Warning: spoilers ahead forThe Umbrella Academyseason 4.
Summary
A clever twist inThe Umbrella Academyseason 4 deserves credit, regardless of the various criticisms aimed at the show’s conclusion, but it still has a sizable problem. The first season to receive “rotten” scores on both the critic and audience sides of theRotten Tomatoesalgorithm,The Umbrella Academy’s endingwill not go down as one of television’s greatest finales. Divisive storylines, confusing character arcs, and many, many plot holes are some of the recurring issues raised by reviews, and all of the above are valid enough gripes.
WhileThe Umbrella Academydoes leave numerous questions answered, it at least succeeds in providing a concrete explanation for a mystery that has been bubbling in the background since season 1. Finally,The Umbrella Academyexplains Ben’s death, revealing that the original timeline’s Number Six was gunned down by Sir Reginald to prevent the Cleanse. The teenage Ben had made brief physical contact with Jennifer, the host of the durango element, and the resulting reaction threatenedThe Umbrella Academy’s entire timeline. The explanation is actually fiendishly clever, except for one small oversight.
The Umbrella Academy’s 16 Hargreeves Siblings Ranked By Power
The Umbrella Academy’s Hargreeves siblings are all powerful in different ways, but which of them prove to be the most powerful by the end of the show?
The Umbrella Academy Season 4’s Wiped Memories Twist Is Actually Really Smart
There Was A Reason Behind The Ambiguity All Along
As part of the wider Ben Hargreeves death twist,The Umbrella Academyreveals Sir Reginald memory-wiped Luther, Diego, Klaus, and Allisonto prevent them rebelling against him. Instead, he programmed their minds to accept a scripted, incredibly vague explanation that all four would automatically reel off whenever the topic of Ben’s demise came up in conversation. This reveal is a very smart way of retroactively addressing anUmbrella Academytrope that traces back all the way to 2019.
The reveal transforms those vague mentions of Ben’s death from past seasons into hidden moments of foreshadowing.
Throughout previous seasons,The Umbrella Academy’s characterswould only ever discuss Ben’s death in non-specific terms. Sir Reginald once claimed they “allowed Number Six to die,” Luther bemoaned the team “should have done more,” and the “Jennifer incident” was mentioned in season 3, but no character ever offered firm details. Initially, this seemed to be a quirk ofThe Umbrella Academy’s storytelling - a way to tease viewers without actually giving away the answer. Season 4 cleverly turns what appeared to be a narrative technique into a pivotal in-universe plot point.
Wait, Shouldn’t Sparrow Ben Recognize Jennifer In The Umbrella Academy Season 4?
The Umbrella Academy season 4 finally introduced Jennifer, but the show left a big plot hole as Ben should have recognized her in this timeline.
The Umbrella Academy’s memory-wipe twist closes a plot hole by providing a tangible reason for why the specific circumstances of Ben’s death have never been mentioned before. Ingeniously, the reveal also transforms those vague mentions of Ben’s death from past seasons into hidden moments of foreshadowing.The Umbrella Academywasn’t just being deliberately obtuse, it was setting up how the siblings' memories had been tampered with. Rewatching those older scenes post-season 4 will now carry a totally different meaning.
The Problem With The Umbrella Academy Season 4’s Memory Twist
The Umbrella Academy’s Explanation Isn’t Without Flaws
From thereturn of Luther’s ape bodyto Sparrow Ben’s sketches of Jennifer,The Umbrella Academy’s ending is riddled with plot holes. The memory-wipe twist is certainly clever, but isn’t immune to the same problems, and one inconsistency stands out. The original Ben Hargreeves posthumously haunted Klaus, and the pair became especially close duringThe Umbrella Academyseason 2. If Klaus' memory of how Ben died had been wiped, it seems logical thatBen’s ghost would simply tell his brother the truth. Ben surely would have noticed that, in all his ranting, Klaus never once mentioned Sir Reginald being responsible for killing his own child.
Klaus has been known to complain about his issues with Sir Reginald on many occasions. Not mentioning Ben’s murder as one of those issues should have been a big red flag Ben’s ghost would have noticed.
The Umbrella Academycould perhaps maneuver around that plot hole by claiming Ben’s memory was foggy due to the mysterious workings of the afterlife, or maybe he attributed the fatal bullet to a random goon, not realizing his own dad pulled the trigger. But then another inconsistency must be dealt with. Five and Viktor were never mind-wiped by Sir Reginald - Five because he had already disappeared, and Viktor because he didn’t join the mission.It seems implausible that neither Five nor Viktor would ask their siblings exactly what happened to Ben, and then not get suspicious when none of them had proper answers.
The Umbrella Academyseason 4 appears to be the very first time Five and Viktor are actually having that all-important conversation with their other siblings. Given how much love the entire Hargreeves clan had for Ben, it’s difficult to accept that Five and Viktor never previously demanded a more vivid account of Ben’s last moments.
Sources:Rotten Tomatoes
The Umbrella Academy
The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book of the same name created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá. The Hargreeves — collectively known as The Umbrella Academy — were born with superpowers, and their adoptive father utilized their abilities. However, as they grew older, the siblings grew apart as they dealt with their trauma. They are brought back together after their father dies and Five returns from the future with grave news: The world will end, and The Umbrella Academy has to stop it before it happens.
