A half-hearted ending. The Umbrella Academy was meant to be Netflix’s answer to Marvel and DC in the superhero craze. The streaming giant’s adaptation of the independent publisher’s comics Dark Horse allowed him to rub shoulders with his rivals. However, he ended up saying goodbye almost through the back door with a fourth season in the minimum expression with just six episodes instead of the ten of the previous ones, as well as an ending that has not been to the liking of all fans. It is another of the titles that were once the flag of the big red N, but that have been said goodbye to in a somewhat cold way by the platform. It was one of the most watched series from Netflix, but the controversial ending has not set the networks on fireas, with all due respect, happened with Lost or Game of Thrones.
The latest episodes of Umbrella Academy have arrived when the only film that the almighty Marvel has decided to release on the big screen in 2024 is sweeping the theaters: “Deadpool & Wolverine“. It may be a paradox that in the midst of the era of streamingthe mUCM students have been able to eclipse the response of the Hardgreeves family before the new Armageddon. And there are certain elements in common between the film and the series. The use of multiverses, a certain parody tone of the genre and the idea of a final sacrifice to save the fabric of reality. There is even a post-credits scene in the purest Marvel style, although the interpretation of its content is open and left to the taste of each viewer.
The question that the post-credits scene leaves us with is whether this is the end or not? While “Deadpool and Wolverine” was announced as the landing of the mutants in the Marvel cinematic universe, the reality is that the film has an air of farewell to the entire fictional universe created by the Fox during the years that he had the rights to the characters from the publisher. Once the Disney takeover We don’t know if there will be a reboot of all those titles, or the success of the summer blockbuster force the studios to continue squeezing the goose that lays the golden eggs“This is Disney, they’ll keep you working until you’re 90,” says the actor in one of the film’s scenes. loudmouth mercenary to the Canadian Adamantium ClawsDaredevil has already managed to return to the empire, although, of course, he still needs to fix the mess caused by the failed material he had filmed for Daredevil Born Again and that a timely change of direction attempts to correct with a change in the creative teams of the series.
In Umbrella Academy, we also have the question of whether this fictional universe will manage to return. The main arguments for not doing so are completely unrelated to the plot. Weeks before the premiere, Rolling Stones magazine published complaints from the cast about the toxic environment and bullying in the shoot created by the showrunner of the series, Steven Blackman. A time bomb that could perhaps explain why Netflix decided to send the series off before it exploded in their hands. After the ending, Blackman refuses to say that this is a definitive end and that, somehow, there could be other stories to tell, while the cast members maintain that no way. That everything is perfect as it is and there are no plans to embark on new episodes. Have you met your own Reginald Hardgreeves in real life? Sir Reginald (Colm Feore) is the mentor who brought together the boys of the Umbrella Academy from the moment of their birth and He trained them to save the world. Apocalypse after apocalypse and alternate reality after alternate reality, the members of this dysfunctional superhero team They have found that their master had more than one dark side and have gone from admiration to contempt. And yet these last episodes have presented the most positive version of Sir Reginald and, in some way, achieve the redemption of the character.
The fact that this is a much shorter season than the previous ones leaves everything a little lame. With plots that never fully develop and that perhaps could have gotten somewhere if there had been more episodes. The duo of villains in this installment formed by doctors Jean and Gene (Nick Offerman and Megan Mulally), leaders of the sect of The Guardianspromised to be at the level of Hazel and Cha-Cha (Cameron Britton and Mary J. Biggle), the couple of hitmen from the first episodes, without becoming a serious threat. On the other hand, this season has seen the completion of the transformation of Elliot Page Vanya’s turn on Viktor, a plot twist that the series respectfully integrated after Page’s declaration as a transgender person in real life. Other plots are the marital crisis between Lila and Diego (Ritu Arya and David Castaneda), with Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) and a sprawling maze of multiversal subway lines in between; Klaus’ new teetotal life (Robert Sheehan); while the characters of Luther and Allison (Tom Hopper and Emmy Raver-Lampman) have been very blurred in these final episodes. And especially the return of Ben, the deceased brother of the family, who ends up being the central piece of the plot, as Vanya was in the first season. The boys of the Umbrella Academy have returned to save the world and have said goodbye to us. But, as in the series, it seems that the world has not noticed.