Can't something go right for them - just once?
Season three picks up moments after the season two cliffhanger, whereby the six Hargreeves family members transported themselves into the present day - except not everything is as they left it. Gone are the Umbrellas, only to be replaced by their much more put-together counterparts called The Sparrow Academy.
'The Umbrella Academy' season three introduces seven brand new people (well, six plus their previously deceased brother Ben (Justin H. Min) - wait no, five plus Ben and a floating cube named Christopher), who cause an upset for the titular family. You see, the Umbrellas may have "fixed" the timeline back in 1963, but their meddling ways sees them return to the present day, a time where they no longer exist. Replaced by these far-superior superheroes, the families start a tit-for-tat war (which kicks off with another very memorable opening musical sequence).
This reviewer, having seen both seasons one and two as soon as they came out on Netflix, and being a fan of both, can't help but feel a little jaded with the return of this bizarre and wonderful crew. The end of the world is the topic du jour once again - and sure, that's the whole franchise's shtick - but it feels a little dated on its third go.
That's not to say that 'The Umbrella Academy' season three isn't enjoyable - it's still as unpredictable as ever - but sometimes it would be nice for a little change up in formula, especially now that we're three seasons deep. One big change-up of course is the introduction of the Sparrows, but unfortunately they fail to live up to the hype. Remaining fairly hollow and a little too on the nose, they don't get the opportunity to go much further than one-dimensional antagonists. Although their powers are obviously cooler, and they look the part with their red leather costumes, they never hit the dizzying heights set during the opening sequence.
It's almost as if the writers didn't want to pull the focus away from the Umbrellas, and in doing so made the Sparrows a little redundant in the series' arc, apart from the obvious "you hit me, I hit you" mentality shared between the warring families. Elliot Page returns to the series, now under the name of Viktor, and it's really touching to see this sweet transition be included in the series; Robert Sheehan is back as the ever-unorthodox Klaus; Tom Hopper's goofy Luther is once again head-over-heels in love; while Emmy Raver-Lampman's Allison goes through the series' biggest transformation, rather unfortunately replacing Viktor as the series' moodkiller; David Castañeda's Diego and Ritu Arya's Lila have a new arrival on their hands; and finally Five has to - yet again - figure out how to save the world.
There's a lot going on in season three, so much so that you might indeed get dizzy from the storyline. The introduction of new characters (and the reappearance of old ones), sees the franchise begin to intertwine more than ever and it's actually surprising that these 10 episodes manage to fit all of the storyline in. With a strong season opening, and a strong season finisher, the middle part of the season falls into the trap of becoming filler for the inevitable big final showpiece.
It's not that 'The Umbrella Academy' season three is bad by any means - it's still got that unpreducability factor ramped up to 100 - it's just become a little too formulaic at this stage in its lifespan. An enjoyable romp nonetheless, fans of the previous two season might find themselves wanting a little more substance to the superheroes' third outing.
All 10 episodes of 'The Umbrella Academy' season three hit Netflix on Wednesday, June 22.