Pocket Full of Lightning
Episode 3 of Umbrella Academy Season 3 starts with an introduction to The Grandfather Paradox. Essentially, if a person travels back in time to before their grandfather had children and kills him, it would make their own birth impossible, thus eliminating them from the timeline. This appears to be what’s happening in our current timeline. With all of the Umbrella Academy still alive, despite their mothers being killed, a paradox has occurred and begun spiraling out of control. Luther heads out from Sloane’s place and witnesses this shockwave first-hand. Eventually he heads back to Hotel Obsidian, informing the group that people are going missing. Oh, and that the Sparrows are excellent hosts despite holding him prisoner. Upstairs, Lila and Five have a little skirmish before getting down to brass tacks. Five brings up the Grandfather Paradox issue, along with how their briefcases aren’t working. The only solution is for the pair to work together. Downstairs, Viktor decides they should tell the truth about this Grandfather Paradox to the Sparrows. They deduce that Marcus has disappeared because of this and their best bet is just to be honest. Unfortunately, Allison and Viktor bench Luther for this one, as they head out together to meet Fei and Ben. Allison decides to take matters into her own hands, lying to Ben by claiming Marcus is safe and held captive. Allison wants to trade the briefcase for Marcus. Of course, we know this isn’t going to work, especially as none of these Umbrellas actually communicate and work together. Fei and Ben head down to the basement, where Grace is watching the swirling orb and calling it “God”. She also tells them that this is what has taken Marcus. Meanwhile, over at the Hotel Obsidian, that strange man we’ve been seeing a lot of lately, Lester, checks in. He has headphones and seems to be a proper advocate for ASMR. Is he connected to this paradox in some way? We’ll have to wait and see! Klaus breaks in to the Academy and begins talking to Hargreeves. Only, Alphonso and Jayme show up and force him to sign some papers and take pills. It seems like he’s being held captive, and when the Sparrows leave, he asks his father just what’s going on. Hargreeves is depressed, unhappy that no one comes to visit him now and that he’s been shunned by the Sparrow Academy. As they talk, Reginald decides to get them some ice-cream. His hands are shaking though and he ends up smashing a plate on the floor. Hargreeves bemoans what these pills are doing to him. Well, Klaus knows a thing or two about that and gives him some tips for tricking the Sparrow Academy. When Reginald falls asleep, he mutters “Oblivion.” Klaus follows orchestral singing down to the basement where he finds Grace before the swirling orb, which is growing bigger and more monstrous. The fate of this seems to rest with Lila and Five who try to work together and cause a sort of feedback loop with their powers. It seems to work too, as they jump to an icy wasteland, just outside the Commission. With the pair gone, the Sparrows show up at Hotel Obsidian in their outfits. They mean business, and unfortunately the Umbrella Academy don’t actually have a plan of action. When Stan comes bumbling in with a Molotov, Diego calls him off. Unfortunately he sets one of the drapes alight. As the Sparrows begin attacking all of the Umbrella Academy, that strange Lester character comes downstairs and screams in the hallway. In doing so, he destroys both Alphonso and Jayme. The Sparrows retreat; Sloane is kept at the Hotel while Viktor stands up and looks at this guy, shocked. “Harlan?”
The Episode Review
So the identity of this strange man is finally unveiled as Harlan, which is quite the surprise! It would appear that he’s on the Umbrella’s side, and in doing so Alphonso and Jayme have both been killed. That’s still not completely confirmed though so we’ll have to wait and see how that develops over time. Meanwhile, the rest of the characters all find themselves tackling the Sparrows and their predicament in their own way. Lila and Five are working together, seemingly jumping back in time, while Klaus starts to connect with Reginald in a neat inclusion. However, the threat of this Grandfather Paradox continues to loom over our characters, and the fate of the world is very much hanging in the balance. Will the Umbrella Academy come out on top?
