The Umbrella Academy Season 2 (2020) Review

So after a long weekend I have now managed to get through the ten episodes of the second season of The Umbrella Academy and here is my review for it. The premise of the season sees the team in 1963, where they once again have to stop the apocalypse while having their own agendas. 

Main Character

David Casteneda was good as Diego in the first season but I thought he was even better this season. He is given much more depth to his character and personality and it felt like he had the most interesting plot line going on. His character is more defined this season and it feels a very natural progression to make him a much better character. Aidan Gallagher plays Number 5 and once again he is a real highlight on this show, it is just so much fun seeing this young actor having to play a 50 year old man and he is once again great and really thrives in the role. 

Supporting Characters

Tom Hopper as Luther and Ellen Page as Vanya were the main characters in the first season but I thought they were given smaller roles but they do well here. Hopper is actually more comic relief but I thought he did a good job in that role and actually made me laugh quite a bit. Vanya's character was a little frustrating but in the end I thought it worked and Page did a good job. The other members of the family, Alisson and Klaus are given their own arcs and they work pretty well here, but the actors do their best work when they all are together. 

Story

The story is pretty similar to last season, I like how even though they are once again trying to stop the apocalypse the show goes about it in a different way and it felt different and did a good job of using it's time period. The characters all have individual stories which individually work but they just don't really mesh very well, also the show focuses more on the time commission and it is the least interesting part of the show and I wish we could have focused on it less. Though the ending of this season is really interesting and sets up an even more interesting third season. 

Script

The script is great here, this show really does a good job of blending the humour and drama to make its characters more interesting and fun to watch. The characters are written well and as I said the individual plot lines are interesting so that is a positive.

Style

The style of the show does a good job in embracing its 1960's setting which does make it feel different to the previous season. The action scenes are well filmed and once again the soundtrack is done really well and adds plenty of flavour to the show. But I had a bit of an issue of the first half of the show, it focuses more on the characters individual plots and keeps them separated which is disappointing and less fun.

Overall

Overall, this is a great second season of this show. I think I enjoyed the first season more but this is a worthy second season and sets up a really fascinating third season so I would recommend giving this show a watch.  

Rating - 8/10

The Umbrella Academy Season 1 (2019) Review

So season 2 of The Umbrella Academy is set to hit Netflix on Friday and for some reason I never got around to watch it when it came out so I have watched the first season now and here is my review for it. The premise of the show sees a group of former child superheroes have to reunite to attempt to stop the apocalypse. 

Main Character

Ellen Page plays Vanya and I was on the fence over her performance, but I ended up liking it. No spoilers here, but she is a more human and normal character here and that at times makes her seem quite boring compared to the rest of the cast but when I thought about it the character worked for me. Tom Hopper plays Luther and I liked him too, he is just good in his role, he is pretty charming and a good character, there are some things you learn about him that make him more interesting but it does take some time to get there. 

Supporting Characters

Young actor Aidan Gallagher plays a character simply known as Number 5 and I don't want to go into too much detail as his character is easily the most interesting and unique about this show but he is fantastic here. Robert Sheehan as Klaus as well is a really interesting character, he is easily the most bizarre character here but I thought compared to everybody else here the dynamic worked well. The characters of Diego and Allison are also well done though I didn't find them as interesting as the other characters mentioned above. 

Story

The story is really good here, this family is so interesting to watch and seeing the different skill sets adds a lot to the characters. Basically imagine the younger members of The X-Men grown up and damaged because Charles Xavier is a bad person and it works incredibly well. Though there were a few story elements I thought didn't work as well. There are two hitmen played by Mary J Blige and Cameron Britton who were both great here, it is just it felt like their story could have been over much earlier then it is and it just ends up dragging out too much. Also there are some things that aren't explained at all and are a bit confusing and I would have liked to see more flashbacks of the crew as a team, but the ending to this season is amazing and one of the best season finale's you will see. 

Script

The script is also really good here, there is your family drama but it works and the humour is actually funny here. I think this show thrives because of the wildly different personalities involved in the family and how the actors bounce off of each other. 

Style

The style is fantastic, the action scenes are all really cleverly done and well choreographed especially in hand to hand combat. The soundtrack is also a real highlight rising the action scenes above and beyond what they should be, the 10 episodes felt the right length too and were paced out pretty well.

Overall

Overall, I loved the first season of The Umbrella Academy, it is an interesting and unique show that I would say should be enjoyed by everybody and I am really excited for season 2.

Rating - 9/10