A television series from the mind of the lead singer of My Chemical Romance is bound to have some wild, bombastic scenes. That idea is fully realized in Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, a breakout success of a series following an estranged family of superheroes in their misadventures to heal their own traumas and preserve the world’s safety. The series was received well by audiences of all kinds upon its release in 2019, leading to a second season releasing in 2020 and a third confirmed for a 2022 release date — the latter of which has been teased as massive, incredible, and exciting by star Emmy Raver-Lampman.
Between intimate character interactions, visceral fight scenes, and music video mayhem, the series has no shortage of electrifying moments to entertain viewers. With recent posters for season 3 teasing what's in store, here is a look at the selected best moments from seasons one and two of The Umbrellla Academy.
8 Hazel vs Cha Cha
After watching Hazel and Cha Cha’s cold, calculated efficiency and camaraderie, their eventual fight scene is a heartbreaking moment of divergent interests. Though it’s eventually interrupted by Handler, the few minutes of animosity between this formerly friendly duo is intense and exciting. Hazel’s disillusionment with the Commission culminates in this moment of action that changes everything about the antagonist pair and the direction of their narrative.
7 Fight at Griddy’s
In a brutal first-episode display, the audience learns why underestimating Number Five is a deadly mistake. It’s the first chaotic scene of violence in the series and the blood and gore establishes the show’s tone immediately. Five, with his decades of experience masquerading in his younger body, makes quick work of these henchmen in a comically intense scene befitting its source material.
6 Vanya’s Violin Solo
In one of the culminating scenes of the first season, Vanya’s powers and violin talents mix to create a deadly and powerful force that overshadows her performance quickly. As armed guards storm the theater and Vanya’s explosive display of power brings on a foretold apocalypse, the stakes are raised to an all-time high and this scene delivers on all the action and intrigue that one expects from a concluding episode. Most viewers spent the whole season wishing the best for Vanya, whose memory loss and trauma eclipses that of her siblings in many ways. To see her lose control in this spectacular display is equally heartbreaking as it is enthralling.
5 Klaus and Ben’s Ice Cream Truck Drive-by
Luther and Number Five meet Commission assassins Hazel and Cha Cha for a dramatic roadside altercation in a scene that seems poised to offer some serious drama. But, in accordance with the show’s wacky tone, they’re interrupted by Klaus, Diego, and Ben driving through the scene in an ice cream truck in an attempted murder of the two assassins. It’s so truly absurd that all the energy put towards the drama of the moment translates perfectly to the hilarity that interrupts the scene. Klaus, whose popularity has created buzz for his character's own spin-off, leads this ridiculous display to a perfect conclusion.
4 The Civil Rights Movement Storms the Whites-Only Café
In season 2, Allison finds herself transported to the past and participating in the American civil rights movement with her new love interest Ray. The relationship between Ray and Allison is full of warmth, and the way that the show handles the idea of heroism and equality filters well into the character of Ray, who is inspired by Allison to stage a protest by walking into a whites-only café and demanding to be served. Although the scene erupts into chaos with the arrival of the police, the moment is so tangibly dramatic that the unraveling of their mission comes as a serious, early-season moment of shock.
3 Sissy Kisses Vanya
After losing her memory in the process of time-traveling, Vanya begins her season 2 plot living on a farm with a married couple and their son. After witnessing the trouble of Sissy’s domestic life between her absent husband and troubled young son, the two begin to confide in each other and eventually share a kiss after a moment of vulnerability. Their embrace is a welcome moment of levity for Vanya’s story, whose trauma and difficulty navigating life make her a deeply sympathetic character. Seeing Vanya experience a moment of happiness feels well deserved.
2 Vanya vs Allison
Vanya’s trauma surfaces in a moment of chaos that rips apart the relationship between her and her sister Allison in the latter half of the first season. As it's revealed that Allison is the source of Vanya’s convenient memory loss about her powers, she strikes out in anger against her sister and slits her throat. It’s shocking and brutal, but fortunately, Allison proves to not let a little flesh wound slow her progress towards her ambitions.
1 The Sparrow Academy
The final moments of season 2 are, expectedly, a jaw-dropping set of revelations with a cliffhanger ending. The group travel back to 2019 where they find their father, somehow alive and well, having started a different group of superheroes under the moniker “The Sparrow Academy”. The next revelation comes as Ben, the presumed-to-be-dead member of the original group, arrives on the scene with a confused expression. A shift in time leading to a completely different present timeline has massive implications for season 3, which will arrive on Netflix later this year.