‘The Umbrella Academy’ Series Finale Explained

Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for the series finale of ‘The Umbrella Academy.’

The big picture

• The Hargreeves brothers must unite to stop the Keeper apocalypse in the final season of
  The Umbrella Academy
  .
• Ben’s death reveals the truth about a mysterious mission and uncovers family secrets.
• The ultimate sacrifice is made to restore the original timeline in a superhero finale.

The fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy is finally on Netflix and, true to form, it ends with one final apocalypse, and plenty of family drama along the way. When season 3 of The Umbrella Academy ended, the Hargreeves brothers found themselves in another reality without superpowers. But Five (Aidan Gallagher) soon discovers a mysterious organization seeking to restore the original timeline, which will cause an apocalypse that will reverberate through time and space.

Luther (Tom’s Hopper), Victor (Elliot’s Page), Allison (Emmy Raver Lampman), Diego (David Castaneda), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Well (Justin H. Min) and Five soon reunite to stop the Keepers, the secret organization aiming to bring about the Purification. In the meantime, they learn more about the circumstances behind their birth, a secret that hovers The Umbrella Academy since its inceptionAND another secret that pits two Hargreeves brothers against each other. So how does The Umbrella Academy END?

The secret of Ben’s death is finally revealed

One of the greatest mysteries about The Umbrella Academy concerns Ben’s death; prior to the events of the show and the Dark Horse comic Gerardo Street AND Gabriele Ba that serves as his inspiration, died on a mysterious mission. The season four episode “The Cleanse” finally reveals what happened to Ben, revealing that during a mission, he bonded with a girl named Jennifer (Victory Sawal). But their closeness to each other is what triggered the Purification. Ben, like the rest of his siblings, has an element called marigold in his body that gave him his powers. This causes a chain reaction in durango, another element in Jennifer’s body, which triggers the Purification, so the Hargreeves’ adoptive father Reginald (Colm Feore) fatally shoots Ben and Jennifer to prevent the apocalypse.

In the current timeline, Jennifer is kidnapped by the Keepers in an attempt to trigger the Purification. It turns out that Reginald’s wife, Abigail, is behind the Keepers, having disguised herself as one of their leaders, Gene (Nick Offerman); also took the form of Jennifer’s father, Sy Grossman (David Cross), to put the Umbrella Academy on a collision course with the Keepers. Abigail also reveals that she created the Marigold and Durango Particles, and wants to trigger the Purification to make things right with the universe.

Season 4 of “The Umbrella Academy” has one of the strangest relationships in the series’ history

While searching for the Hargreeves, Five and Diego’s wife, Lila (Ritu Arya) discover a subway that can travel through time; when they return, there is a tension that Diego immediately picks up on. The season four episode “Six Years, Five Months and Two Days” reveals that Five and Lila have been stuck in a certain moment for about seven years and have developed a romantic relationshipAlthough this choice has divided fans of The Umbrella Academyartistic director Steve Blackman thought it made perfect sense and elaborated on the decision during a video interview with TVLine:

“Lila and Five are a lot more alike than they’d like to admit… They argue and bicker constantly, but they’re more alike than anyone. So, seven years together: it just made sense that something would happen… It felt like it was worth a try, and I thought it was worth it.”

But that’s not the only time Five uses the time-traveling subway. In the series finale, “End of the Beginning,” he takes another turn and meets alternate versions of himself who tell him that there is only one way to stop the final apocalypse.

“The Umbrella Academy” Ends With the Hargreeves Family’s Ultimate Sacrifice

The alternate Five tell First Five that the presence of the marigold itself is what causes the fragmentation of time and triggers the various apocalypses the Hargreeves have encountered. Five then tells his brothers that they must let the Purification happen to restore the timeline to its original state. After saying goodbye to their families, the Hargreeveses join the Cleanse and restore the timeline to normal. “End is the Beginning” ends, appropriately enough, with the Hargreeveses’ loved ones, including Diego and Lila’s children and their mothers, sitting in a park as “I Think We’re Alone Now” plays. Tiffany theatrical works.

Blackman says he knew he wanted to end the show with the Hargreeveses giving up their lives to save the world. “I thought there was an interesting idea of ​​ceasing to exist, of never having been known. What’s a superhero if no one knows you exist? That was the philosophical question. Can you be a superhero if no one ever knew you were one? What does that mean to them? And I also thought it was an incredible sacrifice,” he said. The Hollywood ReporterAlthough this is the end of the show, Umbrella Academy Fans will be happy to know that there’s a ton of related material slated to hit shelves, including more comics from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá.

The Umbrella Academy is available for streaming on Netflix in the United States

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