The Umbrella Academy season 4 ending explained: who dies, will there be a season 5, and your biggest Netflix questions answered
Full spoilers follow for The Umbrella Academy season 4.
The Umbrella Academy season 4 has finally landed on Netflix – and, with it, the Hargreeves family’s story has come to a close. More than five years after its first season’s debut the hit series has officially ended, and I’m sure you’re as misty-eyed as I am over its incredibly bittersweet conclusion.
Sad though I am to see one of the best Netflix shows end for good, I can’t get too upset just yet. I know you’ve got big questions rattling around inside your head about The Umbrella Academy‘s final season, so I’m going to do my best to answer them.
Full season 4 spoilers immediately follow, so read my spoiler-light review of The Umbrella Academy season 4 and then watch it on one of the world’s best streaming services if you’re not caught up. Otherwise, prepare for a raft of superpowered spoilers right about… now!
Who dies in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
Technically, a lot of people. The Cleanse – the monstrous, blob-like entity born out of the merging of Ben Hargreeves and Jennifer’s bodies – goes on a citywide rampage, killing anyone who gets in its way. Unless the Hargreeves family stops it, it’ll continue to grow exponentially and consume the entire world.
To be more specific, the show’s eight main characters – i.e., the superpowered Hargreeves siblings – are the most noteworthy casualties. Ben notwithstanding, the other seven make the ultimate sacrifice to not only save the day for the fourth time, but also to restore the original timeline that existed before they were born.
As Five Hargreeves reveals to the group, they need to die to stop the never-ending cycle of apocalyptic events and universal resets. Essentially, they’re timeline anomalies who shouldn’t have been created in the first place. Indeed, it was the substance known as marigold, which was released into the universe by Sir Reginald Hargreeves – aka the extraterrestrial being who becomes their emotionally cold surrogate father – that led to their supernatural births on October 1, 1989.
As we learn in season 4 episode 4, marigold was created by Reginald’s wife (and fellow alien) Abigail. Upon successfully synthesizing the particle, though, Abigail also unknowingly created another element – called durango – that, when mixed with marigold, causes a physical, irreparable chemical chain reaction and an inevitable extinction level event. Think of them as this franchise’s versions of matter and anti-matter but, instead of canceling each other out, combining them causes the destruction of life as we know it.
It’s not explained fully, but Jennifer is the only individual whose body contains durango. Regardless, it’s her and Ben’s infatuation with one another that leads to her durango and his marigold fusing to create The Cleanse.
Anyway, to stop The Cleanse and restore the original timeline, the Hargreeves siblings must allow themselves to be consumed by the repulsive, fleshy monstrosity. According to Five, their marigold will cancel out The Cleanse’s durango, thereby ending another apocalyptic event and reinstating the original universe, but at the cost of their lives. Nobody will remember their sacrifice, either, because technically it never happened.
Lila initially refuses to join her brothers and sisters because she wants to keep her own parents and kids safe. However, Five’s plan will only work if they’re all consumed by The Cleanse so, if Lila doesn’t give up her marigold and perish alongside her siblings, the timeline reset won’t occur. She soon realizes that this is the only way to protect her children, so she leaves them and her parents on one of the time-traveling subway trains (knowing they’ll be safe in the process) before rejoining her siblings at the rundown Hargreeves family home.
Standing in a circle, the group bring their marigold to the center of their chests. As The Cleanse engulfs the family home, they heart-breakingly (and humorously) bid farewell to one another before they’re consumed by The Cleanse.
Did the Hargreeves family restore the original timeline in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
Yes. The original timeline is not only restored, but The Umbrella Academy‘s extensive supporting cast of characters get their normal lives back.
In the season 4 finale’s last scene, we see a whole host of familiar faces engaging in numerous activities in a sun-drenched park. Lila’s family and Allison’s daughter are seen playing with bubbles, kicking a soccer ball about, and enjoying a picnic. Meanwhile, The Swedes – the blonde-haired assassins from season 2 – can be glimpsed throwing a frisbee between themselves.
In another corner of the park, former Temps Commission agent Hazel and donut shop worker Agnes walk on a path with their pedal bikes, Grace – the Hargreeves family’s mom – tends to a baby in a pram, and The Handler (The Temps Commission’s tyrannical leader) is limbering up to go for a run as she takes a phone call. Lastly, other Temps Commission employees Herb and Dot are playing backgammon on a park bench as someone (I can’t work out who this is) sketches their portrait on a notepad.
There are some notable individuals missing from this heart-warming cast montage, including Mary J Blige’s Cha-Cha, Ashley Madekwe’s Eudora Patch, Marin Ireland’s Sissy Cooper, and Justin Paul Kelly/Callum Keith Rennie’s Harlan Cooper. Still, it’s nice to see that many of the show’s supporting cast returned to give their own characters a sense of closure.
What happened to Reginald and Abigail in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
The short answer is they died. We don’t see them get devoured by The Cleanse at the end of the season 4 finale’s middle act – the camera cuts away before we see what happens – but it’s safe to assume that they’re killed.
However, because the Hargreeves siblings revive the original timeline, this doesn’t actually happen. What likely occurs is that Reginald is sent back to his home world – to a time before he releases marigold into the universe – where he lives out the rest of his days alone. As we know from this season’s fourth episode (and previously alluded to in other seasons), Abigail died of an unknown disease. Consumed by grief, Reginald releases marigold into the wild, which sets The Umbrella Academy‘s entire story in motion.
The pair aren’t seen again after The Cleanse kills them, so it’s highly unlikely that the timeline reset gave them a happy ending where Abigail has been resurrected. For that reason alone, I suspect she still succumbs to her illness and Reginald lives out a lonely existence on his home planet.
Why didn’t ‘Second Ben’ appear in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
I suspect this is one of the season 4’s biggest unanswered questions that many viewers will want an answer to.
To solve it, we need to remind ourselves about what was shown in The Umbrella Academy season 3’s post-credits sequence. In it, we see what appears to be another version of Ben Hargreeves, aka The Sparrow Academy’s Ben (let’s call him Sparrow Ben), who was in seasons 3 and 4, and Original Ben, who was a member of The Umbrella Academy and existed as a ghost in seasons 1 and 2.
The Ben in season 3’s post-credits scene – for the sake of this explanation, let’s call him Ben 3.0 – is not only seen reading a book about pottery on a Korean subway train, but is also sporting a completely different look to Sparrow Ben. Given the confusing nature of the show’s multiple timelines and alternate universes, fans immediately suspected Ben 3.0 was a different entity to Sparrow Ben, which led some viewers to theorize that we’d see two Bens in season 4.
So, why didn’t Ben 3.0 show up? Because he and Sparrow Ben are the same character. Speaking to Netflix Tudum after season 3’s release in July 2022, showrunner Steve Blackman said of fans’ theories about Ben 3.0: “Let’s be clear – that is Sparrow Ben”. So, there’s your answer.
Of course, that poses another question: why didn’t season 4 address why Sparrow Ben was in Korea reading a pottery book? From what we learn throughout this season, Sparrow Ben initially spent the six years (between season 3’s ending and its successor’s premier) being a cryptocurrency scammer before he was caught and sent to jail.
So, what’s that got to do with where season 3’s post-credits stinger left him? I suspect Sparrow Ben was in Korea as part of his global criminal scheme. As for the novel, maybe he’s just a secret pottery aficionado. Hey, don’t judge him, we all have quirky hobbies.
Does Sloane Hargreeves appear in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
Nope. Genesis Rodriguez, who played Sloane Hargreeves – the only other Sparrow Academy member who made it to the season 3 finale – doesn’t appear in the fourth and final season.
This poses another big question. If Sparrow Ben survived the universe reset in the season 3 finale, why didn’t Sloane? And, if there are multiple versions of Five (as seen in the cafe scene in the season finale’s third act), why don’t other versions of Sloane exist in the multiverse?
The simple answer is: we don’t know. It’s likely that she only existed in the season 3 timeline, whereas there was another version of Ben – i.e., Original Ben – who existed before we were introduced to Sparrow Ben. It’s either that, or showrunner Steve Blackman just wanted Justin H. Min, who plays Ben, to be part of the show’s main cast throughout its four-season run. This is one particular loose plot thread, then, that isn’t resolved before the show ends.
Who is The Phoenix Academy in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
Like The Sparrow Academy, The Phoenix Academy is just another universe’s version of The Umbrella Academy. It appears that they’re a couple of familiar faces in their lineup – the blonde-haired leader looks like the same actor who played young Luther in season 4 episode 4’s flashback, while the sunglasses-wearing individual seems to be a young version of Fei, i.e., one of The Sparrow Academy’s members.
If nothing else, it’s confirmation that Sir Reginald created another superhero team in another dimension. Unfortunately, given how season 4 ends, we won’t see this group star in a spin-off show, so this is the only glimpse we’ll ever get of The Phoenix Academy.
Is there a mid-credits or post-credits scene in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
There’s a small, beautifully shot mid-credits scene but, considering this is the end of the entire series, there’s no post-credits scene that sets up its next season (more on this shortly).
So, what does the mid-credits stinger show us? As the camera pans down from the white tree that featured in the season 4 finale’s closing shot, we see eight, gorgeous marigold flowers unfurl their petals and release their pollen into the air. It’s a bittersweet nod to each of the Hargreeves siblings who’ve just given their lives to save the universe again and seems to suggest that, while they never existed as superpowered human entities on the original timeline, some part of them did. We’re not crying, you are.
When will The Umbrella Academy season 5 come out on Netflix?
It won’t. The Umbrella Academy season 4 is the show’s final chapter, so – to use some subway terminology – the popular Netflix series has reached its final destination.
In August 2022, we reported that The Umbrella Academy would meet its apocalyptic end with a fourth and final entry. Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter after the announcement was made, showrunner Steve Blackman revealed he’d always had a four-season arc in mind for the TV adaptation, hence why there won’t be a fifth installment.
Given how season 4 ends, there’s no way that a fifth season could be surprisingly greenlit, either. The Hargreeves siblings never existed, the original timeline has been restored, and the seemingly infinite cycle of world-ending events has been laid to rest. Case well and truly closed.
For more Netflix-based coverage, read our guides on Stranger Things season 5, Squid Game season 2, Arcane season 2, and Wednesday season 2.
