‘The Umbrella Academy’ Continues To Be One Of Netflix’s Best – Review
*Please note: This review will have spoilers from the events of the first two seasons.
Season three of The Umbrella Academy is here and as one of Netflix’s best shows, I’m happy to say the new season goes even bigger than before.
After stopping 1963’s doomsday, the Umbrella Academy returned home to the present, convinced they had prevented the initial apocalypse and fixed this godforsaken timeline once and for all. However, after a brief moment of celebration, they realize things aren’t exactly (okay, not at all) how they left them. Then enters the Sparrow Academy. They’re a better version of the Umbrella Academy team. The twist is, In this timeline, Ben is still alive and a member of the Sparrows.
The new season picks up right where two left off, with the two teams meeting each other. Of course, when big egos clash, they start to clash off to see which team is superior. Across all three seasons, I have to say the most substantial element of the show is easily the cast. Every member of the family has their story arc and their own agency.
Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison had to deal with racism and hardships during the second season and you can see how that carries over into this season. She has PTSD from her experiences on top of other challenging things thrown at her. I thought Raver-Lampman’s acting was the best it’s been across the seasons.
I enjoyed how they handled Elliot Page’s transition from Vanya To Viktor. They made it a part of his character and ensure it is vital to his arc. Also, I love how the family embraced him with open arms without hesitation. You could tell it was essential to the showrunners and Page to ensure it felt authentic to the character they were building.
Now that Ben is alive and not connected to Klaus, we see Justin H. Min flexing his acting chops. He plays an entirely different version of Ben, who is more of an asshole than the kind one we knew. Seeing him alive and being in control of his ability (and very cocky about it) felt like a well-earned pay-off. It was also cool to see him as one of the Sparrows’ leaders. Robert Sheehan’s Klaus has always been the wildcard of the group but with this season it felt like we got to see Klaus fully come into his own.
I was so glad Ritu Arya’s Lila returned. She was such a great addition to the cast and this season it was nice seeing her work beside them versus being one of their antagonists. Her comedic timing is top-notch and she’s oftentimes a scene-stealer. Arya’s chemistry with David Castañeda was another highlight of the season, and Castañeda also has a few different arcs that make for some surprising moments that I didn’t see coming.
Aside from Ben, the Sparrow Academy team were all new characters we had never met. The cast was already big, so I was a little cautious at first about how the writing would handle balancing the teams. Still, throughout the 10 episodes, the writers did a fantastic job making sure the audience would never lose focus on the family we’ve seen over the last two seasons. Although the two teams want to kill each other, their interactions made for some great comedic sections.
The Umbrella Academy’s dynamic with this new version of Hargreeves was quite a surprise. Throughout the season, you can see how the emotional abuse they had to endure with him is brought to the forefront now that he is alive and they are fully grown adults.
The Umbrella Academy had some hard times across the first two seasons, and while this is no different this season (as mentioned in the paragraph above), viewers will be able to see many more family moments that make you feel warm inside. It was so lovely seeing the family having fun and smiling with one another.
Visually, this season is by far the most cinematic. The visual effects are next level, especially regarding the fight scenes from the Umbrella crew and Sparrows. Thus far, every season of the series has had a fantastic soundtrack and this continues with the new season. More often than not, I found myself rewinding certain scenes just so my phone could pick up the song that was playing so I could add it to my music library. The Umbrella Academy always ties together their music and visuals to the series expertly.
Similar to what Stranger Things is doing with splitting the season into two parts, the back half of the second season felt like the stakes had never been higher. This season had a very satisfying conclusion and I would love to see what happens next. The end of last season took the series in a new direction, and hopefully, viewers feel the same about the ending this season.
The third season of The Umbrella Academy takes the show in a new direction while keeping the same familiarities from the previous seasons that audiences love. With unforgettable characters, cinematic action sequences and jaw-dropping twists, you will want a season four ASAP!
9/10
