10/13/2023 0 Comments Umbrella academyCertain character relationships become stronger or more fragile, based on past events and those that play out in this installment, offering a tantalizing glimpse into how these bonds may evolve in future seasons. Season 3 doesn’t make good use of the Sparrows’ role in proceedingsįrom delightful team-ups – including unusual and surprise partnerships that fans will love – to engrossing character arcs, season 3 builds on its predecessors’ work, continuing to flesh out The Umbrella Academy’s unique world. Revisiting these story beats is all the more irritable when you see how good season 3’s character development and other plot threads are. #Umbrella academy series#For a series that's done a solid job in terms of character growth in the seasons preceding this one, it's a baffling and vexing creative choice to have made. Their story is one of the bright spots of season 3’s early episodes, but the new, more confident Viktor soon gives way to the timid, self-doubting figure we’ve seen in previous seasons. The character evolution that Viktor (Elliot Page) undergoes is equally superfluous. Again, there’s rationale behind it, but it feels awkwardly inserted into season 3’s overarching plot, especially early on. Meanwhile, the addition of a Romeo and Juliet-style romance, between a certain Sparrow and Umbrella, to the show feels labored. We’ve seen enough of the ‘will they, won’t they’ dance between Luther (Tom Hopper) and Allison (Emma Raver-Lampman) – even if there are self-serving and somewhat heart-wrenching reasons for its inclusion this time around. The show’s latest season wanders down narrative paths that, like its penchant for apocalypses, are overly familiar and tiresome. It’s a pity that neither the Sparrows’ relationships, nor their rivalry with the Umbrellas, are examined further when season 3’s subplots are frustrating in their inconsistencies.įor one thing, some storylines feel forced or overused. Season 3 is packed with plot revelations and other surprising moments. Wisecracks and those fan-favorite dance numbers feature heavily throughout, ensuring that the series’ comedic flair remains intact amid its more serious story beats. The vicious insults and aggressive bickering are no less severe either, with tense arguments within and between the groups making for some truly suspenseful scenes.įans shouldn’t worry that the show’s off-brand humor has been relegated to the background in favor of melodrama, either. Punch-ups are bruising and intense – no wonder the show’s age rating has been raised from TV-14 to R in the US, and from 12 to 15 in the UK. Given the Sparrows and Umbrellas’ respective strengths and weaknesses, physical and verbal bouts make for captivating superhero-on-superhero battles akin to those seen in Captain America: Civil War. There’s enough revelatory content here to satisfy audiences It’s a striking contrast to the dysfunctional but more family-oriented Umbrellas, one that holds each group up as a reflection of the other in fascinating fashion. They’re presented as an intriguing foil to the Umbrellas a far more ambitious and efficient supergroup, but one that’s largely packed with ruthless individuals constantly looking to usurp each other as the team’s de facto leader. The Kugelblitz, season 3’s universe-destroying event, may be the primary ‘villain’ – if such a term can be used to describe it – of this installment, but the Sparrows are undeniably positioned as secondary antagonists/anti-heroes of the piece. The introduction of The Sparrow Academy shows how effective this narrative evolution could be if it’s employed. Based on season 3’s later episodes, it seems future seasons may mercifully do just that. Way and Bá’s comics contain numerous fascinating villains, so giving our heroes a physical threat to combat would make for a welcome change. With future entries likely on the way – showrunner Steve Blackman has planned for two more seasons – it’s time The Umbrella Academy moved away from this repetitive and overused trope. Previous seasons used this doomsday angle to satisfying effect, but it’s a scenario that’s certainly run its course by season 3. (Image credit: Netflix)Īppealing as this world-ending plot device is for the show’s creative team, it’s a narrative option that’s starting to become stale. The Sparrows are more than a match for their Umbrella counterparts.
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