Umbrella Acadamy Season 2 Review - Dysfunctional and Just as Fun
I'm always of the controversial side of having a real love for sequels over the original piece, mostly because I'm always a fan of seeing how creators expand on their original world whilst getting the opportunity to do something a bit more daring and weird. You have to convince an audience to stay with you in a first instalment, especially due to the modern-day audience which requires so much in order to keep audience's engaged, streaming services especially have so much content on that if something doesn't instantly grab an audience they just dismiss and move on. The Umbrella Acadamy was one of my favourite shows of last year, I loved the show's weird and stylised atmosphere and dedication to constantly surprising the audience. The show's story about a dysfunctional superhero family who have grown distant and have to come together to thwart an upcoming apocalypse was such a compelling and genuinely exciting narrative that brought some much-needed style to the superhero genre. I was so excited for this season and it did not disappoint, in fact, I may even argue that it succeeds on the original season and I find it so compelling and undeniably one of the most fun shows of the year.
I really love how streaming services allow this new brand of television, this idea of a series all dropping at once and not having to rely on traditional television structuring makes watching the shows a really different experience. There's a definite problem with weekly television as they rely so much on cliffhangers and promising the exciting thing is happening next week so stay tuned! With streaming services you don't have to classically structure each episode and can keep the audience invested through less manipulative means, obviously there is still an essence of that but it's less devout on maintaining engagement through promise. The Umbrella Acadamy essentially functioned as a mystery in the first series and initially, I was worried about all the answers going into the second series we would just be retracing old material and contriving another mystery. There is an element of this, the plot echoes a lot of similar ideas but it also uses that idea to keep the audience invested, I like how the repeated motifs (the apocalypse, the separate lives of the protagonists, Vanya causing the apocalypse, some plot elements united by the Commission and Five being in charge) are used as the background stepping stones for the actual plot. These characters are stuck in this endless loop of chaos and it builds the intrigue and dynamic in these characters rather than having an overly plot devoted mess.
After the Hargreeves' cause the apocalypse at the end of the last series, Five decides to do an emergency time jump and the gang end up splinted across the early 1960s and have to reconvene in order to present an upcoming apocalypse it is very likely they caused. The setting and the ideas around it are by far the best part of the whole season, they add this new dimension I didn't expect to love, the original design of the first season was fun but this new setting is so interesting and exciting for this narrative. Throughout this season we get to really grow to these characters because rather than a world that we are familiar with interacting with characters we aren't familiar with, it becomes the opposite and the season lets these characters grow and adapt to the world around them. It is such a good idea to move the sequel to a time period that lets these characters authentically grow, they basically are all so comfortable in the world they knew and this adds a beautiful new dimension.
Klaus gets power and fame but hides from it to find Dave, only for his hubris to make him lose him more. Alison has to find for herself, without using her power, using the civil rights movement in these absolutely heartbreaking scenes of her getting more status is beautiful, her arc completely revolved around Luther in the first season and this brings a new interesting Allison. Luther is the same old absolute idiot who turns to being a mob boss' handyman in this self-loathing style that Luther is so good at pulling off, I do like how he gets more involved as the season goes on and becomes less mopey. Diego gets the most attention this season, I didn't love his season one arc because his relationship with Patch was messy and underdeveloped. Here he really acts on that fantastic hero complex that his dad pushed into him, I love his delusion around saving the president and on top of that he gets a compelling relationship and actual involvement in the actual Commission plot.
The season as a whole is a lot more streamlined and focused, I like when a sequel doesn't have to establish as much allowing it to really focus and develop the plot. The characters all feel a bit more involved and the season is much less erratic and disconnected. It is essentially a mystery that isn't as painfully obvious as the first season, the how of the apocalypse is more interesting because there are more factors at hand that keep it compelling and exciting, Is the apocalypse caused by Klaus' cult, Allison's involvement in the civil rights movement, Diego saving the President, Luther's involvement with the mob or is it even just Vanya again? It has more elements at play and when the mystery is actually revealed the plot elements come together to keep the momentum going, the ending few episodes are set up so brilliantly you dont even notice that this isn't the apocalypse plot set up. It is brilliant structure and manages to keep you engaged without you really realising it, the plot wasn't keeping me hooked because of the promise of some great reveal, it was due to these characters.
I dont exactly expect a lot of interesting ideas to come up in a show like this but I think 'Umbrella Acadamy' has the unique power to explore a very specific idea based around the genre. This family is a result of trauma, fame and are all full of interesting complexes and problems. I really like how this new setting allowed these characters to explore things about them they didn't realise, each character has a really compelling personal arc that is more mature and interesting. I love how it successfully moves the established pieces in a realistic but still surprising and compelling way, their arcs are all new and exciting and a lot of them I never expected to be explored in as much detail as they are. Vanya gets this fantastic arc of getting to start again due to having amnesia, she learns to turn her trauma into strength, the sequence where she is drugged is so fascinating as it opens her up as a much more sympathetic character. The show also gets to dabble in some social issues of the setting, the civil rights movement is touched on really well, it isn't exactly a revolutionary take but the way they portray it is still effective. Klaus. Homophobia is a big thing that contributes to both Klaus and Vanya's arcs and they tackle it in an interesting way if maybe glossing over it a couple times here and there.
For me I think the pacing, the plot and the characters kept me watching, I prefer the overall visual style and writing of the first season over this one. There wasn't as many striking set pieces or really daring visual sequences, there's a couple here and there but ultimately the big set pieces leave a lot to be desired. The soundtrack was excellent for the first season and whilst there are a few moments here and there that I enjoyed, it didn't compliment the scenes as well and sometimes it was downright distracting. There's a lot of gripes and inconsistencies that I can see would be annoying, Allison's husband is basically written as a question machine and Ben's treatment isn't nearly focused on enough to make his death as impactful as it should be. I think it was a really dark thing to reveal that Klaus and Ben lied to each other and felt consistently guilty about it, causing the rift between them, making his death a really tragic element that doesn't fit as well as I'd like. There's also a couple of 'mystery baiting' scenes that kind of frustrated me, it occasionally falls in that pool of 'having surprises for the sake of surprises and promising a satisfying explanation in the near future'.
Other than a few small gripes I think it is honestly just worth it for the sheer entertainment value of the season. The plot is so ridiculously addictive and enticing, I watched it alone and was gasping and shouting with excitement here and there. These performances and characters are always worth sticking with and the world is so compelling, there's just so much that kept me hooked that I didn't feel worn out at all. Out of a lot of superhero projects right now, i feel like this balances the genre with the tone perfectly, it isn't striving for naturalism and isn't at all striving to be the next avant-garde take on comic books. It is confident in how compelling the show is, the style is fun because it manages to stay light-hearted and entertaining whilst still having some interesting ideas and characterisation. Overall a fantastic second season and really proving that this property has a lot to offer.
Thanks for reading!