Warning: spoilers ahead for The Umbrella Academy’s finale in season 4.
One of the biggest mysteries that’s surrounded The Umbrella Academy ever since it began five years ago has been what happened to Ben Hargreeves (Justin H Min) when he died.
At the very beginning of the Netflix series, it was revealed that Ben – also known as The Horror and Number Six – died during a mission as a teenager, which was referred to as ‘the Jennifer incident’.
Ben appeared in the first two seasons of the show in ghost form, during which he could predominantly only be seen by his brother Klaus (Robert Sheehan).
Then at the end of season two, an alternate version of Ben was introduced in a parallel universe, one who didn’t die and who was raised by Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) in the Sparrow Academy, instead of the Umbrella Academy.
Now that this more agitated version of Ben is around, the Hargreeves siblings are able to learn more about what exactly happened when Ben died, and what actually happened during ‘the Jennifer incident’.
Not only that… but audiences actually get to meet Jennifer (Victoria Sawal) in the flesh.
So how exactly did Ben die, what happened to the alternate version of Ben in the final season and what does the ending of the entire series mean? We have you covered.
How did Ben die in The Umbrella Academy?
It was previously assumed due to the name of the mission where the original Ben died that he perished while trying to save a girl named Jennifer.
However, it’s revealed in the fourth season that the other Hargreeves siblings had their memories wiped, and so didn’t actually remember what happened, other than that it was a ‘tragic accident’ and that ‘we failed as a team’.
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During the mission in question, Sir Reginald orders the children to recover a deadly weapon that’s inside a container – but Ben discovers there’s a girl called Jennifer inside and helps her out.
Sir Reginald then shoots them both dead… and viewers later discover that’s because the pair of them making contact could result in the world coming to an end.
In the present day, the alternate Sir Reginald restores the siblings’ memories so that they can remember what happened.
It’s revealed that within Jennifer there’s an element called durango, while within the Hargreeves siblings there’s an element called marigold – two opposites, which when combined can cause an apocalyptic-level event called The Cleanse.
As Jennifer and Ben are drawn to one another in this reset universe, this therefore puts the world as they know it at risk.
The Umbrella Academy ending explained – does Ben die again?
As the fourth season of The Umbrella Academy neared its end, it was clear that Jennifer and Ben being drawn to one another was inevitable, but destructive.
Both of them start transforming physically, developing growths on their bodies and eventually merging – and continuing to get bigger – to become the Cleanse monster.
At first, the Hargreeves siblings try to fight the monster to prevent it from destroying the universe.
However, they then realise that the Cleanse has to happen.
In order to condense all of the different timelines into one and to save the lives of their loved ones, they need to cease to exist completely, as the marigold that exists inside them needs to be eradicated.
So, the Cleanse monster consumes them, the siblings disappear… and then the world is restored to one of peace, where several recognisable characters from throughout all four seasons are seen mingling during a utopian park scene.
Is there a Umbrella Academy post-credits scene?
After the fate of the Hargreeves’ siblings is revealed – that they are gone for good and that no one in the world remembers who they are – a post-credits scene for the finale drops a major tease.
The camera zooms in on some flowers in that are growing… before they bloom into eight marigolds.
Some fans might take this to mean that there could be a new Umbrella Academy or something similar in future, perhaps setting off a chain of events similar to what has already transpired.
When asked if the flowers could represent ‘the Brellies’, the TV series’ creator Steve Blackman said: ‘Not necessarily.
‘You can assume many things from that. We can assume that some essence of Marigold still exists somewhere in the world. It may do nothing ever again. And it could just be flowers, or it could be what’s left of them because there happens to be eight flowers. And a couple of them kind of turn into each other.
‘But I’m leaving it to the audience to decide what it really means. Does that mean there could be more of the Umbrella Academy or is it just that a tiny bit of their essence does go on?’
When asked if some fans might find ‘comfort’ in that image, he added: ‘I hope so. I also think some fans might be offended by it. I think it’s the right ending — the right coda, I should say — for the end of the show.’
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The Umbrella Academy is available to watch on Netflix.
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