Umbrella Academy Showrunner Addresses Incest Criticisms
Netflix's The Umbrella Academy is a series that has been well-received fans and critics alike, but [...]
Netflix's The Umbrella Academy is a series that has been well-received fans and critics alike, but while the show has drawn praise for its twists, emotional elements, visuals, and even it's widely varied soundtrack, there's one thing that fans just haven't been able to get behind: perceived incest. The relationship between Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Luther (Tom Hopper) is seen by some viewers as problematic at worst and just weird at best because the two characters are siblings, at least in the legal sense of the term. Now, series showrunner Steve Blackman is addressing the criticism.
In an interview with Digital Spy, Blackman explained how the show itself acknowledges the unusual relationship, and also noted that because the pair aren't biologically related, they're only "sort of" siblings.
"I wanted to say to people, 'Look, they're not biological siblings, but yes, it's weird that they grew up together," Blackman said. "But they didn't have a typical childhood."
"But, yes, are they siblings?" he continued. "Sort of. But they're also not biologically related, and there's such a puppy love story. You know, I don't know if it's real love. It might feel like real love to them. But it's sort of a kid love from growing up together, and beautiful moments from their past where they hung out together."
No matter the relationship situation, fans of The Umbrella Academy loved season two, if the chatter on social media is any indication an while the season only recently debuted on Netflix, fans are already hopeful for a third season. However, the streaming service has not yet committed to a Season 3. Blackman said at CTAM (via Decider's Alex Zaiben) that Netflix has not yet committed to a third season of The Umbrella Academy and he hasn't completely made plans for the continuation but is hopeful for a pickup.
You can check out ComicBook.com's review of Season 2 here.
"If the first season of Umbrella Academy was about learning to live with your family's dysfunction and coming together to overcome your troubled past, season 2 is about making peace with yourself. It's integral for the characters in the series to find a way to live with themselves and where they are while also existing outside of a group," our Spencer Perry wrote. "There's certainly an air of similarity in how it handles the dynamic of the family from the first season, but the individual journeys on display carry the weight more than the group as a whole."
"Overall, The Umbrella Academy's second season expands on its idea in fun ways while giving us more of what we love about its titular team," he added. "Some moments of plot manipulation or slowness in the pacing bring it down a hair from its first season, but fans will find a lot to love about this new batch of episodes. And as expected, it has a killer soundtrack once again."
What do you think? Do you see Allison and Luther's relationship as being incestuous? What did you think about The Umbrella Academy Season 2? Are you hopeful for a Season 3? Let us know in the comments below.
Seasons 1 and 2 of The Umbrella Academy are now streaming on Netflix.