The Umbrella Academy is back on Netflix for Season 2. Are you wondering if The Umbrella Academy Season 2 is kid friendly? Well, it’s not. The Umbrella Academy Season 2 is rated TV-14 due to violence, language, and mature content, but that rating is wrong. It should have earned a TV-Ma rating. Here’s what parents need to know in The Umbrella Academy Season 2 Parents Guide.
Is The Umbrella Academy Season 2 Kid Friendly?
This quirkly superhero show is dark for sure, but The Umbrella Academy Season 2 seems even more gory than the first. The Apocalypse, The Commission, Doomsday, depression, racism, fighting, death, explosions, nuclear war, etc., are things you can expect in Season 2. Although it’s rated TV-14, The Umbrella Academy is not ok for kids.
Language
I stopped counting the bad language after the first two episodes. There were about 25 uses of sh–, 4 uses of son of a bit–, 5 uses of a-hole, another 4 uses of a–, 5 uses of g-ddamn, and 4 uses of damn. There is also other language like queer, pansy, dicks, phallus, pu–y, and bastard. There is an f-word later on in the series.
Mature Content
The Umbrella Academy 2 is straight up violent and not appropriate for tweens or younger kids. There is so much blood and gore, it started to make me queasy. Plus add A LOT of fighting, war, hand-to-hand combat, destruction, decapitation and even a head in a freezer. Most of the characters are trained assassins and they aren’t holding anything back. I’m still confused on how Netflix rated this as TV-14.
There are also characters making out and having sex (no full nudity), drug use, smoking, and also hard scenes to watch involving racism, homophobia, sexism, and cults. It’s heavy stuff. There’s also a scene in a strip club, with characters in essentially bra and underwear.
The Umbrella Academy Season 2 Parents Guide
If you liked the first season of The Umbrella Academy, expect much of the same. Though I do think this season is more violent, it has the same tone as the first. I don’t recommend The Umbrella Academy for kids under 16, and even then I’d leave this one for adults.
But for adults it is a show that’s unique. These aren’t your Marvel superheroes. You won’t leave feeling warm and fuzzy, but it should cause you to think about blurry lines of what’s good and evil and the definition of family.
The Hargreeves family is still dysfunctional, but they’re also closer for it. Do they really have to save the world again? And was it their fault…again?
The chemistry amongst the cast is what makes this show shine. The characters come flawed and after all they’ve been through we can relate to some of their insecurities and sadness.
The Umbrella Academy Season 2 is set in the 1960s around the assassination of John F. Kennedy. They’ve all been dropped into Dallas, Texas at different times when racism, homophobia, and misogyny are prevalent, and they don’t shy away from showing the ugliness of the time.
Shaye Wyllie asked in her review if all the racism was necessary? I can’t answer that, but it was definitely jolting to watch and she said it needs a trigger warning, which I agree with. I’m also one who questions why filmmakers and writers put a lot of things into show and movies that I believe are unnecessary to make a point. However, I usually get answered that it’s creative and artistic license. Allison is fighting for civil rights, but the reminders that we’re still fighting these same battles 60 years later is sobering.
Other trigger warnings are the homophobic slurs used and nastiness towards the gay relationships in the show. Plus the mistreatment of women and patriarchal dominance of the era. And don’t forget the glorification of violence.
Now aside from all that, The Umbrella Academy is just bizarre enough to work. Yes, the gore makes me queasy, but the stories are why I stay. Each member of the family has made horrible decisions and has done awful things, but the healing process and forgiveness makes me want to see what’s in store for Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy. Well that and Five’s smart mouth.
And if you’re a comic reader, check out my friend Tessa’s comparison of The Umbrella Academy Comic Books versus the show!