They might not always get along, but the Hargreeves siblings don't think twice about uniting to save the world. Okay, sometimes they need encouragement to face an unfolding apocalyptic scenario. But do they have what it takes to make a big sacrifice if their very existence is causing these issues in The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 6?
Viktor (Elliot Page) is determined to save Ben (Justin H. Min) and Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), and this version of Reginald (Colm Feore) gives Viktor space to achieve this. But the Keepers are intent on letting the Cleanse restore the correct timeline, and they have a helping hand from a surprising source.
Here is our complete recap of The Umbrella Academy series finale.
Gene vs Jean
The Keepers gather at the abandoned department store where Ben and Jennifer have found temporary sanctuary. Dr. Jean Thibedeau (Megan Mullally) gives an impassioned speech about how the Cleanse has begun, meaning they no longer have to live in memories of the correct timeline. They need to stay vigilant, though, as non-believers will try to stop the Cleanse from happening.
Viktor attempts to reason with Gene (Nick Offerman) and Jean, which falls on deaf ears. Reginald is confused by the over-familiar way Gene is talking to him, unaware that his wife Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) is masquerading as Gene and is the one pulling the strings. Jean clocks that something has changed with Gene and thinks he is no longer a believer. Abigail can't afford this kind of distraction, so she kills Jean.
Returning home
Luther (Tom Hopper) and Diego (David Castañeda) are on a post-fight high after they escape the CIA when they return to Diego's family home. The mood is very different for Lila (Ritu Arya) and Five (Aidan Gallagher) when they arrive shortly after, as they have spent seven years lost on the time-travel subway — to everyone else, they have only been gone a few hours. They have also been in a romantic relationship, which makes matters extra awkward.
Lila can't hide how glad she is to see everyone, but Five is standoffish with his family. After dinner, Five's spiky mood boils over into an argument. When Diego clocks the bracelet Five made Lila, the truth about their affair and where they have been comes out. "I didn't see that coming," says Klaus (Robert Sheehan).
"I never stopped trying to find a way home," Lila tells Diego about being stuck between multiple timelines. Diego asks his wife if she loves Five, and before Lila can answer, a news report alerts them to Ben's location.
The Cleanse is too powerful
Viktor has found a way into the department store, where he sees Ben and Jennifer mutated due to the Cleanse. Ben fights against it, but the combined marigold and durango in his body have too much power. Five and Lila blink the rest of the family into the department store unscathed.
Reginald's snipers have a clean shot on Ben, but Viktor thinks he can pull the durango out of Ben. When the two connect, Viktor sees a vision of a sunny park at an undetermined time. Reginald's man finally takes the shot, and Ben pushes Viktor out of the bullet's path and takes a direct hit.
Jennifer and Ben merge into one giant durango-marigold monster, and the siblings try to stop them. Unfortunately, everything they throw at it only makes it more powerful. During this confrontation, Five and Diego start fighting each other, and Lila tells them to cut it before telling Five it is over. Five blinks back to the subway and away from impending disaster.
Abigail wants to fix what she broke
The Cleanse monster breaks free of the department store, sending the Keepers running. Reginald laments not taking the shot earlier. Gene joins him, quickly ditching the disguise to reveal Abigail is behind it all.
Abigail explains that Reginald left her no choice, and dying was her penance for creating something so deadly. Actions have consequences, and Abigail needs to set things right by restoring Earth to its one timeline.
On the subway, Five follows a version of himself to a deli filled with many Fives who have given up trying to fix the timeline issue — they have already tried and failed to do so 145,412 times. Five goes back to save the world again and restore the shattered timeline that occurred the moment they existed.
One last sacrifice
Everyone gathers at the mansion to decide what they can do. Five explains that they are doomed to save and destroy the world. Viktor thinks Ben showed him a vision of the original timeline where they no longer exist and that the Cleanse is actually positive. They must let the marigold merge with the durango, even if this is worse than dying; they will also be erased from everyone's memories.
But Lila and Diego's family and Allison's (Emmy Raver-Lampman) daughter Claire (Millie Davis) can still be saved, so Lila takes them to the subway. Lila needs to stay for the plan to work. At first she refuses to leave her family. At the last minute, Lila steps off the train and joins the rest of the Umbrella Academy for a final farewell.
When Luther suggests they share their favorite moments, he is immediately shot down by his other siblings. What follows is a mix of sweet and sour as the group prepares to be wiped from history. It's emotional and funny as apologies are made and accepted. "I finally see you," Diego tells Lila.
As the marigold and durango envelope them, Lila says, "Thank you for letting me be in your weird family." The overall mood is gratitude they are together at the end. "I love you, but you're all a**holes" says Klaus.
When the Cleanse consumes them, flashes of the previous timelines appear before only the original one exists. Lila and Diego's extended family happily hang out in the park with Claire, as are some familiar faces from previous seasons, such as The Handler (Kate Walsh). As the narrator, Adam Godley (who voiced Pogo), says, "On the twelfth hour of the eighth day of August 2024, absolutely nothing out of the ordinary occurred. You might say it was just a normal day."
At the end of the credits, eight marigold flowers grow from one of the trees to show part of the siblings, and Lila, lives on.
All episodes of The Umbrella Academy are available to stream on Netflix.
