Warning: This article contains major spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 4!
The Umbrella Academy concluded with its fourth and last season, leaving fans emotional and happy at the same time. In the end, we see the Hargreeves siblings erase themselves from the world, preventing an upcoming apocalypse.
But before they faded out of the world, the Hargreeves siblings finally found out how their brother Ben died in the original timeline. They succeed in recalling their memories and remember that years ago when they were young kids.
Reginald Hargreeves (their adoptive father) sent them to a town to stop a Moldovan arms dealer carrying a deadly weapon. Reginald didn't tell his sons what the weapon was but warned them about touching any container. He told the Umbrellas not to touch the huge container at any cost.
However, Ben didn't take his father's words seriously and opened the container after hearing a voice. The other Umbrellas tried hard to stop Ben, but he didn't. After Ben opened the container, they discovered a girl inside it.
And soon after she (Jennifer) touched Ben, there was a spark. Following that spark, Reginald shows up at the place and shoots Ben and Jennifer, ending their lives in the original world.
This is called the 'Jennifer Incident' which the Umbrellas couldn't recall for years, until The Umbrellas Academy season 4.
After recalling that Ben and Jennifer died at the hands of Reginald Hargreeves, the Umbrellas felt crushed and heartbroken.
Who is Jennifer in The Umbrella Academy season 4?
Though Jennifer has been mentioned in The Umbrella Academy season 3, she didn't make a physical appearance.
However, in the final season, which took the Hargreeves siblings in a new timeline, Jennifer is a key figure. The character is played by Victoria Sawal and shares a history with the Umbrellas (through the Jennifer incident).
In the new timeline, the Umbrellas didn't have powers initially, but they later found Marigold in a jar which gave them superpowers.
Jennifer's story in The Umbrella Academy season 4 begins when Sy Grossman claims to be Jennifer's father, and requests the Hargreeves siblings to find her.
Sy claims that Jennifer has joined The Keepers (another group that wants to correct the timelines), and the Umbrellas should bring her back. Following their quest, the siblings tracked Jennifer in a small town in Maine.
After reaching there, Ben crossed paths with a girl named Rosie, who was actually Jennifer. The town seemed quite unusual as all the residents were armed and extremely protective of the girl.
They discover that the town was set up by Reginald Hargreeves to keep Jennifer away from the Hargreeves siblings. Later it is revealed that Sy lied about being Jennifer's dad, as he was a member of The Keepers.
In another twist, it is revealed that Sy is Abigail in disguise, who wants to find Jennifer and initiate The Cleanse, which is only possible after Marigold (found inside the Hargreeves siblings) and Durango (inside Jennifer) merge. This will possibly erase the multiple timelines.
When Jennifer was young, she was discovered inside a huge squid captured by fishermen, and upon asking about how she got there, Jennifer only said "The cleanse".
However, in the series, there's no explanation of how Jennifer went inside the squid and what her backstory is.
In the current timeline in season 4, she and Ben form a deep bond and develop feelings. However, as they two merged, Jennifer and Ben, transformed into a giant monster.
This happened because when Durango (the deadly substance) and Marigold merge, the reaction can cause worldwide extinction.
Why did Reginald Hargreeves kill Ben and Jennifer in The Umbrella Academy?
In season 4, The Umbrellas fail to recall the memory of Ben's death and only remember vague answers. None of the siblings could remember the death of the original Ben in the real world.
Following their vague memories, the Hargreeves siblings become suspicious of the original Reginald Hargreeves's actions, that he might have brainwashed them and erased the memories of Ben's death.
The siblings then confront Reginald's other version in the new timeline of The Umbrella Academy season 4, asking if their real adoptive father would have done something like this.
Reginald then helped the Umbrellas regain their memory, and they found out Ben was shot dead by the original Reginald Hargreeves.
Reginald Hargreeves killed Ben and Jennifer due to the potential threat they posed to the world, as the Cleanse could have been initiated through them. He prevented the interaction of Marigold and Durango which could have destroyed the whole world.
While the Umbrellas felt betrayed by their adoptive father, it was necessary to save the world. At the end of season 4, The Hargreeves siblings sacrificed themselves, which led to everything being reset to normal.
The Umbrella Academy is streaming on Netflix.
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