Summary
The show continues to deliver on the action and shocking twists, although certain plot strands are starting to become a little formulaic and convoluted.
Phinneus Pogo, the talking chimpanzee, made his first appearance in the new series at the end of the last episode, where he was seen as a tattoo artist. This servant at the Academy is given some much-appreciated screen time in episode six, “Marigold,” where the Umbrella siblings go on their own separate adventures, with the Kugelblitz continuing to slowly destroy the space-time continuum undeterred.
A flashback to 2014 introduces us to this alternate Pogo, who is training up the Sparrows in the art of karate. Jayme is battling Ben, and the tentacle-wielding horror decides to cheat, brazenly using his powers to suffocate poor Jayme. She fights back, maiming the terror, but the whole debacle upsets Pogo. He fears Reginald wants these super-humans to fight to the death, so he quits. We catch up with the monkey at a biker gang’s residency, where he is now a tattoo artist, displaying his very own tattoos and a badass outfit. Five asks to speak frankly with the chimp, but Pogo rides off on a motorbike instead.
The shockwaves from the Kugelblitz have been vaporizing animals and humans for a while now, but an establishing shot reveals that buildings are also crumbling into nothing. The black hole is destroying entire cityscapes. Allison, Viktor, and Harlan hide out at an abandoned drive-in cinema, where they attempt to harness their powers to save Harlan. Allison worries the plan will kill Viktor, and she leaves the oddities to their own self-destruction. Harlan and Viktor blast their respective powers at one another, trying to combine strengths. The act manages to work, and Harlan’s abilities are drained from his body and transferred over to Viktor’s. He is now no longer a threat.
At the Hotel, Stanley goes missing, and parents Lila and Diego frantically search for the adorable little criminal. They discover that the White Buffalo suite contains a hidden door, so the parents go exploring, taking a mystery tunnel to a similar-looking hotel named Hotel Oblivion. This deranged setup starts to freak out both Lila and Diego, who feel like they’ve entered a living nightmare. Lila reveals that Stanley isn’t actually their son, and there’s just time for an unknown enemy to chop off Diego’s fingers before they race back to safety.
Ben invites Luther to join the Sparrows while Five hunts down Pogo. Klaus visits his father, who seems to be a lot happier since his son taught him how to fake taking the pills. He now feels more alive than ever. Klaus confesses to having purgatorial visions, and Reginald decides to experiment on the boy again, electrocuting Klaus to death this time. It’s a traumatic and abusive relationship he has with his father that is actually quite unsettling.
Pogo explains to Five that he had to drug Reginald to keep the Sparrows safe, and now Klaus has unfortunately given the man his strength back. Pogo adds that Reginald was constructing a kind of kamikaze mission for the superheroes to test run, eerily titled Project Oblivion. Pogo warns this scheme will put all the Umbrellas in danger as well. Five is grateful for the information and asks for Pogo to give him the prophesized tattoo, in essence sealing his own fate and continuing the cycle.
With Harlan cured, Allison says her goodbyes, but Harlan lets a secret slip. This very forced reveal about her mother’s death enrages Allison, and she brings the killer straight to the Sparrows. A final, ominous shockwave rips through the neighborhood, killing Stanley in the process. The series continues to shock and entertain in equal measures, although some of the scenarios are becoming a tad formulaic. Let’s see if Harlan is alive and how Viktor will take this epic betrayal in The Umbrella Academy’s next installment.
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