By John Ternowetsky

Over the course of the pandemic, I have had a lot of free time–too much free time, in fact. Streaming platforms such as Netflix see this as a perfect time to start putting out shows as many have nothing else to do but to watch them. I would say since school was put on hold in April, Netflix was about the only thing apart from video games I used to pass the time. I have watched many shows on Netflix, but perhaps one that stands out in front of many is The Umbrella Academy. You may have heard of this show before as it came out in 2019 and is based on a pretty popular comic. However, if you haven’t seen it yet, it’s time to hear why you should. 

The Umbrella Academy is about 7 kids who were adopted by an eccentric billionaire named Reginald Hargreeves in 1989. What’s special about these kids is that their biological parents gave birth to them without being pregnant. Now, there were 43 kids in total that were born that day and that way; however, Reginald Hargreaves was only able to adopt 7. These kids weren’t just born in a strange way. They also have extraordinary powers. Luther, also known as Number 1, has the ability of super strength with a gorilla-like body; Diego Hargreaves, a.k.a Number 2, has the ability to manipulate objects, such as knives, while they are thrown in the air;  Number 3, Allison Hargreeves, has the ability to make anyone do anything she wants simply by whispering “I heard a rumor…”; Number 4, Klaus Hargreeves, has the ability to summon / see the dead; Number 5, a.k.a Five, has the ability to time travel and teleport; Number 6, Ben Hargreeves, has the ability to summon creatures through a portal in his body; and Number 7, Vanya Hargreeves, has the ability to cause mass destruction through waves of force by playing her violin. 

As the Hargreeves siblings get older, they start to grow apart; however, the death of Reginald Hargreeves, their stepfather, is what brings them all back together for his funeral. I wouldn’t really call it a funeral, because they all get in a big fight and end up breaking the statue of Number 6, who is dead when the show begins. 

Remember how I told you Number Five could time travel? Well, he gets stuck in the post-apocalyptic future which happens to be only 8 days after Reginald’s funeral. When Five arrives back for Reginald Hargreeves’s funeral, he warns the Umbrella Academy about the apocalypse. Oh, I forgot to mention, there are two highly trained assassins hired to kill Five after he leaves something called the Commission, which has control of the space and time continuum, and they make sure historical events happen like they are supposed to. 

Now, to prevent spoiling this, in case you actually consider watching it, here is a summed up version on why The Umbrella Academy is a must watch. First, if you like action-packed thrillers–and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?– this show will be perfect for you. It doesn’t start off slowly like some shows that you end up having to watch and wait till the third episode for it to finally become good; it’s exciting from the get go. Secondly, there are many famous actors who are in the show, such as Kate Walsh (who you may know from Grey’s Anatomy and other famous shows) so you know the acting is good. To further back up my point, it is rated 82 % on Rotten Tomatoes and most of the critics can be quite brutal, so this is an excellent score and it definitely proves its worth it when you get to watch it. Overall, The Umbrella Academy is a great show filled with action and adventure, but beware: once you start watching it, it’s pretty hard to stop.