Netflix’s “Umbrella Academy” makes an impactful return with the debut of its thrilling second season, which aired on July 31st. After first airing in 2019, the first season was met with a mediocre response and mere Déjà vu. However, season two is better equipped to astonish its viewers and leave audiences falling in love with its characters.  
The show starts with its characters lost in the 1960s one year apart from one another. This separation creates much needed character development for each protagonist. Viewers spend time with one character at a time, which creates a more personal experience and compels the audiences into caring for each character. Characters that lacked screen time previously now have their moment in the spotlight. 
 The progression and pace of the show are more professionally edited and organized to tell its story like a nonstop rollercoaster. This change of pace is seen immediately by showing its viewers the end of the world, once again, right off the bat in its opening season’s intro. The events that lead to the end of the world are different and more puzzling than before, leaving viewers with various questions as soon as they begin the show. Though these questions are perplexing, the show never makes the same mistake from last season in making empty riddles and clues that finish in dead ends. 
 Answers find their way on to the screen effortlessly without anything feeling rushed or cheap. The improvement of show quality is reflected by its Rotten Tomatoes score of 90%, which has gone up by 15% compared to the first Season’s 75%. 
 Cinematography is taken to a much higher standard than the shows previous iteration. Its 1960s American setting provides the show with beautiful shots and nostalgic views. From cars to buildings, the show is sparkling with 1960s aesthetics and lingo. Sets are filled to the brim with atmosphere that grants the viewer a glimpse into a not so very distant past. Its camera work keeps audiences fantasizing about American life 60 years ago.  
 One drawback of the show is its use of time travel. Time travel is the main subject of this show. There is a key group of individuals that guard the Timeline, which the show revolves around heavily. The character’s access to this kind of ability can create flaws for the show and its plot. 
 “The Umbrella Academy” is left as a show that robs itself of any meaningful past or future. When all that is left is the constant, oppressive cloud of the End Times hovering overhead, that doesn’t leave many effective options for the present,” IndieWire critic Steve Green wrote in his review.  
 However, this is not the case.  
 The show’s ability to time travel is one of its greatest assets as it allows the show to present multiple timelines to the viewer. This, along with great writing, lets the viewer ponder more existentially about the subject of finally being happy in a timeline of your choosing. Where protagonists might finish their journey of time travel is a question all viewers will be dying to see.