The Umbrella Academy

Wasn't sure if there was a thread for this one. Just finished watching the end of season 1 last night. I probably shouldn't be posting at all as this seems to be a thread for fans of the show, but I have to say season 1 was a steady decline from a rather quirky and interesting premise to pure nonsense by the end.

I get that its a graphic novel and is supposed to be a bit out there. It just didn't know what it wanted to be. For every fun scene when they crank up the pop music and just go full oddball (the bowling alley), there is so much stuff that is supposed to be straight-faced that you just can't take seriously, particularly all the stuff about time travel.

It did have some great moments, like the weird dance montage scene, and some of the action scenes were good. Also, the supremely underrated Robert Sheehan was always worth watching.

But the last 3 or 4 episodes were a real chore to get through for me. There were just some very strange plot choices, ying-yanging character motivations, and just not enough consistency in tone to be able to take the serious stuff seriously and laugh at the funny stuff. I know it was left on a cliffhanger but I definitely won't be watching series 2.

As I said, probably shouldn't post this as I guess naysayers are probably not welcome. On the flipside (as the US election has shown us), different points of view should probably be embraced now more than ever.

I'll say this for it; at least we finished the series. I couldn't finish Doom Patrol, which we started watching on the same day. DP seemed to have the most potential and was out there and wackier. But then it became clear it was a one-trick pony and just kept trying to outdo itself with WTF moments and swear-heavy expressions of incredulity.

Anyway, apologies for my pooh-poohing. I probably just need to accept that shows like this are not for me. From the list of shows on @ctg's analytical graph, I've only seen three (Umbrella, Stranger Things and Handmaid's Tale).
 
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BT, you could try the Expanse and his dark materials. Worth a try I suppose.
 
I've watched the first three of the third season and I have to say that they've kind of nailed the TT aspect, and even though the episodes has again got me thinking about parallel worlds, and the multiverse, it isn't the case.

Instead, the series leans heavily in the uniworld theory and the fact that the timelines branches. So, in this series, it's as if it is with Marty McFly and his inability to really make the TT work as it supposed to. What I mean is that the "traveller" has to only be "a tourist" and not affect anything, because as soon as you do, you'll create changes. And in this case, all the c*ckups in the past to deal with the second apocalypse, led the Father to adapt different babies. Thus the Sparrow Academy was born instead of the dysfunctional Umbrella one.

Thing is, I like our anti-heroes, and even though they are all superpowered, they're weird enough to be you and me. They are not YA's, but they are not matured ones either. They are almost normal people trying to get on in the very abnormal situations, most that are their own doing. And I love that none of them are really aware of how goofy they'll make their situation to be. But it's that goofiness that I like, because without it, this would be a very dark series. An apocalyptic one.

The strange thing is that for some reason I get the Preacher wipes. I cannot put my finger on which ones are causing it, but in the third season, "the apocalypse in the basement" isn't the only threat. It's the fact that they are in the middle of a very well written grandfather paradox, and it's threatening their existence. And it's all thanks to their own doing, as you might have remembered, they clashed in the past with the Agency and thus kind of lost the ability to TT.

Maybe that's why it feels so much like the Preacher as a lot of situations in that series were their own doing.
 
I decided to watch the first episode season 3 last night. Feeling tired today after watching seven of them.

I forgot how much this series makes me laugh, liked how smoothly Vanya's transition to Viktor went.
 
Ok so I've seen the first five eps. Spoilers follow.

Klaus is Nathan (who Robert Sheehan plays in Misfits). They're the same character. I said before that they were almost the same (they could both see dead people) but now that Klaus can't die, they're exactly the same. Even the personality is basically the same. Anyway, I think that's kinda cool. BUUUUT... in series one at the first apocalypse when Five finds all his dead siblings, Klaus shouldn't have been dead then. Is that a cock-up from the writers? Or is there gonna be an elderly alternate-verse Klaus somewhere? (Was Klaus there in that scene when Five finds them all dead? I think I remember seeing him... I know Five finds the eyeball in Luther's hand). I find Klaus the most frustrating because his character was done so well in the first series but then in the second, and now still in this (though the immortal thing must surely have a pay-off) I feel like he's been reduced to comedy only. In series one he was completely tortured and took drugs and whatnot to escape the spirits and we're five eps in now and haven't seen him use his powers once, there's been no spirits following him round. Nothing. Luther seems to be comedy only as well (he's so stupid) and nope, Alison almost raping him? Not a fan of that. Also, if Harlan killed all their mothers, why didn't he kill Ben's? Didn't Victor say 'seven women'? Wouldn't that include Ben's mother? Or did I mis-hear that bit (possible)? Anyway, five eps left to go so will see what happens. Enjoying it, despite minor quibbles.
 
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Ok I've just finished series three now, anyone else?

I enjoyed it but...

What was the flippity flipping point of Reginald training Klaus only to push him out to get Kugelblitzed? Literally no sense.
 
Mouse said:
What was the flippity flipping point of Reginald training Klaus only to push him out to get Kugelblitzed? Literally no sense.
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Klaus is the strongest one. He's an immortal that can cross the cap to the underworld and bring back who he wants. That makes him Jesus level superperson. I'm not going to say he's a hero, but he's certainly a saviour. And I saw him in that light.

I didn't write my post, with a pic of him posing on the highway, because it would have spoiled the whole thing. I also started suspecting that the Father was something else around the halfway.
 
ctg said:
Klaus is the strongest one. He's an immortal that can cross the cap to the underworld and bring back who he wants. That makes him Jesus level superperson. I'm not going to say he's a hero, but he's certainly a saviour. And I saw him in that light.

I didn't write my post, with a pic of him posing on the highway, because it would have spoiled the whole thing. I also started suspecting that the Father was something else around the halfway.
Click to expand...

No, I get that.
What I'm saying is there was literally no point in Reginald bothering to train Klaus only to then shut him out of the corridor. Why did Reginald waste his time doing that, only to not even want Klaus along with the rest of them - which incidentally must mean that he would've been willing to screw over Allison as she would've had to have taken Klaus's place.
 
Mouse said:
What I'm saying is there was literally no point in Reginald bothering to train Klaus only to then shut him out of the corridor. Why did Reginald waste his time doing that, only to not even want Klaus along with the rest of them - which incidentally must mean that he would've been willing to screw over Allison as she would've had to have taken Klaus's place.
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I think the Raven's had noticed father's odd behaviour and that's why they had put him under chemicals. Klaus, bless his socks, happened to scene and saw a fellow addict. But because of his saviour complex, he took Reg off the chems, and for the Father training him was part of the healing process. Plus he had not ever met a person with his abilities, so it was a first.

But he realized too late that Klaus was going to hamper his plans, because there was nothing he could do to kill him. Therefore, he would have been there to stop him, when they went to fiddle with the god machine. In a theory, they proved with that move that their universe is a holographic, but they never showed the God as the main operator. Also that their underworld is just one place.

Klaus hacked that and proved that he can cross the dead barrier. And do more. So in a way, it would have been better if Father had stayed under chemicals. Now, they'll have another holographic universe to deal with, and for them, it would have been impossible to understand how to program a new reality.
 
Mouse said:
Ok so I've seen the first five eps. Spoilers follow.

Klaus is Nathan (who Robert Sheehan plays in Misfits). They're the same character. I said before that they were almost the same (they could both see dead people) but now that Klaus can't die, they're exactly the same. Even the personality is basically the same. Anyway, I think that's kinda cool. BUUUUT... in series one at the first apocalypse when Five finds all his dead siblings, Klaus shouldn't have been dead then. Is that a cock-up from the writers? Or is there gonna be an elderly alternate-verse Klaus somewhere? (Was Klaus there in that scene when Five finds them all dead? I think I remember seeing him... I know Five finds the eyeball in Luther's hand). I find Klaus the most frustrating because his character was done so well in the first series but then in the second, and now still in this (though the immortal thing must surely have a pay-off) I feel like he's been reduced to comedy only. In series one he was completely tortured and took drugs and whatnot to escape the spirits and we're five eps in now and haven't seen him use his powers once, there's been no spirits following him round. Nothing. Luther seems to be comedy only as well (he's so stupid) and nope, Alison almost raping him? Not a fan of that. Also, if Harlan killed all their mothers, why didn't he kill Ben's? Didn't Victor say 'seven women'? Wouldn't that include Ben's mother? Or did I mis-hear that bit (possible)? Anyway, five eps left to go so will see what happens. Enjoying it, despite minor quibbles.
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I have still 2 episodes to go, so maybe this will be answered somehow in the final episodes. But, "if Harlan killed all their mothers, why didn't he kill Ben's? Didn't Victor say 'seven women'? Wouldn't that include Ben's mother?" not just Ben but also the mothers of all the other Sparrow Academy members. Harlan killed all (43?) women who 'unexpected'(ly) gave birth on 1st October 1989, which therefor must include the mothers of both Umbrella and Sparrow Academy members.
So far I don't really enjoy season 3. It's a bit chaotic and the characters seem somewhat untrue to their character. Especially Allison. On the other hand, no one has noticed (or commented) om the steering wheels being on the wrong side of their cars. So, there's more going on than 'just' another apocalypse. another universe?
 
Oh really? I thought he just said seven, not 43. Makes no sense then.
 
I just checked. He killed 27. Which leaves enough mothers out of the 43 for the Sparrow Academy.
Still, there were so many unexplained, senseless and weird things going on that season three totally ruined it for me.
 
I've almost finished season 3. I thought it is better paced because the larger ensemble cast of characters makes for much more going on (I thought season two was slow), however -
Elckerlyc said:
there were so many unexplained, senseless and weird things going on, that season three totally ruined it for me.
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- I can see that could be so too.

Also -
Mouse said:
Spoilers follow.
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- I have to agree with those nitpicks (never seen Misfits so I wouldn't know that) and have to agree with Elckerlyc's other dislikes. I didn't catch the steering wheels thing. Very odd that they don't explain things.
 
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