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TV Tuesdays Free Talk
Have you watched any TV shows recently you want to discuss? Any shows you want to recommend or are hyped about? Feel free to discuss anything here.
Please just try to provide fair warning of spoilers if you can.
I've been watching the newest season of Umbrella Academy. I loved the first 3 seasons, but I'm finding this one to be much weaker. I've only got one episode left to go, and I have no idea how they're going to wrap any of this up in a satisfying way.
Some of their powers are exactly what they had before, and some of them are very different, and it's never made clear exactly what they're capable of now. This leads to scene after scene of situations where the powers they used to have could definitely solve the problem, and the powers they seem to have now could probably solve the problem, but they just...don't...use...them. It strips a lot of the agency from the characters, and leaves me questioning what it is that I even want to happen. This happens with most of the Umbrellas, but with Klaus it's like, his entire existence in this season. His powers seem basically the same as they were in previous seasons, and he does use them so it's not like he's just avoiding them because he didn't want them back. Yet every single conflict that he's in could be resolved using the powers that he had last season, and he just...doesn't. It not only negated all of his character growth from the previous season, it also makes all of his scenes completely drag, and makes it very confusing to watch. I don't know what I'm rooting for.
There are some undeniable bright spots, though. The use of music to drive emotion continues to be masterfully done. The trend of people being evil and intentionally hurtful to Viktor without ever misgendering him continues, which I very much appreciate. New additions to the cast include David Cross, who is always a delight, as well as Nick Offerman and Megan Mullaly, and I always love a chance to watch them work together. Their characters are extremely interesting to watch. While there's no performance that I would say is lacking at all, Aidan Gallagher as Five continues to be a stand-out. That kid is destined for some really amazing things. The cinematography continues to be extremely stylish and well-thought out, evoking a comic-book come to life.
It's possible the last episode will tie this all together and make me eat my words. Even if it doesn't, it will have to be really bad for it to make me abandon this show as a favorite. So far it hasn't done anything to negate the fun of previous seasons, but it also hasn't at all held up to the standard they set.
I think the technical term is 'jumped the shark'. It doesn't necessarily mean you can't keep watching it. It just might mean turning down your expectations and accepting the weaker aspects to enjoy what you love about it.
Usually that comes when the stakes have been raised too high, or the cool stuff has already been done, so the writers can't match the same level of suspense or excitement. I would be okay with that, especially since it's the last season. A sort of winding down would be expected. This is something else. It's not slower or less intense, it's just less clear. The character development didn't slow or stall because most characters have reached stability in their arc, in several cases it reversed completely.
I'm still going to watch it to the end either way, and I will still enjoy it. I'm just frustrated at some of the wasted potential.
We've been watching Batman the cape crusader on Prime. Notwithstanding the addition of commercials, it's been very enjoyable. It feels like they are trying to tap into the energy of Batman TAS, so it's a big nostalgia hit for me. I am only a few episodes in, but I like the fact that they seem to be developing people from the police force as real characters and collaborators.
I just finished Shogun. Really impressed with the quality. I'm of 2 mine hearing that it has been changed from a standalone miniseries to at least a 2 season affair. Hopefully it can maintain the quality of the first season.