Summary
Episode 2 continues with the same energy as the opening chapter, settling the audience into another period of time, providing more depth to the origins of The Umbrella Academy.
This recap of Netflix series The Umbrella Academy season 2, episode 2, “The Frankel Footage” contains significant spoilers.
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How does The Umbrella Academy season 2, episode 2, ‘The Frankel Footage” open?
Episode 2 opens up with Hazel killing The Handler. As she’s taking her to the crematorium, The Handler wakes up — she’s alive. Three months later she’s back at The Commission. AJ is now The New Handler and he makes her aware that she is demoted due to the handling of her cases. She asks for two days to make this right. The New Handler tells her to go to her desk where Herb is her supervisor. The second season brings back the corporate-led approach to time continuums — time travel is a business which is hardly surprising; in real life, it would be as well.
I’m not needed
Five tells Luther that the world is going to end in 10 days but Luther is happy working for Jack and doesn’t believe that The Umbrella Academy needs him. As Luther walks off he tells Five that jumping time was his idea and Vanya is probably the cause of the next apocalypse. Suddenly, Five remembers Hazel giving him something — he removes a box from his jacket that says The Frankel Footage. Five is once again integral to getting the members motivated to save the world.
A blank slate
Vanya offers to get Sissy’s drunk husband Carl from the bar where Luther works. Meanwhile, Diego and Lila are still on the run. Lila believes they are a good team — there’s clearly sexual tension between them. Lila is resourceful and steals a car. Vanya finds Carl wasted on the sidewalk. Carl tells Vanya that she’s lucky because she got a blank slate. Luther heads out with Carl’s wallet and sees Vanya in a car but she doesn’t recognize him and drives off.
The police make an arrest
The police head to Allison’s home and arrest her husband Raymond Chestnut for the battery of Mr. Mason. She is tempted to use her powers but she changes her mind; she is clearly hesitant because the use of her powers in the past did not end well for her. The second season sees Allison trying to make a change for the better, and with the Civil Rights movement, it gives her character further depth.
Cutting off Oswald’s trigger finger
Five asks Elliot if he can develop The Frankel Footage. On the radio, they hear the police are trying to find patients that have fled the hospital. Meanwhile, Diego has plans to cut off Oswald’s trigger finger so he doesn’t kill Kennedy — he is still obsessed with killing key figures in history. Lila believes that Diego has a hero complex. Five appears in their car and calls Diego an idiot before threatening to go to the police. Diego agrees to go with Five and Lila is coming with him.
The police station
Allison heads to the police station to try and free her husband. Meanwhile, at the station, Klaus is in a cell and a man named Keechie is infatuated by him, asking him for wisdom. Raymond ends up speaking to Klaus but then he is freed. As each scene progresses, The Umbrella Academy is slowly coming back together — their circumstances are bringing them back together.
Dad?
The Umbrella Academy season 2, episode 2 unusually links the father of the family to President Kennedy, expanding the story further.
When Five returns to Elliot’s place with Diego and Lila, Elliot points a gun at him and asks where they got The Frankel Footage. Five disarms Elliot and they watch the footage; there’s an elderly couple on it — Dan and Edna Frankel. The tape is from 6 days in the future. On the tape, the couple is ready to see the President. It appears to be when the president was shot — Diego and Five see their father in the distance.
I’m sorry
Luther drives to the farm Vanya is on and he remembers how dangerous she is — he has his gun prepared. Vanya is in the barn playing hide and seek with the son of the family, Harlan. Luther enters the farm and approaches Vanya. She’s excited that Luther knows who she is. Luther thinks Vanya is playing games but she explains that her memory has been defected by an accident. Luther explains to Vanya that he let her down and that he is sorry. Sissy enters the barn and points her shotgun at Luther. He gives Sissy Carl’s wallet and explains he found it at the club before leaving. This scene shows that Luther still regrets his treatment of Vanya but at the same time, he is wary of the danger she poses.
The three men with blonde hair
We learn that the three men with the blonde hair possibly work for The Commission and their new task is finding Vanya.
Did our father kill the president?
Diego believes it was his father that shot the president. Five thinks it looks circumstantial but believes it is unlikely that their father killed the president — these two rarely agree on anything. Before they head out, Diego checks on Lila and she’s upset; she feels she is losing her mind again. Diego reassures Lila, saying they don’t need to understand something in order for it to be real.
I’m going to get you out of here
Allison tells Raymond that she wants to fix this and get him out of the police cell. Raymond is curious as to why she said “I heard a rumor” before he was arrested. Allison acts like she doesn’t know what he’s talking about before leaving. On her way out, she sees Keechie and she senses that he’s met Klaus. Meanwhile, Klaus has broken into a house to get some sleep.
I want to remember who I was
Vanya is pondering to Sissy about Luther in the barn and wonders why he apologized. She wishes she could remember. Sissy holds Vanya’s hands and notices callouses on her fingertips and wonders how she got them. During the night, Vanya has dreams of playing the violin. She wakes up and gets in the car — her mind is slowly bringing her memory back and subconsciously finding her way back to the team. Vanya will always be the most interesting character because of what she represents — she’s powerful and easily the most dangerous.
Entering the father’s workplace
Diego and Five head to the building for D.S Umbrella — their father’s workplace. Both men seem nervous. They scout the place and it seems to have been vacated for a while. Five sees mannequins playing out a scenario and wonders what his father is up to.
How does The Umbrella Academy season 2, episode 2, ‘The Frankel Footage” end?
Five finds a young Pogo who scratches him and runs off. Meanwhile, Diego is attacked by a man in a suit and a top hat. They fight. Diego realizes it is his father before getting stabbed by him. His father claps and Pogo joins him before walking off. Episode 2 continues with the same energy as the opening chapter, settling the audience into another period of time, providing more depth to the origins of The Umbrella Academy.
