Steve Blackman’s The Umbrella Academy was once the talk of the town. Right from the get-go, the superhero drama became one of the most-streamed series of the year 2019. Over the years, The Umbrella Academy only got better with time, receiving positive feedback from fans and critics alike. However, the fourth and final season recently came to an end and viewers couldn’t have been more disappointed.
Unlike the usual ten episodes per season, The Umbrella Academy’s final season only had six episodes to its name, all of which were released on August 08. Unfortunately, the die-hard fans of the show did not get the ending they all deserved and it looks like The Umbrella Academy has given tough competition to shows like Game of Thrones and How I Met Your Mother for the worst ending ever.
The Umbrella Academy’s Final Season Disappoints
On Rotten Tomatoes, the first three seasons of The Umbrella Academy have great scores to show off – 77%, 91%, and 91% again. However, season four experienced a drastic drop in the ratings going all the way down to 59%. Yikes.
The critical consensus states that while the final season has its good moments, its “haphazard race to the finish” line rained on the show’s parade. We couldn’t agree more. What’s worse is that while the website’s score of 59% comes from 32 reviews, the audience score sits at a measly 17%, accumulated from over five hundred ratings.
Clearly, fans were much more disappointed with the show than the critics. Why wouldn’t they be? Spending precious time and getting hooked on to a show only to be left dissatisfied in the end is not the best feeling, after all.
Among the many things fans absolutely hated about the final season was the lack of consideration for characters’ trajectories, a shortened season, writing, and, of course, the bizarre and unwanted affair between Lila (Ritu Arya) and Five (Aidan Gallagher).
The Hargreeves’ story comes to an end with all the siblings choosing death, marking a tragic ending. While we do love a good sad ending occasionally, The Umbrella Academy failed to make theirs as memorable as others. The characters meet their end without ever fulfilling major storylines and solving the pertaining issues in the family.
Without spoiling too much, the ending brings in an unwanted twist to the story, revealing that the Hargreeves will not exist in the reset timeline despite sacrificing their lives for the greater good. All in all, a very abrupt ending to a very loved show.
The Umbrella Academy Faces the Wrath of Fans
After fans had finished binge-watching the last season, they had a lot to say about it and none of it was positive. They are extremely upset with the writers for ruining the show they had once loved by giving it an ending it did not deserve.
From hating Lila and Five’s romantic relationship to calling the show “dreadful television,” fans did not hold any punches back while giving out their brutally honest opinions on the show.
Here’s what some of them had to say about it:
Episode 5 and 6 will go down in the hall of fame. Dreadful television.
— george (@GE0RGINIO) August 11, 2024
1&2 are incredible 3 is a step down but a good ending for the show and don’t bother with 4
— josh 🫡 (@SFJosh_) August 12, 2024
It was so bad. It felt so Rushed and just…. off.
Like you could tell the Writers strike affected it heavily.
It didn't feel like Umbrella Academy at times.
Maybe it wouldn't have been so bad if it got more then 6 episodes.
Episode five felt like a waste of an episode.— Jake The Snake🐍 (@TheSnake_97) August 12, 2024
Hmmm, and it was cut down to 6 episodes. Almost like they gave up on it.
— Da One ✋☝️(Alpha Male) (@ProGosling00) August 12, 2024
Okay Im glad Im not alone. I felt very deflated by that ending and Im usually somebody that likes everything.
— gingersnap (@bjorndiswai) August 12, 2024
Seriously what were the writers thinking? Laila and Five were the absolute worst idea – I feel like the several layers of discomfort that brought me and how unsatisfying the whole thing was left a sore taste on the rest of the season. I wonder how fans would respond if that was
— MunchkinMarauder (@MunchkinM17) August 12, 2024
Actor Don Castañeda, who played the role of Diego in the show aka Lila’s husband, expressed his true opinions on Lila and Five’s relationship stating (via US Weekly),
I didn’t understand. I was pissed off. I was angry. I talked to Steve [Blackman] a few times. I was like, ‘Hey, does this have to happen?’
Unfortunately for Castañeda, it did have to happen. As for the showrunner Steve Blackman, he opened up about the reception of the last season to RadioTimes.com.
Blackman stated that everyone is welcome to have their own opinions and thoughts on the ending and that he couldn’t please everyone. At the end of the day, according to him, all that has been done has only been for the fans.
I think the fans will have thoughts on it – I think some will love, some will maybe hate and some will have opinions, but I want to hear their opinions… “[What the fans think] does matter to me a lot. I can’t make all of them happy, I know that. We’ll make decisions that some will love, some will hate.
But I’m always thinking about the fans, the writers are always thinking about the fans. And we want to give them a great storyline, a wonderful, propulsive storyline with all the emotion, but we also want them to feel satisfied at the end of the day.
Judging by the fans’ reaction to it all, it doesn’t seem like Blackman was really able to accomplish what he wanted to. Despite the backlash, he is “proud” of the finale and firmly believes that this was the “right ending” for the show and the Hargreeves siblings.
Stream The Umbrella Academy on Netflix.