The first time I watched Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy, I was in love with Klaus Hargreeves and his sister Allison. The two were the most interesting characters and the two that I wanted to care about most. I can now say that nothing changed when season 2 came around because Allison and Klaus Hargreeves remain the most interesting characters.
In season 2, we find the Hargreeves back in the 1960s. Spanning a few years, the story comes to a head on November 22, 1963, the day that Kennedy is supposed to be assassinated. If the Hargreeves do not fix history (because they somehow messed it up the first time), then the end of the world will happen—again.
But it’s a mixed bag when it comes to who ends up with a great life in the ’60s. Klaus is an out queer man, and Allison is Black, and the show explores what it means for both of them as characters to find themselves in this time period. For Allison, she’s thrown into planning a sit-in with her husband and takes to the fight against racial injustice in Dallas, Texas. Actively confronted with racism throughout her time in the ’60s, Allison’s journey is far different than Klaus’s.
Klaus isn’t instantly confronted for being queer. He actually builds a cult following for his “preachings,” which are just song lyrics from modern times. My own personal favorite is when he recites the scripture of “Waterfalls” by TLC, telling his follower to stick to the rivers and the lakes he’s used to.
But when Klaus realizes that he can go to Dave (the man he loved during the Vietnam War in season 1), he goes to try to stop him from enlisting. The problem is that Dave’s uncle is there and completely against Klaus, and forces Dave to punch him.
Both Klaus and Allison don’t have the easiest of times, but they’re two of the strongest Hargreeves. As characters, they’re both constantly confronted with their power and what it has cost them. Allison lost her first marriage to her power, and her sister Vanya almost killed her because of it.
In season 2, she doesn’t use it until a cop tries to beat her husband. With screaming doing nothing, Allison finally uses her powers, and when the cop leaves her alone, her husband Ray knows that something isn’t right and delivers one of the most heartbreaking lines in the show:
This Sceneee✊😔#TheUmbrellaAcademy pic.twitter.com/e3g3TuW5jc
— fred (@brna_nko) August 1, 2020
Anyway, Vanya has been promoted to one of the best characters this season, too.
Vanya, Klaus and Allison are the holy trinity of Umbrella Academy. The superior trio who owns my entire heart #TheUmbrellaAcademy pic.twitter.com/qXFkMJUWC7
— dani (@miasthermopolis) August 1, 2020
To be fair, every Hargreeves has something about them to love, but Allison and Klaus are constantly confronted with terrible thing after terrible thing, and to see them push through and continue to do what is right for the world? It’s why they’re my favorites.
(image: Netflix)
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