Movies News Talk
The Umbrella Academy ended its run with an emotional roller coaster of a season. Season 4 took a slightly different route in comparison to the other apocalypses the Hargreeves tackled in past seasons, with the personal cost of their powers and sacrifice taking center stage. We're introduced to a timeline six years after season 3's end, with the Hargreeves having moved on from their powers and embracing the quiet life.
The whole season revolves around a rescue mission that forces the Hargreeves and their newest allies, Lila, and Ben, to deal with Jennifer, who ultimately plays a vital role in destroying the world. Five, in his attempt to undo all of the chaos they have created in various timelines, ultimately decides that Sacrifice is the only answer, leaving the ending on a bittersweet and slightly tragic note!
In the Season 4 Mid-Credits Scene, we are shown eight beautiful, blooming, golden flowers releasing particles like the dreaded marigolds did throughout the seasons. Fans were wondering if this was a clue that there could be a way for the Hargreeves to come back to life - or worse, maybe another world to destroy? This heartwarming moment adds a whole new layer of meaning to their bittersweet ending.
The season made a really big point about their sacrifice restoring the timeline. That means those golden Flowers we saw at the end? Not actually marigolds. They're a nod to the Hargreeves' impact on the timeline - something more Meaningful! Even though the timeline was reset and none of the Hargreeves technically exist, these flowers still celebrate their heroic moment. So it’s more of a "look what these guys did" vibe.
It might have seemed pretty strange to watch these powerful heroes disappear. We know the Handler, Grace, and the whole gang that we met in past seasons ended up with new lives after those powers just vanished with the Timeline change. A whole bunch of fans are feeling confused as to how those powers are supposed to work. Maybe we'll see some clues to that in a potential future series? I think fans will continue to analyze how their powers could have been affected after being part of a destroyed timeline and then being removed from the universe!
However, it wasn’t just the Hargreeves! Each of those Flowers at the end symbolizes every member of the Hargreeves clan, along with Lila, the one who always played a huge role with their gang. So the message is super clear – even though they might not remember each other now, their sacrifice and choices saved everyone's lives. That's something to think about and hold onto.
Throughout The Umbrella Academy, we see this crazy back and forth between these "unrelated, superheroes, but kind of family” who keep going through apocalypses in all sorts of different worlds and time periods. They don't always get along, they don’t always make the right choices, and there’s so much tension – it’s as complicated as your own family, if you think about it!
And this season, there was a real, emotional emphasis on family - seeing their choices make so much Meaning in their choices to rescue each other. This season's story was full of family-oriented love stories, as well as their decisions to have kids. It seems like it might be tough to save the world and be a super-powered family all at the same time.
That "Hargreeves Sacrificed themselves to save the world, so their story ends" theory – it might just be a little too simplistic. It is still so unclear about how their abilities were wiped from existence as the Timeline collapsed, and that opens the door for so many things! And it's almost impossible to imagine a "no more Hargreeves ever!" future. After all, this was a comic-book adaptation that ended with a pretty massive storyline – a new series could pick up on this premise.
Maybe we’ll get a new crew to step into the world, maybe the "Hargreeves” will find a way to make their return, or perhaps there's something we didn’t notice in that mid-credit scene that's waiting for us. The season’s conclusion and those gold flowers are a hint at that hope for a future.