THE beloved dysfunctional Hargreaves family of superheroes returned in a new season of Netflix’s hit series, Umbrella Academy, last week.

Being one of the most anticipated shows of the streaming site, a Big Bang of events was expected in the new season; however, it did not quite live up to the preceding episodes.

When the adaptation of the comic book first aired in 2019, the show garnered a lot of fans with its mixture of drama, comedy and science fiction.

This new season, however, flat lined considering the many twists the show took which made the plot difficult to follow. The story appeared disconnected.

Having arrived back in an alternative version of the present day following a stint in 1960s Dallas, Texas, the Hargreaves discover that they had been replaced, by a new set of children which their father, Reginald Hargreaves (Colm Feore), adopted.

With new main characters each of whom have unique connections to the other and original stories, there appeared to be a lot happening with the series this season.

The producers also attempted to stitch in flashbacks from previous seasons which overall made the show overstuffed.

The latest batch of episodes is filled with fun moments, but a strong beginning and end do not compensate for a middle section that struggles to keep the energy going.

It turns out that the last season confrontation between the siblings and their father accidentally altered the future. Their father, Hargreaves, decided not to adopt the version of the Hargreaves siblings we are more familiar with.

Instead, he chose a different set of seven super-powered children who went on to form a version of the ‘Umbrella Academy’ called the ‘Sparrow Academy’.

With the introduction of the Sparrows, the story gets a bit confusing as the series tries to dive deep into the lives of both the Umbrellas and the Sparrows.

Sadly, while the show didn’t quite hit the mark, there were some worthwhile mentions.

This season saw the fan favourite lover boy, Luther, (Tom Hopper) finding his heart’s true desire in a companion who finally understands him, Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins).

Grace happens to be a Sparrow. While the previous villain, Vanya, who is now known as Victor (Elliot Page), is villain no more.

Victor finally came into his own truth and opened up to his family about being trans. This plot, in particular, was a stand out as organic.

The season, nevertheless, ended with a cliff-hanger. Of course, the family had to, again, save the world from another apocalypse-like scenario. This time, however, the Umbrellas were without superpowers because they were in a different multiverse.

The show ended with more questions than answers.