TV Review: The Umbrella Academy - Season 2
“The Umbrella Academy” season 2 ramps up on action, humor, Weirdness, and succeeds
By: Keaton Marcus
Review of Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy Season 2:
Sometimes shows get better with age, and that’s certainly the case with Netflix’s second season for The Umbrella Academy, which ends funnier, more emotionally complex and action-packed than its predecessor. The sequel series takes place directly after the finale of the first one, where Five and his six siblings with extraordinary powers fail to stop the apocalypse and are left to go in his time vortex to save themselves. The time jump scatters the siblings into a three-year period. Starting in 1960. This show was always convoluted, but the second season really goes full throttle with the whole complicated plot thing and doesn’t step on the breaks. Thankfully, its charming cast and delightfully weird approach to the genre save it from doom.
David Castañeda’s Diego was the most underdeveloped character in the first season, but luckily, showrunner Steve Blackman gives him a hilarious and surprisingly poignant arc in the sequel. He’s still treated as the loser with the siblings, especially as a cheap Batman with delusions of grandeur, but we needed Diego in the spotlight, and that’s what happened. That’s not all, but but Emmy Raver-Lampman’s Allison has to make it through Jim Crowe-era Texas, which the other siblings are completely oblivious to due to their color-of-skin. This makes for an interesting and well-thought out character arc that’s refreshingly different.
Speaking of different, Ellen Page’s Anya has a terrific character change as well. She goes from being an ultra-powerful superhero in season one to a woman who has no idea who she is or what the heck’s going on. That’s right, Page has amnesia, meaning she completely forgot about her powers in the first place. She ends up having to live out the ‘60s helping out a nice family on a farm.
The entire cast is pretty fantastic overall, and Blackman has the guts to remix the show’s premise, making a second season that treads familiar ground, but is also wonderfully odd. And the banter! Robert Sheehan and Justin H. Min really need a good round of applause for their chemistry together. It’s pitch-perfect, and their plot-thread (together, of course) is absolutely terrific. All the arcs are handled with a deft touch without feeling preachy or self-important.
There are still some issues I have with this nearly-perfect continuation, however. Despite all the hilarious performances, the series still hasn’t quite found its path yet. Much like the first season, it’s extremely messy, and at times convoluted and pretentious. It’s a lot more fast-paced too, which makes for a fun ride, at the expense of true depth. The villains too. They are basically three foreign Terminators, uninteresting and without distinction. They don’t bring enough intrigue compared to season one’s Cha-Cha and Hazel. All they really do is mindlessly murder people. But that only rarely stop this one from truly soaring.
On a platter, however, its more focused and character-driven than its predecessor, which was clearly overshadowed by Doom Patrol, but now considering this season, we’ve got a good competition on our hands. If they keep going in this direction, I’m all in for a third season. And although it’s still totally frantic, this is a series to have fun with. The action scenes are choreographed excellently and beautifully shot, the chemistry is impeccable, and it has a killer soundtrack. A perfect summer watch.
Should you Binge, Browse, or Skip?
The final opinion is: The Umbrella Academy’s second season finds a more grounded and focused approach to its carefully-crafted characters, making for a bigger and better sequel that goes full throttle on action and humor…BINGE IT
IN THIS ARTICLE:
90/100 “sweet”