2019.03.12
Just saw the first episode, and I'm allowing myself to feel a little hope. Someone decided to mash up a lot of X-Men First Class, some Heroes, a bit of Harry Potter, and a touch of League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and improbably enough it seems to be working. I really like the cool clubhouse, the deep lore that seems to keep on giving, and the little human touches that make the characters come alive. I haven't been this hopeful for a new series since I can't recall. Please let this be something.
* spoilers *
2019.03.17
Two episodes left to go. I'm still into it, but there are some tropes here that are hard to accept. I feel like there is a whole bunch of accepted methods from the comic book world, a world I have never liked or followed, that will never work for me. Mainstream comics feels like modern day 'wrestling' to me, bound by dumb rules in some attempt to be entertaining.
There are other tropes which feel very mainstream Hollywood, that also enforce stupidity on characters and story. I especially don't like watching whole episodes of story and character development and then having the reset button pushed like its no big deal. And then they kill a main character and we're supposed to act like its real and permanent?
I still can't figure out when this show is set. Is it the 90s? No one seems to have a phone, and we see payphones in use every episode. And the cars are all old. I dare not look online, I don't want even a hint of spoilage so I'll just put up with it.
Still there's plenty to still like and love. Most of all I love its sense of humor and seriousness, and how quickly and adeptly it can move between them. I love the deep history that is never handed to you but constantly pokes out from behind a curtain, sometimes in crude exposition dump but usually subtle.
2019.03.18
Just watched the last episode of Season 1.
There are certain things I really want to nitpick, but I almost feel I can't, because the usual rules don't apply here. It's almost as if this wasn't a movie or tv show, but more like a comic book world where the as long as it feels right logic and continuity can just be forgotten.
Who sent a platoon of soldiers to shoot at our heroes? As the Handler tells us, Number Five blew up the briefcases (I guess she still had one somewhere, as she was able to travel). And why can't the soldiers hit anything? Well, in retrospect, they were doing their job, keeping the Umbrella kids always moving with no time to think, so they could make a stupid rush at Vanya while she was doing nothing wrong, instead of waiting to talk to her normally.
I like the circular nature of the problem, that the Umbrella Academy causes the apocalypse. But then why did Hargreeves travel from the future just to create it? And what was in the jar of little spirits he let go? The original 43 babies born, of which Hargreeves collected 7? Whatever happened to all the others? I was thinking other Umbrella Academies were created around the world, as these various babies were scooped up like valuable trading cards. And what's with all the rockets flying at once? It reminds me of the end of a Terminator movie, with all the nukes being launched in rural areas, and of the Superman story where aliens send their child (children in this case) to another world to start over.
It gets very tiring that nobody can talk to each other, everyone acts first. Though there are refreshing moments, such as when an exasperated Number Five wants to cut to the chase and just blurts out the point.
At least now I can start looking this up on the net.
OK, I'm glad to see that the fact that these kids are all messed up from their childhood is kind of the point. They were set up for failure right from the beginning. Was Hargreeves that inept, or was this always the plan?
The tvtropes are hard to read through, as they're constantly comparing points to the comic books. Do I want to spoil myself on the comics? Do I want to just read a list of the important bullet point comparisons? I don't normally read comics, but its tempting, as there won't be any more of this show for at least a year, and that's if its renewed.
I just realized, I'm going to miss Pogo. He never did get a flashback. I just assume he was rescued from a circus, elevated, and decided to keep his slave name for humble reasons.
I think what I'm stuck on right now is did this family ever have free will? Were they always doomed to cause the apocalypse? Apparently so, but there seems to be moments when she could just be talked to.
Still reading tvtropes and the non-stop comparisons to the source comic, I think I'm liking some of the tv show choices more.
Reading about Vanye, the threat she represented as a child really can't be underestimated. She killed (or nearly came close enough to still count) several nannies in a row before they finally came up with using a bot. She had to be restrained chemically, psychologically, and with the compelling power of Allison. Taking all this into account, maybe its not so strange she slides inexorably towards apocalypse. After all, we only were shown her placid drugged state, never her true nature.
