Netflix’s The Umbrella Academy has weathered the end of the world on multiple occasions. Each of these apocalypses is guaranteed to somehow be worse than the last such adventure, although to be fair, each “apocalypse” by definition should be as world-halting as any other arrival of doom. It’s quite amusing, however, how the show manages to up the ante without seeming “overdone,” but the credit there, thus far, has largely been down to the original source material.
That would be Gerard Way and Gabrial Ba’s The Umbrella Academy comics, although there might be a slight snag here. The third season of this Netflix series covered the The Sparrow Academy volume, and that was all that Gerard Way wrote on that note. So, Netflix is now going into uncharted territory, much like Game Of Thrones after the show moved past George R.R. Martin’s books (though he does promise to finish Winds of Winter sometime, maybe, possibly).
Hey, GRRM is a busy dude, and we’re moving on to the subject at hand. What will be in store for the Hargreeves siblings next?
Plot
Viewers will recall that, after heading back to the 1960s a few seasons ago, the original siblings found that Bad Dad Reginald Hargreeves had “replaced” them with another set of brothers and sisters that he dubbed the Sparrow Academy. This group contained another Ben, which allowed that character to come back after supposedly dying for good. And during the third season finale, Allison took an unexpected turn when she presumably made a deal with Dad and then reunited with her decades-past husband.
However, the Kugelbliz issue was apparently solved by hitting “reset” on the world, and the Hargreeves all apparently lost their powers and perhaps went off to live “normal” lives with Elliot Page’s Victor getting the last (profane) word. The show could have ended there, logically speaking, but showrunner Steve Blackman delivered welcome news, which is that the series writers had managed to concoct an off-book story to fully settle the score and “have fans on the edge of their seats until the final minutes.”
Clear as mud, right? Here’s what Elliot Page had to add (this week) when quizzed by RadioTimes: “I’m not really allowed to say anything but it’s gonna be, as per usual, very fun, classic Hargreeves chaos and hijinks.” Alright, fine. Perhaps the synopsis can tell us more:
Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?
So, do the lost powers mean that Klaus may no longer see dead people, and so on? Surely, they all still know the trauma of having Reginald as a father, which will ideally help the siblings band together when the guy inevitably sets another apocalypse in motion. Also, expect a reckoning to happen with the title of the season premiere: “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.” Perhaps normalcy does not go so well? Sounds like it.
Cast
Confirmed returning cast members include Elliot Page (Victor Hargreeves), Tom Hopper (Luther Hargreeves), Emmy Raver-Lampman (Allison Hargreeves), David Castañeda (Diego Hargreeves), Aidan Gallagher (Number Five), Ritu Arya (Lila Pitts), and Colm Feore (Reginald Hargreeeves). Oh, and Robert Sheehan will be back to bring his Klaus brand of levity/horror and Justin H. Min will onboard as some version of Ben Hargreeves, although which incarnation will that be? We shall have to wait and find out that detail, as well as more hints about the new set of sibling rivals. Remember, we’re off book now, so we are at the mercy of this show’s writers.
Are there any new cast members? Oh yes. David Cross will appear (“as a man desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter”) and was recently thrilled to told us that “it was a f*cking treat and an honor to be a part of that.” Additionally, Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally will surface as a pair of college professors, who are guaranteed to be eccentric if they’re on brand with the rest of this offbeat show.
Release Date
The Umbrella Academy will return for its final season on August 8.
Trailer
No trailer has materialized yet, but try to watch the cast members reflecting on their journey without growing a little misty eyed.