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Review: Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy is a mixed bag, but it still offers the nutty, stylish and energetic superhero antics that make the show great.

The second season of The Umbrella Academy elevated the Netflix show from blocky, clunkily-scripted superhero fare to a vibrant, self-aware time travel blast. It improved dramatically, adding a snappier, wittier, more humanistic touch to make it one of the best superhero shows out there.

Season 3 doesn’t make the same drastic leap, reaching a plateau. While it’s a mixed bag, the season still provides nutty superhero antics, gory moments and music video-esque needle drops set to Backstreet Boys or covers of Billie Eilish. It runs off the endearing plight of superpowered siblings united by their harsh billionaire father. The opening scene of season 3, probably one of the best of the entire series, encapsulates the sense of fun and polished visuals that make The Umbrella Academy a unique and cinematic superhero show.

Just after saving the world (again), the Hargreeves siblings discover the timeline has been altered and the Umbrella Academy has been replaced by a brand-new family of superheroes, much more powerful and far less dysfunctional. The Sparrows — whose powers include hallucination-inducing spit, levitation and the power of being a glowing blue cube (don’t ask) — struggle over whether to destroy the Umbrellas or hear them out.

Luthor (Tom Hopper) leads the Umbrellas negotiations with the Sparrows and potentially even finds romance. Underserved last season, the slow-witted yet charming strong man has leveled up from solely providing comic relief. Other background players have more to work with too — Ben (Justin H. Min), no longer a ghost, shows a memorably darker side as a member of the Sparrows.

This time around, The Umbrella Academy never quite manages to balance its comedic side with its heavier material. It sensitively covers subjects such as Vanya’s choice to transition into Viktor (played by Elliot Page) while the immortal Klaus (Robert Sheehan), for example, practices dying over and over again. The tones of these starkly different threads never fully mesh. While it’s a welcome change to see the siblings interact under the same roof for greater periods, the goofier characters grate with the more serious.

Much of the action is confined to the Umbrella Academy’s manor — now replaced by The Sparrow Academy — and the Obsidian Hotel, the new temporary home of the Umbrellas. These austere settings aren’t the most verdant ground to bulk up the siblings’ individual storylines. As is the case with many Netflix shows, the 10 episodes feel stretched.

While initially the Sparrows are intriguing villains — the team members are nasty to each other as well as to the Umbrellas — the parties’ confrontations enter gray areas. This leaves an empty space for a clear antagonist to focus the narrative. But the timeline-monitoring bureau known as The Commission is barely around now — neither is The Handler (Kate Walsh), with her deliciously scheming snarls.

The middle portion becomes muddled, albeit it’s where the heroes develop and change, sometimes into difficult-to-watch places. Still, there’s one thing The Umbrella Academy nails every time: the barnstorming superhero climax. The final episodes strap you back in and well and truly bring the bonkers energy, sibling tiffs and end-of-universe stakes. Not to mention setting up another tantalizing cliffhanger.

While it loses its way in the middle, season 3 of The Umbrella Academy still brims with everything that makes its gung-ho superhero mad house a winner. Among the stacked ranks of superhero show rivals, it still manages to hold its own.

Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy arrives on Netflix on June 22.