Netflix's 4-Season Fantasy Series Had The Same Ending Problem As Game Of Thrones

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Daenerys and her allies stand on a beach in Game of Thrones.

Published Jan 25, 2026, 10:18 AM EST

Craig began contributing to Screen Rant in 2016 and has been ranting ever since, mostly to himself in a darkened room. After previously writing for various outlets, Craig's focus turned to TV and film, where a steady upbringing of science fiction and comic books finally became useful. Craig has previously been published by sites such as Den of Geek.

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Despite the divisive reactions coming out of Hawkins, Game of Thrones remains the cultural touchstone for what constitutes a poor TV ending. The issues were numerous, from abrupt character changes to important plots becoming moot, but the tragedy of Game of Thrones season 8 can be broadly attributed to one specific obstacle: the show overtook the books.

All while Game of Thrones was following the path laid out by George R.R. Martin, it was the biggest and best thing on TV. But Martin's apparent reluctance to finish the mythical The Winds of Winter pushed Game of Thrones' final season into unknown, completely original territory. Ultimately, the HBO series collapsed under the weight of that burden.

While Game of Thrones' ending serves as a warning for any TV series with limited source material to draw from, a Netflix fantasy series (that began the very same year Game of Thrones ended) endured exactly the same problem.

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Was The First Season Not Based On Gerard Way's Comics

Justin Min as a sad Ben Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy season 4

A large part of The Umbrella Academy's appeal was its basis in the Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá comic books. As well as providing the Netflix series with a rich fictional universe and basic narrative outline, The Umbrella Academy came infused with the same macabre madness that made My Chemical Romance a global phenomenon.

The Umbrella Academy didn't follow Way's comics verbatim, with Game of Thrones probably the more faithful of the two adaptations, but the My Chemical Romance singer's work still provided a clear pathway for Netflix's series to follow. The Umbrella Academy season 1 adapted the first comic volume, Apocalypse Suite, season 2 followed the second volume, Dallas, and season 3 the third volume, Hotel Oblivion.

Unfortunately, that's all Way had written at the time. The Umbrella Academy's fourth volume, Plan B, began publication in June 2025, almost a year after the TV show had concluded.

The Umbrella Academy as young children standing in a row.

As seen with Game of Thrones, flying solo had a detrimental effect on The Umbrella Academy's final season. There was a jarring shift in tone between seasons 3 and 4, with the last run of episodes missing that same indescribable vibe that had made the past three seasons awesome.

But season 4's story was the bigger problem. The Umbrella Academy's first three seasons had all been based around a central concept taken directly from Way and Bá: the violin apocalypse, Kennedy in 1963 Dallas, and a weird hotel. The Umbrella Academy season 4 lacked a similarly strong idea at its core, and was more a disparate collection of character beats and rug-pulls.

The absence of a fourth comic book certainly wasn't the only problem with The Umbrella Academy season 4. The shortened episode count and a controversial romance angle made significant contributions. But it's hard not to think that if The Umbrella Academy season 4 had a literary foundation to build upon, the show's ending would have been far more successful. After all, the lesson was right there to be learned from Game of Thrones.