Your father has passed away and it has come time to reunite with your siblings who you haven’t seen in a very long time. You arrive at the large academy you were raised in, see your family, and nobody seems to be in grief.

The last thing you would expect is for the event to turn into an argument over whether someone in the family killed your father or if his cause of death was natural.

“The Umbrella Academy” is a Netflix original that released its first season in February of 2019 and recently released its second season in the summer of 2020. The show follows the adult lives of seven out of the forty-three kids that were all born on the same date, October 1st, 1989. The seven were all adopted by Reginald Hargreeves, who trained them to be warriors of the upcoming apocalypse.

The show was created by Steve Blackman, developed by Jeremy Slater, and the characters were created by Gerard Way. Despite it being based off the comics of the same name, the show takes a different approach to telling the story of the Hargreeves.  

Each member of the family is unique in their own way except for Vanya, who is left feeling like the oddball of the family. Throughout the show, Vanya is constantly perceived as an outsider in the family and doesn’t have any special abilities like mind controlling, speaking to the dead, teleportation, or summoning creatures. 

The cast of seven main characters are included in all twenty of the episodes up to date. Some fan favorites include Ellen Page as Vanya, Aidan Gallagher as Five, and Robert Sheehan as Klaus.

The writers of the show took on a backstory between two of the siblings showing that they both took interest in each other, which was not the right move to make. Though the characters try to reason with this later on in the show by saying they are adoptive siblings, it is eventually shut down.

An amazing soundtrack is featured in the show, with classic hits like “I Think We’re Alone Now” by Tiffany and “Don’t Stop Me Now” by Queen. Some of their best scenes include other hit songs like “Istanbul (Not Constantinople)” by They Might Be Giants and  “Twistin’ the Night Away” by Sam Cooke.

The best parts of this show are the soundtrack and how they use music that fits so well with their fight scenes. The way the crew films the fight scenes and chooses music that goes perfectly with the scene is amazing.

Overall, the show includes many elements of comedy and science fiction that would be enjoyed by people who like comic books and supernatural abilities. “The Umbrella Academy” does not hesitate to keep viewers on their toes, practically forcing them to continue watching the rest of the series and see everything unfold.