Mild spoilers follow for The Umbrella Academy season 4.
I’m a big fan of The Umbrella Academy. I’m sure that’s come across my articles about the franchise, but if it hasn’t, allow me to present evidence of my enthusiasm: I’ve read Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá’s wonderfully oddball graphic novels numerous times, and consumed all of the supplementary literature; I own a couple of Funko Pops (yes, I collect them, what of it?); and I even considered getting a ‘Brellie’ tattoo many years ago, which, considering that I’ve only been inked once before, would have been a visible and permanent sign of devotion.
I admit, though, that I haven’t been fully enthused about its live-action adaptation. To be fair, season 1 and season 2 of The Umbrella Academy were near-perfect recreations of the stories that unfold on the page. But, when the TV series ran out of comics to pull from and veered into uncharted narrative territory, I was underwhelmed by what The Umbrella Academy season 3 had to offer.
The Umbrella Academy season 4, then, had the chance to not only address my concerns that the show wasn’t as effective without Way and Bá’s comics to draw upon, but also deliver an entertaining and poignant swansong as The Umbrella Academy meets its apocalyptic end. It certainly achieves the latter but, thanks to its truncated final season and reoccurring deficiencies, I wasn’t wholly satisfied with its final hurrah.
Apocalypse now
Set six years after the season 3 finale, The Umbrella Academy‘s final chapter finds the Hargreeves family fully adjusted to their new, superpower-less lives. Predictably, a new world-ending event – one that a covert, clandestine organization known as The Keepers wants to instigate – threatens the relatively new timeline born out of the universe reset initiated by Allison Hargreeves (Emmy Raver-Lampman) in season 3’s explosive final episode. In short: cue another intoxicating family reunion as the de-powered siblings try to finally end the never-ending cycle of apocalyptic events that follow them wherever they go.
And when I say ‘de-powered’, I mean ‘de-powered… until they get their abilities back’. Unavoidably, the show’s much shorter fourth season – it comprises six episodes rather than the usual 10 – means it isn’t long before they reacquire their powers (I won’t say how) to not only tackle their new foes, but also the new universe-threatening cataclysm. Fun though it is to see the siblings regain their superpowers – there are some ability-based surprises that viewers may get a kick out of, too – it would have been fascinating to see the series fully commit to exploring who each character is, and see if they could collectively solve problems, without them.
Season 4 doesn’t dedicate enough time to probe what could be some enthralling character dynamics
Where season 4 does a mostly good job is in examining is the relationships between its primary characters, especially from a group-dynamic perspective. One of the best Netflix shows‘ final season is more of an ensemble piece than its forebears, which accentuates the riotous familial dysfunction at the series’ core. As a result, there are fewer, superfluous Scooby Doo-esque “let’s split up” moments, although this still happens periodically – especially in episodes three and five – to advance the main story and obligatory subplots.
When the group separates, The Umbrella Academy 4 isn’t averse to reviving classic partnerships from previous seasons, with Lila (Ritu Arya) and Five’s (Aidan Gallagher) recurring team-up being the most notable example. There are pleasing developments on the new-relationship exploration front, too, with season 4 giving us intriguing insights into the camaraderie, or lack thereof, between Lila and Allison, Diego (David Castañeda) and Five, and Luther (Tom Hopper) and Ben (Justin H. Min). Again, though, due to its reduced number of episodes, season 4 doesn’t dedicate enough time to probing what could be some enthralling character dynamics between individuals we’ve rarely seen interact on a one-to-one basis, which was something I found quite disappointing.
Season 4 does a good job of examining the relationships between its primary characters, especially from a group dynamic perspective
If season 4 has a standout pairing, it’s Viktor (Elliot Page) and Sir Reginald ‘Reggie’ Hargreeves (Colm Feore). The duo’s fractious dynamic is introduced late in the day – it isn’t spotlighted until Reggie’s first appearance in episode 4 – but it sees the pair belatedly working through Viktor’s psychological trauma born out of the aloof and emotionally cold parenting style of ‘Reggie Prime’, aka the Reginald who existed in seasons 1 and 2, not this alternate-timeline one created by the siblings’ time-traveling escapades at the end of the second season.
It’s a double act that begins with an emotionally charged Viktor – played with real pathos and scene-stealing fury by the ever-superb Page – reluctantly agreeing with their siblings to let Reginald help them prevent another apocalypse, and by the season’s end, some semblance of a repaired relationship between Viktor and this version of their surrogate father has been established. Indeed, there’s a real sense that this timeline’s Reggie, although indifferent and egotistical as his alternate self was, regrets his other self’s actions. To me, the emotional pay-off stemming from Viktor and Reggie’s interactions is the most fulfilling of the season and, perhaps, the entire show.
Days of future past
Netflix‘s retelling of The Umbrella Academy may have deviated from the source material recently, but season 4 doesn’t completely disregard some of the graphic novels’ biggest mysteries. In fact, a substantial part of season 4’s middle act is dedicated to unpicking the mythos surrounding a key moment in Hargreeves family history that’s been mentioned but not fully explained in the comics. Regardless of how Way and Bá tackle this piece of lore that fans have long theorized about, the TV adaptation puts a creative spin on the truth surrounding said event that I found to be quite captivating.
It’s this kind of resourceful storytelling that adds real pizzazz to Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy
To my mind, it’s this kind of resourceful storytelling – inspired by the comics, yes, but not a direct translation – that adds real pizzazz to Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy. Yes, the action is good, albeit predictable in its execution. Sure, some jokes induce chuckles, but there’s also plenty of forced humor that I didn’t even raise a smile at. And, okay, the plot is melodramatic enough, not to mention slightly overbearing in its exposition, without referencing this enigmatic portion of the source material. Contextually, though, it not only works, it also injects a genuinely interesting and original narrative into a season that could have gone through the motions with one final world-saving mission-led storyline.
There are other exposition/lore dumps in episodes 4 and 6 that answer some of the biggest questions that I (and I suspect you) have had since season 1, which tie into a subway-situated multiple-timeline storyline that Five begins investigating as early as episode 2.
To get there, though, season 4 makes viewers sit through subplots that don’t just feel like narrative re-treads from previous seasons – Klaus Hargreeves (Robert Sheehan) falling back into old habits, for instance – but are tediously drawn out.
The emotional pay-off stemming from Viktor and Reggie’s interactions is the most fulfilling of the season and, perhaps, the entire show
For a season consisting of just six episodes, I’d expected The Umbrella Academy 4 to sacrifice storytelling fluff for a leaner plot that hits the ground running before the hit Netflix show wraps up its loose story threads in an incredibly bittersweet finale. Alas, its pacing is janky at best, with the aforementioned filler material, the decision to condense 10 episodes’ worth of storytelling into six – which hinders the arcs of its new characters, such as the antagonistic Jean and Gene Thibedeau (Nick Offerman and Meg Mullally) – and the failure to expand on some side stories that are actually engrossing making for a disjointed watch.
Still, at least its last-ever episode delivers a satisfying albeit tear-jerking conclusion to Netflix’s take on The Umbrella Academy. Don’t worry, you’ll find no major spoilers here – all I’ll say is that it might be worth having a tissue or 10 at the ready if you’re easily moved by heart-wrenching endings, or have been a ‘Brellie’ since the very beginning.
My verdict
More of a muted lap of honor than a triumphant celebration, The Umbrella Academy season 4 is a tragedy-tinged final entry that provides a bittersweet sense of closure to its character-driven story.
Sure, it’s not without its charm, and the popular Netflix series, which Castañeda was convinced was “going to bomb” after one season, isn’t afraid to play its greatest hits – absurd humor, hardcore violence, dysfunctional family melodrama, nostalgic references to previous seasons and the comics, and surreal dance numbers – that’ll thrill and entertain a large part of its audience. Nevertheless, it’s an underpowered farewell that, in my opinion, could have benefitted from an extra episode or two – of worthwhile narratives, not extra filler material – to address its plot-pacing and character-development missteps.
Season 4 is a tragedy-tinged final entry that provides a bittersweet sense of closure to its character-driven story
After two seasons of mid-tier storytelling, The Umbrella Academy is probably ending at the right time. Season 4 deserves credit for trying to course-correct the show’s overarching narrative by referring back to its source material and, in an era where Netflix can cancel a TV show at any given moment, The Umbrella Academy‘s success means it’s earned the right to bow out on its own terms.
That said, like HBO’s Game of Thrones, it’s suffered not only from running out of literary material to adapt, but also from propping up its plot and character arcs with mostly piecemeal original content. The writing, then, has been on the wall for a while – I just wish that, poignant finale aside, its concluding chapter had been penned with a bit more care.
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tom.power@futurenet.com (Tom Power)
