'The Umbrella Academy' Season 3 Review: Netflix show wins over cynics with most emotional season yet
‘The Umbrella Academy’ has been one of the finest TV shows in recent history and it’s probably the only superhero show by Netflix that has managed to captivate the imagination of viewers. The first two seasons of the series garnered positive reviews and were praised for its visuals effects and engaging storytelling. However, the ending of Season 2 left room for more exploration and it seems the makers had already planned what they needed to do next.
In Season 3 of ‘The Umbrella Academy’, the Hargreeves Siblings find themselves in a peculiar situation. After stopping the apocalypse, the team arrived in 2019 and felt that they can finally relax now. But they soon realized that something is odd and it gets only worse from there. They get to know that everything is changed in this timeline and Reginald Hargreeves is still alive. That’s not it. He has made a team of superheroes named the ‘Sparrow Academy’, and they are as powerful as the Umbrella Academy. Shockingly, Ben is alive too and is leading the team of Sparrows.
RELATED ARTICLES
'The Umbrella Academy' Season 3: Is Sparrow Academy more powerful than The Umbrella Academy?
Also, the Umbrellas discover that their mothers were not approached about taking their babies away from them in this timeline. It was another batch of children who were chosen and made into a team of superhero siblings. On the other hand, a paradox caused by the Umbrellas is ready to bring more chaos to everyone’s lives. So, you can imagine how wild this season really is.
The show had a responsibility of overcoming the greatness of ‘Stranger Things’. The fourth edition received universal acclaim and is still ruling the global charts. ‘The Umbrella Academy’ is releasing merely weeks after the super-sized Season 4 of ‘Stranger Things’ and comparatively feels more breezy than the sci-fi horror show.
The makers did a great job by pitting the Sparrow Academy against the Umbrellas and the opening sequences perfectly lays down the foundation for epic things to come. In the process, the show doesn’t shy away from being darker than the previous editions and takes the viewers on a ride that’s wilder and more entertaining than ever. Even though the plot of this season is pretty much straightforward, the actions of our main characters make it a bit more complicated.
Nevertheless, the show continues to move forward with its strongest selling point, its characters. Since Season 1, the characters have been one of the main reasons for the show’s massive success and Season 3 is not different. The storylines are more emotional than ever and you fall in love with the Umbrellas again as the season progresses. A lot of characters get to know a lot more about their powers and history. For example, we see Luther (Tom Hopper) falling in love with a woman from the new timeline while Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) is in conflict with herself and continues to confront herself with the fact that this timeline is different.
However, the season belongs to Viktor Hargreeves (Elliot Page) who is trying hard to keep the Umbrellas together. It’s not easy for big TV projects to show the female-to-male transition effectively, but ‘The Umbrella Academy’ does that bit perfectly and the transition feels so organic that you’ll be encouraged to stand up and applaud the makers for such an effective representation of Trans community.
Apart from the Umbrellas, the Sparrow Academy is also riveting in its own way. Ben (Justin H. Min) and Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez) are undoubtedly the breakout characters from the team of Sparrows.
When it comes to acting, Elliot Page rules the season with a performance that is surely going to get noticed during the awards season. On the other hand, Aidan Gallagher has once again proved why he shouldn't be just seen in 'The Umbrella Academy'. He has the talent for leading a movie and we hope that we see him doing the same in near future. Emmy Raver-Lampman has finally got what she deserved and her role is much more dramatic than in the previous editions. She does justice to her storyline.
Meanwhile, Justin H. Min and Genesis Rodriguez are mesmerizing in this edition.
All in all, Season 3 of ‘The Umbrella Academy’ continues to fully entertain us even when it doesn’t have an absorbing villain. The writing and direction of the series are top-notch.
The third edition is the show’s most emotional one yet and the makers have perfectly used emotional arcs to give this season an additional depth.
‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 is a worthy addition to a series that’s crazy, weird, and wildly entertaining.
