The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Ending Explained

Warning: major spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 4.

Summary The Hargreeves made the ultimate sacrifice by letting themselves be erased to save the universe.

Eight golden flowers represent the Hargreeves in a mid-credits scene, honoring their sacrifice.

Abigail's role in creating marigolds and durango led to the triggering of the apocalypse.

The Umbrella Academy has ended with its fourth season, which was packed with surprises, twists, and an equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful future for the universe. Based on the comic book series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, The Umbrella Academy arrived on Netflix in 2019 and was very well-received by critics and general audiences. The Umbrella Academy season 4 caught up with the Hargreeves in Reginald’s (Colm Feore) custom timeline, six years after the end of season 3. The Hargreeves parted ways to try and live normal lives, but most of them kept in touch.

After Viktor (Elliot Page) was kidnapped by Sy Grossman (David Cross), who wanted the Umbrellas to team up to find his daughter, Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), the team regained their powers thanks to a jar of marigolds in Sy’s possession. The Umbrellas went on a mission to find Jennifer, but they made some shocking discoveries, such as Jennifer being under Reginald’s protection, a group known as the Keepers wanting to trigger “the cleanse”, and Jennifer and Ben (Justin H. Min) being involved in the apocalypse. To save the world, the Hargreeves made a huge sacrifice that brought their stories to a definitive end.

Are The Hargreeves Siblings Really Dead After The Umbrella Academy Season 4?

The Hargreeves Made The Ultimate Sacrifice

Image via Netflix

The Keepers believed that a catastrophic event known as “The Cleanse” would happen and get rid of the broken timelines.

The Keepers were led by Gene (Nick Offerman) and Jean (Megan Mullally), and they were an organization who were sure they lived in a broken timeline. Gene and Jean gathered a lot of evidence of the existence of other timelines and used the Umbrella Academy as the prime example, naming their theory “The Umbrella Effect”. The Keepers believed that a catastrophic event known as “The Cleanse” would happen and get rid of the broken timelines so the main one could be restored, and they knew that Jennifer was key to it.

Five, his siblings, and the rest of the marigold children were responsible for the end of the world in countless timelines.

After the Hargreeves were unable to stop the cleanse and Lila (Ritu Arya) told Five (Aidan Gallagher) it was over between them after an affair during the seven years they got lost across the multiverse, Five came across himself in one of the subway stations and was taken to Max’s Delicatessen, a small diner ran entirely by his variants. There he understood (with the help of one of his variants) that he, his siblings, and the rest of the marigold children were responsible for the end of the world in countless timelines.

Five understood that the only way to save the universe was to let the cleanse consume them and their marigolds.

The marigolds' arrival on Earth and the creation of the Hargreeves and the other children branched the main timeline, creating the multiverse. The diner was covered with artwork of the different ways they had ended the world across the multiverse, so Five understood that the only way to save the universe was to let the cleanse consume them and their marigolds – however, that meant that they wouldn’t just be killed, but they would be erased from all history.

After Lila took her family, children, and Allison’s daughter Claire to the subway station and made sure they got on the train to a safer timeline, she rejoined the Hargreeves and they waited for the cleanse to catch up with them. The Umbrella Academy’s final scene showed the main timeline, which was shown to Viktor in a vision, and various characters from past seasons happily living in it, as were Hazel, Agnes, the Swedes, and the Handler. The Hargreeves weren't there, confirming that their sacrifice fixed the multiverse, but they were completely erased.

What The Flowers Mean In The Umbrella Academy Season 4's Mid-Credits Scene

Eight Golden Flowers Blossomed In The Umbrella Academy Season 4’s Mid-Credits Scene

These flowers represent Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Ben, Viktor, and Lila.

The credits of The Umbrella Academy show behind-the-scenes photos from all seasons, but there’s one final surprise in a mid-credits scene. The scene goes back to the tree shown before the show cut to the credits and the camera goes down to its roots to show eight golden flowers blossoming. These flowers represent Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Five, Ben (Justin H. Min), Viktor, and Lila, so even though they aren’t alive anymore nor are they remembered, they are still present and the flowers are a way to honor them after their sacrifice.

How Ben & Jennifer Trigger The Umbrella Academy's Final Apocalypse

Ben & Jennifer Turned Out To Be A Deadly Combination

Reginald’s wife, Abigail, explained that she created the marigolds, but an opposite particle she named “durango” was also created.

The Umbrella Academy season 4 finally revealed how Ben died in the original timeline: the Umbrellas were on a mission to destroy a deadly weapon in a container but were instructed not to open it. Ben heard someone inside and opened it, finding a young Jennifer inside. Ben helped Jennifer out of the container, meaning they touched hands. Once out, Reginald appeared and shot Jennifer and Ben, and later erased this event from the memories of the rest of the team. In the current timeline, Jen and Ben’s hands touched when Gene and Jean hit the Umbrellas’ van, thus kicking off the cleanse.

Reginald’s wife, Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell), explained that she created the marigolds, but an opposite particle she named “durango” was also created. When durango came into contact with a marigold, it created an unstoppable physical reaction that led to the extinction of everything – and that was “The Cleanse”. Jennifer hosted durango, so when she touched Ben in the original timeline and the current one, they triggered the apocalypse. Unfortunately, and as much as they tried, especially Viktor, the Hargreeves couldn’t save Ben and he and Jennifer merged into a monstrous, deformed creature that kept growing and growing until it consumed everything.

None Of The Umbrella Academy's Story Actually Happened (Thanks To The Cleanse)

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Made A Major Reset

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The biggest shocker in Five’s realization of what they had to do to save the multiverse was that they would be erased from history, so no one would remember them. It’s unclear if Lila’s family and Claire don’t remember them now that they are in the main timeline, but the Hargreeves’ total absence was clear when characters from past seasons were shown living normal and completely different lives in the main timeline.

Without the Hargeeves, characters like the Handler, the Swedes, and Herb don’t have to work for The Commission or chase the Hargreeves across different timelines and can live normal lives. The Hargreeves’ sacrifice not only fixed the timeline but also reset history, so thanks to the cleanse, none of the events from The Umbrella Academy actually happened.

What Happened To Sir Reginald Hargreeves In The Umbrella Academy's Final Timeline

The Hargreeves Met A Completely Different Reginald

Although this Reginald was a bit more understanding, he also wanted to kill Ben as soon as they found him.

After seeing that the town where Jennifer lived was protected by people under Reginald’s command, the Hargreeves reluctantly visited their father to get some answers. Reginald admitted to setting up a town to protect Jennifer and keep her away from the Umbrellas (and any marigold host, really), and agreed to help them regain their memories of how Ben died in their original timeline. Although this Reginald was a bit more understanding, he also wanted to kill Ben as soon as they found him, but Viktor convinced him not to.

Viktor and Reginald worked closely in The Umbrella Academy season 4, and the latter told Viktor that he didn’t deserve to be treated the way his Reginald treated him, and to him, he was worthy of wearing the team’s uniform. However, Reginald was unaware of Abigail’s role in the cleanse, and when he finally listened to her and her motives, he welcomed the end of the world with his wife by his side.

It’s unknown if Reginald is alive in the main timeline or not, but if the Hargreeves’ sacrifice and the cleanse undid their whole existence, then Reginald never released the marigolds and probably died with Abigail when their home planet was destroyed, though he might have still traveled to Earth without releasing the marigolds.

Abigail’s Role In The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Explained

Reginald’s Wife Played A Key Role In The Umbrella Academy Season 4

No one expected Abigail being key to the triggering of the apocalypse.

One of the biggest twists in The Umbrella Academy was Abigail’s involvement in the apocalypse. Abigail presented herself as a caring and kind woman, opposite to Reginald’s cold and often cruel ways. Abigail explained to the Hargreeves that she created the marigolds and accidentally created durango as well, and the consequences of these coming into contact – what no one expected, however, was Abigail being key to the triggering of the apocalypse.

Abigail had been posing as Sy Grossman/Denny Muntz the whole time, which is why he had a jar of marigolds, as she needed the Hargreeves to find it so they could regain their powers. Abigail also led the team to the town where Jennifer was hidden and killed Gene to pose as him and make sure the cleanse happened. Abigail explained to Reginald in the series finale of The Umbrella Academy that her death was what she deserved for creating something as horrible as durango, which confirmed what happened to her and Reginald’s home planet.

Abigail questioned Reginald for releasing the marigolds, with the latter saying he did it because he missed her. Abigail admitted to messing with his efforts to keep Ben and Jennifer away as the cleanse was her way of setting things right again. Reginald understood Abigail’s point and feelings and welcomed the end of the world with her. Abigail and Reginald were nowhere to be seen in The Umbrella Academy’s final scene.