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I love The Umbrella Academy. If anything, the second season is even better than the first. The show is a hilarious madcap absurd science fiction action comedy. And it's got small bits of brilliant dialogue that have caused me to pause for a moment while I just sit and laugh. Unharm my weiner!

The show continues to make excellent use of music. I won't cite specific examples, but many of them are covers, and many are originals. My personal favorite was the young Pogo segment at the outset of the fifth episode, set to Major Tom by Tom Schilling. The way the editing synced up the song lyrics with what was happening on-screen was outstanding.I do miss Hazel, who was one of my favorite characters from the first season, but there are so many excellent new characters. From the nutty conspiracy theorist whose name I can't recall to Herb the office drone from The Commission, to Lila who is hilarious in the insane asylum. They're all great.

I continue to be a fan of Robert Sheehan. I loved him in Misfits, and he's outstanding as Klaus, the wacky irresponsible addict medium. His sidekick Ben the ghost is better in season two than in the first season - I loved his brief love story with Jill. While we didn't get to see exactly how Ben met his end, we did get a scene which to me gave closure and made the specifics of his death irrelevant.

Aidan Gallagher's Number Five remains solid, and I've never seen a better portrayal of an old soul in a young body. And the Alison Hargreeves story which went into the civil rights battle of the 1960s was also an excellent component of season two.

And now to detail the two characters who were standouts for me. Two who I would have never expected to enjoy as much as I did.

The first is Luther. During season one, I took him to be a completely milquetoast character, the least interesting of the Umbrella students. During season two, he completely embraced the "dumb ape" stereotype, and his goofy facial expressions so often had me laughing.

The second of my standout characters is Colm Feore's Reginald Hargreeves. During the first season, I'd never have expected him to be so interesting. He's well-played, and contrary to my expectations, the character appears to be here to stay.

I'm stoked for a third season, although it's going to be a long wait. If you want a spoiler-filled detailed character arc writeup, check out this article on GeekMom: The Hargreeves Almost End The World Again In The Umbrella Academy Season Two