#I really hate what they did with Klaus and Ben in s4

[bluesyjean]

Truly insane to think that two characters who were literally inseparable in s1-2 (Klaus and Ben) share zero one-on-one screen time in s4. Or even seem to care at all about each other before they go on horrible journeys that WoULd have benefitted from a wingman.

Yeah yeah yeah, it’s a different Ben, but by the end of s3 we had Klaus be the one to convince the siblings to give this new asshole-version a chance. They obviously still want to include him in the family. Why did we not have Klaus give a shit when Ben ran off on his own?? WHY was he never even able to find out how HIS Ben died when the rest of them did??? (He SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE for that jfc. Your cartoon mafia characters were not more interesting.)

The choices in s4 are baffling.

Klaus was the key to getting people on board with Sparrow!Ben. It was a horrific choice to remove him from that story so he could have his massively traumatic side quest that had nothing to do with the main plot and I’m mad about it.

[phantomantz]

some changes i would have made to the characters storylines in tua s4

disclaimer: i am no writer, it's just fun to think about the possibilities. btw anyone feel free to use any of these ideas for fics idc

lila doesn't cheat for starters. instead she and diego have both been secretly doing vigilante missions and keeping it from the other because they think they'll be mad. on one of these missions the two run into each other and rekindle their spark. basically the five and lila story but with diego and lila instead thanks. maybe one or both of them almost die or their kids are put in danger, and they decide to find a much less dangerous hobby, because while its thrilling in the moment they realize they wouldn't sacrifice their family for it

luther is shown to be much more depressed about sloanes absence (if there really is no way for her to come back) but he's trying to hold it together to be there for his family. would be nice if he bonded with characters like klaus, viktor or allison who have also lost their lovers. diego and lila shenanigans means they need luther to babysit a lot and luther finds happiness caring for his nieces and nephew. maybe he also finds a fulfilling job where he can meet a lot of people and help others.

five still finds the time subway but without lila. we get more time exploring the alternate timelines and seeing different ways the apocalypse has happened including ways the other sibs have ended the world. his PTSD and reliving his trauma is also explored. he eventually ends up in the five diner where he's told that they end the world every time but instead of excepting defeat and making everyone sacrifice themselves he finds another way (what exactly that is im not so sure) and becomes the first and only five to successfully prevent the apocalypse forever

allisons relationship with claire and ray are explored more heavily as well as everything she did in s3. i like the idea that she takes care of klaus because 1: hes the only sibling that will still talk to her and 2: because of the guilt she feels after getting him killed. i just wish her arc focused on something OTHER than saving klaus because thats basically all she did this season. would be nice if she spent more time with viktor and luther the two people she wronged most heavily in s3.

i would keep viktors confrontation with reggie but alternatively i would make this reginald umbrella reginald so it has much more weight to it. either that or have viktor express that even though he said his piece toward this reggie he will never actually get closure with their real father and nothing will remove the pain from his childhood. the rest i would keep pretty similar. reginald wants to kill ben and viktor wants to stop him at any cost. viktor knows what its like to be "the bomb" and doesn't want the same thing that happened to him to happen to ben. instead of working together to find ben however they're more in a race against eachother. maybe allison joins him and they make up on the way. i would have liked for ben and viktor to have had a heart to heart in the beginning of the season, maybe about how ben felt like a monster sometimes because of his powers, and viktor relating. idk how this would work with sparrow ben because he doesn't seem to hate his powers the same way brelly ben did but it would have been nice to show another reason why viktor is going through so much trouble to save him. and the ending where he trys to talk him down would be more impactful i think.

for klaus i would keep everything pretty much the same up until he runs into that quinn guy. instead i would have him travel to the subway with five in lilas place. five and klaus' powers are the most mind boggling out of the bunch not to mention time and death are inherently intertwined and this needed to be explored. also, you're telling me klaus literally has the power to talk to GOD and this never has any plot relevance???? klaus should have been involved in finding the solution to the apocalypse imo. also we needed klaus and ben interactions. idk how or when but it NEEDED to happen

ben and jennifer being the catalyst for the apocalypse is making it very hard for me to figure what to do with him tbh. i just wish he had more time with the other sibs and didn't turn into a horrific blob monster at the end 😭he felt less like a character this season and more like a plot device and he deserved to have some scenes that actually fleshed him out. it would have been cool if the reason he causes the apocalypse was actually because of his powers and not just because he happened to be the one to make skin contact with jennifer. i really thought that the twist was gonna be that the squid that jennifer was stuck in was the one that ben summons and that was why they were connected. not the fact that they both just had reactive magic particles in them that anyone could have set off. like what if jennifer being cut out of the squid was what killed ben?

OH! what if jennifer was an eldritch horror from the same dimension that bens tentacles are from and for some reason she wants to kill the brellys/end the world and because bens powers are linked to her she can control his mind ???? c'mon i feel like i've got something here

a have a couple of other ideas but don't know where they would fit in rn so yeah.

[phantasmicfish]

Long ranty list of stuff that majorly Sucked in s4 of tua:

- number one thing I loathe is the convenient way tua got their powers back. We get this brief vignette of them without their powers in episode 1, and then by the end of the episode they conveniently find the marigold and *voila* have powers. Where were the stakes? The consequences? Show me TUA struggling to adjust to powerless life. Five annoyed that he has to use the stairs to climb a four story building. Diego failing to chop expertly w knives. Luther struggling to open jars idk give me something. Don’t just do a six year time skip and ignore the mundane!

- Adding onto ^ that I feel like it would make more sense to me if we saw TUA without their powers for maybe 3 eps in s4, and they go through a mini Journey to get them back. Instead it’s like the entire hook of the s3 finale is immediately resolved in episode 1, it annoys me to no end

- Five working for the CIA I sorta get… cuz it’s sorta what he did with The Commission. So now unmoored and powerless he’d probably go back to that lifestyle. But Five, paranoid violent genius in the room Five, not noticing the completely obvious umbrella tattoo on his bosses wrist?

- Jennifer being introduced, immediately shrugging off the fact that her entire town was murdered/a Truman Show sham, and joining Ben with basically zero questions

- Jennifer getting no character arc beyond she was born in a squid and she loves Ben

- Getting zero recognition that Reginald is an alien. Like. Hello?? You just found out your pos father is AN ALIEN! Are the siblings seriously not going to talk about this

- Also what year is s4 set in. Why do they always dial rotary phones but mention cryptocurrency? What is this universe where everybody knows Reginald and he’s colloquially referred to as “the elite?” Are Reginald and Abigail the… President and Vice President? King and Queen? Just some people who started a massive corporation and got rich?

- No mention of Grace is criminal. It would have made waaaaay more sense if the lady who played Abigail was actually played by Grace. And it would add some heart to Reginald as a character too. Otherwise, instead of secretly loving Grace his alien wife, Grace is just some woman who was alive in the 60s and Reginald made a replica robot mom of her in 2019. For some reason. Idk I feel like the puzzle pieces were all laid out and for some reason TUA writers did not assemble them

- No mention of Pogo or Ray is also incredibly disappointing. Allison betrayed her siblings in order to be with Clair AND with Ray in one universe, but he’s not even in s4. Why even included him in the end of s3 then

- Okay maybe I’m pulling a blank but who tf is Quinn? Why does he know Klaus? Why does he hate Klaus so much?

- Why does Claire know Klaus is immortal? Why is all of sudden cool w her mom having eye glowy powers? You have no questions about that Claire huh…

- It also made sense to me that Lila and Diego would hate domestic life… and to me it seemed like even introducing their kids (not one, but three) was sort of silly. We only really saw Grace at the birthday party and then it seemed like Lila and Diego would forget and then remember the kids existed at weird parts

- Five and Lila giving up searching for a way out of the subway stations six years in seemed sus. Yes, take a break/eat strawberries but why would you stop searching for a way back? You’re supposed to be the best agents in the commission so like… where did that grit/determination go

- Ben dying and being mutated with zero understanding of what was happening to him… just sucked

[maarigolds]

Since we all know how much of a shitshow umbrella academy s4 was, let's revisit the good old days. Here's my reaction to ep1 s1, which I haven't seen in like 5 years:

We're starting off strong with the sudden pregnancy scene: this is how you get the viewer's attention

Cunty shot of Reggie walking with the seven nannies and the seven baby carriers

Viktor playing the violin while all the other characters are introduced 10/10 stunning no notes

Rehab worker saying "We'll see you soon Klaus" and him immediatly overdosing and being reanimated in the ambulance. Now we know he probably just came back to life by himself!

"You got big, Luther! What's your secret, protein shakes?"

Pogo!!! I missed you, you ape butler!

Baby Viktor leaving sandwitches for Five 🥺🥺🥺

Klaus-Allison alliance going strong since the beginning I see

"Did you see Diego?" "Yeah, with that stupid outfit" "Do you think he wears that thing in the shower?" I love siblings being siblings

Ok I had forgotten about the Allison and Luther thing. Maybe it wasn't ALL great.

"Dad, could you just stop playing tennis with Hitler for a moment and take a quick call?"

"Ok, sorry, I'm just gonna go murder mom, I'll be right back"

Klaus is seriously the best

Bank robbery flashback!!!

"Guns are for sissies! Real men throw knives!"

"That's one badass StApLeR" god I miss five's voice cracks so much

*Ben covered in blood* "Can we go home now?"

Back to the present with Klaus spilling Reggie's ashes lmao

I THINK WE'RE ALONE NOW AKA BEST DANCE SCENE IN TV SHOW HISTORY

No seriously Diego absolutely killing it, Luther doing the hand-krabs, Klaus dancing with the urne

And then boom! Five is back! Honestly iconic entrance

Also Klaus trying to stop a temporal anomaly with a fire extinguisher whyyyy lmao

Five interrupting his speech about the future to look Klaus up and down and 100% seriously say "nice dress"

Klaus responding with "ah, danke"

"That makes no sense" "well, it would if you were smarter"

Also unrelated but Viktor being such a shy wallflower in s1... he's come such a long way!!!

Luther throwing reggie's ashes on the ground "probably would have been better with some wind"

Luther and Diego beating the crap out each other. Viktor: "stop it!" Klaus: "hit him!"

Also Klaus trying to protect Five and him having none of it, too cute

"An entire square block, 42 bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, and not one single drop of coffee" "dad hated caffeine" "well he hated children too, and he had plenty of us!"

"Alright, guess I'll see you guys in another ten years, when Pogo dies" Diego please 💀💀

"You know, every time I close my eyes I see a diarrheatic hyppo about to shit on my face" this was robert sheehan improvising and honestly what the fuck how does someone even come up with that

The Istanbul was constantinople fight was honestly art. This was really the moment I knew I would love this show with all of my heart. Also masterful way to show exactly who Five is in just a couple of minutes

BEN!!! I MISS OG BEN SO MUCH!!! He was baby

Five going to Viktor when he needed help. Honestly we should have gotten more of them being besties it was so good

"The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it" and that's how you end a first episode! I'm hooked! Except I'm not cause I know how it ends 🫠

Well this is it. This show was honestly so good in the beginning. I have no clue what happened. At least we'll always have season 1.

[thelesbianluthor]

My issue with TUA s4 is that I don't mind the concept of it all. Jennifer and Ben being intertwined and somehow destined to bring the cleanse or die to avoid that.

I feel like there was some potential there to be explored and I enjoyed certain aspects if I look at it in isolation.

But maybe it's because they didn't feel like they had enough time to develop any idea so they did nothing for most of those 6 episodes.

Separating the characters in groups/duos/alone before reuniting at the end is the usual formula. But they did nothing of value for the whole time ?

I enjoyed what I enjoyed bc I like the cast and the vibe of the show, even when they have clearly no idea on what they wanted to do.

It was mediocre when it wasn't bad just because the actors are good at their job.

Now the Lila and Five thing. I can understand from a human standpoint that spending seven years alone with someone you care for and you connect with bc of your very similar life experience and past can push you to find comfort in each other and blurring the lines.

Was it completely unnecessary? It was. Especially with how they treated Diego's character this season honestly.

If they really had wanted it to happen they should not have leaned into the romanticism like I really do not think that they would actually fall for each other. Finding comfort in the only other person who is also someone you know is one thing but actually falling for them? That's something that really doesn't make sense to me for those characters.

Well either way it was unnecessary and could have easily never have happened because it legit did not add anything to a season where nothing happened and that's saying much.

Side note is that I hate how they turned Luther's body dysmorphia into a joke. I didn't even like Luther in s1 but they leaned so heavily into making him the comedic relief for the wrong reasons and I hate that. They did it a lot with Diego too this season and Klaus ofc.

I swear the characters were either used as laughing stock because of their trauma or not doing much? And then they just disappeared from existence. It made the ending not hit all from even though in another circumstance I would have been bawling at seeing them gone.

Viktor and Allison got the best end of the deal by at least having Reginald and Claire as their counterparts to talk to and explore a bit of their relationships.

It's sad to see a show that I have loved since its first season go down like this honestly. I wish we had the chance of a better farewell. The cast also deserved better storylines and a better goodbye to something that was a big a part of their life for years.

[just-b-wilde]

I saw seven episodes of the third season...

Okay, in the context of things, season three is much better than I remember. And my main takeaway? There are a lot of hints in season three about where season four, and even the finale, will lead. But maybe more on that later.

What do I like about season 3?

Five and Lila - of course! I love their scenes.

Sloane and Luther - oh my gosh, I fell in love with those two in my fiction and now I enjoy them even more.

Klaus - honestly, his scenes with Reginald are actually interesting! Yes, Reginald is still a bit of a bastard, but it's actually nice to see him interact with "one of his kids" somehow more.

I liked the debate between Five and Victor when he told him what he did to get them back. God, Aidan is such a great actor! He can evoke authority and respect, just like his character should be able to. I like that a lot.

I liked when Lila talked about time travel and the necessary point to focus on. Haha, say hello to S4.

Oh, and I also liked the trip of Five and Victor!

And what don't I like about the season 3?

After how great Ben is in S2, Ben from S3 is like a kick in the gut.

I remember now why I have a problem with Allison.

The Harlen story. Harlen is like "I have no idea how to live with my powers" and then he seems like someone who teaches Victor because he can control it better than he can? Like… what? And then the thing with Allison? I mean, on the one hand, I get it, but I have a weird feeling about it.

Victor seems awfully whiny to me. I wouldn't mind it in a woman, but I really hate it in a man. Sorry.

I'm not a big fan of the Stanley plot.

And I would also like to say… it's nice to see Lila and Diego working together, isn't it? Except not at all! God, what was that? Lila was worried about Stanley, but instead of looking for him, she was eating sushi? They can't agree on anything and even Diego put them in danger (but yes, it's true, who knew how dangerous a bell could be, right?). Could they survive more than a week on the subway when Diego managed to lose two fingers in five minutes? 😅 Am I biased towards their relationship? Well, maybe… a little. But in that scene, neither of them proved to be a capable parent, and their cooperation was questionable. Besides, Stanley was really a kid with a lot of problems. Diego wouldn't say half a word to Lila about it? Well, they're all kind of mentally disturbed over there, so why am I surprised.

Yes, Lila and Five may hate each other (but honestly, after the bathroom scene, I don't even get that feeling) but they can work together and surprisingly, they can respect each other. Five is still more of an authority figure to her than anyone else in the family. Lila is not stupid or incompetent, but she is often very distracted. I think Five can kind of keep her grounded and let her fly at the same time. I don't know a better way to describe it. But he's never surprised at her behavior or what she says or does. But Diego, he doesn't understand her behavior almost most of the time. They're not often on the same frequency (maybe so when they're in bed together).

I'll continue tomorrow.

[nariko-senpai]

So... Just finished watching S4 of umbrella academy (im late as hell but I was watching it with my dad he likes watching episodes in one sitting idk) and hm. Just hm.

I'm going to make a list of the stuff I liked and then the stuff I didn't like, but these lists are going to be unbalanced as heck cause wtf was that season.

Stuff I liked

Ben and Jennifer (they were really cute together and I liked how they interacted with one another)

Jennifer's role in the season (it was an interesting storyline with how she was the opposite to the family and how she and Ben caused the end of the world Yadda Yadda)

The Timeline Subway (badass, made sense too imo)

The upgrade in the powers/getting the powers back(cool seeing them upgrade with new stuff but I'm going to go into the weird stuff of it too)

Sober Klaus (I'm just happy for him tbh)

Claire (she was such a baddie)

The Cleanse (Having a one true timeline and having these ordinary people try to save the timeline was interesting to watch)

Stuff I didn't like/Confused me/Hated

Explicit vomiting (what was the point of that it was foul)

Baby shark being played a million fucking times (it was funny the first two, annoying the rest)

Plotholes galore (how tf did Jennifer end up in the squid? Why didn't Umbrella Ben tell Klaus how he died? How tf are the kids still alive in the timeline if their parents got erased for existence?)

Fatphobic jokes towards Diego (he's literally buffer then most of the characters stfu he's cute)

Nuking Diego's character in general (he did not deserve any of that shit)

The power upgrade (Specifically why did Luther get his ape body back even though it had nothing to do with his powers and why did Lila get laser eyes it doesn't even have anything to do with her og power)

Five and Lila 🤮 (separate post because there's so much to say about this)

Five, Lila, Diego love triangle.

Changing Five's character

Forgetting about important side characters (Wtf happened to Sloane, Ray, Sisi, Dave they were barely mentioned)

Klaus succumbing back to drugs, alcohol ect...

Luther being a stripper was a new low honestly.

Heaps more but omg I want to forget about this season and pretend everyone is happy together and Reginald got blown up.

[c0ffee-gh0ul]

TUA S4 SPOILERS!

i finished s4. here are my notes, and some questions (which may have already been answered in the episodes but maybe i wasnt paying enough attention sorry)

- WTF FIVE AND LILA EW

- how come they were all just gonna let lila go and be with her family but like thats diego and allison's kids too!!

- the "perfect timeline" thing at the end was DEFINITELY a metaphor for the afterlife esp bc we saw ppl who died in past seasons like grace and pogo and the handler

- but why was pogo suddenly a human he cant be a monkey in the afterlife? well i guess that was his power and no one has powers in the afterlife

- i really did hate the ending but also i have no clue how else the show couldve ended, bc this entire time its just been "the world is ending, lets just go to a different timeline!" and you cant possibly keep that going forever so it was kinda perfect

- i didnt like klaus's storyline this season at all. he deserved better

- luther was HILARIOUS this season ngl. love his character development

- viktor was the best part of the whole show but he should have just killed reginald when he had the chance (even though he technically wasnt the og reginald but still)

- diego has been thru enough shit bro why did lila and five have to do that to him

- are there still other timelines with worlds ending or did the ogs dying stop all of that? what happened to the other fives after the cleanse?

- i know ben's death was erased from their minds and we finally got to see what happened but didnt s1 nod at something different? correct me if im wrong but i swear they were saving a bank from being robbed and ben went into a different room with glass windows that were glazed over and suddenly we just saw tentacles explode onto the windows. was that the memory that was put into their heads originally?? or did they just have no memory of it at all??

- also what was sy trying to achieve that jean and gene weren't already doing? that really confused me

- why were five and lila so conveniently able to blink into the dept store that ONE time but any other time they wanted to blink they went straight to the subway. seems a little odd and inconsistent

- why so much vomit this season?

- i still dont know where they live bc i thought it was nyc but theres no WAY nyc is 13+ hrs away from maine

- baby shark was already annoying but tua made it 1000x more which i didnt know was possible

- soundtrack this season SUCKED ASS there was barely any music at all and the music they chose was horrible

- i wonder what would've happened if reginald didnt kill the og ben and jennifer. would the cleanse have happened way sooner?

- wait but how did jennifer even get durango in her body was she also the result of a miraculous birth like the others w the marigold?

[mino491]

I genuinely belive that the writers this season just forgot everything about this show,,,

here are just the examples of things that were really confusing this season:

>Klaus either can't conjure ghosts anymore or for some messed up reason would rather have a ghost possess him and have sex with his (the ghost's) wife rather than the lesser of two evils which would've been to just conjure him and let them do whatever they wanted.

The ghosts clearly aren't Klaus's puppets and can do what they please while corporeal (like when Ben tackles Klaus in s2) so why didn't he just let the ghost get nasty instead of letting him possess him, something that he himself says is super violating WHEN TALKING ABOUT HIS BROTHER WHO HE MUST TRUST and not even considering some random man possessing him.

>Quinn somehow just knows that Klaus has powers, can talk to ghosts, AND can be possessed ???

>Quinn doesn't freak the fuck out when he sees Klaus just floating

>Klaus, within 6 years, starts using and doesn't stop for 3 years until he gets sober and just randomly becomes a germaphobe?

I totally understand him being afraid of death from the get-go but why does it take 3 years (i assume because he's been sober for that long) for him to really understand that he can die? Does that mean that he was just really suicidal for 3 years and didn't care if he died until he found Allison and Claire? The writers touch on this when Klaus talks about being someone Claire likes but that all goes to shit when he gets his powers back and takes a complete 180 back to his old life. I just wish so bad that they could've had more time this season to let the characters breathe and react rather than just doing stuff for the sake of the storyline. I, and many others, would've loved to see the aftermath of Klaus lecturing his siblings because we see a side of Klaus that I personally loved but felt like was out of place when we see him in later episodes.

>Luther's ape body comes back because of the Marigold even though it has nothing to do with his powers'

>Five suddenly doesn't care about his family, doesn't care what happens to them, and FALLS IN LOVE WITH HIS BROTHERS WIFE AKA HIS SISTER-IN-LAW AND KINDA SORTA ACTUAL SISTER

>RAY LEFT ALLISON???? AND SHES NOT GOING CRAZY??? they literally mischaracterized the most hated character in s3 so badly that she's one of the best (main) characters in s4.

>Lila is bored of her life even though all she's ever wanted was a family. AND she's acting like her parents being alive is no big deal?

>Lila's family just accept that she's their daughter.

This confused me so bad and as I'm writing this I'm getting more confused. So if Lila's family just accepted that she, a random 30 year old, was their child, does that mean that Marigold children (Umbrellas, Sparrows, etc) never existed in this version of 2019 or were they born and then killed or were they born without powers? All of those options have issues like a) if they never existed, why did Lila's family let her in, b) how did like all 43 kids just die all over the world without gaining any attention and how were they born in the first place and why would Lila's family take her in if they thought she died?, and c) they were born because Reg gave their Mums each a bit of Marigold so how were they born without the Marigold or with the Marigold but were powerless

I have so many more points so if anyone's interested let me know <3

[fandoomrants]

FINAL THOUGHTS ON TUA S4/TUA IN GENERAL

First of all, I can't believe I make this account because of this show and waited excitedly for 2 years only to feel so numb right now...

Unlike some people I didn't hate season 3. Season 2 is still my favourite but 3 wasn't that bad, just a bit odd. And there were many directions where things could have went.

Mostly spoiler-free, for season 4 I can say:

-It did answer some long awaited answers but I feel like it didn't answer everything, some things were just vague mentions, and it also created more questions.

-I feel like either some actors were busy, or didn't want to return, because there were characters I expected to see but they were either not mentioned, or vaguely addressed, which was disappointing.

-The ending somewhat wasn't terrible, I have always assumed something like that might have to happen, yet I hated how by the time it did, all the characters were so ruined that I couldn't feel even a bit bad for most.

Now, I'll get into some more details about the things I liked, and the ones I didn't.

Spoilers ahead:

Things I DIDN'T LIKE:

-I already ranted a lot about this in my comments while watching but - Five and Lila! I like(d?) both characters and I thought the journey they had from constantly fighting enemies to reluctant allies to friends who relied on each other, was great. Loved their scenes in the beginning of episode 5.... And then wanted to jump out of somewhere. The thing is, I don't exactly hate the way it happened. I hate the fact that it 1) happened when Lila was already with Diego, and had THREE kids with him, that was basically cheating, and 2) the fact that in the end, it didn't bring anything to the plot. Diego and Five fought almost until the end, and it was uncalled for. It didn't bring the characters' development anything. It turned Lila into a cheater and Five.... Well, I've said before that I didn't see him as aro/ace like some other people, but I didn't see anything that this brought for him. I just think they worked better platonically altogether, because they went a long way and nothing suggested anything between them.

And this also leads to...

-Diego and Lila. For me, they were sorta relationship goals. They were constantly bickering and fighting but it was their thing. They were on the border of toxic sometimes but somehow managed to stick together. So how did this happen?! It could have went a whole another way. Diego realised he really loved her and wanted to be with her. I think that I would have accepted it if she and Five had kissed or something, and she had realised she loves Diego too, and returned to him, but no. In the end, it's unclear what she even feels for him.

-Lack of interactions between Klaus and Ben. Okay, I know this isn't the OG Ben Klaus spent years with, but in s3, Klaus was the one who constantly tried to reach out to him and convince the others to give him a chance. Now, nothing. Luther was the one who interacted with him and looked after him, and then later Viktor. I get it that Klaus had other stuff on his head but it was a weird development, and it felt even a bit OOC.

-The lack of closure to some characters relationships altogether. Ben... Just turned into a monster with Jennifer, didn't get the chance to interact with the rest again. Ray was mentioned to have "walked away", Allison never mentioned him. She spent the whole season 3 ranting like mad, now only Klaus said a word. We didn't even get to learn what happened exactly. And in this universe, was Claire his daughter or no?! Also. Luther literally mentioned Sloane once. Never heard about her again. Like, maybe he had searched for her but it wasn't mentioned at all. Dave also wasn't mentioned even once. Sissy wasn't mentioned. Now, I know all if these characters were from other timelines but they were loved by the Umbrellas, and in previous seasons, they mentioned them, and wanted to find them. Now, not one mention... Even the Sparrows were barely mentioned. Nobody mentioned Pogo. Or OG Grace (well, the robot one they called "mum". Not the real one from the 60ies). I just feel like these were left as some plot holes. I get that the last two weren't exactly needed here, but there could have been at least a mention. They were from the original timeline, the siblings had spend their whole lives with them.

-Gene and Jean. I get it. Every season has some "villain" character(s), but I just really disliked these two for some reason. Won't even elaborate.

-Not even one dance, except for Gene and Jean. All seasons had at least one iconic dance.

-The music, now, I won't complain too much about it, but all seasons had some great songs. Here we had them too, but we mostly listened to Baby Shark, which was hilarious but also a bit weird.

-No epic battle scenes. Well, Luther and Diego had something of the sort, but the end battle was pretty lame, imo.

-They got back their powers, and some of them had new powers too, but it was all unexplained. What happened with Lila, what were these laser eyes?! Also, Allison got new powers, never used the old ones again (I kinda get it, tho). Klaus.... Presumably got the floating? Which was supposed to be a thing in general? But in any case, none of this was explained! I thought at first that they got the powers some of the other children like them had but we didn't learn that. Also, Diego, Luther, Viktor, Five, Ben didn't get any new powers. Diego did something weird at one point but his whole thing was controlling flying objects and I don't count it. And Five's arriving at the station isn't exactly a new power. Ben's was a result of touching Jennifer. Nothing new for them, otherwise.

-Speaking of getting back their powers, no epic battle and all, here's another thing. In s2, in the beginning, and then the end, it was epic! They were all fighting with all they had, unlocking new ways to fight and all. I believe they were at their peak. Five also managed to get a few seconds back in time, Klaus was able to control armies of ghosts. Here, none of that. They were pretty weak. And maybe it was a side effect of just getting their powers back, but it was disappointing. Klaus didn't go back to alcohol and drugs, yet he only saw one ghost of a random guy, then a dog. They could have made the ending at least a bit more epic.

-In the end, the Umbrellas ceased to exist but.... What about the rest of the special children?! This Ben wasn't even from the Umbrella Academy. And ok, in the end, only these got their powers back in this timeline but surely, the thing with the branching timelines must apply to all 40-something. So how only 7 gave up their powers in one universe, and things got back to normal?

-All in all, the weird pacing and vibe. It wasn't as serious as season one, or chaotic as season 2 and 3. There were barely moments that made me truly laugh, and some characters were OOC. And some didn't really get to achieve anything. Viktor, with his whole plan on helping Ben, achieved nothing. Five kinda ruined his brother's family. Klaus... He also didn't achieve anything, in the end Allison saved him yet again. And while it was cute, it also was, I feel, a step back from his characterisation because he was shown as quite adaptive and able to get away from a bad situation. Allison pretty much only saved Klaus. Diego had a family drama, but nothing much. Luther.... He was just there. Ben's arc was ok but I hated how little time he had with the rest, in the end, he never got to feel as part of the team, and Lila just... Ruined her family for someone who is both around 20 years older and 20 years younger than her at the same time.

-This one is pretty much for humour purposes but - Luther without pants way too much!

-I feel like I must be forgetting something but I'll just move on to...

Things I LIKED:

-Claire having much more screen time and actually being a developed character, rather than just someone staying there for the sake of Allison!

-Claire and Allison, and especially Claire and Klaus's relationship! I feel like Klaus would be good with kids, and even change his ways because of them. (He sorta did, despite walking away at one point. I like to think that spending time with Allison and Claire helped him get clean.)

-Allison and Klaus! I mentioned in another post that I've noticed that they were closer even in season 1, where they interact much less hostile and with more fondness that with the rest of their family, in flashbacks he comforts her when they get their tattoos, etc. And then, of course, their reunion in s2. In s3, we didn't get much of them but I loved them in s4.

-Allison and Viktor taking care of each other! These two had some really rocky relationship throughout all of the seasons but they still cared for each other in a way that was different than the rest. They had the true sibling bond but I think by the end, they also learned to be friends.

-Viktor in general. The only character that didn't once irritate me with a decision he made. I feel sorta sorry for him because he seemed to care for everyone. Allison, after all she did, Ben, although this isn't the one he knew. He got to clear things with this version of Reginald, too. Generally loved him here.

-Now I'm a bit bitter-sweet about that, seeing how things developed but, Lila and Diego's daughter named Grace!

-Even more bitter-sweet, and tiny bit hippocratic but Lila and Five, before that one development in ep 5. They could have truly had a good and normal PLATONIC bond.

-Allison, somewhat. She's one of my least favourite characters, especially after season 3, tho she wasn't my fave before that either but here I liked her.

-Luther somehow didn't irritate me either, although I didn't like him much too, before.

-Klaus has always been my favourite and even though I didn't quite like all that happened, I liked his development, his desire to be sober, and his unwillingness to get his powers back. I think he had lots of potential, and obviously most of his problems came from his powers.

-Despite everything, the last scene, with all the characters we've seen before, being happy and all that. Agnes and Hazel! For some reason, loved that even in this timeline, without all else, they found each other! And the fact that the kids of the Umbrellas were still there. This is a tiny bit of a plot hole on it's own but it was a nice scene.

-And finally, somewhat learning how Five founded the Comission, and finally learning what the "Jennifer Incident" was!

[alloftheimaginesblog]

spoilers for TUA s4 (spoiler: it's not good)

i've loved the umbrella academy for a long time. my chemical romance is my favourite band, gerard way who's the lead singer created the umbrella academy so u bet ur ass i had the graphic novels when i was young. i love that man so course i had them. i enjoyed them but really loved the tv show

season one - excellent season two - pretty great, some minor faults but overall i really enjoyed s2 season three - had some strong moments, was overall 'good' season four - ???? what the fuck man

s4 did the trope that i despise. the same trope that xmen days of future past did and kind of deadpool v wolverine. the whole 'we're changing the timeline so none of this actually happened!' bullshit. i hate that shit man sucks

s4 destroyed characters - diego deserved better and he was written as a joke. diego and lila deserved so much better.

lila/five - wtf man, that shits as uncomfortable and left field as allison/luther

ben's whole arc was pointless. he died a monster. never got any closure. jennifer was 2d and pointless.

gene and jean were pretty shit - the premise was good but i truly think because of the condensed season (6 eps compared to 10) it was rushed and just... shit

i don't mind the ending that they all died right, i always kind of assumed that's how theywould die - theyd sacrifice themselves or something - but to erase the timeline and the handler gets a happy ending?? nah man, make it make sense

and luther - where is sloan? where's his wife? why did everyone just forget about her? also why when he got his powers back was he half monkey again when that was human experimentation?? confusion

allison - why did ray leave? why only one mention and then never spoken about again? her arc felt pretty pointless

klaus/viktor - i felt his arc and viktor's was probably the best out the lot but still not great

reggie - meh

five - HATED it. the boy who spent DECADES trying to get back to his family suddenly delays going home for 5 MONTHS??? all because lila? nah.

overall, i just didn't like it. it's like game of thrones and how i met your mother - final seasons that absolutely destroyed everything the previous seasons built up. just not good. it lacked fun, spunk and just lacked everything. ben dies a fucking monster, diego dies hating five (and vice versa), ben never gets to say goodbye, klaus never knows how ben truly died (don't get me started on that bs cause wouldn't ben's ghost have mentioned that to klaus during the early seasons????)

shit and i am so sad about it

(i do not blame gerard way, he's perfect, i'm just sad about the direction the show took)

[concernedbrownbread]

Hi I read your This Unbearable Tragedy and I’m having a blast! And yes please I would like to hear your thoughts on your fic

OMG thanks for asking!! Sorry for the late reply. I had so much to say that I wrote wayyy too much and then had to cut it down, lol.

(Also for those reading the fic rn, Chapter 3 is delayed to next weekend.)

So, the main things that I immediately thought of when I started planning a fix-it was "there's not enough Ben in s4" and "why would they set Allison and Reginald up to parallel each other and not follow through?" and also "that is NOT where I saw these characters going". In essence, I thought that s3 was setting up a certain narrative with all of this and then was like ???? when they went (haha) off the rails. So I'll talk about those three points below. SPOILERS for the fic and s4. It's a long post!

Before I start: one of the major points of this fic (and s4 ig) is that timelines are spilling into each other. That doesn't just mean artifacts. It means people. The Keepers get memories of other timelines. Why shouldn't Ben and Reginald?

Character Arcs

Yeah ... I think the general consensus was that the characters weren't themselves in s4. I actually had no problems with the set-up in ep 1-2, but then ... Five and Lila happened. And the narrative seemed to hate Diego, reduce Luther to a himbo and not much else, and for some reason try very hard to make Reginald a dad to Viktor. Klaus, Allison and Claire had a kind of nice sideplot but I didn't love it. It tortured Klaus for no real reason and made Allison his saviour? And for what?

Anyway, for my fic, I start off the characters the same with some subtle differences.

We don't see Diego at his job. His job is to be a dad. That's his whole thing, that's the best part of him. He's a brother and he's a father, and the narrative will reward him for that

Lila starts by screaming. Can you tell she's NOT okay? She deserves a break and a breakdown, and she'll get both I swear. She is NOT a house wife because she simply wouldn't be. She loves working. I did almost make Diego a househusband though

Side note on Lila's parents: they don't exist because why on earth would Allison think of that and not think of bringing Sissy back? It's clear her fantasy timeline is selfish.

Luther is a stripper still but again, his job is a side note. His first scenes is with Klaus (which, again, was a relationship set up in s3 and never explored??). He's trying damn hard to keep his family together and I want people to appreciate that!!

Allison's first scene is still the studio, but I wanted to expand it to include Klaus. Her story is still of love.

Also Klaus has his own place because he has goddamn agency in this narrative. He and Luther deserve to have a home of their own, and they'd make hilarious roomates imo.

Ray of course, exists

Five is interesting to me because while it makes sense for him to be in the CIA, I can't see him staying with the CIA. This will be explored in ch5. I have a really cool piece written for him.

Viktor my beloved <3 I have no notes, I just want to say I love him. I will of course not let him near Reginald unless to beat Reginald up.

Anyway, I'm going to write a whole separate post for the characters. You opened the Pandora's box anon!

Ben (and Klaus)

I gotta say ... I tried, I really tried, to like Jennifer. She's just such a non-character. We know very little about her, her trauma barely gets explored, the Squid is stupid because all it does is exist and then Ben is like "hehe I have tentacles too! Means we're connected" WHAT?

I was excited for Jennifer. Curious about the Jennifer Incident. Very vindicated when I learned Reginald killed them because lets face it, that's super in-character. But I just ... couldn't get behind Jennifer. So I scrapped her.

Look, if there was anyone that Ben was going to be soulmates with, it was Klaus (platonically).

I mean, isn't that what we learned over two seasons? That Ben and Klaus are inseparable?

(I also don't get the whole Durango thing. TUA has never been all that science-y but at least they tried, but this season they didn't care at all. They really just threw in matter/dark-matter and pretended it was something.)

Anyway, I also don't understand why the fact that Ben was DEAD in another timeline is never bought up properly. In fact, Ben is barely bought up by the siblings? After they discuss his death, they all go off on their own. Viktor's the only one who seems to care (which is fine, I love Viktor and seeing him try to reach out to Ben was nice). Five and Diego are fighting each other during their fight against Ben??? Doesn't make sense - Five saves Ben in s3, Diego hugs Ben so tightly in s2, WHERE. IS. THE. PAYOFF.

(I think that is really what I hated about s4. There is no payoff to all that was built in s1-3. They bring in whole new narrative points without concluding the old ones, and then everyone dies. The end. UGH.)

Anyway, MY BEN needs his Klaus. His memories are a little janky, because timelines, but there has always been one constant. There has always been Klaus. I think even in childhood, they were close (and I'll try to explore that more in the memories). More than that though, Ben needs his FAMILY.

And he might deny that they are his family, but they are. And they will do so much to help him. Including, but not limited to, BEATING REGINALDS ASS (/j)

Allison and Reginald's choice

Okay, the final scene in s3 where we see Allison & Ray and Reginald & Abigail made me think that s4 was going to take this further. Allison and Reginald both made a selfish choice - not in resetting the timeline, but in directly going against the wishes of the loved ones they magicked into the timeline. Ray in s3 is very clear that though he loves her, and will always love her, his place is in Dallas 1963, where he has people he cares about. A life he cares about. Abigail is a bit more subtle, but I remember thinking that it was clear that she wanted to die/was content with dying. I was a pretty casual fan then so I don't know if this was true, but that was the vibes I got from s1, and I was pretty happy that s3 confirmed it just ... not in the way I wanted? I don't mind she destroyed the world because she wanted to die - it's clear Abigail and Reginald think themselves above human lives. I just wish they explored it more.

And again, this parallel was something I got from just the ending of s3. It wasn't a deepdive or anything. I feel like it was such an obvious choice for s4 to go "What happens if you can't let go of the person you love?" And then ... they don't even mention Ray properly. Damn.

I just don't understand why they didn't do it? They set it up so perfectly. UGHHHH.

The main reason Ray exists in my fic is because Allison has to reckon with the fact that she really did pull Ray out of his time, out of his life. And I want her to realise how awful a choice that was. At the same time, I want Reginald to face the exact same thing and choose to do the opposite - hold onto Abigail tighter. Chapter 3 is going to explore a bit more of Allison and Ray, while further down the line we'll see more and more of Abigail.

(ALSO OMG!!! Abigail and Five parallel each other in wayyy more interesting ways than Reginald and Five. I cannot WAIT to write that. But this is more a headcanon hehehehe.)

Other Notes

I think s1-3 set up a lot of things that I assumed was going to be explored and wasn't. I'm going to try and touch upon all of them

the Jennifer Incident felt lacking. s1-2 really were so good because there was a slight mystery to it all, and when there wasn't, there was a ton of dramatic irony - ofc we knew Viktor was the bomb, but it was interesting to see the family figure out that mystery. In the same way, ofc we know Ben is the bomb, but I really though s4 would allow the family to actively search for why and how to stop him. I'm more of a angst & fluff writer but I shall try to write some semblance of mystery here.

Marigold. I will explore. I have Thoughts. chapter 3 will answer more on why it was found by Ben in particular.

Relationships that were set up in s1 will be revisited because as the "last season" I expected it to be. Ofc, Klaus and Ben is the big one, but also Klaus-Diego, Viktor-Allison, Allison-Luther, Five-Viktor, etc. Some new ones will be there, especially with Ben who had little interactions (on account of him being a ghost) and with Lila.

Five continues to be old man on this side of crazy. Sometimes he has good advice. Other times his ideas are unhinged. Early chapters he's mellow because life is normal now but when things go to shit ... oh boy let's NOT forget how paranoid this guy is.

Lila is also a little crazy. Good for her.

Commission!Five is explained more than just a throwaway line in the Five Deli. Five Deli and the Subway is explored more too ofc.

DOLORES MENTIONED BECAUSE SHE IS GODDAMN IMPORTANT TO UNDERSTANDING FIVE. Not even as a "love story" (Five's love story is his familial one), just as a part of his psyche. She is mentioned in EVERY season. She deserves to be mentioned here.

Pogo. I will not say more.

Reginald. Is Reginald.

Anyway, I have a lot more to say but I'll stop here. Sorry this is so long! Thanks for the ask <3

[yuenity]

what are your thoughts on tua s4?

Oh boy how long of an answer do you want baha 😭😭

The short answer is I generally enjoyed the season despite its many many flaws. The two major things that I hated with all my soul was Five and Lila’s whole thing (for so many reasons) and Klaus’ arc. Did I love the ending?… no, but I saw it coming. I can’t say I hated it, even if I would’ve liked to see them finally happy.

But if we really want to get into the nitty gritty of it… (Long, half-coherent ramblings below cut)

The show definitely felt… off this entire season. The characters didn’t really feel like their characters and they were always making decisions I didn’t see them making. But the first 4 episodes were generally fine. They still sort of felt like the umbrella academy. It was the last 2 episodes that stuck out as the worst. They felt rushed, and they kept putting in new information last minute (like all that shit with Abigail, woof).

I won’t talk all that much about Five and Lila cause I’ve already reblogged so much about it, and there’s nothing I have to say that others haven’t already expressed. The things that bother me the most about it is how it destroyed Five’s character and how unnecessary it was. Obviously I understand how Five and Lila would fall in love after 7 years of being stranded together. I mean… Five literally fell in love with a mannequin last time he was stranded. But at the end of the day, he would always choose his family. My man was literally stuck in the apocalypse for 45 years and STILL never gave up on finding them. He abandoned Dolores for them. He would not give up after 7 years because of Lila fucking Pitts, especially after all the trouble he’s already been through to save them. But the big thing is, NONE OF THIS HAD TO HAPPEN 😭 it literally didn’t affect the plot whatsoever, it just made Five and Diego hate each other in their last few minutes of existence. ALSO it literally sours every joke about Five and Lila from season 2 and 3. The whole reason they were funny before was because we thought the idea of them was ridiculous. We thought it would never happen. Ugh poor Diego, I felt so damn bad for him this season

Now Klaus… sigh. I spent the whole time thinking “there has to be a reason for this right? There has to be a reason he’s doing his own irrelevant thing on the side right? He probably knows some important information that the group doesn’t and that’s why” but noooo. It was just pointless. I missed him so much, but to just get that was 😭😭 also the fact that nobody fucking went after him?? Every time someone else tried to leave the group, they protested, but then they literally just let Klaus walk away. I. also the germaphobia… I already made a long ass post about that in February, it should be below this post if you wanna read that lols

the possession prostitution was uh… interesting. I can’t say it was out of character, especially when drugs are involved, but it is strange that there were no protests despite his last experience with possession. I haven’t thought a lot about that aspect though tbh

I wish we would’ve had more Ben and Klaus moments :(( I MISSED THEM SO MUCH it’s not even funny. That’s the thing I was looking forward to most, but alas 😔 we get a greeting and that’s it 😔 it feels like the show just forgot how important they were to each other. Obviously sparrow Ben is different from umbrella Ben, but Klaus was the only one to make an effort to connect with him last season. I thought they had gotten somewhere, but now they’re practically strangers. For the second time they didn’t get to say goodbye to each other. Sigh

don’t even get me started about the whole Durango thing. Look… I’ve always found it easy to put aside plot holes when it comes to this show. And I did for a lot of this season. But the fact that this particle is apparently so important to setting things right, and we get no explanation for how Jennifer has it is crazy. That seems like a pretty important thing to explain 😭😭 WHY WAS SHE IN A SQUID??

Also no dance sequence :(( no, Jean and Gene’s didn’t count

…

These are my main grievances, but there was also stuff I liked about the season

Like Jean and Gene!! They’re such classic tua antagonists, I love them.

And finding out Ben’s death!! 6 years of speculation and not ONCE did I think that’s how it was going to happen. I was happy to finally have answers, and holy shit was it shocking. Do I like that it was bc of the Marigold and Durango situation? No, but whatever. Small victories. One thing that I couldn’t help wondering though, was if Klaus knew what happened. Like surely he and Ben had to have spoken about it before? And I remember Klaus making a comment like “I know you didn’t ask to die violently at a young age” back in season 1, which was more than anyone else had ever said about it. Hm just thoughts

Also Luther’s entire character. Seems fitting that he would be my least favorite of the family in season 1 and my most favorite in season 4 lols. He was like the one characterization that didn’t get fucked. The way he kept bringing up Sloane and looking longingly at Diego’s family :(( the return of his stress eating 😭 I love that guy

I also really liked seeing all the characters at the end. The gasp I gusped when I saw the Swedes and the tears I cried when I saw Hazel and Agnes…

Anyway yeah

[disregardandfelicity]

ok my umbrella academy s4 review:

it usually drives me nuts when this show splits its cast – who are so fun together – up, so for the first couple eps i was like this is great! i guess the shortened season means we're giving up on the meandering separate storylines and they're actually going to stick together to solve the main mystery this time. fun!

and then. well.

in like a completely other show. or even in this show that had a season, or at the very minimum like... three more eps to go, i could dig the five/lila storyline! that + the reunion with diego, there's stuff to get into there. but in the penultimate episode?!?!?

and then watching lila and diego have a 'you cheated on me?' fight in front of their families on christmas in the SERIES finale was just. why. what show were you writing for.

also klaus always has the absolute darkest storylines but since the show doesn't take them too seriously, you the viewer also don't take them too seriously. but forced prostitution was hella dark if you dwell on it.

kinda weird and sad they didn't have ben somehow be available for the final circle. and they didn't resolve things between diego and five cause well how could they, there's no fucking time. also they really couldn't hold hands or be nice in their last moments. we had to be snarky til the end? ok :/

and WHERE were the musical numbers? baby shark x5 and that's basically it??? did they run out of money?!

i would've taken a 'this is the end' type ending where they were there doing a dance number in that field with 0 explanation and been happy tbh

overall i didn't hate the experience of watching it. i'm just confused.

[rockinlibrarian]

Post-Umbrella Academy S4 Reaction Part 6: Miscellaneous Thoughts and Master List (spoilers under cut)

Well, here we are! If you're just joining me, I've been spreading out my Season Four reaction essays over the past week, and now I'm finally done. Let's wrap up what we've already gone over, shall we?

"Part One: Reacting More to the Fandom than the Show," is me expressing discomfort at having enjoyed myself watching, and then coming online and seeing HATE HATE HATE. Oddly enough, as moods mellowed in both directions, it seems that I and the angry people actually have most of the same criticisms, so it's a...glass half full thing or something? Forest for trees? Horror for tenticles?

"Part Two: Still Not a Show Write-up, a Fraction of a Fanfic Instead," is when I got the most BRILLIANT (if possibly something only I would care about) idea for a fix-it, and shared the scene (from the middle) I'd spit out that day. I have gotten lots more ideas since, too! Expect a proper first chapter sometime...in the next month or so! (That's "soon" in Me-language).

"Part 3: Viktory!…ish," is me expounding on the thing I loved most about Season 4 (though also giving some tips on how it could have been improved).

"Part Four: On How to End a Story," is me expounding on the thing I liked LEAST about Season 4 (though also in a constructive way!)

"Part Five: On Love Triangles," is me expounding on probably the most controversial aspect of Season 4 (for which my opinions are mixed! Just to annoy the two extremes! Or just because that's what my opinions are, mixed, sorry)

So finally-- I couldn't stretch this out to an even seven posts, sorry Viktor-- I present to you ALL MY OTHER THOUGHTS THAT AREN'T COMPLEX ENOUGH FOR THEIR OWN POSTS! Under the cut, because I'm still trying to be unspoilery on main.

One Viktor thing I forgot to mention in his essay is that his voice has dropped like an octave (one of the reasons they had to skip a few years between seasons, I wager. The other obvious one being that there's no way Aidan Gallagher passes for Being in the Body of a 13yo anymore), and this still THROWS me. Apparently I keep character voices in my head when I’m writing, listening to their lines in their voices to keep them sounding like them, but I didn’t realize how FIRMLY the old pre-testosterone Viktor voice WAS lodged in my brain until suddenly it SOUNDS DIFFERENT. I have learned something about how my brain works with voices! It’s a bigger deal than I thought! I’m still struggling to replace the voice in my head, but I just keep immediately going to the old voice.

I’m really not sure about the career paths anyone took in the preceding six years. Ben getting mixed up in cryptocurrency, that is pretty funny— intelligent enough for him but also jerky. Allison as a(n actually) working actress, yes. Diego’s delivery driver, oddly yes, but wouldn’t it make more sense for him to have sought out janitorial work first, since he actually has experience? I already mentioned how I’m sad Viktor never got back into music— maybe a different instrument, if the violin is too traumatic. Maybe just teaching in general—he outright says in the available excerpts from Extra Ordinary that teaching was his passion. Whatever inspired him to open a bar? But at least I’m pleased he was so successful at it. Five as a CIA agent, yeahhh, that was one of the secret careers I figured all his theoretical physics students suspected him of having, but it might be a little TOO Commissiony to have sought out if he had a choice in the matter. I do think he enjoys going undercover at Keeper events though because they’re the only people crazy enough to listen to him when he tries to tell his story. But he’d never admit that. Lila is obviously unhappy about full-time momming, but why did she go that route in the first place if her parents live with them? Does Klaus not have a job? Why is it assumed he wouldn’t have a job? He’s sober now. I am still very pleased with myself for making him a VA counselor in “New World Symphony,” and I feel like everyone should embrace this headcanon of mine, because it’s genuinely good. I really don’t get Luther as a stripper —an exotic dancer— at all. I guess he was just THAT PLEASED about getting his human body back, but otherwise, how is that anything like the character we’ve known previously? Unless he’s making a point of trying to be NOTHING like his old self?

The deleted scene of Luther and Diego talking did a lot to show Luther’s mindset, and ties him back to the person he was, and it would have made his character make so much more sense if they’d included it. But it still doesn’t explain the stripper thing.

I recognized Klaus’s subplot from the comics, and was kind of proud of myself for doing so (I don’t think I’d read the comics before S3). I just wish it had anything at all to do with the rest of the story. Klaus’s deleted scene at AA is the biggest example of one of the deleted scenes making a huge difference in how different parts of the story might have landed— it wouldn’t have made his subplot affect the PLOT, but it WOULD have wrapped up his arc on a CHARACTER basis, and he would have seemed to be in a much better place to get annihilated from.

The timeline-hopping subway could have been used SO MUCH MORE, and more integrated into the main plot! I feel like they maybe intended to when they first came up with it but then never got their plot to tie together properly. At least there’s SO much fanfic potential in the concept!

I laughed aloud at the King Reg restaurant. There really should have been more of that— the end of Season 3 promised a lot more Reggie being Capitalist King of the World. Where’s Har-mart? I want my Har-mart in there. (That’s another “New World Symphony” reference).

Speaking of the promises of the end of Season 3, the Ben on the subway was so not an intermediate stage between Ben walking out of the garden and Ben getting out of prison. Who was he really, what was he going to be doing? If that’s the timeline-hopping subway, that opens up so many possibilities that were squandered!

Another Ben missed opportunity: Jennifer was in a squid. Ben has a squid(-like monster) inside him. This feels intentional but they never really followed up on it. This should have connected the two of them, not just that ANY Marigold-baby who touched Jennifer would set off the reaction. It should have been more clearly, specifically BEN. I’ve always loved the theory that “Jennifer” was the Horror’s name, and ended up using it in “A Captain with Seven Children,” so now I’m toying with the idea of what if there’s only one Squid, and Jennifer was inside the squid that was inside Ben, on some weird interdimensional level, and that’s why they feel Insta-Connection, because they’ve unconsciously known each other all along???? Doesn’t anyone else see this?!

Speaking of Jennifer, I remember somebody posting info about Season Four casting calls on Elliott’s House, and someone complaining why’d they have to scrounge up a new Love Interest Character anyway. MY theory was that she was actually a human Delores, and it wasn’t a NEW Love Interest Character at all. Well, I was half-right, it WASN’T a new Love Interest Character, it WAS someone we’d already heard about who was actually intrinsic to the plot, and I like that.

Speaking of Love Interest Characters, Sloane and Ray were done so dirty. There was no in-story reason why Sloane didn’t get remade with the others at the end of Season 3 after all. They just didn’t want her around anymore. Which, okay, you want to focus on your original cast (but then, Lila? You let Lila stick around, so why NOT Sloane?), but you could at least find a way to write her out that has some modicum of logic to it. Like, make her a Food-and-Travel writer and send her to Italy (sorry, yet another "New World Symphony" reference). And, look, I know being married to Allison is probably not a walk in the park, but Ray is not the type of guy to give up on his wife. If she’d been married to someone else, yeah, it makes sense that they’d leave her, but RAY? Totally not in character.

Speaking of previously established but not fully formed before Love Interest Characters, ABIGAIL. I said in the endnotes of the last chapter I posted of “New World Symphony” that because I was writing a straight-up AU, nothing that might happen in S4 would affect that story, but the one thing I WAS afraid of was that I might have gotten the characterization of Abigail (who, spoilers, will be showing up in Chapter Five) completely off. I had made her LESS cruel than Reggie, and she did seem likely to turn out to be a Bad Guy— but good news! Her Bad Guy turn feels not at all contradictory to her less-Bad-Guy presentation in my fic! I actually hit her personality fairly accurately!

I love the Allison and Klaus match-up— I feel like they always were friends, and they should have shown more of it in the past! It’s interesting that they seemed to be the only ones staying (deep) in each other’s lives at the start of the season. But I’m curious how they got back in each other’s lives in the first place. What made Klaus seek her out versus any of the siblings who apparently lived closer by? And what kind of overtures had Allison made to any of the others and them to her in those preceding six years? It seemed like some conversations must have taken place for things to be awkward but not so awkward that she doesn’t get invited to her niece’s birthday party.

I kind of liked Viktor’s calm “we’re not friends and that sucks but,” in order for them to get past their MASSIVE unresolved issues, but it didn’t feel quite past enough by the end. We may never be friends, but we will always be family, and I will stand by you, sort of thing, would have been enough.

I think the writers mixed up October and December. Why is Gracie’s birthday in December, when Lila was already several months pregnant at the beginning of April? October makes more sense. And yet Ben apparently died in October, even though the weather was pretty Decemberish at his funeral. Although, come to think of it, that could also have been a subconscious Viktor effect. Doubt Reggie rushed home to him and went, “Before we tell you what happened to your brother, take an extra dose of your pills! Just to be on the safe side!” Hence, a slightly unseasonal snowfall centered around Hargreeves manor.

Watching the teen Hargreeves interact is always fun. I liked that Viktor and Ben were hanging out— lends credence to the common assumption that they WERE friends (if not as close as V & Five were) as kids, and I appreciate that as someone who submitted a “567 are friends” fic to Masked Author this year. I also liked the alternate timeline Academies Five and Lila ran into.

Speaking of teenagers, or preteens, or however old she is, I never expected Claire to have such a big role, and I love her. She is clearly her mom’s daughter, yet remarkably well-adjusted.

Speaking of offspring, I wanted so much MORE of Diego and Lila’s kids. Gracie is such a brilliant mashup of her parents in what little moments we saw of her. But I couldn’t tell you anything about the twins, and I wish I could. Give me more generation-two cousins!

As you’ve probably gathered by my insistence on bringing up Legion throughout these essays, I always think of TUA as being tangentially connected to what I tend to think of as The Hawleyverse, what with there being SO much overlap in the crew and writers. It’s odd that the only actor overlap we got was Kate Walsh and Nick Offerman, both of whom had small side roles in one season of Fargo each, though. And I'm thinking of Fargo now, because I thought there was something very Fargo-esque about the introduction of Jean and Gene. They’re very Fargo-esque characters in general, really. I didn’t like them that much though. And I hate that Cher song they danced to.

I also hate “Bad Touch.” Really, I expect better from this music team! Oh, I just looked it up, Maggie Phillips only picked songs for the first season, that explains it. 😅 (Even Jeff Russo was phoning it in a bit though, I have to mention because a Legion background music song just came on my computer and it’s SO DANG GOOD and the music in TUA didn’t really give me that feeling this season). That said I DID like all the songs I HADN’T heard before, the subway song especially. Also, I appreciated them using Tommy James’ “Think We’re Alone Now” in the final scene, that seems like something the Proper Timeline got right, erasing that Tiffany version from our memories. Sorry! That album was such a cringey part of my childhood. I don’t like that the “oldies” station is now playing the Tiffany version instead of the Tommy James version.

But to end on a good note: The Deli of Fives. How utterly entertaining is that. Also, if “Max” is the name Grace would have given him if he wanted it, it fits him. King of All the Wild Things. May that brilliant kid now move on into a long and storied career. Or may he focus on college and get a Real Job, whatever works for him I guess.

That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Feel free to converse with me on any of these thoughts! I really like being conversed with! It helps me know I’m not invisible! Viktor-complex, you know.

[moonchild-in-blue]

Okay, I have finally finished S4 of The Umbrella Academy, and as someone who has been in love with the show since day 1, disappointed and frustrated don't even scratch the surface as to what I feel about *gestures vaguely*... whatever the hell that was.

I've had some time to let it sink in, and if I don't talk about it I'll die. So here are my thoughts (warning - it's long. I have a LOT of thoughts. excuse any spelling mistakes).

[major spoilers ahead. like. the whole damn thing]

What I Liked / What Worked (not much, so let's get that out of the way)

Allison and Claire (and Klaus) finally being together and having a normal mother - daughter relationship. She deserved to see Claire grow up.

Diego and Lila's daughter being named Grace after the Umbrellas' mom (Grace) was very cute.

Viktor finally being able to live a normal life as himself. Also him finally standing up to Reggie! Loved loved loved that.

Gean and Jean. The Potential!!! The flair!!! Was very delighted to know they are married irl too.

The Keepers - cool concept, poor execution.

Ben being a convicted Crypto Bro. Of course he is, that's hilarious.

Family road trip. I love them being chaotic (although the Baby Shark joke got real annoying real fast).

Lila got her parents back! Babygirl finally has a real loving family (yes i know. i'll get there).

That gorgeous Ben x Jennifer opening card with the upside-down umbrella. Gorgeous.

Allison Klaus and Luther reacting to The Affair revelation (what a mood).

Controversial opinion, but I actually liked seeing Stripper Luther! I'm not a fan of how heavy they rely on his himbo side, but it was nice to see him with a normal body and be able to enjoy it outside the whole Umbrella thing. He deserved better.

Luther and Diego having a Team Zero moment on the CIA? YES.

That Cleanse gear-up scene with Muse playing? AMAZING WONDERFUL WOW WHAT A CHOICE WHAT A SOUNDTRACK. Absolutely.

Loved the concept of the subway. Hated the execution (or lack there of).

Five's diner. Yes. Brisket Five I love you.

Loved that Alison and Viktor at least made up before dying.

What I Hated / The Bad Stuff (hooo boy)

Ray "Honour and Dignity" Chestnut would NEVER walk out on Allison and Claire. Never.

It feels damn racist to have your one other black parent character walk out on his family. He was one of the most noble and honorable and interesting characters in the whole show, and they did him so dirty.

Literally any other excuse would work as to why he couldn't be there (sickness? accident?). Ray would never.

Hated all the stupid (and frankly unjustified) fat jokes about Diego, and how they did their marriage so dirty.

I don't disagree that Lila and Diego would find it hard to adjust to a settled-down life with kids and all, given they never really knew stability, but That? Making them seem like some unhappy sub-urban nuclear family that has fallen out of love? Absolutely not.

They destroyed Ben. I get that he was Sparrow Ben, and that he was a bit of an asshole, but geez. Would think after a whole apocalypse and years of playing family (although from prision), he'd be a little bit nicer to the Umbrellas right? Not a single meaningful Klaus x Ben interaction was CRIMINAL.

They have been MADLY in love from the start - if anything they would be too wild and out-there with their kids (like when Stan was around. I can see them doing little kid bootcamps).

Also, Diego and Lila both have different flavours of mommy issues. You'd think they'd both try so hard to give their kids a loving family and relish in each other's company, because finally they get to know what it feels like to truly love and be loved.

I hate how they made Jennifer be the only thing he'd care about. I wish Ben would have *some* memories of og Ben. It would've been interesting to see him trying to concile the two. Or at least make him grief his family properly. Just anything else aside from "I'm a dick and I love Jennifer".

Klaus. Everything about him. He's probably my favourite character, and had some of the most significant and relevant character development and cool abilities. But someone decided to take a massive dump on him instead. Because of course they did.

I hate how they once again reduced him to a low-life addict (EVEN THOUGH! BOTH IN SEASON 2 AND 3 ALL HE DID WAS DRINK! The only times he ever got drunk (and intentionally, I might add), where after the whole Dave debacle (understandable), and at his brother's wedding A DAY BEFORE THE END OF THE WORLD.).

Klaus hasn't been that person in many, many years (remember how in Dallas Ben points out to him how he'd been sober for 3 years? Why would he return to that mindset after the reset?). It feels so gross and pointless to have him go back to that state - especially given how much he HATED being that person.

And this is not to say he *wouldn't* relapse after re-gaining his powers - they were the cause of so much pain and trauma, I would understand. But at least do it right, actually show him being conflicted and fight against it, show the damn ghosts, idk. Don't reduce him to a powerless addict after all the progress he made - if he was to truly relapse, at least do it so in a way that honours his character.

I hate how they wasted his powers, how they didn't even show him on The Void with God / Bicycle Girl, and how they watered his witty, extravagant, sweet, funny self into a cowardly, out-of-control mess. They chose to make him a literal prostitute (and given he was there to pay a debt, not sure how truly consensual it all was, so that's also incredibly gross), rather than give him any plot relevance.

If you wanted him to have some sexual debauchery (which sure! absolutely! Destiny's Children had that and it was fine!), then do it?? Why would you opt for him (your one other queer character btw) to be sexually coerced instead (not sure if "assault" is the right word, given he knew what was going on but. whatever it is, it doesn't sit right with me)?

Literally all he did contributed exactly 0 for the plot. They made him be so mean and bitchy towards Alisson (he would NEVER), and sneak around for drugs yet again, for absolutely nothing. No mentions of Dave, no plot-relevant connections to the Mothers Of Agony (remember Pogo worked there before? Remember they did Five's Oblivion tattoo?), nothing.

I love that he got to be with Claire, but seeing him go back to his old self and scream at her while stealing their tv was painful to watch. I hated everything they did to him, Klaus deserved SO much better.

Luther should've found Sloane. Luther would've never given up trying to find her - even if it drove him crazy. If Sloane was to remain missing, I wanted to at least see Luther go full conspiracy mode. I mean, living in a van, a bunch of blurry pictures of women who vaguely resemble Sloane, that travel guide in his pocket.

Also, Luther is so much more than comedic relief. I love him as a himbo, I hate that that's ALL he is now.

Making him squat in the Hargreeves mansion, basically trapping him once more under his father's roof? No. Nope. Absolutely not.

ALSO? WHY IS HE BACK TO MONKE MODE??? His power is super strength. The ape body was a result of an accident, the same way scars and tattoos are. None of them got their tattoos and scars (Diego's) back, so why is Luther back in that body?

This Train Ride Could've Been An Email.

What a wonderful plot device! Ooohh cool symbols? Several lines! Several entry gates! What a cool new power! Surely this must be extremely relevant to the plot right? Surely this is perhaps connected to the Oblivion project, given the strange symbols? Whatever it is, surely it must be extremely important given it was the setting for the promotional photos and posters right? Right?? RIGHT???

A 2 minute conversation. The subway served for exactly nothing but a 2 minute conversation between the Fives, just to say "ya lol, you guys are the problem, kill yourself bestie 😜🩷🙏".

Why were those symbols used instead of English? Given Five was the only one with access to it? Why wasn't the original timeline connection marked in bold on the map? How did it even appear? Why did the Grandfather Paradox not apply there?

Literally 0 relevance. They could've made Five find that diner much sooner (or in another location) and saved everyone the drama. Which leads us to our next point-

Five and Lila WOULD. NEVER. NEVER EVER EVER. NEVER. EVER. THEY WOULD NEVER.

I'm gonna skip how gross it is to have Aiden, a young actor that started as a LITERAL CHILD, serve as a love interest for one of the adults who literally saw him grow up. Gross.

Five. Who lived in an apocalypse completely alone for 40 YEARS, who never gave up hope of coming back to his family. Five, who became a lethal assassin, who killed a lot more people than we could ever imagine, would has committed horrifying acts of violence again and again and again, just to give his family a chance of survival. Because that's how much he loves them.

Five, who basically missed out on their siblings' life, who has put them in danger countless times and blames himself for it, who despite the grumpyness is beyond happy to finally be with his family. That Five? Who has risked his life over and over to save his idiot siblings? That Five?? Who despite growing up alone and abandoned and without an LITERAL ounce of affection or warmth or love, devised countless (infinite actually!) plans to stop the apocalypse and save his family??? Are you telling me THAT FIVE BETRAYED HIS OWN BROTHER AND FELL IN LOVE WITH HIS SISTER IN LAW? WHOM HE STRONGLY DISLIKED FOR MOST TIME???

I refuse to accept that. I can *somewhat* understand both he and Lila feeling vulnerable and desolate, especially Lila, given she has real children and real parents waiting for her, but cheating on Diego? With his brother nonetheless?? She would never. SHE WOULD NEVER.

And are you telling me, after all that, Five, Mr Stoic and Logical, went so far as to nearly ABANDON HIS FAMILY because Lila couldn't leave her husband (HIS BROTHER) for him???? Are you telling me Lila would actually betray Diego, a man whom she has been crazy, deeply in love with for years, literally the very first person to see her and accept her and truly lover her EVER???

No. Absolutely not. I refuse to accept this. Absolutely not. What a disservice to all of them. I hate that they, on top of that, made Diego some lazy, deadbeat dad for no reason. Absolutely not.

Jennifer. Babygirl, I love you, you're very cool and sweet and gorgeous, but I expected more.

Does she have powers? Is she connected to them in any significant way? No. Just a poor innocent girl with Durango on her veins. Why couldn't Reg and Abigail just kill her straight away? How did she know about the cleanse (given she was saying that when she came out of the squid). Why does she even have the durango??? How did that happen??

For something called the "Jennifer Incident", Miss Jenny sure didn't do much. In the og timeline, Ben and Jen are killed like what, 5 minutes after they meet? They barely talk and yet the show makes it seem like she is/was incredibly relevant in Ben's life (or rather death)? Why even call it the Jennifer Incident? Reggie could've just said it was an accident related to a weapon or anything.

Literally no reason to mention her. I'm sorry, but 2 kids looking at each other for less than 5 minutes does NOT warrant a "ooohhh we're connected and in love" plot line.

Big massive Fuck You to Mr Reginald Hargreeves for MURDERING YOUR OWN KID AND TEMPERING WITH EVERYONE'S MEMORIES.

Mr Reginald himself. He was horrible - HORRIBLE - throughout the entire show, and yet got away with literally everything. Also, I hate Abigail.

"Oh but I'm NOT your version of Hargreeves" okay?? What a lazy writing cop-out. I'm glad Viktor had that outburst, but it was not enough. Especially after the Ben death reveal, how did they not kill him right away?

I wanted to see him take accountability for his actions - or at least be properly confronted with them. His quasi-redemption arc and consequent back-stabbing in S3 was much more satisfying and in character than whatever passive male-wife version of Reggie they cooked up. Even if he did love Abigail to no end, I refuse to believe he would be that pliant under her company.

Abigail is... Yeah. I don't know. I don't get her. She started out as an interesting character, grounding Reg a bit. But then she went and killed my guy Gean (rip) and aired out her marital complaints in the middle of a sort-of Purge??? What. Was that. And then everything is okay and dandy, even if it was all her fault???

Idk guys, that whole durango - marigold plot felt super flat to me. I'm more confused than pissed off. They gave us so much and so little, and not in a good way.

The whole Cleanse thing was weird and confusing and made 0 sense. How is Life Particle + Anti-Life Particle = Grotesque Blob Monster an actual plot.

Did the Keepers know they were going to die? How exactly did they piece everything together? You'd think a conspiracy that big would've alerted Hargreeves, but I guess not? Even though he's what, the president of the city or smth lmao.

I wish they expanded on The Keepers and made them, like. Rogue Commission ex-workers or smth. Or made Jennifer actually relevant aside from "you have a virus in your blood". It felt so rushed and scrambled together, completely lacked the flair and pacing of the earlier seasons.

I actually liked S3 despite the confusing plot, but boy does it look like a masterpiece after whatever S4 was.

What a shit end.

Ben died a jerk, disfigured, without so much as a goodbye. Five and Diego died hating each other because of Lila, not knowing her true feelings; she died having her marriage destroyed and both relationships compromised.

Klaus *actually died*, instead of at least going to the Void and looking for a solution (it's death, the apocalypse has no effect there whatsoever), having contributed exactly 0% for the story.

Allison ONCE AGAIN was forced to abandon her child and have her love interest pulled away. At least she got to say goodbye.

Luther died in the same place he had always been. At least the others had time to become adults outside of it - Luther was just beginning to discover freedom and they made him go back there again. Without Sloane.

They would never surrender themselves to death. The would've either fought back, or truly enjoyed the last moments together. The Umbrellas I know would've NEVER stood passively in the face of death - especially given it was their beloved brother the responsible for it. They would've tried to get through Ben.

Flowers. Really. Really? Absolutely not.

Overall lack of significant sibling interaction. Most of their scenes together were either pure silly or just ridiculously aggravating and angry. Where is the witty banter, where are the tender moments? They were so all over this season, I miss them being an actual family ya know?

Idk if this is my annoyed self clouding my judgment, but visually this season felt very flat and lackluster.

One of the things I love the most about the series is the amazing visuals. The cinematic moments. Seasons 1 and 2 were magnificent - the colours, the fighting sequences, the pacing. Just gorgeous.

Even S3 had some really gorgeous moments - the introduction of the Sparrows, Diego's fight against Alphonso and Jaime, the hotel itself.

Sure, nothing will ever top Five's fighting scenes (Istanbul Donut shop, and him murdering the board? Also I Was Made For Loving You with Diego and Lila in Texas? Top-tier). And Klaus' and Allison's intro sequences in S2?? Or S1 Viktor playing violin??? Stunning.

I loved the 1st episode of this season, the poker scene, the birthday party. But aside from that scene/sequence in the Christmas market, and the subway scenes, they didn't really gave us much more. The dancing scene with Gean and Jean was AMAZING, but? That was it? Literally not one memorable moment (aside from the Muse/Cleanse - that was gorgeous).

What was the point of them gaining their powers back, if they can barely use it? It was useful in the Christmas market and CIA, and that was it really. Allison barely used it, Klaus flew once (1), Five can barely blink (no murderous rage scene either :/). Where did Lila's lasers came from? Also only useful once.

Questions I Still Have (literally what is going on?)

The squid. How? Why? For what? Uh??? Yall.

How did Abigail managed to come to life after the reset? How do they know what marigold is? Is *she* made of marigold? Why was she on the moon?

Reginald?? He and Abigail are aliens, sure. But? What planet? How did they get here? Why? Are there others?

Where is Pogo? Where is Grace? Where are Sissy and Harlan?

If Allison and Diego and Lila never existed, how are their kids alive after the Cleanse?

Where did the subway even come from?? I get that Five built the system (did he????), but if it was there the whole time, how did he never come across it? How did they get him to come there only now?? I don't know, maybe I'm really dumb, I just don't get it.

Given that The Comission works outside time and space, you'd think *someone* must've known about all the other apocalypses, including this one.

Even if they are no more, it makes no sense for them to not be alerted to it. The Comission works outside of the timelines - it'd make sense for them to be aware of Ben and Jennifer.

But I guess they don't really appear in S3 either so sure, yeah.

Why did Abigail isolate the marigold particle in the first place? Literally everything about her makes 0 sense.

I don't even know anymore gang. I'm so disappointed in how they ended things. How can you fumble a show That Good so bad?? The cast is so correct (especially David mi amor, you know what's up). I feel so sad for both Gerard and Gabriel - they worked so hard on the comics, it must be awful to see their characters done so dirty like that.