The Umbrella Academy, Season 1: Revisited - CULTURETAP

If you've been following my content for a while now (or, if you happen to be friends with me on Facebook) you'll know that before the existence of CULTURETAP, I reviewed things by posting my generally abridged, mostly unedited thoughts on my timeline, much to the annoyance of my family and friends. One of my first "reviews" on there was of a then-newly newly released Netflix adaptation of Gerard Way and Gabriel Ba's The Umbrella Academy. It's been out for over a year now, and after I first watched the show in March of 2019, I absolutely fell in love with the it (as well as the franchise as a whole). I'm also obviously incredibly excited for the second season that's set to release this coming summer. However, I'm a firm believer in constantly reexamining and reevaluating the media you consume, even if it's something that you think you'll always love. Plus, I've been itching to take some of those old Facebook posts and flesh them out more here on my blog, hence what you're reading right now!

I'll open with a brief (spoiler-free) synopsis, just so this post makes more sense.

On October 1st, 1989, fourty-three women around the world gave birth despite showing no prior signs of pregnancy beforehand. Billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of these children born to said mothers and discovered that they were gifted with different superhuman abilities, and subsequently trained them to become a child superhero team known as The Umbrella Academy. Now adults and bitter towards their father due to their harsh upbringing, the siblings are begrudgingly reunited in order to investigate his sudden and mysterious death.

The first section of this post is a paraphrase of my original review, followed by my updated take. Let's see if my opinion has changed, shall we?

Like I said in last week's review, I tend to stray away from TV shows in general, since I feel that in many cases, they drag out a story beyond what is reasonable and interesting in favour of getting renewed for subsequent seasons. However, you can probably already tell that the first season of TUA absolutely blew me away. It checked all the boxes: an original and unique preface, complex and lovable characters and stellar plot twists. It never bored me and it made for the perfect unconventional superhero team-up story. The cast was my biggest doubt going into the show simply because they are all mostly unknown names in Hollywood. Additionally, they had to include a child actor playing a major role (Aidan Gallagher as Five), which I find can be risky. My doubts were proven wrong though, as even the actors of foil characters held their own next to the few Hollywood veterans in the show, namely Ellen Page and Mary J. Blige (who were also fantastic). Another high point for me upon first viewing was the soundtrack, which had an unexpected but lovable vibe that fit the show perfectly. Classics from many genres are featured, as well as covers by show writer (and creator of the comics the show was based on) Gerard Way. Overall, I was on the edge of my seat the entire time and I had very few complaints about this show.

My original rating: 9.5/10.

So, what changed for me upon re-watching? Well, all in all, I'd say that almost everything I said in that first review still holds true; I think this is a phenomenal show, although it isn't without it's flaws. After exploring more and more of the franchise and watching the show over a few times, I've come to realize that my favourite part of The Umbrella Academy is the characterization, and how each personality, particularly those of the siblings, situates into the world around them. As viewers, we are privy to exactly how each of the siblings was affected by their upbringing and how it influences their decisions over the course of the show's events. It's a show full of flawed characters - but they're developed in a poetic and intelligent way, and no character decision is made without a reason, making the performances of the actors of major and minor characters alike all the more believable and entertaining to watch. On the topic of that, I still have to praise the performances of nearly the entire cast, while again highlighting the fact that much of the main cast had limited television experience prior to shooting The Umbrella Academy. In particular, Gallagher's performance as Five is a standout as he was able to hold his own next to the performances of the actors that played the other siblings despite being much younger and therefore presumably having less experience.

I will again highlight the show's soundtrack, which spans several different genres and includes many sleeper hits and tracks that match the show's quirky and unexpected vibe. Something I didn't bring up the first time is the cinematography and visual effects used. I find the use of colour and the camerawork to be really interesting in particular. I can't get into the visual effects aspect much without breaking my "spoiler-free" rule, but if you watch the show, you'll know what I mean when you see it.

I believe that it speaks a lot to a show or movie when I have to watch it several times in order to find complaints about it, which is exactly what happened with this series. Upon subsequent viewings, I did notice minor continuity errors and pacing issues, however in a show with such a dynamic plot that hits the nail on the head 95% of the time, I'm personally willing to forgive this. No, the show is not without it's flaws, but when nitpicks are overshadowed so heavily by all the other high points, they become almost entirely irrelevant.

The Umbrella Academy is a show that, for me, gets better with every watch. It has a certain charm that doesn't come by very often in television, especially in superhero shows. I speak very highly of it for a reason, and in all honesty, I recommend it to literally anyone that is looking for something action-oriented to watch right now.

Updated rating: 9.3/10

P.S., I'm gonna close out this review with a shameless brag, even though it's still topical...I had the opportunity to meet the ever-kind and talented Emmy Raver-Lampman (who plays Allison in TUA) at FanExpo Canada last summer...please Google clips of her performance in the national tour of Hamilton, she is phenomenal.