The final timeline in The Umbrella Academy is about to begin. The fourth and last season is coming to Netflix on August 8, 2024. The Hargreeves siblings are facing another apocalypse.
Fans are still shocked from the Season 3 cliffhanger and have many unanswered questions. The Season 4 trailer suggests that one of the Hargreeves siblings might be able to fix the timeline, making this season’s stakes even higher.
The Umbrella Academy is based on Gerard Way’s comic series. It tells the story of a dysfunctional super-family that is different from usual heroes. In 1989, forty-three super-powered babies were born around the world unexpectedly.
Eccentric billionaire Sir Reginald Hargreeves (Colm Feore) decides to take seven of these babies and train them to be a superhero team, sacrificing their childhoods and mental health. Now, as adults, Luther (Tom Hopper), Diego (David Castañeda), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Viktor (Elliot Page), and Number Five (Aidan Gallagher) must come together to save the world. While waiting for the new season, fans can check out the Season 3 recap.
The Umbrella Academy Meets the Sparrow Academy
After narrowly escaping Doomsday in Dallas, the Umbrella siblings are thrown back to 2019. They land in an alternate timeline where the Umbrella Academy is forgotten and never existed.
The academy they knew is now run by the Sparrow Academy, a much stronger and smarter team with Marcus (Justin Cornwell), Ben (Justin H. Min), Fei (Britne Oldford), Alphonso (Jake Epstein), Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), Jayme (Cazzie David), and their sarcastic sidekick, a psikronium cube named Christopher. Unlike the Umbrellas, the Sparrows are natural-born superheroes and are loved by the public.
From the start, there is a fierce conflict between the two academies. Their first meeting quickly turns into a fight, and things get chaotic, including a hallucinatory dance to “Footloose.” As the Umbrella Academy is about to be overwhelmed, Viktor uses a burst of energy to change the situation. Feeling unwelcome, the Umbrellas quickly leave to find safety.
Even when not fighting, the two academies get involved in various problems. They face drama like being wrongly accused of kidnapping Marcus, Luther falling in love with Sloane (and marrying her in a “world’s end” wedding), and a dangerous showdown at a hotel that causes a lot of damage.
The Umbrella Academy has to deal with its own team issues while trying to manage an uneasy truce with their more powerful counterparts.
Checking into the Hotel Obsidian-Oblivion
After being kicked out of their old home by the new Hargreeves team, the Umbrellas find refuge in the quirky, retro-style Hotel Obsidian. Klaus, who used to be a regular at this hotel in the normal timeline, thinks he knows the place well.
However, the Obsidian has some surprises, especially behind the wall of the White Buffalo Suite. Klaus doesn’t get to explore these secrets himself because his untimely death becomes the key to unlocking the hotel’s mysteries.
When Klaus and young Stanley (Javon Walton) find the White Buffalo Suite, Stanley accidentally kills Klaus with a harpoon, hitting a wall that hides a pachinko machine. This accident triggers a chain reaction, leading Klaus to discover his powers and find a hidden door to the Obsidian’s secret dimension. Diego and Lila (Ritu Arya), who are like Stanley’s stand-in parents, are the first to explore what is behind this door.
This alternate dimension is Hotel Oblivion, a much creepier and emptier version of the Obsidian. Reginald discovered it in 1918 and built Hotel Obsidian around it to access it.
Reginald believes that Hotel Oblivion contains a button that could reset all of existence. But this button is guarded by nearly indestructible armored creatures made of cockroaches. To give an idea of their danger, one of these creatures injured Diego badly in a fight.
Harlan Cooper Is Responsible for the Grandfather Paradox
Hotel Obsidian is not just hosting the Hargreeves family; another guest is checking in under the name “Lester Pocket.” Lester is actually Harlan Cooper (Callum Keith Rennie), the non-verbal kid from Season 2, who was the son of Sissy Cooper (Marin Ireland). Sissy was the woman Viktor liked back in Dallas. When Viktor entered a new timeline, he left Sissy and Harlan behind.
Back in Season 2, Viktor saved Harlan from drowning by transferring some of his powers to him. This act came with a bloody price. After Viktor left, Sissy and Harlan moved around as Harlan’s powers grew out of control. By 1989, Sissy’s death triggers a huge energy burst on October 1st—the same day the Hargreeves kids are born.
This explosion causes fatal brain hemorrhages in the Hargreeves’ mothers, creating what is known as the grandfather paradox.
The grandfather paradox happens when a time traveler does something that would stop their own existence. For example, if a grandson goes back in time and kills his grandfather before the grandfather has children. In the Hargreeves’ case, it means their mothers were killed on the day they were supposed to conceive them, destroying the timeline.
When Viktor realizes “Lester” is actually Harlan, he feels guilt and pity and tries to help him. Viktor wants to fix things without more violence and before the Sparrow Academy gets involved. With Allison’s help, they go to a remote area where Viktor manages to take away Harlan’s dangerous powers.
But things take a dark turn when Harlan accidentally reveals he is responsible for the Hargreeves’ mothers’ deaths, leading to a timeline where Allison’s daughter was never born. In a fit of rage, Allison kills Harlan, saving the universe but at a great cost.
Another Apocalypse Is on the Horizon, Thanks to the Kugelblitz
The grandfather paradox didn’t just mess up the timeline—it created a universe-ending fireball called the kugelblitz. This kugelblitz, seen under the Academy, is worshiped like a god by an alternate Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins). Throughout the series, the kugelblitz has killed Marcus, Fei, and Christopher.
The kugelblitz is not a god or a mystical force. It is actually pure science. It is a ball of lightning so intense that it forms a black hole from radiation. It’s like a cosmic vacuum cleaner, but instead of just sucking up dust, it’s erasing the universe. It’s a black hole made of pure chaos, ready to destroy time and space.
In a final attempt, the Umbrellas and Sparrows work together to trap the kugelblitz in Christopher, the telekinetic cube. They briefly succeed, but their victory is short-lived. A small glitch breaks Christopher, and the kugelblitz escapes, more chaotic than ever, threatening the universe. The universe is torn apart, and Earth’s last chance to save humanity is about to end.
Almost Everyone Is Saved, but at the Cost of Their Powers
The apocalypse is in full swing and showing no mercy—except for the remaining guests of Hotel Obsidian, its superpowered inhabitants (the Umbrellas, Ben, and Sloane), and the scheming Reginald. Just as the final kugel wave is about to destroy them, Reginald pulls them through a secret tunnel into Hotel Oblivion.
Reginald reveals Hotel Oblivion’s true purpose. It is not a hotel, but a giant machine powered by the seven Umbrella/Sparrow members’ powers, built to reset the universe and bring back Reginald’s long-dead wife, Abigail.
With the kugelblitz destroying everything, Reginald’s plan accelerates. Except for Allison (due to a previous deal with Reginald), the Umbrella/Sparrow members stand on seven sigils designed to drain their powers and reset the universe.
Horrified that her siblings are being sacrificed, Allison kills Reginald, revealing that he is an alien in human disguise, and hits the reset button herself. She saves the universe but at a great cost. When Five, Viktor, Ben, Diego, and Lila leave an elevator into Obsidian Memorial Park, they find a world reset.
The Umbrellas lose their powers, Sloane disappears, and Reginald now seems to rule a city filled with Hargreeves-owned buildings, with Abigail by his side.
The season ends with a huge cliffhanger and a vague post-credits scene of Ben on a subway, leaving only Season 4 to answer the many questions left by Season 3.
