Today it's the premiere of the second season of Netflix's The Umbrella Academy and I'm beyond excited! This is a superhero series based on comic books that turned out to be so much fun that even my wife loved it and this is a genre she doesn't really like. This was actually her favorite Netflix series at the time and I hope this new second season doesn't let us down.
I had never had the chance to review the first season of The Umbrella Academy and I thought today would be the perfect opportunity to do so, having the highest of hopes for this new season to be as amazing as its predecessor, and even if it's not that good, to at least hold up.
The Plot
The Umbrella Academy is an American superhero Netflix series based on the comic books of the same name written by Gerard Way (famous for being the lead vocalist of the band My Chemical Romance) and illustrated by Gabriel Bá.
On the same day in October 1989, many women around the world give birth, the strange part is that they were not pregnant, the belly randomly grew that very same day and the babies were born in an instant, like a miracle. Seven of these babies are adopted by an eccentric billionaire, Reginald Hargreeves, who discovers they have powers and raises them to be a superhero squad that goes by the name of The Umbrella Academy.
However, as years pass by and they grow older, each one of the members outgrows the superhero lifestyle, their family is no longer the same and it's been years since the team has been together... This is worsened when one of them, Number Five, randomly disappears.
The family reunites in a funeral once again after they learn their father has died, everyone suspecting murder and even suspecting each other. However, they must become a team to save the world, because after so many years Number Five comes back, claiming that they have a week until the apocalypse and only The Umbrella Academy can stop it.
An Amazing Adventure
The Umbrella Academy is a series filled with energy, excitement, and an amazing cast with very memorable characters. It's often borderline ridiculous, but each one of the crazy plots this series comes up with makes sense in the universe they have created.
It's very different from other superhero series as it doesn't focus on villains but on the main cast and the mystery surrounding the apocalypse. Even their powers don't require a lot of CGI and they only use them on rare occasions, being a pivotal point to their personalities and each one of them having a very personal relationship with their powers.
I'm very glad they decided to focus on the main characters, as they are all extremely charming and funny, I'd like to highlight the fan favorites Klaus played by Robert Sheehan and Number 5, played by Aidan Gallagher, the latter being particularly impressive as he is given the role of an adult man trapped in a teenager's body, and he sells every scene of this performance.
We learn about the siblings as the episodes go by via flashbacks and conversations, piece by piece we complete the puzzle of the apocalypse and their complicated relationship with each other.
The Umbrella Academy is a ride that is full of excitement, laughs, and impressive cinematography. It looks very distinct and it feels very specific, it has its own style, something that is particularly difficult to achieve with the superhero genre as it has been done so many times in the last few years.
It's difficult not to root for these characters and we are intrigued by each piece of information we get. The way the narrative is structured is very smart, as it provides a lot of plot holes that are filled as the story goes own, we don't know everything, and the more episodes we watch, the more we unravel this mystery and the more we learn about the main cast, their fears, and motivations.
I hope you give it a chance if you like superheroes and don't mind plots that can get too ridiculous. It's a lot of fun and I'm sure you'll giggle through it like I did!
I'm Very Excited for the Second Season!
