The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Ending Explained

The Umbrella Academy, with its unique storytelling, has always placed a strong emphasis on family, no matter how dysfunctional it was. The saga of the Hargreeves siblings completes itself in the series finale when they all understand that every post-apocalyptic situation they encounter stems from their existence. It is destined to end in a different but no less deadly way, no matter how many times they save the planet.

Although a multiverse can be used to bring characters back to life and get them out of jail, The Umbrella Academy breaks its seemingly endless histories to make sure this is where the line ends. The last episode is problematic but ultimately satisfying, much like the folks at the center of this story.

We need to talk about how The Umbrella Academy concluded the family’s tale and why there was no other possible conclusion now that the fourth season has officially premiered on August 8, 2024.

After Umbrella Academy Season 4, are the Hargreeves siblings still alive?

Series Finale of 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4
Elliot Page, Robert Sheehan, Tom Hopper, David Castañeda, Justin H. Min, Ritu Arya, Aidan Gallagher, and Emmy Raver-Lampman in The Umbrella Academy (2019) | Source: IMDB

Gene (Nick Offerman) and Jean (Megan Mullally), as the leaders of The Keepers, thought they were living in a broken timeline. They supported the Umbrella Effect theory and cited the Umbrella Academy as an excellent example. They thought a disastrous occurrence known as “The Cleanse” would eliminate fragmented timelines and restore the primary one; Jennifer played a crucial role in this process.

Five (Aidan Gallagher) found himself in a subway station. They were brought to Max’s Delicatessen, a tiny diner owned by his variants. After the Hargreeves could not stop the cleanse, Lila (Ritu Arya) informed him it was over between them following an affair during the seven years they got lost across the multiverse. There, he realized that he, his brothers, and the other marigold children were accountable for the world’s end in many timelines (with the aid of one of his variations).

The multiverse was created due to the arrival of marigolds to Earth and the conception of the Hargreeves and other children. There were artworks all about the diner, showing several endings. Five thought their deaths and erasure from history would come from letting the purge consume them and their marigolds as the only way to preserve the universe.

Lila returned to the Hargreeves, and they waited for the cleanse to catch up with them after taking her family, kids, and Allison’s daughter Claire to the subway station and ensuring they boarded the train to a safer timeline. In the last scene of Umbrella Academy, Viktor is shown the main timeline in a vision and several happy characters from previous seasons, including Agnes, Hazel, the Swedes, and the Handler. The multiverse was mended since the Hargreeves were entirely obliterated, as evidenced by their absence.

What happened to Sir Reginald Hargreeves in The Umbrella Academy’s final timeline?

Series Finale of 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4
Colm Feore in The Umbrella Academy | Source: IMDB

The Hargreeves went to see their father, Reginald, to find out about his promise to assist them in recovering memories of Ben’s death in their original timeline and his defense of Jennifer’s village. To keep Jennifer safe and assist them in avoiding the umbrellas and marigold hosts, Reginald acknowledged building a village. But Viktor talked him out of killing Ben the moment they discovered him.

Viktor and Reginald worked closely throughout season 4 of The Umbrella Academy, but Viktor felt unworthy of Reginald’s treatment. Unaware of Abigail’s involvement in the cleansing, Reginald listened to her and her intentions, and he and his wife cheerfully celebrated the end of the world.

Although it is unclear if Reginald survives in the main timeline, he most likely died with Abigail when their home planet was destroyed and never released the marigolds if the Hargreeves’ sacrifice and the cleanse erased their entire existence. However, it is possible that Reginald traveled to Earth without releasing the marigolds.

What does The Flowers mean in the Mid-Credits Scene of The Umbrella Academy Season 4?

The Umbrella Academy’s mid-title scene contains one last surprise, but the credits also feature behind-the-scenes pictures from every season. Returning to the tree from before the credits rolled, the scene shows eight golden blossoms in full bloom as the camera descends to the tree’s roots. Though they are no longer with us or remembered, these flowers stand in for Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Five, Ben (Justin H. Min), Viktor, and Lila. It is a way to pay tribute to them after their sacrifice.

Did the Hargreeves family restore the original timeline in The Umbrella Academy season 4?

Indeed. Not only is the original timeline reinstated, but the lives of the numerous supporting characters from The Umbrella Academy return to normal.

The concluding shot of the fourth season finale features many well-known figures participating in various activities in a park bathed in sunlight. Lila’s family and Allison’s daughter can be seen having a picnic, kicking around a soccer ball, and playing with bubbles. In the meantime, viewers get a peek of The Swedes, the blonde-haired assassins from season 2, slinging a frisbee among themselves.

In a different area of the park, Grace, the mother of the Hargreeves family, is tending to a baby in a stroller, Hazel, a former Temps Commission agent, and Agnes, a worker at a doughnut shop, are riding their pedal bikes along a path. The Handler, the oppressive leader of The Temps Commission, is warming up for a run while she answers a call. Finally, Herb and Dot, two more Temps Commission workers, are playing backgammon on a park bench as an unidentified person is sketching their picture on a notepad.

What happened to Reginald and Abigail in The Umbrella Academy season 4?

They passed away, to put it briefly. At the end of the fourth season finale, we don’t see them being consumed by The Cleanse because the camera cuts away before we can see what occurs, but it’s reasonable to infer that they die.

However, this doesn’t happen because the Hargreeves siblings bring back the old chronology. Reginald is most likely banished back to his home Earth, to a time before he unleashed Marigold upon the cosmos, where he spends the remainder of his days alone. The fourth episode of this season has revealed to us—and prior seasons have hinted at it—that Abigail passed away from an unidentified illness. Grieving uncontrollably, Reginald releases Marigold into the wild, which initiates the whole plot of The Umbrella Academy.

It’s highly unlikely that the timeline reset granted them a happy ending in which Abigail is raised from the dead because the two are never seen again after The Cleanse kills them. I believe it’s the only reason she dies from her illness and that Reginald ends up alone on his home planet.

Ben and Jennifer proved to be a deadly duo

Series Finale of 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4
Victoria Sawal and Justin H. Min in The Umbrella Academy | Source: IMDB

Ben died in the alternate timeline after he opened a container holding a lethal weapon, according to information disclosed in The Umbrella Academy’s fourth season. They shook hands after he assisted Jennifer in getting away. Although Reginald shot them, the team forgot about the incident. In the present timeline, when Gene and Jean hit the Umbrellas’ van and start the cleanse Jen and Ben’s hands come into contact.

Abigail, Reginald’s wife, produced marigolds and an opposing particle known as “durango,” which led to the end of the world. In the original and current universes, Jennifer hosted Durango, and she touched Ben, which set off the apocalyptic events. The Hargreeves, Viktor included, tried everything to save Ben, but it was not enough, and he and Jennifer united to become a hideous creature that devoured everything.

None of the events described in The Umbrella Academy occurred

Series Finale of 'The Umbrella Academy' Season 4
Colm Feore, Dante Albidone, Aidan Gallagher, Cameron Brodeur, Eden Cupid, Ethan Hwang, and Blake Talabis in The Umbrella Academy | Source: IMDB

The most shocking aspect of Five’s understanding of what they needed to do to rescue the multiverse was that they would be obliterated from history, leaving no one to remember them. It’s unclear whether Lila’s family and Claire recognize them now that they’re in the main timeline. Still, the Hargreeves’ full disappearance became evident when individuals from previous seasons were seen living regular and utterly different lives in the main timeline.

Characters such as the Handler, the Swedes, and Herb can live normal lives without having to work for The Commission or chase the Hargreeves across histories. The Hargreeves’ sacrifice restored the timeline and reset history, so none of the events from The Umbrella Academy took place.

Is there a mid-credits or post-credits scene in The Umbrella Academy season 4?

A brief but magnificently shot scene opens the credits, but as the show ends here, there isn’t a post-credits sequence introducing the upcoming season (more on this later).

What does the mid-credits stinger reveal to us, then? Eight exquisite marigold flowers are shown as the camera pans down from the white tree that was featured in the season 4 finale’s last scene. The flowers release pollen into the air as they unfold their petals. While the Hargreeves siblings never lived as superhuman human entities in the previous timeline, it appears that some portion of them did. It’s a sad gesture to those who just gave their lives to rescue the universe again.

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About The Umbrella Academy

The Umbrella Academy is an American superhero series based on the comic book series of the same name written by Gerard Way. The series was created for Netflix by Steve Blackman and developed by Jeremy Slater.

The series revolves around seven children gifted with superpowers., who billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves turns into a team called The Umbrella Academy. The superhero siblings reunite to solve the mystery of their father’s death and the threat of an imminent apocalypse.

Siddharth Sood

Siddharth Sood

Meet our Founder - Siddharth Sood, aka ‘MC SID’ is an entrepreneur selling official licensed Fan merchandise by day and a Wedding Rapper by night. Sharing his opinions on pop culture is his true passion. Also its worth mentioning Batman and him have not been seen in the same room at the same time ever, just saying.

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