“I Don’t Like It, But It Makes Sense”

This article contains spoilers from The Umbrella Academy season 4.

The Umbrella Academy‘s cast reveals their mixed response to the series finale. The tumultuous road for the Hargreeves siblings ended on a bittersweet note as they found closure with each other and saved the universe, but at the cost of sacrificing themselves and being erased from all history. The Umbrella Academy season 4 ended with a restored timeline where the Hargreeves children did not exist, their sacrifices unknown to all who lived there.

While speaking with People, The Umbrella Academy‘s cast shared their mixed thoughts about the ending. Some cast members felt that it was an overall satisfying conclusion despite the darkness of it, and that it tonally fit with the series. Other cast members shared that they did not like all aspects of the ending, while also admitting that it made sense to them in the larger context of the story. Check out their responses below:

Justin H. Min:
I think it’s a satisfying ending. It is obviously a darker ending, but I think it falls in line with what our show is. I think it would be a little strange if it was just all rainbows and butterflies for the Umbrella Academy.

Elliot Page:
“Satisfied” [with the resolution] is a stretch in terms of just the weight and the sadness of it, but in terms of pure plot, I was like, “Yeah, that does make sense.”

Emmy Raver-Lampman:
I don’t like it, but it makes sense.

The “Darkness” Wasn’t The Problem With The Umbrella Academy’s Ending

Narrative Issues Prevented The Ending From Working

The premise of a somewhat dark ending makes sense given the development of The Umbrella Academy‘s characters, the story’s more realistic take on superheroes, and an ultimate sacrifice being the only way to finally put a stop to all the apocalypses and broken timelines that the Hargreeves caused. The larger issue with the show’s ending is that it does not feel earned. Compared to previous seasons, season 4 felt rushed and struggled to balance its various subplots, many of which proved inconsequential in the end.

Reducing the episode count from the standard ten episodes to only six had a negative impact as it did not provide sufficient time to properly develop its storylines and naturally build to the Hargreeves’ sacrifice. The initial premise of the Hargreeves siblings having to navigate a timeline without their powers was negated after the first episode. A great deal of time was then spent on the arc with Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and Quinn (George Tchortov) that felt regressive for Klaus’ development and had little bearing on the ending.

Related

What Happened To Every The Umbrella Academy Character Between Seasons 3 & 4

The Umbrella Academy season 4 has a six-year time jump at the beginning, and a lot happened to the Hargreeves between seasons 3 and 4.

Justin H. Min is right that a purely happy ending would have felt tonally jarring for The Umbrella Academy. While the ending is tonally consistent with the rest of the series, season 4’s pacing issues, the narrative potential it squanders, and unnecessary storylines prevent the conclusion from working as intended. Particularly when juxtaposed with the quality of the previous seasons, it is disappointing that The Umbrella Academy‘s ending was not as satisfying as it could have been.

Source: People

The Umbrella Academy

4.0

The Umbrella Academy is based on the comic book of the same name created by Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá. The Hargreeves — collectively known as The Umbrella Academy — were born with superpowers, and their adoptive father utilized their abilities. However, as they grew older, the siblings grew apart as they dealt with their trauma. They are brought back together after their father dies and Five returns from the future with grave news: The world will end, and The Umbrella Academy has to stop it before it happens.

Cast

Colm Feore , Cazzie David , Genesis Rodriguez , Robert Sheehan , Aidan Gallagher , Elliot Page , Emmy Raver-Lampman , Jordan Claire Robbins , Jake Epstein , Mary J. Blige , David Castaneda , Justin Cornwell , Justin H. Min , Britne Oldford , Adam Godley , Tom Hopper , Javon ‘Wanna’ Walton , Ritu Arya , Cameron Britton , Sheila McCarthy

Release Date

February 15, 2019

Seasons

3

Franchise(s)

The Umbrella Academy

Writers

Steve Blackman

Directors

Jeremy Webb

Showrunner

Steve Blackman

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