The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Ending Explained: The Cast Breaks Down the Epic Conclusion (Exclusive)

The Umbrella Academy has come to a dramatic conclusion.

After four seasons, the hit Netflix series said goodbye to the superhero Hargreeves family as they once again joined forces to stop the end of the world.

Following the events of season 3, in which the Umbrella Academy is transported to an alternate timeline and no longer have their powers, the new season kicks off with everyone coming to grips with their new lives as regular people. 

Diego and Lila are a bickering married couple with two kids, Allison is raising her daughter Claire as a single mom after Ray left her, Luther is working as an exotic dancer, Klaus is living with Allison and Claire, Ben just got out of jail and Five is working undercover as a CIA agent to learn more about a conspiracy group called the Keepers. 

Along the way, it’s revealed that the Keepers believe in alternate timelines, which they have dubbed the Umbrella Effect, and their leaders Jean and Gene (played by real-life couple Megan Mullally and Nick Offerman) want to restore the original timeline by way of “the Cleanse.” 

Upon learning this information, the Umbrella Academy heads down a twisty turn of events that not only brings back their powers but also reveals key mysteries about the show, including what the Jennifer incident was that killed Ben. True to form, the series ends with an epic adventure as the Umbrella Academy once again tries to stop the end of the world. 

Ahead of the premiere, PEOPLE spoke with the cast about the ambiguous ending and what they believe it means for the fate of their characters. Here’s everything to know about The Umbrella Academy series finale ending. 

Who is Jennifer? 

Early in the season, the Umbrella Academy heads to a mysterious town where Ben comes in contact with a young woman, who we later learn is named Jennifer. Through flashbacks, we learn that when Jennifer was a young girl, she emerged from a large squid that was found in the ocean. When a reporter asks her what happened, Jennifer simply replies, “the Cleanse.” 

Throughout the season, it becomes apparent that Ben and Jennifer share a special (and potentially dangerous) connection as they are drawn together and create an intense force that destroys everything around them when they kiss.

On actress Victoria Sawal joining the cast as Jennifer, Justin H. Min tells PEOPLE he “can't sing enough praises” about the actress. “To come onto a show at a fourth season, it's always a little intimidating but she fit right in immediately,” he says, adding that they hit it off right away. “To just play alongside her for these scenes was amazing. I think a new side of Ben is seen for the first time this season because, obviously, Jennifer is a bit of a love interest. They have this deep, deep connection to each other. That's just never a side of Ben that we've been able to see thus far.” 

What was the Jennifer Incident? 

In episode 4, titled “The Cleanse,” we finally get answers about the Jennifer Incident, which has been referred to many times on the show. Realizing they don’t actually know how Ben died, the new version of Reginald Hargreeves finds a way to restore the Umbrella Academy's memories. In a flashback, we learn that the incident took place when the Umbrella Academy were young kids and were sent on a mission to destroy a deadly weapon that had come into someone’s possession. 

However, when they arrive, Ben realizes the shipping container actually contains a young girl: Jennifer. When he reaches down to help her, their hands create a force of energy similar to what happened when Ben and Jennifer kissed in the present day. Though he safely gets her out of the container, she and Ben are immediately shot in the head and killed by Hargreeves, which is why he completely erased their memories. 

For Min, he says he was super surprised to learn about Ben's original fate. “A lot of fans think that we know everything that's happening, and we get these scripts years in advance, and we already knew how this was all going to end. That's really not the case,” he says, noting that he didn’t find out about how Ben died until this season. “It's a real discovery for us, just as it is for the fans as well. I remember getting that particular script a month or so before we started shooting. I was just in my apartment in Toronto, in shock, but very, very happy to finally reveal this mystery that's been looming over the series for so long.”

What happens to Lila and Five in the alternate timelines?

While chaos ensues for Ben and Jennifer, Lila and Five find themselves on an adventure of their own as they discover a subway station that leads up to separate timelines. Though their rides start off simple enough, things take a turn when they can’t find their way back home.

In episode five, titled “Six Years, Five Months, and Two Days,” we see Lila and Five try every possible scenario to return to their timeline. However, after six years of searching, they ultimately decide to take a break and settle down at a quaint home with a garden. With only each other for company, Lila and Five grow closer romantically.

“I really was quite shocked when I read it,” Ritu Arya tells PEOPLE of Lila and Five’s romance, noting that filming those scenes were super complicated as she and Aidan Gallagher filmed much of the finale before even seeing the first episode.

“It was really fun getting to have this little bubble of a story separate from everything, from the real world,” she adds. “It was like delirious. We were on night shoots, and we're in the subway. I had a lot of fun with Aidan. It was then weird coming out of it. You sort of get immersed into the world.” 

Lila and Five’s relationship is short-lived as the latter eventually discovers a notebook with the coordinates to get them back home. Upon learning this, Lila immediately decides to go home to be reunited with her children and Five reluctantly joins her.  

Their return is a little rocky as Diego wants to give his relationship with Lila another try — and then learns of her romance with Five. As for where she thinks Lila’s heart lies between Diego and Five, she notes that her character’s primary motive has always been her children. 

“While she's away, she misses her kids. It's really all about her children,” she explains. “It sort of throws a spanner in the works when she sees Diego. I don't think she's expecting to have feelings for him again. She's really confused because she spent all this time with one person for years, so you're naturally going to feel a certain way. Yeah, very torn, very torn.” 

What is the Cleanse?

As Ben and Jennifer join together in present day, they inadvertently start a chain of events leading up to the Cleanse, which is essentially described as the end of the world. (Yes, another apocalypse.) The two decide to run away together; however, before they can, Jennifer grows increasingly ill, as fiery boils begin to cover her skin and she becomes hot-tempered. 

Setting out to find the duo, Hargreeves reveals to Viktor that when Jennifer and Ben joined together, they were overtaken by the “Cleanse” which will essentially control their minds and bodies. While Hargreeves wants to stop that from happening, Gene and Jean return to the scene in hopes that it will. 

Things take another turn when it’s revealed that Hargreeves’ wife Abigail has taken over Gene’s body to help the Cleanse come to fruition. She reveals her true identity to Hargreeves, saying she never wanted to be revived and that “dying was her penance” for destroying their world. Learning this info, Hargreeves agrees to let the Cleanse happen. 

Though the Umbrella Academy tries to separate Ben and Jennifer, in the end, they are too late, and the two converge to create a monstrous beast that destroys everything in its path. 

Does the Umbrella Academy stop the end of the world?

With the Cleanse underway, Five decides to leave behind his family and venture back to the subway station. In one timeline, Five comes across a deli inhabited by various versions of himself from alternate timelines. 

During a conversation with himself, the other Five reveals that many of them have tried and failed to save their timelines, but it also comes down to one thing: the Umbrella Academy. He explains that there once was a perfect timeline, however, when their family came into existence, everything “shattered to an infinite number of alternate timelines in an infinite loop of time,” dooming Five and his family to continuously save the world. He also reveals that it was one of the Fives who created the Comission to undo all the broken timelines. 

Five promptly returns to his timeline, where he reveals this news to his family. He explains that the marigold that infected their mothers and created them shattered the original timeline and the only way to bring it back is to let the marigold in their bodies merge with the durango inside the Cleanse. Essentially, they will cease to exist. 

Lila is skeptical, as she wants to protect her loved ones, but eventually gives in. As she sends Allison’s daughter Claire, her parents and her children with Diego on the subway to a different timeline, she joins forces with the Umbrella Academy to let the Cleanse take its course. 

As they hold hands in a circle, they all reminisce about their time together and how much they will miss each other before the Cleanse consumes them. 

“I think it's a satisfying ending,” Min says. “It is obviously a darker ending, but I think it falls in line with what our show is. I think it would be a little strange if it was just all rainbows and butterflies for the Umbrella Academy.” 

Both Emmy Raver-Lampman and Elliot Page agreed that while there was a lot of sadness in the ending, it certainly made sense for their characters. “'Satisfied' [with the resolution] is a stretch in terms of just the weight and the sadness of it, but in terms of pure plot, I was like, ‘Yeah, that does make sense,’” Page explained, with Raver-Lampman agreeing, “I don't like it, but it makes sense.”

Does the Umbrella Academy survive in the end?

In the original timeline, deceased characters from past seasons are shown in a park, as well as Allison’s daughter and Lila and Diego’s kids, insinuating that they survived. The scene is set to “I Think We’re Alone Now,” a full circle moment for the song notably played in the very first episode. 

Though it seems like the Umbrella Academy partook in the ultimate sacrifice, a post-credits scene teases that not everything is as it appears. As the camera pans in on a tree stump in the park, eight marigold flowers bloom, seemingly representing each member of the Umbrella Academy. 

So what exactly does that mean for the fate of the characters? The cast has different opinions. “My own personal interpretation I do feel like it's a closed chapter, a closed loop,” Min says. “It was the sacrifice that the Umbrella Academy needed to make in order for the world to be normal. I'm glad characters like Hazel are finding their happy ending with Agnes and all of these things. For me, that's the end.” 

Raver-Lampman echoes those sentiments, saying, “It's an attempt at peace that the sacrifice that the siblings made was not in vain. That the people that they cared about or these characters that the audience cares about are still in existence somehow, somewhere.” 

However, she adds that “anything is possible” when it comes to new stories. “It's closing a chapter, but it's not fully concluded because the magic of our show is it leaves you guessing. So if that last sequence kind of leaves people two years from now being like, ‘I wonder…’ It's like, ‘Who knows?’ It's just giving a little bit of hope that they made the ultimate sacrifice and it wasn't in vain.” 

Why did The Umbrella Academy end with season 4? 

When it came to wrapping up the story, Arya reveals that it was the cast’s decision to end things with season 4. She recalls that showrunner Steve Blackman approached them about a potential fifth season at the last premiere, but they decided to tie things up with the current story. 

“I think there was more to explore, especially for me, with the Lila/Five stuff in the subway, all these different worlds,” she adds. “I would've loved to have got to explore that so much more. I think it's such a cool concept, but it goes so quickly, and it's exactly what it's supposed to be.” 

“So many things happened, obviously, the main one being the pandemic and the strike and it delaying things,” Min says of why the cast decided to end with season 4. “We almost spent a year gap between each of the seasons. Someone like Aidan, he's literally grown right before our eyes. We knew at a certain point it was going to become unsustainable for us to draw this process out. I think ending it at four was the right decision and closing up all those storylines and questions that fans have had over the years.” 

While this story is coming to an end, the entire cast is more than happy to explore a spinoff down the line. “It would be so exciting,” Min says of potential spinoff shows. “There's already spinoff comics for the Klaus character. I think Robbie [Sheehan] would have so much fun with that. I think Aidan would love something with Five. I would love to watch that. Any of them really. I think that's the beauty of great writing. They've written these fully fleshed characters out so that if we wanted to delve in deeper to any one of them, they could have more to do.” 

The fourth and final season of The Umbrella Academy is streaming on Netflix.