The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Review: Short And Sweet - To A Fault

The fourth and final season of "The Umbrella Academy" feels like an afterthought, which is a shame for a show as serialized as this one. It's only six episodes long, compared to the 10 episodes that made up previous seasons, and that makes it rushed in a way that the other seasons weren't. That said, it has all the quirky personalities and weird character interactions of previous seasons, and if you don't scrutinize the story too much, it's a perfectly fine season. Still, the story feels like it's missing a step, particularly in the last half.

The series picks up after the events of the previous season, which saw Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) reset the timeline. The city the siblings live in is now run by Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) and his resurrected wife, Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell), although we don't hear much from them until the third episode. All seven Hargreeves siblings, on the other hand, including Ben (Justin H. Min) from the Sparrow Academy, have been making their way in this new timeline without their powers, and most are only doing so-so.

After his wife, Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), disappeared at the end of last season, Luther (Tom Hopper) has been working as a stripper — and not exactly doing a great job at it. Diego (David Castaneda) and Lila (Ritu Arya) have three kids — Grace (Ciara Rose Feeney) and the twins — whom Lila takes care of during the day, while Diego delivers packages. Allison is trying to become something more than an actor who does laundry detergent commercials, but at least she has her daughter, Claire (Millie Davis), back. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) is clean, living with Allison, and afraid of everything. Five (Aidan Gallagher) works for the CIA and is trying to infiltrate the Keepers, a group that believes they're in the wrong timeline. Ben just got out of prison for financial fraud. And Viktor (Elliot Page) has managed to get away from his siblings by becoming the owner of a bar all the way in Canada.

When Diego and Lila throw a birthday party for little Grace, the whole family is invited. Even Allison — whom the family is angry at for sending them to this timeline — and Viktor are included. Viktor, though, is kidnapped on the way to the party. When the rest of the family finds out about the kidnapping, they go to get their brother back, and thus begins their adventure for the final installment. It's an adventure that includes a very long road trip to the song "Baby Shark," a shoot-out in a small town, a giant squid, and the shocking return of their powers — and that's just in the first half of the season.

After years in these roles, the cast of "The Umbrella Academy" has a lock on their characters. All of the main performers understand the people they're playing in bone-deep ways, and their comprehension of their characters' trials and tribulations makes them easier to accept here. So while many of the characters have changed over time — and particularly in this final season — we can accept it, even if some of the changes seem silly. For example, Luther being serious about his career as a stripper seems ridiculous, and while Viktor getting away from his family is understandable, he doesn't seem like the player type.

Still, the siblings' interactions are the best part of this story. Whether it's Luther greeting Ben after he gets out of prison, Allison and Klaus discussing Allison's latest auditions, or the whole team going on a road trip, these scenes are the show at its best. That's true of any season, but especially this one, where things may not be great all the way through. However, the show remains fantastic when the siblings are together.

Later in the season — when Viktor is off with Hargreeves, Ben is off with a new character named Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), and Klaus is on his own — things fall apart. That's not because the performances are bad, but rather because each character needs the strength of the rest of the cast to be able to truly deliver on their parts. While some of it still works, like Luther and Diego taking on the CIA at their offices, the endgame is in sight at this point, and things start to feel rushed and disjointed.

The truncated timeline is the fourth season's biggest problem. The story is overstuffed, with more main characters than six episodes allows showrunner Steve Blackman and his writers to do justice to. That includes David Cross as Sy Grossman, who wants to find Jennifer, and Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman as married couple Jean and Gene Thibodeau, the leaders of the Keepers.

It isn't for lack of trying, but with such a hefty story to get through, six episodes is far too little. It makes it hard for the family dynamics to shine through for much of the final episodes. In fact, the final showdown only lasts for half of the last episode because Five has one more revelation to share — and the whole team has a big decision to make — before the show comes to an end.

This is a superhero show, yes, but it's a superhero show that's often more concerned with characters' feelings than the next big action set piece. Yet because of the limited episode count, Season 4 spends more time on plot than on resolving the tensions between the siblings. As a result, there's too little time to settle the many conflicts the siblings want to wrap up. That isn't to say that everything could or even should have been dealt with had the show had more episodes, but with the ending fans get in Season 4, nothing is resolved, and it's a bit of a let down. After three amazing seasons, "The Umbrella Academy" has an enormous amount of goodwill from fans, but the show's final season is just too short to do them justice. That said, these characters are enormously fun to hang out with, and in the end, that's almost enough.

All six episodes of "The Umbrella Academy" Season 4 are out now.