Summary
Tragedy hits in The Umbrella Academy Episode 8 as the series reaches the crucial episodes leading to the finale.
This recap of The Umbrella Academy Season 1 Episode 8, “I Heard A Rumor” contains spoilers. You can check out our thoughts on the previous episode by clicking these words.
Well, that was tragic. But first, let’s get our teeth into the bare bones of The Umbrella Academy Episode 8.
The opening gives us a flashback from a year ago when Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) was still involved in her daughter’s life. She was telling a bedtime story, but her daughter wants more time to stay awake and discuss more tales, and Allison, using her powers, gets impatient and uses the “I heard a rumor” so she went to sleep. Her husband is in the background disapproving. Now, as a parent myself, I found her patience to be a little wafer-thin, but can we judge her? We all want our little ones to shut the fuck up and go to sleep.
Anyway, following on from this, in the present day, Allison visits Harold Jenkin’s family home. On the way back she finds Vanya’s (Ellen Page) scarf at the crime scene where she was attacked by the three men. Using her celebrity status, she pretends to be investigating a law enforcement role and tags along with a besotted officer to the hospital to get more answers.
“I Heard A Rumor” dealt with the aftermath of Vanya saving Harold (John Magaro) from a beating. She is asleep next to his bedside but is surprised at how quickly he wants to discharge himself voluntarily. Vanya learns that her powers killed at least two men, and you can see the guilt instantly consuming her. Chapter eight gives insight into her upbringing. We learn that Sir Reginald Hargreeves struggled to contain Vanya’s powers. Reading Hargreeve’s diary, Harold persistently trains Vanya about her ability. From what I can gather, her power is linked to sound, and when she focuses in, she can use it to create energy. The only problem is that it becomes out of control if her emotions are volatile, but Vanya soon learns that using a violin focuses her ability.
Amusingly, Luther (Tom Hopper) wakes up with a hangover, and a woman naked next to him in bed. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) teases that he’s just lost his virginity before getting to business. He gathers Luther and “Number 5” (Aidan Gallagher) and confirms that their father killed himself so they would all come back to save the world. Luther is in disbelief but is sidetracked by Pogo, who confirms this is all true.
The Umbrella Academy Episode 8 gives some screen time to Hazel (Cameron Britton) and the lady who owns the donut store. They are on the move, while Cha-Cha (Mary J. Blige) is looking for them. Hazel looks beside himself during the journey, knowing that the world is going to end. He decides to leave her at a hotel, explaining that he needs to deal with something. That “something” is not revealed in “I Heard A Rumor”.
Once Diego (David Castañeda) gets out of the police station cell, he goes to a random bar with “Number 5” and Luther to try and comfort him. Luther cares more about drinking his “hair of the dog”. That’s until Diego explains that Allison deserved better and that she is in trouble.
And this is where tragedy hits, but at the same time showcases why they cast Ellen Page in the first place. Allison shows up at Harold’s house and sees a force moving everything in the house. She stops Vanya from playing the violin and asks what is happening. Vanya explains that she is indeed unique and had powers all along. Allison tries to hit home that Leonard is not who he says he is, but also reveals that when she was younger, Vanya was locked up by her family in a vault for being “ill” and her father asked her to say the following words to her: “I heard a rumor, that you were ordinary”.
As you can imagine, this an emotional blow to Vanya. After years of believing she was not special, her sister stands before her saying it was because of her. She starts raging, and as Allison tries to use her power on her, Vanya uses her ability to slash her throat. At the opportune time, Harold walks in almost happy about the situation but urgently explaining they need to leave. The others finally get to the house, to find Allison dead.
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Vanya could be the key to the entire end of the world, or is there another twist? How will Luther react when he finds out Vanya killed Allison? Will “Number 5” go back in time and change what happened?
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You can check out our thoughts on the next episode by clicking these words.
