Fans of The Umbrella Academy spot a big editing mistake in season 4

Eagle-eyed fans of The Umbrella Academy have spotted a major editing error in the fourth season, receiving criticism for both its visuals and its writing.

The fourth and final season began streaming on Netflix on 8 August. Fans quickly noticed a camera rig setup visible in the back of a car during an exterior shot in the fifth episode. “I am watching The Umbrella Academy season 4 and noticed they forgot a whole a** camera rig in the backseat of a car during this shot,” a fan posted on X.

This error has intensified the frustration among fans, who are already disappointed with the latest season. They have criticized the “lazy” writing, which many believe has derailed character development established in previous seasons and included plot twists perceived as out of character.

“The Umbrella Academy writers cooking up a worse ending than Game of Thrones,” one fan commented on X. Another fan added, “Absolutely horrendous, wish I had not bothered watching. Commits total character assassination on characters that I’ve loved for years. Disgusted and disappointed.”

Regarding the editing mistake, fans didn’t hold back their criticisms. “What the actual f*** if this isn’t proof of how little care was put into this season what is?” one fan remarked.

The sci-fi drama, which debuted in 2019, has a critical score of 61 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes but a much lower audience score of 18 per cent. The show also faced controversy in July when showrunner Steve Blackman was accused of toxic and bullying behavior on set.

According to Rolling Stone, Blackman, who co-created the show with Jeremy Slater, faced allegations of creating a discriminatory environment toward women. At least 12 staffers claimed that Blackman had hired a female writing team, one of whom was pregnant and took maternity leave one month into her 20-week job. She returned a month before her contract was set to end. While the rest of the team’s contracts were extended for another 10 weeks, the female writing team’s contracts were not.

One employee alleged, “He told me he fired them because one was pregnant and didn’t tell him,” while another claimed Blackman felt “ripped off” that he didn’t know the writer was pregnant when he hired her.

Further allegations against Blackman included making “sexist, homophobic, and transphobic” comments throughout the show’s filming. In a complaint made in 2023, Blackman allegedly wrote to an unnamed recipient: “Elliot [Page] wants to come out as trans on the show. As Ivan. Oh my f***ing God. Kill me now.”

Blackman has denied all allegations. His representative stated that his concern with including Elliot Page’s trans storyline was due to the scripts already being completed. The representative also said that over six years and four seasons, Steve Blackman led The Umbrella Academy to become a beloved series with enthralling stories and a dedicated team.

“These allegations from a handful of disgruntled employees are completely false and outrageous, and in no way reflect the collaborative, respectful, and successful working environment Mr. Blackman has cultivated,” the representative added.

The Independent has contacted Netflix and Blackman’s representatives for comment.

The Umbrella Academy, adapted by Blackman from the comic book series written by My Chemical Romance singer Gerard Way, follows a family of adopted sibling superheroes. It stars, among others, Elliot Page, Tom Hopper, Emmy Raver-Lampman, and Robert Sheehan.

Source: The Independent, Rolling Stone