https://blacknerdproblems.com/umbrella-academy-final-season-review/

So even before I begin this review, I want to say something. I was highly disappointed in what they did with Allison’s character during the previous season of Umbrella Academy, and even more so with the writers and actors who agreed to do that scene. It was unnecessary and only showed just how dangerous someone with Allison’s power can be. It left such a bad taste in my mouth that I was just ready for the season to be over, and I was not and have not been excited for this final season. I’ve watched every season with my best friend, and that, at this point, was the biggest motivator to finish it; just to have that time to meet up and watch it together.

Now, with that said….

Spoilers incoming like a bad weather warning

The Last Rainfall   

At the end of the previous season, the Umbrella Academy had been yeeted into a new timeline without their marigold (the alien substance sent out by Sir Reginald that entered their mothers and “created” them). Now, they were just regular degular while their alien father was still out there; this time with his wife Abagail alive.

In this timeline without their powers, the Umbrella Academy have each gone about their new, normal lives. Diego and Lila are married with 3 kids, Luther is a stripper, Five works for the CIA, Allison is a struggling actress and Klaus lives with her and her daughter Claire, Viktor owns a bar and lives in Canada, and Ben is in (getting out) of prison for a crypto scheme. We see that each has settled into this new life of theirs, but with a shorten season of only 6 episodes you know the shits gotta kick off quick, and it starts with our introduction to Jean and Gene.

Drs. Gene and Jean Thibedeau are a husband-and-wife duo who lead a cult called The Keepers. Their cult believes that they are seeing images of their “original” lives on a different timeline and have been collecting artifacts from this other timeline. They have named this the “Umbrella Affect.” Five and Lila, both in disguise (Five undercover for the CIA and Lila because she is bored of her domestic life) are the first ones to discover this truth about them and something the call “the Cleanse.”

Throughout the short season, things must quickly unravel and be revealed. One is that the Cleanse is connected to a girl named Jennifer, who is being hidden away by this version of Sir Reginald in a town that is completely run by his security. We find out that he (their OG Sir Reginald) is keeping her away from them because if she comes in contact with any of Umbrella Academy (and likely anyone with) the marigold that created them will react with the durango inside Jennifer and end existence itself. (Side note: Durango was an accidental creation of Abigail, the wife of Sir Reginald, when she created marigold.)

So, the race is on to stop the end of the world…again…or maybe we just let it ride….

The End of the Rain

As you may be able to tell from my opening, I went into this season with not the highest of expectations. I can say that I enjoyed the ride, but I’m glad it’s over for several reasons. I don’t know what they would have been able to do with a 10-episode season like they had with the previous 3 seasons but maybe it would have been better than what this was. So let me talk about my feelings, and I start with the ending.

The ending was…interesting. I remember my best friend remarked that Klaus saying, “I love you guys, but you are all assholes,” followed by all of them laughing was the most “them” way for them to go out on. I fully agree with that, even if I am disappointed with the end basically being that as along as you all exist everything will just start over. So, the Umbrella Academy must allow themselves (the marigold inside them) and Jennifer (the durango inside her) to come together and be destroyed. This is to completely wipe them from existence. Literally, they will never have existed at all on any timeline, in any way. It is actually a somewhat easy decision for most of them. Allison, Lila, and Diego are the only ones with kids they have to make the hard choice to say goodbye to before they are sent on a magical train to a different timeline. (More on that later)

Because the show was ending, I could tell this moment was more like, let’s just get this over with. Lila was the only hold out, and she, of course, comes back. I wish that they went out fighting. This was a series ending that just felt flat to me after waiting 2 years. However, I guess that is the contrast to the ending of the last 3 seasons. Instead of fighting the end to save the world, they must save the world by, together, accepting their ultimate end.

Soaking Wet

My feelings on the ending of Umbrella Academy are probably the most positive I have about this season, because I had some REAL problems with this final season.

Starting with Ben, his portrayal, and his ending, I was disappointed to have not finally gotten the Ben we saw in seasons 1 & 2 truly be able to interact with his family. For so long, I wanted Ben to be able to be that 1^st and 2^nd season Ben in the flesh, but instead the 3^rd season gave us moody Ben and the final season gave us crypto bro Ben. I am glad we finally got to see what happened to Ben and how he died in our OG timeline, but who was the Ben we saw on the train at the end of season three, and why was he smiling? That was a big plot moment that was never revisited, and I feel whatever was planned for that could have been so much better or at least given us something more for this final season. Was it just a moment to show that other timelines exist? Because we already knew that. In the end, it felt like a hype moment we never got a resolution to nor did we get the Ben of seasons 1 & 2.

All that Water, No Where to Go

I’m sure we can all agree that we were happy to finally get the moment where Viktor spewed his guts out onto Sir Reginald for everything that was done to him by the man…alien…alien man…and the moment we got was needed but far too late. The catharsis of Viktor finally wanting to be in control and free of all the hurt and pain was beautiful. It was an exceptional use of his powers to literally make (this) Sir Reginald listen and submit. And I know I have to acknowledge that because this was the last season, they knew they had to get this moment in somehow; however, that doesn’t mean I have to like it or its placement. This was a conversation that definitely should have taken place last season. Was the moment necessary? Yes. Was it too late? Even more yes.

Now, you wanna know what was WHOLLY UNNECESSARY?

KLAUS!!

This season really failed Klaus. He had nothing that stood out about him other than being a conduit for ghost-human sex. What really blew me was him immediately going back to drugs once he had the marigold inside him again. I get that it was trouble, but the last time we saw him in season 3 he showed that he had control over his powers. His immediate 180 didn’t make sense to me, because we don’t see anything “haunting” him. In fact, the only ghosts we saw were the aforementioned ghost-human sex and a ghost dog who saves Klaus’ life. Honestly, if Klaus did nothing this season, nothing would be missed or gained. He really was unnecessary. It was a far and away difference from the Klaus we saw in earlier seasons, especially the beautiful moments (and tragic lost) we saw him experience in season 2. The only shining Klaus moment was his final love you, fuck you at the end.

90’s/Early 00s Male R&B Singing in the Rain Music Video Vibes

There were two relationships in this season and neither really made sense. Ben and Jennifer’s connection was something. I wasn’t really sure why the squid was a connecting symbol for them, and it starts with us never getting an explanation as to why Jennifer was inside the squid in the first place. Abagail said that when she created marigold that durango was created, and it is inside Jennifer. But how? Sir Reginald released the marigold into the world, and that is how the Umbrellas were created/born. We don’t get how this happened with Jennifer. Did the squid swallow her mother at the moment the durango entered her, or did the durango just go into the squid? Is she the only creation/outcome/birth due to durango? How would/could we know? My focus was on that more than what was actually happening between Ben and Jennifer, which once again took away from Ben and made their “love affair” null and void for me. (Jennifer’s character also feels like just a random sacrifice or means to an (literal) end here. And I guess we had that same thing with Harlen last season as well.)

I believe that the writers should have stuck with a point that Gene and Jean were kind of onto when they talked about being from a different timeline. I think a concept that could have been fleshed out and used for this final season is that they have created so many branching timelines that they are now beginning to bleed over and smash into each other. We could have gotten to see other versions of them fighting to save to world, we could have seen other “Academies” (which we did get a quick glimpse at with the Phoenix Academy that we saw Lila and Five meet while exploring where the ‘time’ train went). Also, Lila and Five could have seen timelines smashing and destroying each other to create even more of a sense of urgency for the viewer. (This could have answered a question I had about what happened to the Sparrows and other marigold kids in other timelines or the one that they are currently in.)  This still would have set it up for the ending that the only way to fix everything is for it to return to the one original timeline, one before (?) they were born, because as long as their marigold and Jennifer’s durango exist, they will continue to destroy and splinter the timeline.

Now speaking of Lila and Five, I agree with pretty much everyone else that that relationship didn’t need to happen. It wasn’t something that anyone expected or asked for and watching their love affair side story just felt messy and unappealing. Five was a fan favorite for many and watching him not only moving in on his brother’s wife but also having to be the one to go and get her because Diego couldn’t was not the way many would have seen the end of his story. They could have spent that side story trying to explore the dying timelines for clues to save their own. Of course, a level of comradery would grow between them, but it really shouldn’t have gone beyond that. Five and Lila’s relationship was probably the thing I cared about the least this whole season, and honestly for a final season of a show that started with great promise, it was a sad ending to say the least.

Final random thought: I feel so bad for Luther that the only job he could get without his super strength was a lunch time stripper.

The Rain Clouds have Parted

I remember being asked if I wanted to do an early review of Umbrella Academy before its Netflix premiere in 2019. The premise was right up my alley, and I immediately said yes. I wasn’t completely thrilled by the first few episodes, but returned for the last few and enjoyed it overall. I would go on to write about the 2^nd season but the 3^rd season hurt me so much I didn’t review it. However, with 3 out of 4 season reviews, I’ve semi-done my first review of a full show from beginning to ending. I wish Umbrella Academy had an ending that gave a bit more, but they gave us an ending that made sense in the very least; though, it was a very messy, muddy path to get there. I don’t really give ratings to shows, but I’ll return to watch some episodes (probably in the first two seasons). And I’m not mad that I stood in the rain with my umbrella these last four seasons.

Cover image via Netflix

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The post One Last Rainfall: ‘Umbrella Academy’ Final Season Review appeared first on Black Nerd Problems.