The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Review: Audacious or Confused?

The 3rd season of The Umbrella Academy dropped yesterday and naturally I was looking forward to it as I’d loved and cherished the previous 2 seasons. Especially after Season 2 left us with that staggering cliffhanger. The Netflix Original show is based on the comics of Gerard Way of the same name. The show has a truly talented cast including, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Aidan Gallagher, Emmy Raver-Lampman, Robert Sheehan, David Castaneda and Colm Feore. Like the previous seasons, this one too has 10 episodes with each being around 40-55 minutes long. The world of the show is truly something I’d never seen before, even though on the surface it appears to be a Superhero show, it is so much more. The world has Time Travel, The Commission, an Alien, etc.

All these things appeared in the previous seasons of the show and yet we were craving to learn more about them. Season 3 was our hope to do so but at the end do we have answers or more questions? While the season starts exactly how you’d expect, a blend of wackiness, with a seasoning of fun and emotions, I’m not sure whether the show follows through with it. So we’re back to the question posed in the title, is the Season 3 of Umbrella Academy audacious or confused?

WARNING: The following article contains mild spoilers to the plot.

Rating – ★★1/2

Is Umbrella Academy Season 3 a Worthy Continuation? 

Even though I’m not familiar with the original comics, I’ve always believed Umbrella Academy stands for quality family drama with wacky Sci-Fi concepts. Season 3 begins on a positive note as we see the potential for both, although due to the number characters, the show does take longer than previous to provide exposition and set-up everything it has to for the season. The season still held on quiet firmly at the end of the first two episodes but the problems start now. Once we’ve gotten all the necessary build up for the season and we’re finally entering the middle act of the show where all the juicy stuff lies.

So does it give us anything juicy? What I’ve found to be a trend this season and I think it is done on purpose, the action has taken the back seat and the family drama is in the driver’s seat. While I believe this is one of the strengths of Season 3, it may also be its undoing. Like the previous seasons this season as well a world threatening event is afoot in a few days although the urgency felt in the previous seasons is missing as the show is busy tangling and untangling relationship webs. Even if that was the case, it would’ve still worked but the show creators couldn’t even resist themselves from adding inexplicable elements to the show.

While the show is accustomed to so, normally the elements are quite properly defined and made clear to the audience, not this time. The show teases some of the concepts as Oblivion Project, The Kugelblitz, etc. but doesn’t make a sincere effort to explain it. Like many others I was waiting for the final few episodes to tie everything up or at least answer all the questions raised until this point to make the plot logically casual. The series feels like a disjointed tracks or stories of people dealing with their problems edited with each, with hardly any sub plot be valuable enough to contribute to the main plot, defying its very purpose.

What’s funny is despite having 10 episodes of standard length, the series wasn’t able to develop the Sparrow Academy outside their one dimensional existence. I wish when the series started to drag it could’ve spent more time developing them instead. Although, the series only uses them as meat for the sacrificial fire, where they’re killed only to make the plot more complex. The new relationships like between Luther and Sloana is not given anytime and therefore, we don’t feel as much as we should’ve resulting it in being a drag. All that being said, the season’s weakness isn’t this, it is its characters paradoxical decisions. Viktor’s attempt to take Harlan’s powers back, that whole charade is given so much time but it doesn’t factor in bit in the main plot.

We also see Reginald Hargreeves act as a villain to it all but his entire track to finally get him where he wants to, seems absolutely forced and contrived. His choices are confusing as we have no clue why is he doing so. Each time he reveals something more about it and the final time he says his prize but we see no prize unless the bride wee see at the end is his prize. If Reginald is doing all this “love” than that is a really lame. There is no explanation given why is he willing to risk everything, what is he getting in return? You’d think the finale would do that for us, answer questions, but it doesn’t. So, to answer the question raised above, Season 3 gets full marks for its family dynamics, it fails us with the promise of what Umbrella Academy represents- No, its not a worthy continuation.

Performances and Ending 

Despite the story failing the talents cast miserably, the season does pack in some commendable performances. Emmy as Allison Hargreeves is the show stopper with the regular greats as Elliot and Aidan. The series gets full marks for peeling off the various levels of Allison and Viktor’s relationship. A wholesome moment from the show is Vanya like a real self coming out to her family as Viktor. Then again, you can’t make anything great with the bad script. I think one reason for that is unlike previous seasons, the family doesn’t have one mission to accomplish, they talk about Klugeblitz but continue to waste time with their petty issues.

We’re never explained why the Blitz is swallowing everything but not the Umbrellas, until the end of course. The first season was all about Five trying to get the family together to avoid the apocalypse.  The second season had a similar plot although everything was a happening in the 60s and that adds to more problems until a final showdown between the Handler and the Academy. Season 2 in my opinion was truly remarkable and was expecting this season to repeat the same magic. However, I have to admit I really liked Viktor and Allison’s relationship. Talking about the end.

This has to be one of the most confusing endings, as they entire last episode makes no sense to me, it is penultimate episode that really surprises us with the Reginald killing Luther and Klaus, however because we never get to know why, we aren’t able to understand his choices. The surprise murders were also ruined by the end when both of them Klaus and Luther return, at least Klaus was expected to return, Luther’s return simply says it was used as a hook. The series shifts purpose from what we thought it would be around the 8th episode and becomes about something entirely different with a wafer thin reason binding them together.

Yet, the worst was yet to come. The last 15 minutes of the show are really Klugeblitz for me as I’d no clue what happened. Five out of nowhere realized the pattern on the floor being the Sigil and then everyone standing in their spots that kills the guardian and unlocks some weird Halogram where Reginald is trying to reset the timeline but at the cost of his children but Allison’s morality doesn’t let her watch it and she kills her own father but still presses the feared button that resets the universe, vanishes Sloane, renders out heroes powerless and create another Reginald Hargreeve.

I like the bit where everyone loses their powers but the stuff that happens before that begs an explanation. The Hotel Oblivion really does leave us oblivious. Seeing the end, it is only inevitable that another season is coming and I can only hope they can learn from this season and make a better overall 4th season.

Verdict:

The Umbrella Academy Season 3 is a disservice to a show of great legacy as its contradictory characters and stories make it so. The character’s decisions change around like everyone is under a mood swing spell. This constant back and forth of characters is frustrating enough but couple it with half-baked and established Sci-Fi concept that simply are used when needed to and are otherwise ignored. I give Season 3- 2.5 out of 5 stars for the strong family drama it offers and some great performances by Emmy Raver-Lampman, Aidan Gallagher and Elliot Page. Overall, Season 3 is more confused than it is audacious.

Let me know if you agree with my views on Season 3 and tell me what did you think of it. The Umbrella Academy Season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.

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