Summary
- The Umbrella Academy siblings face a complicated timeline with powers lost and a brewing apocalypse.
- Hargreeves’ alien agenda causes chaos as the siblings reunite and deal with newfound powers.
- The ultimate sacrifice of the siblings to reset the timeline raises questions on the plot’s coherence.
As a longtime fan of the Umbrella Academy, I must say that the ending left me utterly bewildered and somewhat disappointed, much like my feelings when I learned that the secret ingredient in Aunt Harlan’s meatloaf was cat food.
Over four thrilling seasons, The Umbrella Academy has kept us hooked with stories about seven extraordinary siblings navigating their tumultuous relationships, whether it’s unity or independence they seek. It’s no secret that families can have their share of problems, but this one was uniquely challenging – and exceptionally gifted. This is due to the fact that Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) adopted children who miraculously gave birth at the end of the day, despite not being pregnant in the morning. Intriguingly, there were 43 such children born, but only seven were raised by Hargreeves to become The Umbrella Academy – a group of superpowered individuals dedicated to preventing evil deeds.
Although the series portrayed Hargreeves as a source of excitement for the kids, in truth, he was an aloof father more preoccupied with his own objectives than their well-being. As an extraterrestrial being, Hargreeves’ ultimate goal was to resurrect his wife, Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell), following the destruction of their home planet. In season 4, he successfully achieves this, only to discover that Abigail had created two elements, Marigold and Durango, which ultimately led to another apocalypse. This article delves into the questionable events of season 4 and discusses its lack of coherence.
The Umbrella Academy Ending, Explained
In the fourth season, following three seasons of time-jumping, alternate realities, and catastrophes, the story begins with all seven siblings safe in a fresh timeline, yet without their powers. Interestingly, Luther (Tom Hopper), who was killed by Hargreeves in the previous season, is miraculously alive. However, Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), Luther’s spouse from the Sparrow Academy, appears to be missing in this timeline. Allison’s (Emmy Raver-Lampman) daughter, Claire (Millie Davis), is still alive, but it seems her husband Ray (Yusuf Gatewood) has vanished. The team has been living in this reality for six years when suddenly, Viktor (Elliot Page) gets abducted.
It’s revealed that David Cross, or rather Sy Grossman, seeks the aid of The Umbrella Academy to locate his daughter, Jennifer. He hands over a box containing various items belonging to her. Inside this box is a vial of Marigold, the substance that granted them their powers. Although five out of seven siblings protest, Ben (Justin H. Min), who hails from the Sparrow Academy and not the Umbrella Academy, adds this Marigold to their sake drinks, thus restoring their abilities.
Following their previous actions, they locate Jennifer (Victoria Sawal) and Ben, who develops a liking for her. Subsequently, he leaves with her. Hargreeves then elaborates on the potential consequences: Jennifer harbors Durango, another element crafted by Abigail within her system. The combination of these two elements triggers the next apocalypse, known as the Cleanse. Hence, Ben’s association with Jennifer is problematic, despite it being what Sy Grossman, who later reveals to be Abigail herself, intended.
The Siblings Make the Ultimate Sacrifice
Ultimately, the siblings fail in their attempt to preserve their reality from the destructive Marigold-Durango duo. Shockingly, Ben and Jennifer fuse into a colossal beast, annihilating everyone and everything nearby, including Hargreeves and Abigail. Despite having a chance to flee to another timeline via the subway discovered by Five (Aidan Gallagher), it’s Five who decides to travel instead. In an alternate reality, he learns that the siblings, along with Lila (Ritu Arya), Diego’s wife and Five’s partner, must make the ultimate sacrifice if they want to end the recurring apocalypses. This self-sacrifice is necessary because their existence caused the timeline rift, and without them, everything will return to normal.
1. Five communicates the tasks to his siblings, who initially express displeasure but ultimately comply. They are subsequently engulfed by the Marigold-Durango beast. The sequence repeats itself. Characters from each season of the show, with the exception of the siblings, are seen frolicking in a park. Post credits, we revisit a tree in the park where eight marigold blooms emerge beside it, and the scene fades to black.
Why The Ending Makes No Sense
You might find this ending confusing, considering that 36 other children were born on the same day and could potentially have the Marigold within them. However, since no one in this story had powers until they consumed the Marigold from Sy Grossman, only the seven siblings (including Lila) possess it. But, since we last saw the jar containing Marigold, it’s unclear how much of it remains in their systems. This is a concern because, according to Five, all the Marigold needs to be sacrificed for his plan to succeed. If there’s still some Marigold left in the jar, the timelines might not reset as intended.
It’s even more puzzling because Viktor had the power to remove the Marigold from each of his siblings and sacrifice himself, allowing the rest of the team to survive. In the closing episode of the series, Viktor attempted to extract the Marigold from Ben who was under the influence of the Marigold-Durango combination, but failed. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean he would have failed with his other siblings since they aren’t affected by the Marigold-Durango combo. Given that situation, it’s difficult to understand why Viktor appears to overlook his ability to extract the Marigold.
The question of why only this particular timeline was required to make a sacrifice, rather than any other timeline where the same number of children were exposed to Marigold, remains unclear. It would seem more logical if the sacrifice of all these children across different timelines would have been necessary for the timelines to merge into one.
Regardless of how you look at it, the conclusion leaves one baffled. Moreover, no matter how some aspects can be rationalized, the suddenness of the ending still delivers a strong shock. If given more time for the siblings to reconcile with their fate, we might have found their self-sacrifice more acceptable. However, since Five mentions their self-sacrifice just minutes before it occurs, and only moments before the series concludes, it feels hurried and unjustified — it’s done carelessly and lacks emotional depth.
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2024-08-14 00:31