The Umbrella Academy Season 2, Episode 3 recap: The Swedish Job

The Umbrella Academy Season 2, Episode 3 recap: Raymond learns Allison’s many secrets.

Finally, another reunion between the Hargreeves siblings! After talking to Klaus’s follower at the jail, she manages to track him down at his fancy manor, and the two hug and fill each other in on their new lives. Allison gives Klaus a hard time about literally starting a cult and finally explains the reason she hasn’t been using her powers to help her husband.

According to her, she likes the person she is without it and hasn’t used it at all since that fateful night when Vanya attacked her and rendered her mute for a year. As far as reasons go, that’s a pretty good one, but I admit I’m hoping she changes her mind because her power is my favorite and I want to see more of it.

At Odessa’s, Allison and the other protestors meet up to discuss whether or not they should postpone the sit-in with Raymond still imprisoned. Allison argues to keep going because the movement is bigger than just one person.

One of the men in the group disagrees and says they should postpone for now. Ultimately, Allison calls for a vote and he tells her that’s not how they do things. Then Odessa herself speaks up, it’s her beauty parlor and she doesn’t see why they can’t vote.

Allison gives a brief, impassioned speech about the importance of doing the sit-in when Kennedy is in town because that’s when the publicity and press will be there, they want as many eyes on them as possible. She wins the vote and they decide to go ahead with the sit-in as planned.

Thankfully, she doesn’t have to worry Raymond won’t attend, because Klaus and Ben team up to spook a cop badly enough to set him free.

“Family barbecues are about to get real weird,” Klaus tells a bewildered Raymond as he re-introduces himself as his brother-in-law.

On the day of the sit-in, Allison walks into the same diner she visited when she first crashlanded in Dallas and sits, poised and elegant, in her diner seat while politely asking the racist and hostile waitstaff to serve her and her fellow Black protestors.

Raymond finally shows up to the sit-in, late since he was with Luther. He’s standoffish and cold toward Allison, obviously upset at her for hiding the fact she has a brother (two brothers now since he also met Klaus) and perhaps wondering what other secrets she’s keeping.

The protest is getting increasingly difficult as many white patrons harass them, pouring salt on them and yelling vitriol at them as they sit peacefully.

Eventually, the silence becomes too much for Allison so she asks Raymond to explain what happened. He tells her about his run-in with Klaus and Luther. Before Allison can attempt to tell him anything, one of the diner staff dump hot coffee in her lap and chaos breaks out. A cop tries to arrest Allison and another pair starts brutally beating Ray in the middle of the diner before dragging him out into the streets.

The entire scene is extremely eerie, given it echoes many unfortunate circumstances going on in our current world. It’s deeply disheartening to see a scene like this play out in 1963, and know the exact same things are still occurring and the protesting in this episode is not dissimilar from those in our streets right now.

Even worse, the cops continue their beatdown of Ray in the road. Allison rushes out to stop them and the main officer hitting Ray with his nightstick says she’s next. Overwhelmed, she finally resorts to using her power to get him to back off.

Unfortunately, Ray witnesses the exchange and that on top of her secret brothers is the final straw for now. He freaks out at the sight of his wife and begins to question who she is, leaving her in the street as he runs away. Honestly, I thought that was messed up. He might be frightened, but Allison is still his wife. You’d think he’d at least try to get out with her and then be angry.

Klaus shows up at the last second and tells Allison they need to get out of there, rushing her off in the opposite direction of her husband.