DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Episode 6, “End of the Beginning,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
It’s the end of the road for The Umbrella Academy, and what a depressing end it is. “End of the Beginning” marks the series finale. Admittedly, it’s a bit of a letdown. Season 4, as a whole, feels deflated and hollow. If the season had 10 episodes and a natural build toward this ending for our heroes, I would love it more.
However, the narrative is extremely rushed, the character arcs are choppy and the build feels inorganic. I feel like these characters who’ve suffered so much and endured so much abuse deserve to come out on the other side.

The best scenes are the ones where the siblings are together. You lose the show’s magic by having this talented cast splinter off. Episode two, “Jean and Gene,” is my favorite of the season. All the “Baby Shark” stuff and Diego acting like a dad are comedy gold. (Really, Diego is a highlight for me in general.)
The Umbrella Academy, “End of the Beginning”
We open with Dr. Jean (Megan Mullally) and Gene (Nick Offerman) Thibedeau in Reg King, giving the okay to play the song to rally the Keepers. As it turns out, it’s a Muse song. Regular folks near and wide grab weaponry and congregate outside the department store where Ben and Jennifer hide. The Thibedeaus deliver a motivating speech to the masses as they show off their Umbrella Effect tattoos. They plan to protect Ben and Jennifer so the Cleanse can go off without a hitch. We see Ben’s eye poke through a hole in a wall, watching the growing crowd.
Viktor (Elliot Page) and Reggie (Colm Feore) arrive on the scene. Viktor believes they should talk to the Thibedeaus first before getting to Ben. Meanwhile, Diego (David Castañeda) and Luther (Tom Hopper) get off a bus near Diego and Lila’s home after their battle at the CIA. They congratulate each other on a job well done. They kicked ass. I love my two adorable idiots who share one brain cell. That said, they did put those Keepers in their place.

Jean and Gene and Viktor and Reggie
Diego reunites with his kids while Lila’s parents help Luther find clothes. Elsewhere, Viktor and Reggie try to talk sense into Jean and Gene. Gene starts taking digs at Reggie — personal ones, at that. Of course, we know Gene is really Abigail in disguise. When the Thibedeaus refuse to spare Ben from the inevitable Cleanse, Viktor resorts to Plan B. After that conversation, Jean scolds Gene for losing his cool with Reggie and Viktor. Gene turns on Jean, killing her. He insists to the crowd that Jean wasn’t committed to their plan. What a sad underuse of Megan Mullally.
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Later, Lila (Ritu Arya) and Five (Aidan Gallagher) arrive at Diego and Lila’s home. Lila is nervous about reuniting with her family. Diego opens the door and embraces Lila, stating that he missed her. Diego insists that things will change from now on. He’ll do better. Lila embraces her children — perhaps a little too hard. Of course, they don’t know she spent seven years bouncing between alternate timelines with Five.
Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Claire (Millie Davis) arrive for Christmas. Lila eagerly embraces everyone, naturally confusing them. Meanwhile, Viktor and Reggie learn that Gene killed Jean. Reggie states that Viktor’s plan failed, so he urges one of his security team to shoot Ben. Viktor counters that he saved Reggie’s life earlier. He owes Viktor the chance to talk to Ben. Reggie gives Viktor 15 minutes. Viktor claims he needs a Sharpie and a tire iron.
Bennifer
Next, we see Viktor with a drawn-on inverted umbrella tattoo. The tire iron is supposed to be a weapon, of course. He pretends to be one of the Keepers. However, Viktor sneaks into an alley nearby when the crowd doesn’t let him into the department store to use the bathroom. Someone catches Viktor attempting to climb through a department store window, so he uses his powers to blow their head off. Once inside, Viktor sees Ben (Justin H. Min), now a red glowing blob, and Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), who looks the same.
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Later, at the Hargreeves-Pitts house, Luther reveals the intel he learned at the CIA—Five’s boss is a Keeper, as is some of his team. Five seems unconcerned. The gang notices how quiet Five is. When Five does speak, it’s to trash-talk Diego. The pair starts to bicker, but Lila defuses the situation. That’s when Diego notices Lila’s bracelet, remarking that she doesn’t like bracelets. He asks Five if the latter gave it to Lila. Five admits that he made it for her.

Lila explains they were bouncing between the same moments on alternate timelines, trying to find their way home. They were stuck like this for seven years. Thinking they’d never go home, they turned to each other. Luther, Allison and Klaus watch this drama unfold like they should have popcorn in front of them. It’s hilarious. However, before Diego can truly process that his wife and brother had an affair, the gang sees Ben on the news. They also notice the mob of Keepers with weapons guarding the department store.
Baby Shark
Then, Viktor tries to talk sense into Ben. Ben and Jennifer’s physical connection will destroy the world. Ben needs to get away from her, but he insists he must protect Jennifer. He knocks Viktor unconscious. Meanwhile, our titular heroes barrel toward the department store in Diego’s van, Wanda. “Baby Shark,” everyone’s favorite song, plays as Diego tries to pull the van into an alley. Unfortunately, the brakes aren’t working. When the mob spots the Hargreeves, they open fire.
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Lila persuades Five to teleport them all into the department store. Once he does this, they reunite with Viktor. Viktor touches Ben, attempting to use his powers to draw the durango (the element from Jennifer) out of Ben. Viktor has a vision of a picturesque, utopian-like park. Jennifer reaches out behind Ben and tries to touch him. At the same time, Reggie and his shooter have a clear view of Ben. Reggie dithers about taking the shot.

Finally, he orders his man to shoot Ben. We see the bullet whizz through the air in slow motion. It looks like it’s about to hit Viktor, but Ben pushes his brother out of the way, taking the bullet in the chest. Jennifer cradles Ben, who looks like he might die. However, she absorbs Ben into her body, which seemingly revives him. They morph together to form a massive red blob, emitting the glow of both the marigold and the durango.
The Cleanse Begins
The Keepers outside realize the Cleanse is already underway. Five blinks himself and Lila to the upper level of the store. He urges her to use her laser eyes to blow up the tanks beside Ben/Jennifer (Bennifer!). She does this, but it causes little damage. Allison drags an unconscious Viktor behind a counter. Klaus flies himself and Luther upstairs. He can fly now. Allison tries to take on Bennifer, but they push her away. Debris falls on top of her.
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Oh, and what are Diego and Five doing now, you ask? Fighting over Lila. Diego proceeds to pummel Five, and rightfully so. Luther tries to be the hero by punching Bennifer, but his hand gets stuck in their ass. Regardless, Bennifer is the Cleanse, so yeah, that’s happening. Anyway, Lila can still mimic people’s powers, so she and Viktor shoot light beams at Bennifer so Luther can free his hand.

Bennifer grows large enough to burst through the building. Like Godzilla, the blob destroys the department store as it moves through the town, crushing people under its feet. Gene sits beside Reggie on the bench. Reggie realizes it’s over. Gene removes his face to reveal Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell). It was Abigail all along. She thwarted Reggie’s efforts to keep Jennifer away from the Hargreeves siblings. Why? Because the Cleanse is good. They need it to happen for reasons. Reggie compliments his wife on a job well done as Bennifer eats them.

The Five Diner
Meanwhile, Five blinks out of the store, leaving his siblings behind. The gang finds Allison is still alive, so they scoop her up and retreat to a safe place to brainstorm their next move. Five sits on the timeline-hopping subway, looking emo. He gets off at a stop and sees another version of himself. Five follows the other Five to a ’50s-style diner. Inside, Five sees that said diner is occupied by other Fives.
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So, Five sits with himself and asks what all this is about. This goes back to 1989. The marigold infected the Hargreeves’ birth mothers. Then, when they were born, the original timeline shattered into multiple alternate timelines. Those timelines aren’t supposed to exist. That’s why one Five created the Commission — to clean up the other timelines and restore everything to the original timeline. This sounds very similar to Loki‘s Time Variance Authority.

Anyway, the Hargreeves are doomed to avert the apocalypse and save the world in every timeline in perpetuity. When they save one timeline and wind up in another, the cycle repeats. All these Fives have traveled the timeline-hopping train, hoping to find answers to fix this infinite loop. However, there’s only one true solution to all this.
Point of No Return
Next, Five reunites with his siblings at the dilapidated Hargreeves Home for Wayward Boys. He relays what he learned from the Fives at the diner. The only remedy to this problem is for them to merge with Bennifer. Their marigold will cancel out the durango. They must rid the world of the marigold — that’s how they break the cycle, destroy the alternate timelines and return to the original one. Unfortunately, if the Hargreeves merge with Bennifer, they’ll cease to exist. Nobody will remember them.
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Naturally, everybody hates this solution. Diego orders Lila to get their children and family onto the timeline-hopping subway. Allison urges Claire to join them. She and Klaus bid farewell to her daughter. Admittedly, this moment made me weepy. Luther notes that Lila will need to merge with Bennifer, too. She has marigold inside her. Otherwise, the cycle will repeat itself. Diego counters that it’s Lila’s decision. Lila leaves with her family, mimicking Five’s teleportation powers.

Five arrives at the station to persuade her to return home. When you think she plans to get on the train with her family and Claire, she hops off as the doors close. Lila promises her children she’ll see them soon. As the train speeds off, Lila collapses in Five’s arms, sobbing. This broke my heart.
Saying Goodbye
Then, Lila and Five reunite with the others. It’s somewhat fitting that our heroes meet their demise in the place where it all started — the Umbrella Academy. We see Bennifer, aka the Cleanse, wreaking havoc outside, destroying buildings and rampaging.
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Luther, Diego, Allison, Klaus, Five, Viktor and Lila stand in a circle as Bennifer looms above the building. The Cleanse breaks through the ceiling, looking like gooey red lava. Lila apologizes to Diego, who forgives her. Everyone tries to mend fences—well, except for Diego and Five. They’re essentially marching toward their deaths without making up, which I despise. Klaus tells his family he loves them, but they’re all a**holes. Fair enough.

We see the marigold glowing inside each Hargreeves sibling as the Cleanse consumes them, climbing up their bodies until we can’t see them anymore. They’ve become one with Bennifer.
August 8, 2024
After this, we see the picturesque park Ben tried to show Viktor. It’s the original timeline without the Hargreeves and the marigold. We see familiar faces: Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) with a baby, The Handler (Kate Walsh) on the phone, Hazel (Cameron Britton) walking with Agnes (Sheila McCarthy), Herb (Ken Hall) and The Swedes (Kris Holden-Reid, Jason Bryden, Tom Sinclair). Diego and Lila’s children, Allison’s daughter and Lila’s family. Some narration explains that August 8, 2024, was a perfectly ordinary day where nothing bad happened.
The Hargreeves never existed.
In a post-credit scene, marigolds blossom underneath a tree, emitting golden spores of energy from their petals. What could this mean? Hmm…
The Umbrella Academy Seasons 1-4 are now streaming on Netflix.
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