The Umbrella Academy

I’m obviously not the target audience. I expected something completely different of a comic book series. What I got instead were characters none of whom I could relate to (except Hazel), a completely predictable story, constant whining of the characters over their lives and all too frequent and unnecessary attempts at romance. (24.05.2019)

The first episode wasn't a fantastic sensation for me, it was more of a slow start to the series, during which the creators introduced me to all the important characters. However, some moments looked really interesting, so I expect nothing but improvement with the next episodes. I was extremely pleased with They Might Be Giants' cover version of the song "Istanbul (Not Constantinople)", which was excellently performed for WOW by Silver Letomi. (21.05.2019)

Aha, so I miscalculated a bit last time. There was no significant improvement compared to the first part, and this time I was mostly focused on the character played by Ellen Page. Once again, the Americans couldn't handle the Russian names and named the sad girl Váňa, which is funny no matter how you write it. Additionally, this character doesn't possess any special abilities except spreading depression, so it strongly reminds me of Marvin the robot from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. (22.05.2019)

The series is so far developing exactly the opposite way than I expected after the first episode. The quality is declining and not even this quite action-packed episode could prevent that, because the gang, which cleared the bank of armed individuals, is getting killed at home. At least the cultural aspect of things was not trimmed, Váňa and her violin might attract classical music lovers to the series. (22.05.2019)

This time, I didn't exactly feel overwhelmed with joy, but there was some improvement compared to the previous episode. I enjoyed the local necroscope, and I had a good laugh with the duo Hazel/Cha-Cha. I would have gladly skipped the final futile emotional attack, though, it completely missed me. (22.05.2019)

Neither a flop nor an amazing experience, it was simply a standard episode that was saved by the action-packed moments, without which it would have just been a boring stretch of the plot. For me, the episode still had one great moment: the attack with the ice cream truck accompanied by Wagner's "Ride of the Valkyries". (23.05.2019)

Although the plot is slightly above average throughout, I have grown accustomed to it. I silently hoped that the creators would avoid two things that could bother me, but it was in vain, as they used both. In the name of political correctness, testosterone passion was brought up again. I am not a good mathematician, but I would say that one out of six doesn't really correspond to four percent. Well, but that's trendy. The second thing was even worse - Vána's amazing abilities really manifested. It was as unexpected as Jean-Claude Van Damm's victory at the end of each of his movies. (23.05.2019)

What kept the series above average has quietly disappeared, more and more romantic moments are appearing, and at times I found the plot quite boring. All I can do is hope that the creators have saved some aces for the final three episodes to at least liven up the pace of the season a bit. (23.05.2019)

Today I had to be in a good mood, because I have the impression that the eighth episode didn't even deserve such a powerful allocation of stars from me. When I think about the plot a little, it turns out that besides Allison's interaction with Váňa, nothing really happened, and considering how desperately Allison rolled her eyes, it looks like this matter will also turn out well. I took one lesson from all of this for life - I will treat musicians, especially those who play string instruments, with the utmost caution. (24.05.2019)

Compared to the previous installment, there was more action, but it still wasn't anything that could excite me. What bothers me the most is probably the creators' lack of effort to make the story less predictable. Besides that, I could do without the constant lamenting of certain characters about their cruel fate, it was annoying even with one, now it's just too much. (24.05.2019)

I assumed that the creators would really care about the final episode of the first season and make up for those moments of boredom that I occasionally experienced, but they didn't. The biggest problem for me was the casting of the main antagonist, Ellen Page. I can tolerate her, but she just didn't fit into this role. At first, Váňa seemed like the embodiment of depression, and this time she was supposed to appear threatening, but those weird contact lenses just made her look like a worn-out doll to me. Actually, I had the feeling the whole time that the creators were making fun of me. (24.05.2019)