SERIES REVIEW – When Netflix first announced that it was adapting Dark Horse Comics’ The Umbrella Academy, fans were worried. Could it really capture the unique tone of the series created by writer Gerard Way and artist Gabriel Bá? But after two brilliantly bizarre seasons, the Academy shows no signs of tiring – in Season 3, the creators add two more shovels to the series’ humorously grotesque, impressionistic style. After a surprising cliffhanger at the end of Season 2, the Umbrellas return after the gang thinks they’ve fixed the timeline until they return home. Of course, they couldn’t be more wrong…

Our heroes realise they’ve made things worse and don’t exist in this world. Instead, they are forced to face their resurrected father, Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore), and a new team of heroes in a new world: the Sparrow Academy… Oh dear.

It’s no surprise that the huge rift between the Paratroopers and the Sparrows is at the heart of the season, especially given how different they all are. While the Umbrellas are a motley crew, the Sparrows are a well-oiled team – they’re everything our heroes could be if Ben (Justin H Min) hadn’t died young, tearing the team apart.

Umbrella v Sparrow Academy

It’s fun to watch these two heroes clash, in a really imaginative way that highlights just how strong these newbies are. The series could easily just use them as enemies to the Paratroopers, but thankfully the story gives the Sparrows their own arc.

It’s especially nice to see Justin H Min get a bigger spotlight as Ben Hargreeves’ sparrow version, after spending two seasons as a ghost that only Klaus can see. To say any more about the new team would be to spoil what makes them so great, although every fan should discover for themselves what makes them so wonderfully weird.

With the sparrows in their old home, the Umbrellas are forced to find somewhere else to recharge and rest while they contend with a new apocalyptic event: a swirling mass of world-eating energy called the Kugelblitz. They’ll be based at the Obsidian Hotel, a wonderfully quirky place full of bizarre guests and secrets hidden within its walls.

Our heroes can finally live a little

This is where Season 3 really blossoms, because the real heart of the story is that the characters finally get to live a little. Yes, their most important job is to stop the Kugelblitz, but the quieter, calmer moments can have their share of magic, whether it’s an unlikely love story, strange conversations in which they ponder the possibilities of alternate timelines, or Viktor (Elliot Page) coming out as transgender to his family – in keeping with the actor’s transition a few years ago.

It’s refreshing that Viktor’s story is treated with the dignity and focus it deserves, as it’s a pivotal moment for both actor and character – but the series knows not to exploit this either. The writers don’t make his story a season-long struggle, and his siblings don’t discuss it – he simply is who he is, and they accept that immediately.

The Umbrella Academy has always had a solid dramatic story underneath its sci-fi comic book nature, but in season three they’re ramping it all up: action, drama and dazzling twists and turns. But don’t worry – it’s all carefully planned so as not to spoil the emotional core, which is about a ‘family’ trying to hold together through adversity. Sure, their ordeal is nothing like that of ordinary people, since we’re talking about multiple apocalypses and alternate timelines, but still – it’s an engrossing family drama.

Reginald is “back” and his character is more important than ever

In fact, the alternate timeline only enhances the way the Umbrellas try to take stock of their lives after all the apocalypses they’ve faced over the years. They yearn to make amends to those they have wronged, while also seeking closure on other difficult relationships, such as that of their ‘father’, Reginald.

Yes, the founder of the Umbrella/Sparrow Academy has a huge role this season, and much of his involvement shows the heroes dealing with their own issues around their abusive foster father. While this version of Reginald isn’t the one who emotionally abused them all, they do take the opportunity to deal with their father issues.

In fact, Sir Reginald’s role actually leads to some of the best scenes of the season, including the strange dynamic of Klaus Hargreeves (Robert Sheehan), who bonds with his stepfather in a surprisingly normal way (the former Misfits star’s best performance ever).

Almost perfect

The season isn’t perfect, as things start to slow down a bit towards the middle, where some of the more dramatic elements of the plot are not yet in the picture. However, generally speaking, these characters are just interesting enough for viewers to just have fun with them, but they sometimes lose the plot. It helps a lot, however, that the series has its usual chuckle-inducing humour, which Taika Waititi, for example, could learn from. And when The Umbrella Academy really gets into the apocalyptic theme of Kugelblitz, it kicks the sci-fi and adventure movie conventions up a notch with a stunning cosmic ending.

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