was fighting the song that was playing on the show got tuned out in my head and all I heard was, “Lets get it thumping now your jumping and I pumping dance for me, let get it percolating while you waiting so just dance for me.”
During the end of the world battle in the first episode, Klaus activates his power to control the dead in a way very reminiscent of how Aagorn commanded the souls of the dead in last Lord of Rings movie. When Vanya arrives in the past she gets hit by a car and gets taken in by a family. This is very reminiscent of how Marty McFly almost had sex with a teenage version of his mother. Speaking of mothers, when the Handler is first seen back at the Commission the song “Bibbity Bobbity Boop” is playing. This is a twisted reference to the fairy god mother in Cinderella, who is what the Handler is to Lila in a very sadistic way. When Handler mentions jazz to 5 in her speech to re-recruit him, she sings Snake Jazz from Rick & Morty. When the siblings are talking at the restaurant Vanya says you can only speak while holding a Conch shell. This is a reference to the 1954 book by William Golding, The Lord of the Flies. On more than one occasion, the Handler calls Lila little one. This is a reference to what Thanos would call Gamora in the Avengers universe. He also “adopted her” after having her family killed.
Vanya is reading James and the giant peach to Harlan. The story is about a boy who goes on an adventure with 7 magical bugs, possibly referencing Vanya and her 6 siblings. The hotel room number 217 where the Handler meets Lila is also an infamous room number within the overlook hotel shown in the movie the Shinning. Alison takes part in a sit in at a “whites only” diner. This is a recreation of a Greensboro sit-ins that occurred during the same time-period in Greensboro North Carolina. The restaurant that these took place in is now an international civil rights museum. While recreating the JFK assassination several actual events & people are either depicted truthfully or with some artistic license. The “Umbrella man” was a famous figure in the JFK investigation as well the Zapruder film, which was renamed the Frankel tape for the show. Jack ruby was featured in the season and was the man convicted of shooting Lee Harvey Oswald. An interesting detail the show left in was Ruby’s dog. At his trial, his defense argued that him shooting Oswald could not have been premeditated because he had his dog in the car and would not have left him like that. The Majestic 12 are a big part of the seasons plot and this is a reference to a conspiracy theory of a group of elite individuals who have ties to secret US government operations, such as the cover-up of aliens and Area 51. A man named Hillenkoetter is mentioned as being part of the group and there was a man with this last name as the head of the CIA. It would also make sense that Reginald Hargreaves would be involved with a shadowy agency interested in aliens since as it turns out, he is in fact an alien. He reveals this when he takes off his rubber mask and destroys the Majestic 12, which may be the event that triggers the new present timeline. He is also said to be concerned with the dark side of the moon, this is a reference to a conspiracy theory that the US and Russia entered a space race to get to the moon first because there was evidence of alien life there. This was also referenced in a horrible movie about amazing toys.
During a party at Reginald’s mansion we see a slight man with white hair, who could be Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol was a famous soup enthusiast and artist. When 5 attacks the vending machine you can see a candy named Pogo-Gogo’s with the slogan, “Take Flight with Pogo-Gogo’s”. This must mean that Pogo was some sort of celebrity from his missions to space. These are a series of spider broaches that appear on the Handler and start as small and towards the bottom of her ensemble, but throughout the season grows more prominent and higher on her dress. This depicts how she takes a winding road back to the top by weaving a web of deceit. During the apocalypse you can see a People style magazine with Alison’s family from the first season on the cover. When the Handler stamps the kill order you see a Griddys donuts receipt on the desk. Griddys donuts was a major set piece in the first season of show. When old new old 5 is sent back in time, a fire extinguisher is thrown through the portal that we saw Klaus throw in the first season. Lila turns out to be another one of the 43 children born with powers. This is given away a couple of times before the big reveal. One, when she is fighting 5, I remember at least once when he thought she was going to be somewhere, and she was not. I remember thinking at the time she is either a speedster or a mimic. Also, when her parents were shown to be killed it flashed back to 1993, and she said she was 4 when they died, which would mean she was born in 1989, which is the same year all of the powered children were born. Speaking of 1989, even though all of the Umbrella Academy was born on the same day, due to them time traveling and arriving in different places in time, when they all return back to 2019 they are no longer the same age.
Klaus probably takes advantage of his knowledge of the future more than anyone else, and he applies this knowledge by using song references as prophetic words. He references the songs “Waterfall” by TLC, “I will survive” by Gloria Gaynor and “Everybody” by the Backstreet Boys. He also names his cult Destiny’s Children, which is a reference to the Beyonce prequel, Destiney’s Child. Klaus is also known for his tattoos, as his hands say hello and goodbye much like a Ouija board does. In this season his sports a new tattoo over his belly that in Thai in translated to, “Klaus loves David”. If that does not make you sad enough, I noticed that when Dave is on the bus someone yells, “Move it Marine!” So, not only did Dave enlist earlier than before but he joined the Marines instead of the Army which means he will probably not serve with Klaus. In the elevator before meeting their father, Luther has a fart attack that seems to bother everyone except Diego. This is not an example of Diego displaying the power to breath under water, like his comic counterpart code name the “Kraken” is able to do. In fact, David Castañeda who plays Diego admitted in the Behind the Scenes footage that he could not keep a straight face during this scene, so they just went with the best take.
During the final battle with Vanya, we see a white violin that is missing a bridge. Vanya’s code name in the comics is the White violin and missing bridge may symbolize that fact the she has lost the bridge back to humanity, which is her faith in her siblings. Ellen Page plays Vanya, a character who has often been compared to Jean Grey from the X-Men. Ellen Page played a member of the X Men, Kitty Pryde, in the film X-Men Last Stand which also saw the Jean Grey character lose control of her immense powers. In the same movie Jean Grey uses her powers to lift water out of a reservoir, much like Vanya does to save Harlan. This is not an Easter egg at all, but I just wanted to say that I loved this soundtrack. The first season was already pretty good but this season may be one of my most favorite soundtracks in recent memory and seemed to go perfectly with each scene. And this last one is just an Easter to me. Every time someone says “Vanya” all I hear is Lucille Bluth from Arrested Development saying “Annyong”. If you have not seen Arrested Development, you should watch it especially the first season. If you have watched it, I hope I did not just ruin this character for you….
Even with some formulaic storytelling and a few less than dynamic characters, I really grew to like the Umbrella Academy and I enjoyed the second season much more than I did the first. I think the show is at its best when it examines the relationships of the dysfunctional family and how their collective trauma affects one another. In the beginning of the series we meet 7 people who are all scarred in different ways, but over time you find that they are all really dealing with the same problems just handling them differently based on their experiences. They all see themselves a certain way, which is the image of themselves they believe their father wanted the to be, but they learn that be leaning on their family now they can evolve into their own personalities and become a hero within the group, and in turn for the rest of the world. The addition of Lila I think is permanent, since if she does not join the Umbrella Academy, they will already be down one person to the new Sparrow Academy. We saw her jump out of the timeline like Loki in Avengers Endgame, so I am sure she will pop back up soon. With Reginald Hargreaves as the leader of the Sparrow Academy now, I would not be surprised if we saw Lila somehow bring the Handler back to lead the Umbrella Academy in his stead. If the second season was all about actualizing yourself on your own, I think season 3 will be about coming together to fight something more powerful than any one of them. I really hope we eventually see the team evolve into the version we saw at the beginning of season 2, because that was bleeping amazing. But you tell me, What Did I Miss? If there is anything important you think I left out, please let me know. Thanks for watching and I will see you next time on What Did I Miss.