The Umbrella Academy (TV)

[Totenkindly]

This show based on a comic book series dumped on Netflix on Friday. I watched the first five episodes today, there's five more to go. It's essentially about an incident where 43 women conceived mysteriously and gave birth in the space of a day (the same day), and an eccentric billionaire managed to adopt (aka "buy") seven of them and train them to be superheroes so to speak because most of them seem to have some kind of special ability. There's a bit of flashback but it mostly deals with them as adults, when they're all forced to reunite after abandoning their dad in adulthood. Each of them has a great deal of baggage from their childhood mainly because of how their father raised them (feeling more like test subjects than beloved children), so the series tries to address that to some degree.

My feelings so far are that it's a 7/10 series. Thematically (from the relational end) there's a similarity to "Haunting of Hill Place" -- that was also a show about kids with baggage from bad parenting, trying to heal -- but I feel like that show really dug a lot deeper and was far more nuanced. UA is definitely better than the final season of Heroes (for comparison) but just doesn't really know how to deal with the emotional elements in a really adult fashion -- it kind of dabbles around the edges, although there's some occasional good moments/lines (which I assume are lifted out of the comic).

It also has some style to it, which is cool... except it doesn't necessarily feel original, it feels derivative to some degree. Kind of like a show that wants to portray itself as original and ground-breaking but is kind of just playing off things other creative shows have done. (For example, the extensive use of music, some of which has appeared more notably in prior films or that sometimes "over-cheeses" the sequence, it's a bit too quirky.) This goes beyond style to also some of the plot points as well. There are a few "mysteries" (such as what's the deal with Vanya) that aren't really that mysterious because they seem to be playing out along the lines of what I was anticipating early on. There's been at least one character death that I saw coming from a mile away. I can discuss some of the specifics later in spoilers, to not ruin it for folks. But basically... it's fun but not quite as creative as it wants to be.

I don't want to complain TOO much because obviously I'm enjoying it enough to blitz five episodes or more in one day.... but it's not something I would probably rewatch. I think the Hazel and Cha-Cha characters have been really amusing; when I heard someone refer to them (as yet another knockoff) as Tarantino Lite, I immediately knew why they said that, but at the same time I still enjoy them in the series. The guy who plays Hazel is the same actor who plays Ed Kemper over on "Mindhunters" and I've enjoyed him on both shows now.

The actor doing the voice for Pogo (the humanized chimp) is the same guy who played Elliot on "Breaking Bad" and I've seen him in some other things. Meanwhile, the guy playing the eccentric billionaire (under the makeup) is a character actor I've seen in scores of movies -- the one I remember most is the head of the research lab from Face/Off.

The biggest name stars in the series I'm gonna guess would be Ellen Page (as Vanya) and Mary J. Blige (as Cha-Cha). The other actors are solid in their roles, and if they have trouble at times, it's the scripting and not them.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I'll give it a shot because I like Ellen Page.

 

[Totenkindly]

I asked the mods to move posts 3-7 to its own thread on "cross-casting in film and TV" since this topic can cover quite a range of demographics. So I will wait to respond in the new thread about that topic.


----

I have finished episode 8 now. I'm gonna put stuff in spoilers that is a plot killer. But essentially the season does try to be about kids screwed up by being raised by a domineering father with a particular goal in mind, to the exclusion of other things. I just wish it had gone deeper. There are seeds of something good here but the writing doesn't really know how to dig into it deeply. So I'm enjoying the series on a more-surface level but constantly feel kind of bummed it doesn't really dive in like it should.

One stellar example is episode 7, which should have a lot cathartic moments but just really fails to evoke much emotion -- it's interesting but not something that should be wrenching one's gut. Or one of the characters that Klaus is in regular contact with -- the idea was great, the execution just is kind of meaningless. And so on. Essentially the series has a bunch of plot points it wants to hit, and it wants to be stylish, but it also has a notion to be dramatic -- but the drama gets lost in the first two things, so it's hard to feel emotionally engaged.

Another thing is that the season is about two episodes too long, if you cut out a bunch of dross.

This has major spoilers, so please don't read unless you have seen up to episode 8 or don't care to watch the series:

A lot of the plot points are definitely recycled from better stories and/or movies.

Most obvious is the how Harold Jenkins is essentially just Syndrome but with less talent. If you want to rip off character motivations, you pull from other genres -- not from arguably the best superhero movie ever put out (or at least top five) that EVERYONE of most ages knows about. The entire series has plot points like this while never quite differentiating itself from the other films and shows it is cribbing; the series thus becomes more like a shorthand or pastiche of better works and never really becomes a trailblazer itself. Netflix audiences will be fine with this, and it'll make Netflix money, so they won't give a shit... but it's disappointing. I mean, Rising Stars (by Michael J. Straczynski), or Alan Moore's "America's Best" comics line or "League of Extraordinary Gentlemen" and so forth -- I see so much borrowing going on here. I guess if the audience isn't aware of it, it seems new to them, but for anyone in comics, it's not that exciting.

There's a lot of stuff that doesn't make sense logistically of course. I can have a few pages of material here, but -- how did Diego just walk out of jail, even if he somehow had a sympathizer hand him a key? (Oh that won't get someone fired.) How often do characters conveniently not just open their flipping mouths and say something immediately, that would then reduce ten minutes or more of character mishap in the show? How does a woman just shut her donut shop in the space of a day or two forever while not paying off the creditors, utilities, and all that other stuff that would come with legitimately shutting down a business? How doesn't Leonard just kill a bunch of people and/or steal their bodies / lug them around after without getting caught? (The best is when a guy we last saw in the hospital ends up in trashbags under his cabin ... the guy was huge, Leonard is small, htf did he get him out of the hospital still in his hospital garb and the whole way back to his cabin? it's all kind of reedic and sloppy.

Or like when the series doesn't trust the audience. I mean, some of this is with "mysteries" that end up being pretty predictable and thus not as shocking as the show pretends. Or when it has to waste dialogue saying stuff that an involved viewer would have figured out -- like who the dead asian teen is talking to Klaus all the time, but they have to add text to the screen to point it out. Duh. Meanwhile, we never DO figure out (at least not yet) how he died. A lot of the characters also seem fooled by things the audience is not.

Sometimes the obvious is the obvious. Like when Vanya and Leonard are jumped in the parking lot by a random gang of redneck thug -- immediately, "Oh, hey, that is convenient. I really hope it wasn't luck and that Leonard paid them off." Well, yeah... we find out pretty immediately that's what happened.

There's also stuff I don't get. Like when Hazel chains Cha-Cha to the radiator and literally says "AFTER I GOT THE ORDERS TO KILL YOU, I DECIDED I WAS DONE." And she starts calling his blonde-chick a whore, a scag, and a bunch of names just to try to make him shoot her, tells him she will hunt him down and torture/kill both if he doesn't, and after he leaves her, she proceeds to start doing just that because she doesn't want to give up the life she was living. GIRL, YOU HAVE NO LIFE TO BE LIVING. YOU JUST FOUND OUT THAT SOMEONE TRIED TO HAVE YOU AND YOUR PARTNER KILL EACH OTHER. YOUR JOB -- AS FAR AS YOU KNOW -- HAS BEEN TERMINATED AND YOU NO LONGER ARE EMPLOYED -- YOUR EMPLOYER SCREWED YOU BOTH OVER. Any normal person would be like, "Fuck them, Yeah, let's get out of here." // Of course, as we know, it was Five who issued the fake directives -- did Cha-Cha find this out off-screen? But if so, why would she still be trying to kill her partner? IOW, a weird dramatic plot blip where characters do things that make no sense.



But... here's some minor interesting bits.

Hargreaves killed himself to bring all his children home. That was a little predictable and "guessable" but would be considered a real mystery of the sort of who Jon Snow's parents are -- something the audience might piece together but isn't sure, so it's rewarding when it pans out.

Also, that Allison was involved in inhibiting Vanya's powers (the fact Vanya has powers is the biggest NON-mystery of the show; but why and how they were blocked is more legitimate); again, the suspicion was there, but it's satisfying to see it play out. A big question to me also was why didn't Hargreave just kill Vanya if she was such a threat (or HOW could he trust for years that she wouldn't miss doses of her inhibiting mental drug medicine and thus endanger the world? I mean, hell, it took only a few days for losing her meds for her to become a genuine danger, esp because she was never trained to control her powers... how could he ever trust she wouldn't voluntarily stop taking her meds, forget to pick them up, lose them on a trip, etc) -- but with Allison involved as another means of control, maybe he thought that would be enough... and shows him being perhaps a LITTLE less "rational" and actually caring about Vanya a bit because instead of doing the easy thing (lobotomizing or killing her) he continues to raise her, with that element of risk.

Also, the characters of both Allison and Vanya (interestingly, the two girls among the siblings) -- BOTH of them have made concerted efforts to not use their powers and/or use ordinary means as a way AROUND using their powers. Yes, Luther has a monkey body and has never really claimed his life for himself; Klaus has been sedating himself for years to avoid hearing the dead; Diego has a chip on his shoulder and reacts too much; and Five was lost throughout time before he could come home. Ben is dead, and we don't know how.

But we discover that Allison used her powers through much of her life, before realizing that she no longer knows what is real in her world. Everything is fake, because she MADE people do what she wanted. in the current day of the series, we only see her using her powers ONCE... and it's in episode 8, and only because she is scared that Vanya could cause a lot of destruction. She even avoids using her powers when it would be easily to manipulate the cop and hospital to find Vanya. So that's actually an interesting take on a character -- one who is refuses to use her powers on ethical grounds, even when convenient to do otherwise.

Vanya is also interesting because when she realizes she actually HAS powers, what does she do to control them? She plays the violin... her very "normal" coping mechanism to much of the disappointments of her life. I dunno. These two characters actually are not just plot contrivances, they are flying in the face of powers by choosing "normal" approaches to things.

Also, while I found Allison's death at the end of Episode 8 shocking due to its abruptness, I'm still wondering whether she will come back somehow. A lot of the Allison/Vanya relationship has been repetitive, but that moment caught me off-guard. I found that I actually do care about Allison, because she seems to be the most astute of the gang at evaluating her life, her powers, and then choosing to discipline herself for her own betterment.

 

[rav3n]

Loved the pilot! Quit partway through episode 2 since it became predictable. Klaus made me laugh since he's so tweaked out and unapologetically so.

 

[Totenkindly]

Loved the pilot! Quit partway through episode 2 since it became predictable. Klaus made me laugh since he's so tweaked out and unapologetically so.

Yeah, Klaus is a particular "character type" (the wacko, so to speak)... but I can't fault the actor, he's damn good at the role and he's amusing to watch. He gets a bit more range later in the season.

I really like the kid playing Five (who basically is in his late 50's, as a character, but when he traveled back to the present gets stuck in his 12 year old body or so). Aidan Gallagher has the right amount of confidence and chutzpah to act toe-to-toe with people 15 years older than him and he SCANS as a 60 year old guy in a kid's body. He's really great, and he's not a minor character -- he's carrying a few plot lines and is central to the main storyline.


Episode 9

Overall a decent episode.

Vanya finds the book AGAIN in this timeline (after first finding it in Episode 6, right before the rollback?) -- Leonard, dude, hide your damn book. Vanya calls him out, and it gets into a situation where Leonard seemingly goads her on so that she flips out and murders him horribly. Here is one of the typical missteps in the series -- Leonard looks SURPRISED she kills him, I think it would have been more powerful if he was trying to GET her to kill him because it would unleash her to be proactive and powerful... i.e., sacrifice himself for the greater good of empowering Vanya.

Vanya goes back to the academy (heart-broken -- she killed her sister unfairly and now killed the only guy who seemed to believe her in her, once she found out he was manipulating her. Here's a horrible moment that plays right... Luther seemingly takes her in... then smothers her until she passes out. This is the point of no return and again shows how emotionally tone-deaf Luther can be sometimes, just like his father -- Vanya was truly heart-broken and was trying to repent. Instead, Luther betrayed her trust and tossed her in a cell while she beat and screamed at the door to be let out... and wouldn't let the others release her even when Allison wanted to beat the crap out of him. Also, I couldn't tell for sure if that room had padded or METAL pointed baffles to absorb sound... but if Vanya had been heartbroken, she could have easily killed herself in that room by impaling herself. Luther, you idiot.

This all goes as expected -- the siblings outside the room have their typical squabbles, while inside Vanya resolves that her family IS scared of her, they have made choices as adults to be just like their dad, and she will never be part of the family even though she came back to them to be part of the family. She blows down the door and is free. Yeah, things just got real.

in the sideplot, Cha-Cha catches up with Agnes and Hazel and almost kills Agnes when The Handler shows up. I actually really like The Handler character. Here, she's scarred from her last run-in with Five. She lays it out for the murderous duo and assigns them to protect Vanya so that the apocalypse will happen on schedule. There's also an amusing fight with Hazel and Diego (I think in this episode?) -- where HAzel goes back to apologize and help save the universe, to save Agnes, while Diego acts like a nut and tries to kill him while Five watches them drinking a margarita. Still, the culmination of this is important, since after Five helps Hazel leave, he reminds Diego sarcastically that killing two people in revenge for Patch's death is just the thing that his dead ex (who believed in people and had a heart of gold) would so much value of course. There's a few similar threads, too, like where Ben is trying to convince Klaus to stay sober and the only thing that has an impact is reminding him that DAVE would not want him to do so. (Dave is Klaus' dead lover, from the year he spent in Vietnam. Yeah. Long story... but this appears in episode 5-6.)

Relationships can be used to manipulate for evil and/or violated, but also sometimes we as people do things because someone who we love would want us to do them... we do things to honor/show love back in return. It's always such a fine line of good vs bad. I like it when the show points out the positive aspects of trying to honor those we love.

Episode 10:

To summarize, the first season goes in a direction I expected by the end of episode 2 or so: Vanya has powers, they are dangerous powers, and she's actually the cause of the impending apocalypse, putting the siblings in a bind. Do they kill her and save 7 billion people, or do they risk letting her live and destroying the earth potentially? It's not easy to decide.

There's a flashback to a young Hargreeves and it seems like he's actually an alien (?!) because that does not look like earth. The woman he loved was also dying and she gave him her violin -- which gives a richer subtext to the old bastard. Basically, (1) he's not exactly human, so can we expect him to behave like one? (2) he suffered lost in the past and maybe this kept him from wanting to connect (3) he has seen a world end and doesn't want to see another end and (4) the violin is actually a precious object to him, it's what his lost love gave him, and he... gave it to Vanya. Vanya does not know the value of the gift, but Hargreeves gives it to her and approves of her learning... maybe suggesting that he actually does love Vanya more than his abusive behavior would suggest.

[I appreciate that the show is TRYING at least to get into this grey territory of how abusive parents sometimes still feel love for their kids... and this is why the past can be so traumatic and hard to shrug off. The brain simply doesn't know how to process the ambiguous mess of emotion.]

When she escapes her cell, Vanya very understandably brings down the house, full of shitty childhood memories. She also murders Pogo for his past complicity with her father -- and you can see Pogo knows it's coming and he's trading his life to save the siblings. "Mom" also goes down too.

Vanya decides to go to her performance that night as first chair. her siblings decide they have to stop her, although Allison doesn't want to kill her. (But hey all that testosterone is flowing, ha ha -- it has to be a fight. It's funny how most of the guys are acting like their cold, rational father rather than on relationship.)

Despite all this, there's a wonderful scene where Luther calls Chloe (Allison's daughter) and when Allison drops the notepad in a crowded booth so that Luther can no longer be fed the lines to repeat, he improvises... and shows he really was listening when Allison was sharing her heart with him in prior episodes. It's amazing this same guy can be such a freaking moron when it comes to other emotional issues in the family, including dealing with Vanya.

Hazel ditches Cha-Cha and goes back to kill the Handler and save Agnes... although in the end it might not matter. Cha-Cha is almost killed by Diego, who spares her when he remembers what Five told him previously.

Anyway, there's a big fight at the concert. Klaus finally materializes Ben, who uses his tentacles to stop the time-guardian hit men. (No longer a third wheel, huh, Klaus?) But they can't stop Vanya who grabs them all telekinetically while still violining on stage alone, now that everyone fled the room. Allison has an opportunity to shoot her point blank in the back of the head and ... just can't. (Good girl.) She fires the gun next to Vanya's ear, which disrupts her concentration and she passes out. But as shes lying there, all that energy has to go somewhere. It blasts up through the skyview and .... hits the moon. Damn. The moon starts to fragment and pieces of it fall to the earth as asteroids. The apocalypse is coming right on schedule.

Five decides he will try to teleport ALL of them (including Vanya) in time to get to a safe place and try again to prevent the end of the world. He pulls this off... but they might ALL revert to children this time. Not sure. They disappear. The world ends. Season ends.

 

[rav3n]

Yeah, Klaus is a particular "character type" (the wacko, so to speak)... but I can't fault the actor, he's damn good at the role and he's amusing to watch. He gets a bit more range later in the season.

I really like the kid playing Five (who basically is in his late 50's, as a character, but when he traveled back to the present gets stuck in his 12 year old body or so). Aidan Gallagher has the right amount of confidence and chutzpah to act toe-to-toe with people 15 years older than him and he SCANS as a 60 year old guy in a kid's body. He's really great, and he's not a minor character -- he's carrying a few plot lines and is central to the main storyline.


Episode 9

Overall a decent episode.

Vanya finds the book AGAIN in this timeline (after first finding it in Episode 6, right before the rollback?) -- Leonard, dude, hide your damn book. Vanya calls him out, and it gets into a situation where Leonard seemingly goads her on so that she flips out and murders him horribly. Here is one of the typical missteps in the series -- Leonard looks SURPRISED she kills him, I think it would have been more powerful if he was trying to GET her to kill him because it would unleash her to be proactive and powerful... i.e., sacrifice himself for the greater good of empowering Vanya.

Vanya goes back to the academy (heart-broken -- she killed her sister unfairly and now killed the only guy who seemed to believe her in her, once she found out he was manipulating her. Here's a horrible moment that plays right... Luther seemingly takes her in... then smothers her until she passes out. This is the point of no return and again shows how emotionally tone-deaf Luther can be sometimes, just like his father -- Vanya was truly heart-broken and was trying to repent. Instead, Luther betrayed her trust and tossed her in a cell while she beat and screamed at the door to be let out... and wouldn't let the others release her even when Allison wanted to beat the crap out of him. Also, I couldn't tell for sure if that room had padded or METAL pointed baffles to absorb sound... but if Vanya had been heartbroken, she could have easily killed herself in that room by impaling herself. Luther, you idiot.

This all goes as expected -- the siblings outside the room have their typical squabbles, while inside Vanya resolves that her family IS scared of her, they have made choices as adults to be just like their dad, and she will never be part of the family even though she came back to them to be part of the family. She blows down the door and is free. Yeah, things just got real.

in the sideplot, Cha-Cha catches up with Agnes and Hazel and almost kills Agnes when The Handler shows up. I actually really like The Handler character. Here, she's scarred from her last run-in with Five. She lays it out for the murderous duo and assigns them to protect Vanya so that the apocalypse will happen on schedule. There's also an amusing fight with Hazel and Diego (I think in this episode?) -- where HAzel goes back to apologize and help save the universe, to save Agnes, while Diego acts like a nut and tries to kill him while Five watches them drinking a margarita. Still, the culmination of this is important, since after Five helps Hazel leave, he reminds Diego sarcastically that killing two people in revenge for Patch's death is just the thing that his dead ex (who believed in people and had a heart of gold) would so much value of course. There's a few similar threads, too, like where Ben is trying to convince Klaus to stay sober and the only thing that has an impact is reminding him that DAVE would not want him to do so. (Dave is Klaus' dead lover, from the year he spent in Vietnam. Yeah. Long story... but this appears in episode 5-6.)

Relationships can be used to manipulate for evil and/or violated, but also sometimes we as people do things because someone who we love would want us to do them... we do things to honor/show love back in return. It's always such a fine line of good vs bad. I like it when the show points out the positive aspects of trying to honor those we love.

Episode 10:

To summarize, the first season goes in a direction I expected by the end of episode 2 or so: Vanya has powers, they are dangerous powers, and she's actually the cause of the impending apocalypse, putting the siblings in a bind. Do they kill her and save 7 billion people, or do they risk letting her live and destroying the earth potentially? It's not easy to decide.

There's a flashback to a young Hargreeves and it seems like he's actually an alien (?!) because that does not look like earth. The woman he loved was also dying and she gave him her violin -- which gives a richer subtext to the old bastard. Basically, (1) he's not exactly human, so can we expect him to behave like one? (2) he suffered lost in the past and maybe this kept him from wanting to connect (3) he has seen a world end and doesn't want to see another end and (4) the violin is actually a precious object to him, it's what his lost love gave him, and he... gave it to Vanya. Vanya does not know the value of the gift, but Hargreeves gives it to her and approves of her learning... maybe suggesting that he actually does love Vanya more than his abusive behavior would suggest.

[I appreciate that the show is TRYING at least to get into this grey territory of how abusive parents sometimes still feel love for their kids... and this is why the past can be so traumatic and hard to shrug off. The brain simply doesn't know how to process the ambiguous mess of emotion.]

When she escapes her cell, Vanya very understandably brings down the house, full of shitty childhood memories. She also murders Pogo for his past complicity with her father -- and you can see Pogo knows it's coming and he's trading his life to save the siblings. "Mom" also goes down too.

Vanya decides to go to her performance that night as first chair. her siblings decide they have to stop her, although Allison doesn't want to kill her. (But hey all that testosterone is flowing, ha ha -- it has to be a fight. It's funny how most of the guys are acting like their cold, rational father rather than on relationship.)

Despite all this, there's a wonderful scene where Luther calls Chloe (Allison's daughter) and when Allison drops the notepad in a crowded booth so that Luther can no longer be fed the lines to repeat, he improvises... and shows he really was listening when Allison was sharing her heart with him in prior episodes. It's amazing this same guy can be such a freaking moron when it comes to other emotional issues in the family, including dealing with Vanya.

Hazel ditches Cha-Cha and goes back to kill the Handler and save Agnes... although in the end it might not matter. Cha-Cha is almost killed by Diego, who spares her when he remembers what Five told him previously.

Anyway, there's a big fight at the concert. Klaus finally materializes Ben, who uses his tentacles to stop the time-guardian hit men. (No longer a third wheel, huh, Klaus?) But they can't stop Vanya who grabs them all telekinetically while still violining on stage alone, now that everyone fled the room. Allison has an opportunity to shoot her point blank in the back of the head and ... just can't. (Good girl.) She fires the gun next to Vanya's ear, which disrupts her concentration and she passes out. But as shes lying there, all that energy has to go somewhere. It blasts up through the skyview and .... hits the moon. Damn. The moon starts to fragment and pieces of it fall to the earth as asteroids. The apocalypse is coming right on schedule.

Five decides he will try to teleport ALL of them (including Vanya) in time to get to a safe place and try again to prevent the end of the world. He pulls this off... but they might ALL revert to children this time. Not sure. They disappear. The world ends. Season ends.

Yeah, he's very believable in that role. So far that I've watched, they're way under-utilized Ellen Page. She's got acting chops when provided with a meaty role.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah, he's very believable in that role. So far that I've watched, they're way under-utilized Ellen Page. She's got acting chops when provided with a meaty role.

Yeah, her character doesn't do much at first, then slowly picks up throughout the season. She's pretty involved in the last few episodes and Page gets her opportunities to shine.

 

[Hellena Handbasket]

I watched the first episode. It looks interesting and they managed to use two of my favorite songs with I Think We're Alone Now and Instanbul, so points for that.
I really like both the characters of 5 and Klaus.
I'll probably finish watching it as I get time.
I'm glad to hear they give Ellen Page more to work with later in the season.

 

[anticlimatic]

I'll give it a shot because I like Ellen Page.

I gave it a shot despite hating Ellen Page, and I enjoyed it thoroughly- plot holes stolen ideas and all.

Does the comic rip off The Adjustment Bureau or is it the other way around?

 

[Z Buck McFate]

I like Ellen Page in characters that benefit from her quirky flat affect, but I didn't think this was one of them. (I've not seen Juno, and I can't remember where else I've seen her - but I do remember seeing her in roles that used her apathetic brand of quirkiness well). I liked the series - especially Klaus - but I kinda felt like there could have been so much more to Vanya.

 

[Z Buck McFate]

Aidan Gallagher has the right amount of confidence and chutzpah to act toe-to-toe with people 15 years older than him and he SCANS as a 60 year old guy in a kid's body. He's really great, and he's not a minor character -- he's carrying a few plot lines and is central to the main storyline.

Yeah, for me, this kid^ and Klaus made it worth watching. Hazel and Cha Cha were pretty good icing on the Five and Klaus cake.

 

[Totenkindly]

Yeah, for me, this kid^ and Klaus made it worth watching. Hazel and Cha Cha were pretty good icing on the Five and Klaus cake.

I think they were pulled in from the second comic arc. (There were two arcs completed and I think a third is being worked on?) I have only seen a few panels, but I read a bit about it. I'm wondering if this is one of those situations where the show seems more polished than the comics, I think season one seems to humanize the first arc of the comic far more. (Kind of how I felt about Kick-Ass -- I have read the first arc and I didn't like it much, but I really like the movie; I cared a lot more about the characters in the film version.)

All being said, this will probably mean a second season of Umbrella Academy will be a lot more off-book.

I like Ellen Page in characters that benefit from her quirky flat affect, but I didn't think this was one of them. (I've not seen Juno, and I can't remember where else I've seen her - but I do remember seeing her in roles that used her apathetic brand of quirkiness well). I liked the series - especially Klaus - but I kinda felt like there could have been so much more to Vanya.

She was written pretty straight here -- not a lot of quirk, really.

She was in Hard Candy, which I haven't seen. I did see her in Inception, but I don't think she played a quirky character there -- she was pretty much "the voice of reason" in the film, as far as Ariadne's role, guiding Cobb to make healthy decisions in a therapeutic sense.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Watched the first episode. I really liked it. It was as though a deconstruction of X-Men was directed by someone who really likes Wes Anderson.

I like the fact that people's powers seem to influence their personalities. Like, Three's ability to talk to the dead made him kind of a goth. Seven's lack of powers made her an overachiever, I sense. Not really sure what 1 or 2's powers really are besides one being big and good at fighting, and the other one being normal-sized and good at fighting.

By the way, I don't agree with people who said Ellen Page really didn't have anything to do at first. I mean, she definitely wasn't the main character, but I'm not really sure there is one. I think that's an interesting kind of character to have in that setting. I kind of hope she doesn't eventually discover she has special abilities after all. I think that would make her less interesting, although perhaps there's some way that could still work that I haven't thought of.

Also, I got the impression this show wasn't about a bunch of kids, but it's actually about what happened when they grew up. I think I was misled because the trailer seemed to place a lot of emphasis on Five, who only looks like a kid.

 

[badatlife]

I binged this in 2 days I loved it. I don't usually like these kinds of shows (marvel/super hero) so this was a first for me. So entertaining... I think #7 is my favorite. I also loved the scenes where hazel and cha cha dressed up in the animal costumes, haha. Hilarious. I HATED #1 towards the end-he's the dumb/hard-headed character who ultimately caused all this. It was his fault when he charged at the director at the end of the performance which triggered #7. I hope in the time travel arc she keeps her super powers. It was bad ass!

 

[Totenkindly]

Hell's bells.

The guy playing grown-up Luther played Dickon Tarly on GoT Season 7.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

Hell's bells.

The guy playing grown-up Luther played Dickon Tarly on GoT Season 7.

I noticed that, too. The actor kind of looks like a little like a taller, more muscular version of me or my cousin, actually, IMO, at least in this (it doesn't really strike me when I google the actor, but it does when I watch the show). It's a little weird.

Oh, and I'm actually ok with the way things are turning out with Vanya, because of what they're doing with it. I find myself able to predict a lot of the twists so far, but I'm enjoying it nevertheless. There was a bit at the beginning of the last episode I watched where they spent too long on a reveal after anyone watching would have already figured it out. Although I actually speculated about something like that before I even saw it.