Season 3 of ‘The Umbrella Academy’: explanation of the end and answers to all questions

Superhero life is always busy when it comes to the Hargreeves brothers. The super powerful members of the umbrella academy have avoided Doomsday twice now in the to show on Netflix, but it turns out that reversing the apocalypse is an ongoing event.

Season 3 was no less eventful for the dysfunctional family, throwing up roadblocks in the form of rival Sparrow Academy, a universe-destroying black hole, and vicious warriors known as the Guardians. Did all the Hargreeves make it out in one piece? Did they save the universe or did they just make it worse? Here is our explanation of what happened, along with our lingering questions.

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What is the Kugelblitz (and how do you spell it)?

Episode 5 is where you’ll find the full explanation of this season’s equivalent of a big bad (not counting the initial antagonism from Sparrow Academy and the trio of Guardians at the end). In a nutshell, the Kugelblitz, what looks like an orange ball of energy, randomly collapses matter through time and space until all of existence turns black. This black hole is the universe’s answer to a grandfather paradox created by Harlan, Sissy’s super-powered son.

In Season 2, Viktor met Sissy in Dallas, 1963, and the pair fell in love. While saving Harlan from drowning, Viktor accidentally imparted some of his powers to him. In the season 2 finale, Viktor believed that he had saved Harlan from exploding by absorbing his powers, but an altered Harlan held them back for the rest of his life.

On October 1, 1989, Sissy died of cancer, the same day the Hargreeves brothers were inexplicably born. Harlan’s pain connected him to Viktor, whom he had always wanted to return to them. This connection caused Harlan to release a burst of energy that found Viktor’s closest association at the time: his mother. She was accidentally killed by Harlan, along with the mothers of the other Hargreeves siblings. This resulted in a grandfather paradox: in this altered timeline, the brothers were never born. When they jump back in time from the ’60s, they land in an altered 2019, where their pasts have been erased and Sparrow Academy is the premier superhero show in town.

Luther and Klaus are sacrificed (but that won’t stop them)

Oh Father Reginald. You seemed to have changed your ways, but no! The adoptive father of the Hargreeves (and the Sparrows) gave Klaus hope that he would treat the siblings with more love and care. He literally revealed a new layer in Season 2: Beneath that austere exterior lies a blue lizard-like alien.

In the penultimate episode of season 3, we see that this alien possesses a razor-sharp arm, which he uses to stab Luther to death. This is part of a tactic he has used before to bring the brothers together. Then, when the Kugelblitz invade Hotel Obsidian (later revealed to be Hotel Oblivion), he sacrifices Klaus and locks the door on him while the remaining seven brothers escape. So much to change his ways: Reginald’s cold heart only cares about the right amount of brothers he needs to restart the universe.

Fortunately, after some persuasion, Klaus returns from the afterlife to rescue the brothers in battle with the Guardians, using his powers to briefly summon Luther at just the right moment to save the day.

Lila is pregnant, this time for real.

As Lila drops off Stanley on Diego’s doorstep, we see Diego grow up and finally embrace caring for his newfound son. Only later does Lila reveal that Stanley is not in fact her son, but her partner Trudy’s (unfortunately, Stan ends up Kugelblitzed). She “borrowed” him to test Diego if he would be up to the job of taking care of his real son. That’s right: Lila is currently pregnant with Diego’s unborn child, who they can save only if they defeat the Guardians and reset the universe.

Allison goes wild for once

Allison’s arc this season saw her lose her patience with being the good guy all along, especially after the racial discrimination she suffered during the American civil rights movement of the 1960s. After losing her husband Raymond Chestnut to the past, he discovers that his daughter Claire no longer exists in the altered present. Fed up with the hand she’s been dealt, she leans into the full extent of her powers and discovers (with the help of Harlan’s residual energy) that she can influence people without having to say, “I heard a word.” rumour…”

She takes another step out of character by striking a deal with Reginald to do whatever it takes to bring Claire (and potentially Raymond) back. Mainly, this involves trying to persuade the other siblings to fight the dangerous Guardians and reset the universe.

The seven bells to reset the universe

This time, to save the world, all it takes is for one of the brothers to hit a literal reset button. In the lobby of the Obsidian Hotel, later revealed to be the Oblivion Hotel, a giant machine built by whoever created the universe in the first place, seven stars can be seen on the floor. The remaining seven siblings, plus Allison, stand on these sigils or bells, which use the particles within their bodies as fuel. Meanwhile, Reginald appears to change the settings on the machine, which could explain why the universe doesn’t reset to the expected norm. To prevent the brothers from being drained to death, Allison kills Reginald, then decides to hit the big red reset button anyway.

What the hell happened to everyone?

With the universe back to “normal,” Allison gets exactly what she wanted: Claire and, inexplicably, Raymond. Is it just a figment of her imagination? She interacted with him while she was under a lot of stress before. Or did she really travel to 2019 from 1963?

Luther returns, but he’s not the same either, he’s not part ape anymore. None of the brothers have the powers of him anymore. One thing that doesn’t change: Ben is still the asshole version of the Sparrows. Luther desperately runs off to find his beloved Sloane, who might still exist somewhere in the rebooted world, just not as part of Sparrow Academy. The rest of the brothers go their separate ways.

Reginald also gets what he wanted. He appears to own all the high-rise buildings in the city, all bearing the Hargreeves name. In a Tony Stark-esque tower marked by huge letters “HE” (or “H” and three horizontal lines floating parallel to one another), old Reg dominates the city with the same ethereal woman revealed to be living on the moon at the same time as Luther. Reginald told Luther that his mission there had a purpose: “to guard the most precious thing in the universe.” The way Reggie and the woman look lovingly at each other suggests that they are a couple.

That scene in the mid credits

Season 3 doesn’t end with sneak peeks into the future: In a mid-credits scene, we jump to South Korea, the camera snaking across a train until a familiar face appears. Another Ben! This one looks super soft, wears a tight suit and reads a book while traveling to Yeouido station in Seoul. So, in this rebooted universe, there are not one, but two Bens.

What a packed season, with plenty of cliffhangers to propel us into the next. (Exist rumors that season 4 has already been greenlit). revision from season 3 and a great list of sci-fi tv shows to fill the gap between seasons.