After five years of exploring various realities, The Umbrella Academy is gearing up for a final mission in Season 4. While it’s exciting to be back in action, the overall journey is quite disheartening.
The show, titled after the comic book series it is based on, follows the Hargreeves siblings – Luther, Allison, Diego, Klaus, Ben, Five, and Viktor – as well as Diego’s wife, Lila, as they are repeatedly transported to various branches of the multiverse and tasked with preventing an apocalypse that they themselves caused.
Nevertheless, in Season 4, the Academy is presented with their most daunting task yet: deciding whether to prioritize saving millions of lives or one of their own. This puts them in their most challenging predicament to date.
Despite the numerous bumps along the way, the finale serves as a fitting conclusion for the most dysfunctional family on Netflix.
A family reunion at the end of the world
The conclusion of Season 3 saw the Academy facing a harsh new reality where their greatest fear has come true: they no longer possess their extraordinary powers. However, this loss of godlike abilities provides a unique opportunity to observe how they navigate life as ordinary civilians. And let’s just say, they are struggling to adapt.
Fortunately, Ben in his Sparrow form has been released from prison and is prepared to bring the siblings back to reality by restoring their powers, just in time for the apocalypse to commence.
Despite the fascination of examining how the siblings’ mundane lives reflect their unique abilities (such as Five’s government job and Luther’s use of his strength in exotic dancing), their characters are most entertaining when they utilize their powers of shooting lasers and traveling through space and time.
Ultimately, The Umbrella Academy centers around a team of young individuals with extraordinary abilities who were deprived of a typical childhood due to their father’s manipulative and distorted concept of heroism.
Knowing that Luther can throw Klaus through a wall or Viktor can easily defeat them all with one powerful chest blast enhances the dynamic between them. It adds an extra layer of entertainment to their petty arguments.
Despite their efforts to navigate a new timeline as human siblings, the experience can often feel rigid and incredibly dull.
Despite the group’s human moments being generally unremarkable, it was no surprise that Aidan Gallagher shone as Five Hargreeves. His sharp sense of humor and dry wit held my attention, even when I felt the need to grab the remote.
I could empathize with the Hargreeves family’s decision not to reclaim their powers due to the trauma they had experienced, but I was relieved and thrilled to see them back in action by Episode 2.
The show’s biggest mystery only breeds more questions
Prior to the release of Season 4, the promotional material and advertisements for the show heavily hinted that the long-standing question of Ben Hargreeves’ death would finally be revealed.
Even though the series is not yet finished, not even the comics have provided an answer to this question. Fans will finally discover what occurred on that crucial day in 2006, but the revelation only raises more inquiries rather than providing clarity.
The show frequently explores the concept of the multiverse, which is partially why Episode 4 reveals the fate of Season 1’s Ben but does not provide an explanation for what happened to Season 3 Ben.
The most frustrating aspect of the season, “The Jennifer Incident,”also receives a lot of screen time due to Ben’s death.
In Season 3, it was revealed that Ben’s death was named after the girl he failed to save, Jennifer. It was explained that during Season 1, Ben sacrificed himself in her place.
My curiosity was piqued by Jennifer’s connection to every iteration of Ben, but her presence in Season 4 often left me feeling confused, similar to how his death did.
If Jennifer had been portrayed accurately, her character could have had a significant impact on viewers’ understanding of The Umbrella Academy. Her dynamic with Ben mirrored his relationships with his siblings, making her potential role in the story crucial.
Although some of the CGI in The Umbrella Academy may seem cartoonish, the disturbing and unsettling creature featured in Episode 6 serves as evidence that the effects budget was wisely allocated.
Nevertheless, their adventure ultimately concludes in a disappointingly mundane manner, which is tragic considering that their arch is arguably the most enthralling aspect of the show.
Too many storylines, too little episodes
Despite the show typically releasing 10 episodes per season, Season 4 bucks this trend with only six episodes, making it the shortest season in the entire series.
The fact that there are too many plot lines to effectively conclude in just six hours only exacerbates the show’s overall weakness.
Although the siblings’ signature side quests are enjoyable to watch, and I thoroughly enjoyed getting to know unique yet perilous new side characters such as Jean and Gene, it is difficult to become emotionally invested in any of it.
Despite previous seasons seamlessly transitioning between its main storylines, Season 4 failed to execute this concept effectively. The sudden shifts between Ben and Jennifer’s backstory and Luther and Diego’s mission may leave viewers feeling disoriented, as the latter plot ultimately leads nowhere.
Despite everything being laid out in front of you, you’ll still experience the feeling of missing significant parts of the plot. Unfortunately, this is not just a perception, as there are indeed massive gaps in the story.
It is extremely disheartening that a series with such a distinctive and captivating concept ultimately sabotages itself by rushing towards its conclusion.
The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Verdict: 3/5
Despite having the potential to join the ranks of iconic shows like Dark and Ozark, this Netflix original unfortunately falls short in its final moments. It pains me to say this, but it ultimately fails to deliver.
As a devoted fan of this series, I am deeply saddened to express the impact that this writing has on my heart. From the very beginning of my viewing of The Umbrella Academy, I held great hopes for its conclusion, as the show consistently demonstrated its willingness to be unconventional in its use of characters and storytelling. However, it is disheartening to see that the series appears to have lost its charm on the journey to its final destination.
Despite being the fourth season, The Umbrella Academy still falls into the same trap of losing sight of what made it enjoyable to watch and instead opting to make changes that ultimately detract from its final installment.
Despite some fleeting moments that may evoke nostalgia for viewers, the pacing problems and sudden plot developments may cause others to tune out before the end.
The complete first season of The Umbrella Academy can now be found on Netflix. Additionally, stay updated on other popular Netflix series such as Stranger Things (season 5) and Virgin River (season 6). There are also new TV shows available for streaming this month.
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