‘The Umbrella Academy’ Season 3 Ending Explained

***SPOILER ALERT: This post discusses the season 3 finale of ‘The Umbrella Academy. Obviously.***

Like previous finales of Netflix’s trippy superhero series ‘The Umbrella Academy’, season 3 ended with an explosion that blasted the Hargreeves siblings into a new reality. The siblings (along with the surviving Sparrows) discover that the Hotel Obsidian is actually the Hotel Oblivion, a portal to a reset button for the universe. And this reset comes in handy, as the Kugelblitz threatens to consume the universe. To activate the button, seven people must pass through a secret tunnel and ring seven bells protected by a Guardian. But before the journey, we lose two Hargreeves: Reginald murders Luther and blames it on the Guardian to manipulate the other siblings. And when Reginald rejects Klaus, he jumps onto the horns of the white buffalo, killing himself. But don’t worry, no Hargreeves sibling is ever dead for very long (apologies to Ben).

This leaves Reginald, Five, Allison, Viktor, Diego, Lila, Sloane, and Ben to activate the bells, which are symbols on the lobby floor. Allison reveals to Viktor that she made a deal with Reginald. Before she can explain, Klaus returns from the afterlife and tells the Umbrellas that Reginald betrayed them. Upon activating the bells, the Hargreeves are drained of their powers, which are used to charge up the reset button. Allison realizes that the process will kill them, so she kills Reginald and hits the reset button before he can finish reprogramming the universe.

What happens after the universe is reset?

Allison returns home to find her daughter Claire and her husband Ray (from the 1960s). The rest of the gang find themselves exiting an elevator in Obsidian Memorial Park. Luther is alive with a fully human body, and everyone finds themselves without their powers. And while everyone is physically intact, Sloane is missing. The siblings scatter, some in search of Sloane and others ready to live their lives sans powers. The camera pans out and we see the city skyline is plastered with Reginald Hargreeves’ name on several buildings. We also see a revived Reginald, finally reunited with his wife Abigail.

In a mid-credits scene, we see Ben reading a book aboard a train bound for Yeouido Station in South Korea. Like previous finales, season 3 resolves the universal threat (i.e. the Kugelblitz and the Grandfather Paradox) but presents a new world and new challenges for the Hargreeves siblings. Will they find peace without the burden of their powers, or will they be forced to rediscover them when a new threat emerges? I imagine it will likely be a combination of the two, with larger events forcing the siblings to reunite and recharge their abilities.

While a fourth season of the series has yet to be greenlight, showrunner Steve Blackman has said in interviews that he envisions the fourth season as the last one. Hopefully Netflix will renew The Umbrella Academy and give the series the send-off it deserves.

(featured image: Netflix)

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