'The Umbrella Academy' 2.02 Recap: The Frankel Footage

This post contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy. Looking for something spoiler-free? Check out our full season two review here. 

While it's surprising that the Hargreeves family didn't appear to look for one another after being plopped in a strange time and place, there's enough going on in the season that we don't have a whole lot of time to dwell. Now that Number Five (Aiden Gallagher) has set up a suitable base of operations in Elliott's (Kevin Rankin) bunker, he's able to start searching for his siblings in earnest.

The first he manages to come across is Diego (David Castañeda). Not shocking, since Diego has about all the subtlety of a freight train. But it is worth mentioning that Five receives help from Elliott in more ways than just the "offering" of his bunker. The sweet but paranoid conspiracy theorist had a good vantage point over Arrival Alley and managed to snap pictures of all of the Hargreeves' as they made their aggressive descent into this timeline.

When Five makes it to Diego, he finds him locked up in a mental institution over paranoid delusions. Diego, knowing that he had an advantage over the timeline, had decided that he was going to save President John F. Kennedy's life. He was also somehow shocked when folks wanted to lock him up over such a claim. Five, realizing that Diego is going to be more of a liability than a help, elects to leave him in the institution. 

Don't worry, it's all fine. Diego and Lila (Ritu Arya) break out of the asylum with little issue, despite being chased by the three assassins from the Commission. 

While all that unfolds, we catch up with Vanya (Elliot Page) on the Cooper farm. Sissy (Marin Ireland) felt guilty for hitting her with her car, so she gave her a place to stay. While with them, Vanya's helping out with Harlan (Justin Paul Kelly), Sissy and Carl's young autistic son. The family's rather run of the mill, but you get the sense all is not well between Harlan's parents.

Things are simple on the farm, but they're far more complicated in downtown Dallas. We catch up with Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and a small group of civil rights activists as they plan their sit-in during JFK's upcoming visit in a local beauty salon. Among those activists is Allison's husband, Raymond Chestnut (Yusuf Gatewood). Sorry, Luther. Missed your window.

It's not exactly relevant to this recap, but I am morally, contractually and emotionally obligated to call out the scene where Allison physically boots a racist in his ass when he gets in her husband's face. Of course it will cause problems later. Still worth it. 

Though the story isn't quite ready for all of the siblings to come together just yet (don't worry, we'll touch more on Klaus in the next recap), Diego, Five, and Lila do manage to come together at Elliott's bunker before it's all said and done. They catch up with the eldest sibling just in time to watch the curious tape that Hazel (Cameron Britton) had given his life to ensure Five received it.

On that tape is live footage of President John F. Kennedy's assassination. Hardly shocking to everyone from the future, of course. But they are quite surprised to see their father standing in Dealey Plaza directly atop The Grassy Knoll. Diego and Five aren't able to immediately speculate here, mostly because they just let a conspiracy theorist see the assassination of the President. Let's just say Elliott's a little nonplussed by the revelation.

Looks like The Umbrella Academy is going to find themselves involved in the Kennedy assassination after all.