Commentary: ‘Terminator Zero’ Utilizes Time Travel Better Than ‘The Umbrella Academy’
by Frank Martin
Time travel is like catnip to storytellers. The thought of characters traveling back in time and affecting the past, the present, and the future has a tremendous upside in creating a narrative. The problem lies in the many paradoxes and rules that come with the territory. There are so many different ways that time travel stories can go wrong — not just confusing audiences, but also muddying the waters in terms of their own plot. Two stories involving time travel have been recently released on Netflix in close proximity to one another. On the surface, they are very different, but a lot can be gained from analyzing their use of time travel.
The first is the final season of The Umbrella Academy. Way back in the show’s first season, time travel was introduced as an important element as Five (Aidan Gallagher) was shown to have traveled back in time using his teleportation powers. From then on, time travel played a key part of the show, but it was always viewed in a quirky manner. This is in contrast to the anime Terminator Zero. Its parent franchise has always had time travel at the center of its plot, and Terminator Zero truly examines the ramifications of the device as a scientific theory.
There are plenty of time travel stories that play fast and loose with the rules. The Umbrella Academy takes a nuanced approach as it wants to have real stakes while also some silly fun. A great example of this: when two people occupy the same time and space, it causes them to have terrible flatulence. This is a completely wacky detail that brings no real substance to the conversation. By contrast, Terminator Zero has an entire scene where Eiko (Sonoya Mizuno), right before she is about to travel back in time, is given an explanation as to how it is a pointless tactic. By going back in time, one cannot change the past because they are not going back to the same past. Instead, they are creating a completely new future. This examination of time travel is way more sophisticated than anything discussed in The Umbrella Academy.
The Umbrella Academy and Terminator Zero are both streaming on Netflix.
