'The Umbrella Academy' Is Fun but Messy

The Umbrella Academy is a web TV series adaptation of the comic book series of the same name.  It’s about an eccentric billionaire named Sir Reginald Hargreeves who sought out and adopted seven of 43 children who were mysteriously born on October 1, 1989 from different women across the globe, who were not at all pregnant prior to their labor.  Each of the children proved to have a unique superpower, and Hargreeves assembled them into a crime-fighting superhero team called – what else? – the Umbrella Academy.

As a father, Hargreeves was tough on his children, and was only concerned with shaping them up into proper superheroes.  He never showed them affection, and he didn’t even bother naming them, but instead refer to them by their assigned numbers.

To provide them emotional support and care, he built them an android mother named Grace, who was also the one who finally gave them names – Luther (Number One), Diego (Number Two), Allison (Number Three), Klaus (Number Four), Ben (Number Six), and Vanya (Number Seven).  Number Five wasn’t around when Grace handed out names, for he used his power to time travel to the future, in which he got stuck.

Because of the kind of upbringing they got, the Hargreeves children grew up to become dysfunctional adults, and estranged from their father – whom they universally despise – and from each other.   But when their father dies out of the blue, the siblings are forced to reunite for the first time in years.  As they look into the mysterious circumstance of his death, Number Five suddenly returns from his years-long time displacement, informing them that the apocalypse is just a few days away unless they stop it.  Meanwhile, two ruthless, time-travelling assassins named Hazel and Cha-Cha are sent by an enigmatic organization to kill Number Five.

In my comic book readings, I’ve never come across this show’s source material.  In fact, the information in the synopsis above was unknown to me prior to watching the ten episodes of its debut season.  Other than the fact that Ellen Page was going to be in it and that it was based on a comic book, I had no idea what it was going to be about.  I basically went in blind.  Thus, I got to be delighted and surprised by its bonkers character and story elements as they unfolded.  For most of the show, I was like, “Holy moly!  Why is she suddenly pregnant?!”… “Is that a chimpanzee butler?  Oh, it is!”… “Cool superpower!”… “So that’s why she’s weird!  She’s a friggin’ robot!”…

However, although I was surprised by its details, I found the plot generally predictable where it was going.  Also, some of its beats reminded me of the old superhero TV show Heroes.  The “dysfunctional family” aspect makes for a nice spin on the superhero team premise, but it never quite come off as overwhelmingly fresh.  I’ve seen such theme explored and done better in other properties.

As for the action, it’s fine, but has nothing memorable to offer.

Moreover, its quirkiness is a double-edged sword.  On one hand, the sense of “anything goes” definitely enhances its entertainment value.  On the other hand, it results to a clash of tones now and then.  At times, the transition between black comedy and drama is smooth.  But sometimes, the goofiness doesn’t mesh well with the angst, and it feels awkwardly uneven.

In the end, I had fun with The Umbrella Academy, but it didn’t blow me away.  It’s just distractingly messy every so often.

That being said, I thought the season finale was pretty strong, and it effectively made me look forward to the next season.