The Umbrella Academy Season 1 recap: Super ambitious or super absurd?
By John Dotson
The new superhero show The Umbrella Academy brings an ambitious adaptation to Netflix. But is the show a complete home run?
Earlier this weekend we recapped the first episode of the highly ambitious superhero adaptation of The Umbrella Academy and said the show will be hit or miss for some audiences. Part of this is due to the far-fetched elements involved in the source material. Some of this includes things like talking chimps, robotic parents, unexplained trips to the moon and so much more. Therefore, depending on your tolerance for strange storytelling, the first episode could be right up your alley if one is seeking something different.
Now that we’ve binged all 10 episodes, it’s time to take a look at the season as a whole. What works and what doesn’t? The show is not without its faults and it’s a strong bet that it might lose some viewers along the way. That said, if one can muster the courage to put up with the moments of unnecessary humor and episodic filler, The Umbrella Academy brings everything to a solid conclusion that leaves viewers begging for more.
From this point, spoilers will follow for The Umbrella Academy Season 1. If you wish to avoid spoilers, by all means, click for the next page and read “Final Thoughts” for a spoiler-free summary of the show.
The Negatives
Absurd moments
One of The Umbrella Academy’s weaknesses was the lack of believability in some of the show. Not to say that a show with talking monkeys should be realistic, but in some moments, the scenarios can leave one scratching their heads on the overlooked details.
More from Netflix
- Bridgerton season 3: All the details to know about Penelope and Colin’s love story
- It’s a slow week on Netflix with only three new releases (Nov. 20)
- Exploding Kittens: From card game to Netflix animated series starring Tom Ellis
- The Crown and more Netflix shows and movies to stream this week (November 13)
- Escaping Twin Flames and more harrowing love-centered documentaries to watch on Netflix
For example, when Number Five is walking around in the post-apocalypse, he finds the bodies of his dead siblings in near perfect condition. Mind you, the Earth has been devoured by an engulfing flame of fire worldwide due to the collision of the moon in Earth’s atmosphere. Yet, his lifeless siblings rest in the rubble perfectly unscathed.
Another example involves a scene where Klaus randomly robs a convenience store and somehow he is not caught on camera or by the security guard chasing him. In fact, the scene just moves on without any explanation of what resulted from this out-of-place moment that was intended for comedy.
The other thing that might make audiences feel weird is the relationship between Luther and Allison. They are technically not related by blood but that romance is going to become weird and awkward when Allison has to explain to her daughter that she’s in love with her Uncle Luther. The show is full of odd details like this that will either lose viewers or keep them invested depending on their tolerance for the absurd.
Ellen Page feels lifeless
The most disappointing aspect of the show is surprisingly Ellen Page, especially through the first half of the season. Her character Vanya is supposed to be this outcast among her family because she lacks powers and is ordinary. That said, it feels like through much of the show she is playing the boring member of the Hargreeves family to a fault.
Yes, she is supposed to be an “ordinary” member of the family, but Page seems like she’s even phoning that part in. Maybe it’s just high expectations because she typically brings so much personality to her roles.
This could very well be because the writing does not give her much to do until almost to the very end of the show. Up to that point though, Page just does not seem like she wants to be in the show at all. If one can stick it out, her character Vanya does end up in some interesting places and she finally gets some moments that allow her to chew the scenery. It’s just a slog to get there.
Takes a while to make us care
My biggest pet peeve with The Umbrella Academy is that it suffers from having too many episodes and takes a while to get moving when it comes to the main plot. The first episode has a tremendous cliffhanger but after this, it meanders in unnecessary humor and weird moments that could have been trimmed for the sake of pacing.
This is a show that could have benefited from an 8 episode count much like Stranger Things. Thankfully, Netflix did not push it to 14 episodes–like Daredevil or Luke Cage– or this would’ve been a chore to sit through. Plus, a few subplots could easily be sacrificed to make this happen.
For example, we literally spend a ton of time on one episode watching characters argue whether they should shut down their robotic mother Grace and after doing so, she’s back up and running five minutes later. So, arguably the subplot could’ve been trimmed for time.