‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 2 Episode 8 Recap: A Double Case of ‘Paradox Psychosis’
With Five’s plan down the drain, and the Hargreeves scattered, how will they recover? The day of John F. Kennedy’s assassination has arrived, meaning doomsday is nearly here. And it’s about to get a lot more complicated. (Spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 2, Episode 8 “The Seven Stages” ahead.)
Does that make me crazy?
Five tells Luther they need to find Old Man Five, who just arrived in 1963 to do his job for the Commission. They track him down, and Little Five says that, in exchange for his briefcase, he’ll give him the right equation to get back to 2019 and keep his older form intact when he jumps to the events seen in the pilot.
Confused? So was Luther. While both Fives deal with itchiness and paranoia (side effects of talking to another version of yourself), Old Man Five convinces Luther they should kill Little Five and go to 2019 together. Obviously, they don’t tell the other Five this. Old Man Five seemingly agrees to the plan.
Go, Diego, go!
The Handler agrees to let Lila hire Diego, as long as she’s responsible for him. As Lila explains the Commission, he sees the infinite switchboard. Diego ditches a training session and goes to the switchboard. Herb shows up and helps him use it, telling him that he’s part of a resistance group to overthrow the Handler.
Diego learns that an explosion at the FBI building near the motorcade prompts the president’s car to speed away, saving his life. However, he then launches an attack on Soviet Russia, believing them to be behind it all. This sets off World War 3 and doomsday. Emerging from the rubble of the federal building? Vanya, of course.
Father knows best
Speaking of No. 7, interrogated by the FBI, who discover she knows Russian. Vanya’s then dosed with a “truth serum,” causing her to hallucinate she’s back at the Umbrella Academy, only all of her siblings are adults. Reginald forces them all to eat brains, but every time she does, she sees painful memories.
As Vanya is tortured, Carl tells Sissy what the FBI learned about her. Nearby, Harlan feels what Vanya feels — in other words, they’re connected by her powers. At the D.S. Umbrella corporation, Grace snoops around Reginald’s stuff. She finds his secret plans and confronts him. He won’t tell her the truth, and she says she can’t trust him.
Vanya’s nightmare
Meanwhile, Ray, Allison, and Klaus deal with the body of the deceased Swede, while his brother realizes the Handler is to blame. With the resistance, Diego and Herb appear in Allison’s living room, explaining everything. Allison kisses Ray goodbye, and they go to stop Vanya before it’s too late.
They arrive as Vanya, still stuck in her delusion, eats the brains. Her power can’t be contained, and she kills everybody in the vicinity. Alison, Klaus, and Diego arrive at the FBI building as electricity surges. They realize something’s wrong. Harlan and Vanya open their eyes — both blinding white.
