All 4 Seasons of 'The Umbrella Academy,' Ranked (original) (raw)
Image by Federico Napoli
Published Oct 7, 2024, 9:16 PM EDT
Lucas Kloberdanz-Dyck is a writer for Collider. He grew up creating lists, stories, and worlds, which led to his love of anime and video games. He attended Sheridan College where he earned an Honours Bachelor of Game Design. Lucas and his group won 1st place for technical innovation at LevelUp Toronto 2023, and he was also an intern for the Oakville Film Festival of Arts.
Sign in to your Collider account
When singer-songwriter, co-founder, and lead vocalist of My Chemical Romance Gerard Way announced to be writing comic books, many fans were left stunned. However, after multiple series down, Way has produced some inventive and relatable comics, most notably The Umbrella Academy. However, with all great TV or movie adaptations, they mostly become more popular than the source material, reaching a wider audience. This is especially true with The Umbrella Academy, becoming one of the most popular Netflix series to date. While fans might not expect it, the TV show toned down the weirdness and made many other changes while keeping the core and many other aspects intact, ultimately delivering an epic, dysfunctional, and oddly relatable masterpiece.
Delivering a unique TV experience unlike any other, The Umbrella Academy connected with millions of fans worldwide through its bizarre take on profound issues. However, like most shows, not every season is viewed equally.With a total of four oddball seasons, this show has kept fans entertained and invested in the outlandish lives of these adopted siblings. With the apocalypse always looming every season, The Umbrella Academy subverts expectations every time to create a new experience that doesn't feel rehashed or repetitive. The series keeps it fresh, with each of the four seasons adding something to love. Now is the perfect time to go back and review the completed series and the fun that each season presents, seeing which one reigns supreme.
All four seasons of The Umbrella Academy are available to stream on Netflix.
4 Season 4 (2024)
Number of Episodes: 6
The Umbrella Academy Season 4
Image via Netflix
After years of waiting, Season 4 finally brought fans back into the world of The Umbrella Academy after the bombshell ending of Season 3. Six years after resetting the timeline, the Hargreeves children attempt to live their best lives without powers or the Umbrella Academy. However, no matter how hard they try to fool themselves, most of them long for something better but decide to carry on. It isn't until Diego's (David Castañeda) and Lila's (Ritu Arya) daughter's birthday that they get together for an awkward family reunion. However, like always, chaos is soon to follow the Umbrella siblings, as Viktor's (Elliot Page) kidnapping leads them into another world-ending conspiracy involving a group known as the Keepers, who wish to revert their lives to a timeline where they are successful. Ben (Justin H. Min) sneaks Marigold into the sibling's drinks, and they are officially on the road to the apocalypse as they chase down a mysterious woman to try to prevent the apocalypse.
Crafting a finale for one of the most bizarre shows on television is no small task, with showrunner Steve Blackman already knowing the ending would be controversial among fans. And, oh boy, was he right. Fan reaction to the finale of Season 4 was more than controversial, earning an abysmal rating of 55% on Rotten Tomatoes. The biggest villain of the final season was its fast pace, which rushed through so many good parts of the story, leaving them unfulfilled. Fans also weren't too keen on the finale, with the conclusion making previous seasons pointless, ending The Umbrella Academy on a sour note. However, this isn't to say there's nothing good about the final season. While polarizing, the ending was very fitting, wrapping the show up in the most logical way possible. This season also neatly wrapped up most of the siblings' arcs, giving closure and satisfying progression. Overall, Season 4 was plagued with rushed pacing, some befuddling decisions, and missed potential, making the Hargreeves siblings' farewell more bitter than sweet.
3 Season 3 (2022)
Number of Episodes: 10
Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Viktor (Elliot Page), Luther (Tom Hopper), Five (Aiden Gallagher), Diego (David Castañeda), and Klaus (Robert Sheehan) prepare for a standoff in Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy
Image via Netflix
Ending every season, The Umbrella Academy always seems to zip to some alternate reality, facing ridiculous changes to their world, and Season 3 began with potentially the most shocking change. In a new world, they realize they no longer have the comfort of their own home, with The Sparrow Academy taking over, a group of siblings seemingly better in every conceivable way. After losing the briefcase to return home, The Umbrella Academy takes shelter in Hotel Oblivion, where they begin to set a course of action on how to get home and deal with the Kugelblitz tearing the universe apart. But as usual, everyone goes their separate ways and has their things to do. Each member gets into their own substantial antics, from becoming immortal to raising a kid.
Season 3 is a massive improvement over Season 4. While not without issues, it reaches the heights of the previous two seasons with a fun little twist. Season 3 introduced a bunch of new cool powers to The Umbrella Academy with the Sparrows, and that's mostly all they were good for. A major complaint from fans was the lack of development from the Sparrows outside of Ben and Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), with the others dying too early to add anything meaningful to the season. Besides some fast pacing, the major issue with Season 3 is how they handled Allison's (Emmy Raver-Lampman) character. Turning into a full-on villain, Allison became the most hated character on the show, with her inexcusable actions. What makes it even worse is that Season 4 of The Umbrella Academy didn't redeem her, trying to let fans forget about it. Regardless, the comedy and emotional moments were at the height of this season, with Viktor's transition and Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Reginald (Colm Feore) bonding. Season 3 was one of the most fun seasons, with plenty of plot twists, character dynamics, emotional depth, and creative mishaps, but it has a few too many flaws to be considered the best.
2 Season 1 (2019)
Number of Episodes: 10
The Umbrella siblings gathered around a table in The Umbrella Academy
Image via Netflix
Kicking off the popular series, Season 1 begins with multiple scenes showing the unsettling birth of super-powered individuals across the world. Trying to adopt all of these miracle children, Sir Reginald Hargreeves manages to get seven, creating The Umbrella Academy. However, years after dysfunctional mishaps and tragic situations, the remaining five meet up after their father's death. Before they can quickly disperse back into their depressing lives, the missing member, Fives (Aidan Gallagher), appears from the past/future to warn them about a looming apocalypse. As the group investigates their father's death and who ends the world, multiple games are at play, with the Temps Commission hunting Fives, Viktor's concerning relationship, and the eccentric daily duties each member gets up to.
Choosing between Seasons 1 and 3 is a tough choice. Season 3 takes the series to wackier heights, but Season 1 delivers something more grounded and fresh. However, with fewer flaws and a new concept at the time, Season 1 is a nearly flawless opening season to get fans interested. This fresh take on the superhero genre did wonders for the show, helping it grow in popularity because of its unique premise and surreal feeling, a feeling fans hope to get again if there ever is an Umbrella Academy spinoff. The best part of the first season is the characters, getting to know them, and watching them grow in a short span. The series is full of great character moments, including Luther's (Tom Hopper) and Reginald's conflicted relationship to Fives getting to know everyone again, and Viktor's toxic relationships, which leads him to cause the apocalypse in a shocking twist. Witnessing this severely dysfunctional family for the first time is a treat that's as good as the tenth rewatch of The Umbrella Academy. It is a marvel to compare the characters each season, and while they are all at their lowest in Season 1, all that does is add more insane content. While Season 1 is still finding its footing, it gets off to a hot start with its eccentric cast, making it one of the best first seasons ever.
1 Season 2 (2020)
Number of Episodes: 10
After the sudden apocalypse at the end of Season 1, Season 2 opens with an all-out war between the Soviet Union and The Umbrella Academy. However, after the world quickly ends again, Fives emerges in 1960s Dallas, where he must gather up his siblings again before yet another apocalypse. With each Umbrella sibling living somewhat happy lives, bringing them together is going to be much more challenging than imagined, especially with three menacing, kill-happy Swedes on their tail. From Luther working for infamous gangster Jack Ruby, Klaus forming his own cult and fighting in the Vietnam War, Diego in a mental institute, Viktor with amnesia, and Allison in a Civil Rights movement with the most underutilized character, Raymond Chestnut (Yusuf Gatewood), Season 2 is more bizarre, bigger, and better.
Following the triumph that was the first season, the second season had big boots to fill. Not only did the show fill them, but it also outgrew them by delivering a perfect season, with most fans of the series agreeing it is the best of the four. Almost everything in the second season is ideal. The comedy was the funniest it's ever been, the action was as epic as it's ever been, and the music and character dynamics continued to impress. Each character had so much growth, and everyone had interesting arcs that fans didn't care if they weren't always together. Every individual member carried their weight, making every plot point exciting and captivating. The show also does a phenomenal job of grounding the story in the 1960s setting, adding incredible and moving scenarios that enhance the characters and story. Unlike the rest of the seasons, this one also manages to get the pacing down perfectly, giving every storyline the perfect amount of time before merging them into the main plot. While Netflix has some shows like The Umbrella Academy, few reach the pinnacle this series provides, with none matching the quality and wackiness. Season 2 is the perfect season of The Umbrella Academy, giving fans more of what they love with family dynamics, humor, and bizarreness, but also adding new great characters, settings, and moments. The Umbrella Academy is truly one of a kind and the best superhero show on Netflix, creating a timeless and ridiculously lovable series.
NEXT: Our Biggest Unanswered Questions After 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4 Finale