"They're the ones trying to hurt you. Vanya, it's all there, in that journal."
"But they are the small ones, next to you. Compared to them, you are a god! You just needed your eyes opened to see what they really are."
— Leonard
"Changes" is the ninth episode of The Umbrella Academy's first season.
As Allison recovers in the mansion, Leonard talks a guilt-stricken Vanya out of explaining herself to her family. She finds her father's notebook in Leonard's things and realizes that Leonard has been manipulating her. He provokes her by calling her ordinary, and she responds by brutally murdering him, walking away with no hint of remorse. The next day, Klaus, Five, and Diego find his body and Five realizes that Leonard is the owner of the prosthetic eye.
Hazel arrives at the mansion to help stop the apocalypse, but Five informs him that since Leonard is dead, the apocalypse must have been averted. Allison awakens and tells Luther Vanya has powers, and Luther incapacitates Vanya when she arrives back at the mansion and locks her in a soundproof room, although the other siblings disagree.
Cha-Cha plans for Hazel to watch as she kills Agnes, but the Handler arrives. Klaus attempts to resummon Ben in a corporeal form as Five returns Delores to the department store. Convinced that Leonard was right and her family hates her, she breaks out of her cell.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Adrenaline Time: During Diego's fight with Hazel, the shot is occasionally slowed down to emphasize his moves, before it resumes normal speed.
- Afraid of Needles: Tough-guy Diego steps up to donate blood to Allison, but faints as soon as Grace brandishes the needle.
- Badly Battered Babysitter: Grace was built because Vanya kept killing/injuring her nannies.
- Bullying the Dragon: Leonard, angry at her for rejecting him, calls Vanya "ordinary". Leading to his...
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Vanya holds Leonard in the air and stabs him to death with all manners of sharp household objects.
- Deadly Hug: A non-lethal version. When Vanya cries into Luther's chest he starts choking her unconscious.
- Death as Comedy: Little Vanya killing at least three of her nannies is played for laughs.
- De-power: Allison narrowly survives having her throat slashed, but is left unable to speak, and thus can't use her speech-based powers.
- Disney Death: Allison is one of the very few victims in fiction to ever have survived a Slashed Throat.
- Dramatic Slip: Agnes slips and falls when running from Cha-Cha at the motel room.
- Forced to Watch: Cha-Cha's plan is for Hazel to watch as Agnes is drowned.
- Glowing Eyes of Doom: Vanya has them in the closing shot which marks her transformation into a Person of Mass Destruction.
- Groin Attack: Played for laughs when Klaus tries to opt out of going after Harold.Diego: Klaus, get up.
Klaus: You can't make me. [Diego throws a knife between his legs.] I guess a little exercise couldn't hurt. - Head Turned Backwards: Grace's head is turned backwards after young Vanya sent her flying across the kitchen. Being a robot, this causes no lasting damage to Grace. However, the sight horrified a young Vanya so much that she stopped trying to hurt her.
- I Can Explain: Leonard/Harold delivers this line after Vanya learns he knew about her powers all along.
- I Did What I Had to Do: Luther's explanation to Allison why he had to lock up Vanya.
- Irony: Diego, the knife expert, faints at the sight of a needle.
- Klingon Promotion: Leonard reveals that he offed the first chair so Vanya could audition for it.
- Letting the Air out of the Band: Happens to the soundtrack when the Handler halts time during the Hazel/Cha-Cha fight.
- Man Bites Man: During their fight, Diego ends up biting Hazel. This is what prompts Five to finally step in and break up the fight; he hates biting.
- Mood Whiplash: When the emotional Cry into Chest scene between Vanya and Luther changes into something else.
- "Not So Different" Remark:
- Klaus points out that he and Five are both addicted, he to drugs and Five to "the apocalypse". And they both share the symptom of withdrawal from their drug. However, Five has also exhibited symptoms of alcoholism, so this may be a more likely explanation for his anger toward Klaus.
- Luther tells an unconscious Allison that the loss of her voice reminds him of his own Emergency Transformation. He promises her to be there so she won't have to wake up alone like he did.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Luther's unilateral decision to lock Vanya away in the anechoic chamber is what leads Vanya to become villainous.
- Now What?: In the belief that the apocalypse has been prevented, Hazel asks Five what he plans to do now that his goal has been achieved.
- Shout-Out: After getting punched by Ben, Klaus notes that he just got Patrick Swayze'd.
- Shower of Angst: Vanya has a bath of angst after Allison's apparently death at her hands. Leonard helps to wash off the blood.
- Soundtrack Dissonance: Cha-Cha and Hazel's violent fight is set to Lesley Gore's "Sunshine, Lollipops, and Rainbows".
- Start of Darkness: Vanya fully careens into villainy in this episode.
- Tailor-Made Prison: Luther locks Vanya into a sound-proof cell that would prevent her from using her sound-amplifying powers to get out. Except it doesn't work because in the absence of external sound, there is still something that can fuel Vanya's powers: the sound of her heartbeat.
- Talking with Signs: Allison articulates her thoughts through a notepad since she can't speak.
- Tap on the Head: Five halts the fight between Hazel and Diego by smashing glass onto the latter's head. Diego is no worse for wear a short time later.
- Teeth Flying: A funny variant where Ben punches Klaus in the face and the pills in the latter's mouth are flying out like teeth.
- Traveling at the Speed of Plot: The car ride up to Leonard's cabin takes the better part of an episode, but the brothers manage to get Allison back to the mansion in time to save her life despite her bleeding out badly.
- Unbroken Vigil: Luther doesn't leave Allison's side as she recovers from her wound.
- Use Your Head: Hazel uses his head to hit Diego during their fight.
- Villains Want Mercy: Leonard begs for Vanya to spare his life.
- What the Hell, Hero?: Klaus, Diego and Allison each give one to Luther for locking up Vanya in the sound-proof chamber.
