Compared to some of the other comic book TV shows available to watch right now (The Boys, for example), The Umbrella Academy never seems to receive quite as much as attention. The first season made for compelling viewing, and the second – which arrived on Netflix last Friday – is actually even better. Bringing back the same cast along with a couple of impressive new additions, this trip back in time to the 1960s is firing on all cylinders, even if it does repeat a few past mistakes.
With the members of the Umbrella Academy separated in the past, a good chunk of the ten episodes is devoted to bringing them back together, something which can be in equal parts fun and frustrating. In fact, aside from a handful of interactions here and there, the team mostly remains separated until the finale when we finally get to see them come together and work as a unit (something it would be good to see a whole lot more of). In terms of each respective character’s story arc, some work better than others, with Vanya, Diego, Alison, and Five definitely standing out from the rest of the family. Using Alison to tackle the race equality issues of the time is a smart move, and one which perhaps needed to be explored on more than just a surface level. Unfortunately, he biggest loser this year is Luther, as he’s not given anywhere near enough time to shine despite a fair few great moments.
Despite that, every main cast member is fantastic, though Aidan Gallagher steals the show in every scene he’s in. Ritu Arya’s Lila is another standout, and hopefully someone we’ll see a lot more of moving forward (assuming The Umbrella Academy is renewed for a third season…which it really should be).
Looking ahead to the future, it is time the Netflix series move on from the Apocalypse and the idea of Vanya being out of control, as season two is perhaps at its weakest in the moments devoted to those plot points. Thankfully, a jaw-dropping cliffhanger points to a game-changing new direction for the show after this latest batch of episodes, and hopefully, a lot more Pogo (it’s hard to escape the feeling he was M.I.A. for the most part due to budgetary concerns). The series benefits from each episode having a shorter runtime, and when you get watching, it’s hard to stop. Ultimately, that binge factor is a sign that this season of The Umbrella Academy does work, and regardless of what’s happening on screen, it’s never not fun to spend time with these characters. Just as season two improves on season one, it’s now down to a third season to improve on this one again, and it’s at that point we might have a legit classic comic book TV show on our hands.
Visually, The Umbrella Academy remains a delight, with great visual effects, plenty of edge of your seat action scenes, and a killer soundtrack which will no doubt see you adding a lot of new tracks to your Spotify playlist. The show is also delightfully violent in places, but it’s the twists and turns of season two which are most likely to grab your attention. Oh, and like Avengers: Endgame before it, it’s another comic book property to have some real fun with time-travel without ever getting too confusing or convoluted. With so many loose ends from season one addressed and the characters all moved forward in mostly satisfying ways, it feels like a fresh start is coming for The Umbrella Academy (not a bad thing, admittedly), but that hopefully won’t mean saying goodbye to the wackiness of these first two years.
The Umbrella Academy season two greatly improves on the show’s first year, and a combination of great characters, memorable performances, and crazy twists will leave you desperate to return to this wonderfully quirky world for a third season as soon as possible.
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