The Umbrella Academy – Season 3 Episode 1 “Meet The Family” Recap & Review

Meet The Family

Episode 1 of Umbrella Academy Season 3 starts in Seoul, October 1st 1989. Just like we saw from before, 16 women inexplicably become pregnant. Sir Reginald Hargreeves sets out to find these children, and manages to bring seven of them in. Sound familiar? Well, there’s one big difference here – the kids are very different from the seven we’ve come to know and love.

There’s Marcus, Fei, Ben and Christopher along with Jayme, Sloane and Alphonso. Each of them have their own abilities, and after a short montage, we pick up right where we left off from before at the Sparrow Academy.

Things escalate between the two groups quickly, with Marcus stepping up and deciding they should settle things the “old-fashioned” way. And that way? A dance-off bro! Or is it? As we zoom out from Diego’s eye, who had previously been spat at by Jayme, using some sort of toxic hallucinogen, we get to the real crux of the issue.

The two groups fight it out with a showcase of their powers. It’s a slick and clever way to see all the new powers in action, including Fei’s ravens, Marcus’ super strength and Sloane’s gravity manipulation.

The Umbrellas are no match for the Sparrows, stumbling away from the house and licking their wounds in defeat. As they reflect on what’s happened, Five tells them all that the timeline has been changed because of their actions last season, which includes Hargreeves adopting a brand new group of kids. Even worse, Five has misplaced the briefcase to get them out of them, given it’s still inside the Sparrow Academy. Interestingly, there’s a swirling ball of raging energy there too. Keep note of that, it’ll be important later on!

Klaus takes them all to Hotel Obsidian, a place to lay low. That’s just as well, given the Sparrow Academy are intent on finding and stopping the Umbrellas. Hargreeves warns Marcus not to underestimate them, reminding the gang all that they saved the world in 1963 despite their shortcomings.

Vanya leaves and meets Marcus in confidence, wanting to resolve this conflict peacefully. Vanya warns him that she’s ended the world twice and it would do his reputation no good to fight again, because the Sparrows may not win. All she wants is the briefcase. If he can hand that over, they’ll leave them in peace.

Although things seem to be going well, Fei and her raven happens to be listening in and feed this back to Ben, letting him know about the deal that’s about to go down. When Marcus shows up in the basement, he sees the swirling ball of energy for himself, which sends a shockwave across the world. It obliterates Marcus and also the Hotel Obsidian’s owner’s dog. So much for saving the world!

The Episode Review

The first episode of Umbrella Academy gets things off to a great start, with a decent amount of action, an introduction to this new world and yet another big threat to tackle! The whole balance of power here is clearly with the Sparrows and I’m sure we’ll discover more of this world over the course of the season.

The wit and humour oozes beautifully through the show too, balanced out with more serious elements like the swirling orb in the basement that looks like it’s going to be our world-ending threat this year.

As a minor gripe, some of the CGI is a little wonky, most notably that of Marcus up on the rooftop during those flashbacks, but it’s a minor point in what’s otherwise a well produced episode. That fight in the Sparrow Academy is a clever addition too, showing the powers of these different characters in an organic way.

With all episodes available to watch today, thankfully we don’t have to wait too long to find out what happens next! Roll on the next chapter!