The superhero genre got a serious shake-up when The Umbrella Academy arrived. When its first season dropped in 2019, it looked like it would flip everything we expected from a superhero story: a totally offbeat family, full of flaws, weird powers, and a story that mixed dark humor with real emotion in the best way. But not everything stays golden forever, and as the show went on, all that magic that pulled people in and built a loyal fanbase started to fall apart. The formula worked great for the first two seasons, but then season 3 came in, tried to blow up the universe, and ended up showing the first real cracks – and from there, it was a downhill slide.
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Season 3 introduced the Sparrow Academy, a whole new superpowered “family” that was supposed to shake up the plot, right in the first episode. And sure, the idea sounded solid, but the execution? Not so much. These new characters felt hollow. On top of that, the whole season came off as rushed, trying to juggle too many storylines and not really developing any of them properly. One clear example: Ben (Justin H. Min), who suddenly changes his look completely, going from a scruffy guy to a clean-cut version. The shift came from a deliberate choice by the production, and it might sound like a minor thing, but for people who follow the show closely, things like that matters – and when it’s not plot-relevant, it just feels off and lazy.
Speaking of changes, there’s also Vanya’s transition to Viktor, mirroring Elliot Page’s real-life transition. It was a meaningful and supported move, but the way the series handled it didn’t land as naturally as it should have. It felt more like the writers were just trying to fit it in quickly instead of letting it evolve in a more organic way. Plus, while the soundtrack had its moments overall (like that brilliant “Footloose” scene), it didn’t hit the same as before. The CGI also took a dip; some effects just looked outdated or sloppy.
Season 3 wasn’t exactly a trainwreck, but it definitely felt like the moment things got shaky. And the numbers back that up. Critics were still mostly kind, handing it a 91% on Rotten Tomatoes, but the audience score dropped to around 54%. That’s a clear sign that fans were starting to feel let down.
Why Umbrella Academy Season 3 Was A Letdown
So what went wrong? It’s tough to point to just one thing, but considering the timing, the pandemic had a big impact. Budgets were tighter, plans had to change, and the writing (which used to be sharp) became a mess of ideas with no clear focus. The season tried to do way too much at once, sidelining key characters like Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Luther (Tom Hopper), and throwing in the Sparrows, who ended up just adding to the confusion, almost like they were just there to fill screen time. The pacing was all over the place: some episodes dragged on, others rushed through big moments. And because of that, the emotional core just faded. The whole thing started to feel scattered.
Now, season 4 could’ve cleaned that up – it had the chance. But instead, it only made things worse. It was almost unbelievable how far the show had fallen. The final season flopped hard, with just 56% approval from critics and a brutal 19% from audiences. The humor got ridiculous, with over-the-top gags and weird moments, like a random obsession with “Baby Shark” that nobody asked for. And that whole romance between Five (Aidan Gallagher) and Lila (Ritu Arya)? Awkward and troubling. On top of that, there were also production slip-ups, with noticeable continuity errors and rushed editing. And the final plot twist? They just wiped everything out. Destroyed the universe. It felt like they hit a reset button for no real reason, undoing all the build-up beforehand.
In the end, season 3 wasn’t just a stumble, but a warning. It was a red flashing sign that the series was straying from what made it special. But no one stopped to fix it. The characters started acting out of character, the whole story lost its emotion, the pace became so unbalanced that viewers couldn’t absorb and understand what was happening or what was going to happen, and there was a drastic lack of resolution (as if everything that was added in season 3 had been for nothing).
Given the first season and its premise, The Umbrella Academy had the potential to bounce back, and everyone knew it. The problem was that it couldn’t sustain itself, almost as if there was no light at the end of the tunnel – no wonder some people compare it to the negative situation of Game of Thrones. The show simply proved that even the best ideas don’t survive when execution fails. It’s no use. And the worst part is that we saw it happen, episode after episode, with that growing discomfort of someone who knows they used to be a fan of something they now barely recognize. The Umbrella Academy is about when the story ends before it’s over.
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