Trying to Make Sense of That Confounding ‘Umbrella Academy’ Ending

The Netflix adaptation of the popular graphic novel series by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá first dropped on February 15, 2019, to immense fanfare and praise. However, the controversial season 4 finale of Umbrella Academy may confuse casual watchers or even dedicated fans who still can’t grasp how we ended up here.

Seasons two and three of Umbrella Academy came with great critical reception, but the final season didn’t quite live up to the hype. Let’s see if we can break it down and figure it out!

Spoilers ahead!

Who is Abigail Hargreeves and why is she so important?

Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) is Sir Reginald Hargreeves’s (Colm Feore) original wife. We’ve seen images of her character at various moments throughout the series, but nothing as substantial as how she relates to the chaotic ending.

According to her confession in season 4, Abigail created what is commonly called Marigold in the series. This chemical spontaneously caused the miraculous conception and births of the Hargreeves children, as well as their powers. However, unbeknownst to Abigail, another chemical was conceived simultaneously, the polar opposite of Marigold, Durango. This chemical lived inside a girl named Jennifer—yes, that Jennifer.

It seems that throughout Season Four, Abigail is thwarting the Umbrella Academy at every turn, trying to bring about the “Cleanse.”

What is the Cleanse?

When Durango and Marigold come in contact, they create a cataclysmic event that eradicates the earth and everything in it. The original death of Ben Hargreeves is related to this.

In 2006, the original Umbrella Academy went out on a mission as instructed by Sir Reginald Hargreeves to destroy a shipping container. While the other children fight off guards, Ben is left to rig the explosives. However, he hears the sounds of someone inside the container; he finds Jennifer there. When Ben pulls the girl out of the container, their contact triggers a reaction between the Marigold in Ben and the Durango in Jennifer. Before anyone can get answers, Reginald Hargreeves murders Ben and Jennifer before the reaction can get any further. Then, he wipes the memories of his children.

Why did the Umbrella Academy let the Cleanse happen?

Following the events of Seasons 1–4, it became apparent to Five that the existence of the Umbrella Academy children is the reason the world keeps ending—they are the cause of the spliced timelines. As much as they may try to save the world at every turn, they are also the reason the world always faces apocalypse. Marigold’s and Durango’s existence will always lead to the demise of the planet and the human race.

In a nutshell, as much as Abigail appears heartless in her attempts to bring the end of the world, it is simply her way of making right her past mistakes. The Umbrella Academy’s willingness to accept defeat in their own existence is the answer to every timeline’s doom.

With the Umbrella Academy vanished from existence, what does all of it mean?

Nothing. The Umbrella Academy finale gives the energy of “And it was all a dream.” Really.

Plenty of questions still need to be answered.

In the first season, we were led to believe that many babies were miraculously conceived and born. What about them? How are Viktor/Vanya (Elliot Page), Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castaneda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Ben (Justin H. Min), Five (Aidan Gallagher), and Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya) all that it takes to reverse the effects Marigold and Durango?

Well, perhaps there were no miraculous and powerful children in the specific timeline of season 4. We know that when the group arrived at the end of season 3, none retained their powers in this timeline. Ben poisoned them with Marigold to regain their previous powers, stirring the Cleanse’s eventual cause.

In season 2, we learn that Sir Reginal Hargreeves and possibly Abigail are aliens. How is that resolved?

It’s not unless you count the characters ceasing to exist as a solution. Not to mention all of the trauma that Reginald inflicted on these children! How does he get no final penance at the end of the world? We barely saw the tiniest hint of healing amongst our main characters. Abigail’s twisted effort to set the universe right only serves to fix the timeline, not the broken hearts of Hargreave’s children.

Why does the Utopia timeline have to exist without Viktor, Luther, Allison, Diego, Klaus, Five, and Lila?

It’s an odd situation because there is obviously a loophole. Lila, Diego, and Allison’s kids can exist in the utopia, which situates the existence of these characters’ unique DNA on that plane. How does this not tip the scales of the timeline? Also, the limits of Five’s power are questionable; he created the Commission and the Timeline Subway. With time on his side and the right resources, could Five have created a pocket for these characters to exist without upsetting the utopia timeline?

What’s most frustrating about this Umbrella Academy finale is our favorite characters’ helpless ending. They don’t get to live on in Utopia with their happy ending and the lives they deserve. So many previous recurring and guest stars are afforded their moment on screen in the utopia, but not the seven we followed for four seasons.

It was also upsetting and weird for Lila and Five to have a bizarre time loop affair—what purpose did that serve? Especially when any character development lost or gained at that point in the plot is destroyed by their inevitable irradiation from existence.