Across its four seasons, the story of Netflix's The Umbrella Academyhas hinged on time travel, resulting in many branching realities that are difficult to pin down. The Umbrella Academy season 3's ending saw the Hargreeves siblings sacrificing their Marigold — and superpowers — to fashion a redesigned 2019 timeline. However, that's not where the wild time-hopping stops. In the show's fourth and final outing, The Umbrella Academy's timelines become even more complicated as The Keepers, a conspiracy theorist cult, try to "cleanse" and prune the timeline that the Hargreeves siblings made in season 3.
Long Ago...
The Story Of Reginald Hargreeves Remains Consistent
Though The Umbrella Academy timeline and the various events within it remain in flux, Reginald Hargreeves looms as the ever-present constant. Apart from unexplored periods of Five's tenure as a Commission assassin, no forays have been made anywhere close to Reginald's distant past. As such, his flashback revealed in The Umbrella Academy's season 1 finale has remained unchanged.
Pre-1898 — Reginald Hargreeves Leaves His Homeworld: A glimpse at a much younger Reginald Hargreeves seen in a previously-unfamiliar environment. Speaking with a bedridden woman that was either his wife or otherwise close to him, he learns that some kind of imminent doom is coming. Soon after, it is revealed that Reginald Hargreeves is from an alien planet, from which a mass exodus is already in progress. After being encouraged to join such efforts, he opened a mysterious jar to release an even more mysterious entity into the air.
Post-1898 — Reginald Hargreeves Arrives in America: The alienReginald Hargreeves is next seen in The Umbrella Academy timeline preparing to board a boat likely traveling from England to America. How long exactly he had been in England or on Earth itself is unclear. However, his arrival in the United States was sometime after 1898. This was made clear by the sign for the D.S. Umbrella Manufacturing Company, which marked it as having been established in 1898. Reginald promptly purchased the company that he would go on to serve as part of a billion-dollar empire.
The Prime Timeline: 1962–2015
1962 — Pogo's Training Begins: Reginald Hargreeves worked with Grace (Jordan Claire Robbins) in The Umbrella Academy timeline to raise, educate, and train Pogo for space travel and more. The pair frequently treated and cared for Pogo more like a son than a scientific experiment.
November 22, 1963 — Older Five Arrives For JFK's Assassination: Firmly a part of the Temps Commission, a 58-year-old version of Five was tasked with ensuring the assassination of John F. Kennedy. However, he opted instead to leave his post and traveled forward to 2019.
March/April 1967 — Klaus Arrives From The Future: Having accidentally acquired and activated a Temps Commission briefcase in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Klaus was dropped right in the middle of the Vietnam War. Forced to blend in with the military, he ultimately meets and falls in love with a fellow soldier named Dave.
February 1, 1968 — Dave Is Killed In Action: During a mission in the A Shau Valley, Klaus and Dave are caught in a battle and pinned down by heavy gunfire. Though Klaus survived, Dave wasn't so lucky and succumbed to a fatal gunshot wound in Klaus' arms. A grief-stricken Klaus took Dave's dog-tags and used the briefcase again in order to return to 2019.
October 1, 1989 — The Children Are Mysteriously Born: A group of women around the world gave birth to children despite not having been pregnant when the day began in The Umbrella Academy timeline. The birth resulted in forty-three children, each with different special abilities. Lila Pitts (Ritu Arya) is later revealed to be one of the special 43 children. Harold Jenkins was also born on the same day, albeit conceived in an unconnected and rather more normal fashion.
Later in October 1989 — Multiple Children Are Adopted: In the weeks that followed, Hargreeves sought out many of the children. It ultimately transpired that Reginald Hargreeves adopted seven of them. He soon after designated them by number: One (Luther), Two (Diego), Three (Allison), Four (Klaus), Five, Six (Ben), and Seven (Viktor).
Sometime in 1993 — Lila's Parents Are Murdered By Five: During a bogus mission generated by The Handler (Kate Walsh) in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Five assassinates Lila's parents. The Handler subsequently took Lila in as her own daughter and ultimately trained her as her own personal assassin.
Also in 1993 — Viktor Rebels Against His Training: Noted in Reginald Hargreeves' journal, Viktor (Elliot Page) began demonstrating a refusal to adhere to his commands. He also began lashing out in violent ways, resulting in the deaths and/or serious injuries of several nannies. As a result, Hargreeves built a robot version of his partner, Grace, in order to serve as Viktor and the other children's mom.
Later in 1993 — Reginald Has Viktor Brainwashed: Though The Umbrella Academy's Mom worked in several areas where Viktor was concerned (namely in eating oatmeal), Reginald remained fearful of Viktor's powers in The Umbrella Academy timeline. As a result, he produces special pills that would dampen Viktor's destructive abilities. He also had Allison use her own mind-altering powers to convince Viktor that he was, in fact, powerless.
June 1, 2001 — Reginald Cruelly Trains Klaus: During a flashback in The Umbrella Academy timeline, it's revealed that part of Klaus' childhood training was to be locked in a mausoleum. The measure was ostensibly designed to help Klaus move past his fear of the dark and the ghosts he could conjure. However, it only served to further traumatize him. Soon after, he began turning to drugs in order to suppress his abilities.
2002 — The Umbrella Academy Are Introduced To The World: Minus Viktor, the adopted Umbrella Academy siblings embark on their first mission and foil a robbery at the Capital West Bank. Immediately afterward, Reginald held a press conference, officially unveiling the superhero team.
Later in 2002 — Harold Is Rejected By Reginald Hargreeves: Running away from his abusive home, Harold attempts to join the Academy since he was born on the same day in The Umbrella Academy timeline. Unfortunately, Reginald deemed him average and without powers. Subsequently kicked off the property, Harold was bitterly humiliated. Returning home, he channeled that rage into murdering his father and was sentenced to twelve years in prison as a result.
How Ben died in
The Umbrella Academy
timeline remains a mystery until season 4...
November 10, 2002 — Number Five Jumps Forward In Time: Eager to attempt time travel, the ageless Five ends up in an argument with his adoptive father. Believing it's too dangerous, Reginald insisted he should simply keep working on his spatial jumps. Five's response was to run away and attempt to jump through time anyway. Unfortunately, he ended up jumping too far into the future and found himself stranded on a post-apocalyptic Earth.
2006 — Ben Dies While On A Mission:How Ben died in The Umbrella Academytimeline remains a mystery until season 4, when it's revealed that Reginald killed Ben to thwart an apocalyptic event known as the Cleanse. Notably, after Ben's funeral, Klaus was able to summon the ghost of Ben, as he had been too afraid to go into the light at the time.
2007 — The Umbrella Academy's Members Start To Leave Home: Diego (David Castañeda) was the first to leave, shortly after he turned 18. It's unknown in which order the others inevitably leave to pursue their own interests and live their own lives.
2012 — Luther Is Injured While On A Mission: Now the only member of the Umbrella Academy left, Luther is sent on a solo mission. Unfortunately, things went awry, and Luther (Tom Hopper) was brought back in critical condition. In order to save him, Reginald used the same serum he once used on Pogo. Though it succeeded at saving Luther's life, it left his body permanently transformed to resemble a gorilla.
2014 — Harold Jenkins Is Released From Prison: Despite The Umbrella Academy's Harold Jenkins (John Magaro) being locked away for over a decade, his obsession with The Umbrella Academy remains firmly intact.
2015 — Viktor Writes His Memoir: Titled Extra Ordinary, Viktor penned an autobiography in The Umbrella Academy timeline about his childhood and growing up in Reginald's superhero team. In the process, he reveals several of the group's secrets. As a result of the book, he briefly enjoys fifteen minutes of fame.
Later in 2015 — Reginald Sends Luther To The Moon: Though the specifics are never made clear to Luther, he lives on the moon for four years. During that time, he frequently sent back samples and extensive reportsfor Reginald to review. Later, it's revealed that this was all a ruse: Luther was really there to protect the body of Abigail Hargreeves, Reginald's late wife.
The Original Apocalypse
Five Realizes The World Will End In 2019
Upon arriving in the apocalyptic future in The Umbrella Academytimeline, Five discovers the bodies of his siblings amid the rubble of the Umbrella Academy headquarters. Given that the location is a far cry from the Icarus Theatre, it implied that a different final battle with Viktor once occurred to constitute The Umbrella Academy's apocalypse. Another difference is that he finds Harold Jenkins' prosthetic eye tightly in Luther's grip, meaning that Harold must still have been alive and present for that particular clash.
...the exact nature of Viktor's original apocalypse in
The Umbrella Academy
timeline was seemingly different.
Equally, each of the siblings' bodies is more or less intact, rather than destroyed in a global firestorm caused by an asteroid impact. Therefore, the exact nature of Viktor's original apocalypse in The Umbrella Academytimeline was seemingly different. Whatever occurred in this version of the timeline, however, will probably remain both unknown (and irrelevant) — since Five's eventual return to 2019 would serve to generate a new branch and establish what would become the show's prime timeline.
The Prime Timeline: 2019
The Umbrella Academy Season 1's Core Timeline, Explained
March 21, 2019 —Reginald Hargreeves Commits Suicide: Though not revealed until midway through The Umbrella Academy season 1, Reginald took his own life to draw the siblings back for his funeral in The Umbrella Academy timeline.
March 24, 2019 — Reginald's Funeral & Five's Return: The siblings return to the Academy, and the ensuing tensions lead to Ben's memorial statue getting damaged. That same day, a 60-year-old version of Five time-traveled from 1963, but ended up reverting to his 13-year-old state.
March 25, 2019 — Viktor Meets Harold Jenkins: Posing as Leonard Peabody, Harold approaches Viktor under the guise of wanting violin lessons. Allison moves closer to discovering the truth behind her father's death while Five tries to track down Harold via the prosthetic eye from the future. Five is later attacked by Hazel and Cha-Cha while visiting the mannequin Dolores at a department store. With more siblings learning of the apocalypse, The Umbrella Academy timeline was moved even further away from its original course.
March 26, 2019 — Hazel and Cha-Cha Attack The Academy: Breaking into the facility, the duo clash with Diego, Allison, and Luther while Viktor witnesses from the sidelines. Though the assassins were eventually driven out, they succeeded in abducting Klaus. They tortured him for information, before burning down the prosthetics lab that Five was trying to get information from. Klaus escaped with the help of Detective Patch, but she died in the process. Diego shut down the malfunctioning robot he knew as Mom. He later found Patch's body and, in his grief, swore vengeance. Newly escaped and armed with a Commission briefcase, Klaus accidentally travels back to 1967 Vietnam.
March 27, 2019 — Five Is Offered A New Job: As a result of Harold's murderous intervention in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Viktor successfully auditioned for the first chair in his orchestra. Similarly, courtesy of his manipulations, Viktor stopped taking what he believed to be antianxiety medication. Having orchestrated a meeting with The Handler, Five was offered a new job with The Umbrella Academy's Temps Commission. To protect his family from the oncoming apocalypse, he accepted.
The First Aborted Timeline
Umbrella Academy's "The Day That Wasn't," Explained
As a result of accepting The Handler's offer, Five ventured with The Handler to the Temp Commission's headquarters. While there, a whole day played out for the rest of the siblings back in the present. The events of that day in The Umbrella Academy timeline — March 28, 2019 — unfold throughout The Umbrella Academy season 1, episode 6, "The Day That Wasn't."
Five essentially cuts short what would have become of that
The Umbrella Academy
timeline...
Klaus got sober enough to summon the ghost of Dave, Allison and Luther admitted their feelings and prepared to leave town, and Viktor learned early about Harold having Reginald's journal. Unfortunately, each of those developments was erased when Five once again returned to 2019. Appearing at the start of the day, Five essentially cuts short what would have become of that The Umbrella Academy timeline, once again setting the story on a different path along the prime Umbrella Academy timeline.
The Prime Timeline: 2019 Continued
The Umbrella Academy Season 1 Hurtles Toward An Apocalyptic
March 28, 2019 — Viktor's Powers Are Awakened: Though several elements of the day were erased, others remained firmly intact. Luther discovered his time on the Moon was for nothing. Devastated, he turned to drugs and went to a rave. There, Klaus got into a fight trying to protect him, leading to him suffering a head injury. While unconscious, Klaus has an encounter with his father, learning more about his death. Viktor's latent powers awakened fully after Harold hired a group of thugs to attack him. Viktor used his powers to defend him, killing two of the thugs and costing Harold his right eye.
March 29, 2019 — Viktor Almost Kills Allison: Harold tries to help Viktor get more control of his powers in The Umbrella Academy timeline. After being tracked down by Allison, however, Viktor learns the truth about her part in having his memories altered. Once again losing control, Viktor lashed out with his powers and slit Allison's throat. Diego, Klaus, Five, and Luther found Allison barely clinging to life.
March 30, 2019 — Luther Imprisons Viktor: Allison was saved by Pogo and Grace back at the Academy. Elsewhere, Viktor found his father's journal and discovered the extent of Harold's machinations. Provoked, Viktor once again snapped and brutally killed him. Afterward, he returns to the Academy, only to be knocked unconscious and locked away by Luther. Because of this, Viktor fully gave in to his dark side and used his powers to escape her confinement.
...Five succeeds at time-traveling all of them away to safety.
April 1, 2019 — The Apocalypse: Now unleashed, Viktor destroys the Academy in The Umbrella Academy timeline, killing Pogo in one of Umbrella Academy's most shocking deaths, and destroying Grace/Mom in the process. Pursued by Temps Commission soldiers, the siblings went to the Icarus Theatre to confront Viktor, but were unable to stop him from firing a beam of his energy, which damaged the moon Umbrella Academy's Luther spent so much time on and sent an asteroid hurtling toward the Earth. With only moments to spare, Five succeeds at time-traveling all of them away to safety.
Some Time Later — The Handler Recovered: After being shot in the head by Hazel, but shortly before the apocalypse, The Handler's body was pulled from the timeline. Moments before being incinerated, it was revealed that she survived the attempt on her life. After going through recovery, The Handler (who was almost played by Jon Hamm) was summarily demoted at the Temps Commission by A.J. Carmichael.
Post-Apocalypse — Five's Journey: With the Earth still wiped out in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Five's time in the desolate wasteland remains intact. However, the version that this timeline's Five traveled to would be slightly different. His siblings' bodies would be nowhere to be found and there would be no eye to retrieve either. Plus, Five's mannequin, Dolores, would likely have been burned to a crisp. Five would spend forty-five years stuck alone in the future, until being recruited for the Temps Commission sometime around 2060.
The Alternate Timeline: 1960–1963
The Umbrella Academy Season 2, Explained
Things were shaken off course almost immediately after the Hargreeves siblings touched down in their new decade. Though each arrived separately and at different points, each of them settled quickly into their new environments. As a result, throughout The Umbrella Academy season 2, they all had a direct influence on the new world around them, and some of their decisions and actions would ultimately have wide-reaching consequences for the once steadfastly established The Umbrella Academy timeline.
February 11, 1960 — Klaus and Ben Arrive in Dallas: As the first to arrive of The Umbrella Academy's members, Klaus and Ben stumbled around trying to get their bearings, and learned the date and year from a magazine. Later that same day, Klaus was taken in and cleaned up by a wealthy older benefactor. He dazzled socialites by using Ben's help to perform parlor tricks.
April 1961 — Allison Arrives in Dallas: Allison had a rougher introduction to the 1960s in The Umbrella Academy timeline. Having ventured into the same diner as Klaus, she was turned away due to it being a "Whites Only" establishment. Upon leaving, she was chased by a group of racist thugs. Seeking sanctuary in a salon, Allison was protected by its owners and began working there.
September 1961 — Allison Meets Raymond: After Raymond Chestnut (played by Yusuf Gatewood) comes into the salon for a meeting of his group, he and Allison first notice each other.
Christmas 1961 — Allison and Raymond's First Date: Despite having had her vocal cords damaged when her throat was cut, they were revealed to have healed throughout the year. After some months of exchanging silent looks, Ray eventually asked her on a date. At that point, she vocally offered up her name. She also began to immerse herself in his civil rights campaigns, even offering him notes on his pamphlets.
Also in 1961 — Klaus Establishes His Cult: A brief glimpse during a montage of flashbacks reveals Klaus traveling with his followers on a bus through Mexico in The Umbrella Academy timeline.
1962 — Luther Arrives in Dallas: Emerging in the pouring rain, Luther immediately calls out for his siblings. When that yielded no success, he accumulated enough money for a bus back home. Arriving at what would one day become Hargreeves' Umbrella Academy, however, Luther was cruelly snubbed by Reginald. Luther returned to Dallas and eventually began working as a bodyguard and professional fighter for Jack Ruby.
Late 1962 — Allison and Raymond Get Married: Given that they were only married for a year before Allison had to return to 2019, Allison and Raymond's (one of the best Umbrella Academy relationships) wedding likely took place in the later months of The Umbrella Academy timeline.
September 1, 1963 — Diego Arrives in Dallas: Landing in a more traditional superhero fashion, Diego immediately reverts to old habits. Hearing a woman's scream, he quickly foils a mugging. He also got to grips with his new surroundings after seeing a speech from JFK on an old-fashioned TV in a store window. Suddenly passionately resolved to stop the JFK assassination, Diego begins stalking Lee Harvey Oswald. Unfortunately, he was apprehended outside of Oswald's house and institutionalized.
October 12, 1963 — Viktor Arrives in Dallas: Though he had been unconscious in Luther's arms when they began time-traveling, Viktor arrives alone. Disorientated, he stumbled from the alley and out into the middle of the road. There, he is hit by a car driven by Sissy (Marin Ireland, The Dark and the Wicked). Alongside her son, Harlan (Justin Paul Kelly), Sissy checked on Viktor and eventually took him in to live with them.
Also in 1963 — Klaus Abandons His Cult: Seen surrounded by countless followers now, an overwhelmed Klaus takes the opportunity to disappear into the crowd in The Umbrella Academy timeline. Driving away from San Francisco, he revealed to Ben his goal to return to Dallas. The two clashed over the plan. Klaus was later arrested when he stole another man's car en-route.
The 1963 Apocalypse
The Umbrella Academy Faces Another World-Ending Event
The opening of The Umbrella Academy season 2 marked a much more dramatic change to November 25, 1963, in The Umbrella Academy timeline. Though JFK hadn't been assassinated, a devastating war soon followed. Therefore, once again, the siblings are forced to face another apocalypse without Five. Having arrived later than them, he was dropped in the final moments of it. Though they offered a thrilling united front, they were doomed in the face of several nuclear weapons. Fortunately, Hazel makes a brief appearance to save Five and transport him back ten days earlier.
...paradoxically, [the apocalypse] needed to have happened, and Five needed to have experienced it, in order for it to be prevented.
As such, Five was able to reunite the team early in The Umbrella Academy timeline and use the foreknowledge to their advantage. Unlike the culmination of The Umbrella Academy season 1, they (though mostly Ben) are subsequently able to once again branch the timeline in a less fatal direction — and more successfully avert a global disaster the second time around. The timeline with the apocalypse must still exist somewhere in a now-distant and defunct part of the show's multiverse, however. Like the Umbrella Academy 2019 apocalypse, it paradoxically needed to have happened, and Five needed to have experienced it, in order for it to be prevented.
The Alternate Timeline: 1963 Continued (& 1982)
The Umbrella Academy Season 2's Finale, Explained
November 15, 1963 — Five Arrives From The Alternate Future : After rescuing Number Five and secretly giving him video footage, Hazel is killed by a trio of Swedish assassins. Five managed to track down Elliot (Kevin Rankin), a man who had been monitoring the alleyway the siblings had arrived in, and used his research to find the other Hargreeves siblings of The Umbrella Academy.
November 16, 1963 — Luther and Viktor Are Reunited: After picking up a drunk Carl from a local Dallas club in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Viktor is spotted by Luther. Visiting him at Sissy's farm, he apologizes for failing to help him after he learned of his powers and his part in causing the apocalypse.
November 17, 1963 — Allison Leads A Civil Rights Sit-In: In one of Allison's best moments, Allison and Raymond's group went through with their peaceful protest. Ray was able to attend after Klaus and Ben orchestrated his release from jail. The event descended into chaos, however, after violent backlash and brutal police intervention.
November 18, 1963 — Viktor Learns The Truth: Luther reveals to Viktor that he caused the 2019 apocalypse in The Umbrella Academy timeline. In response, Viktor resolved to leave everything behind. After Harlan nearly drowned, however, he changed his mind. After giving him CPR, some of Viktor's energy is transferred to him.
November 20, 1963 — "Team Zero" Meets Young Reginald: The entire group reconvenes to meet with their father. Unfortunately, The Umbrella Academy's alien founder, Reginald, proved unimpressed with the group and rudely snubbed them again — though not before learning their names and powers. Essentially, the Umbrella Academy gives Reginald everything he needs to take his superhero scheme in a different direction.
November 22, 1963 — JFK's Assassination: Under the belief that he's a Russian spy, Viktor is brutally tortured at the FBI building. That, coupled with his returning memories, sent his powers once again out of control. Having been taken to the Commission in The Umbrella Academy timeline, Diego uses the facilities to learn that Viktor's destruction of the building is what led to The Umbrella Academy's apocalyptic war between the U.S. and the Soviet Union. Klaus, Allison, and Diego infiltrate the facility to rescue him. Though they failed, Ben sacrificed himself to calm Viktor down, and JFK's assassination went ahead as history had recorded last time.
November 23, 1963 — The Umbrella Academy Go To War: With Viktor aware of his psychic connection with Harlan, he returns to the farm just as the powers he acquired from Viktor started to go out of control. At the same time, the entire force of the Temps arrived, with The Handler eager to claim Harlan for her own. After Viktor wipes out the countless assassins, Lila is revealed to be able to mirror The Umbrella Academy's powers. After The Handler and most of the Commission were killed, the siblings took a briefcase from a fallen Commission agent, said their goodbyes, and time-traveled back toward 2019.
1982 — Five Kills The Temps Commission Board: Five jumped forward in The Umbrella Academy timeline as part of a deal with The Handler. Interrupting a meeting of those in charge of the Commission, he killed them all without mercy. He immediately went back to November 21, 1963.
The First Alternate 2019 Timeline
Five & Luther Make A Deal With Another Version Of Five
Five was forced to resort to drastic measures to get his family back to 2019. Knowing that his older self had arrived in Dallas, Five and Luther attempted to make a deal with him to acquire his Temps Commission briefcase. Though the older Five agreed, the paradoxical effect of being close to each other made both versions paranoid and homicidal. With both of them conspiring against the other, they ended up brawling after the younger version opened the same kind of portal to 2019 he'd once used. Before that, Five had given his older self the equation to ensure he wasn't reverted into a teenager.
Luther inadvertently ensured that the version of 2019 the older Five went to would ultimately turn out different from Umbrella Academy season 1's...
It is unclear, however, whether he was lying about it, since he believed he needed his past self to venture through in the same manner in order to preserve his existence in The Umbrella Academy timeline. Equally, the older Five ended up being forcibly kicked into the vortex rather than coordinating his own path through it. Whatever the case, Luther inadvertently ensured that the version of 2019 the older Five went to would ultimately turn out different from Umbrella Academy season 1's — since he armed him with the specific details of who and what caused the apocalypse.
As such, Five was likely in a better position to prevent what the original version(s) had failed to thwart. Thus, a new The Umbrella Academy timeline would have been created. The moment also seemed to confirm that what viewers were witnessing were branches of a multiverse. After all, Five remained in existence despite the older Five going into the vortex being different from him as a result of being armed with such additional knowledge.
The Second Aborted Timeline
Five Stops The Handler From Killing His Siblings By Reversing The Flow Of Time
Following the epic confrontation with the forces of the Temps Commission, the members of the Umbrella Academy manage to reason with Lila. They even came close to bringing her around to their side of the conflict. Unfortunately, The Handler stepped in and gunned the entire Hargreeves family down in a hail of bullets. After being confronted by Lila, The Umbrella Academy's Handler even callously kills her adopted daughter.
Five was able to finally master a new facet of his abilities, which allows him to reverse time...
Clinging to life, however, Five was able to finally master a new facet of his abilities, which allows him to reverse time. Although this new ability causes even more timeline confusion, the process also results in bringing the team and Lila back to life. Simultaneously, Five put himself into a position to intercept The Handler before she could strike. As a result, Five successfully curtails another tragic branch of the timeline before it truly manifests.
The New 2019 Timeline
The Hargreeves Siblings Pushed Reginald To Take His Academy In A Different Direction
As a result of their paradoxical interactions in the 1963 The Umbrella Academy timeline — namely disappointing their adoptive father — the Hargreeves siblings return to a very different 2019. A still-alive Reginald creates the Sparrow Academy instead. In yet another twist, the Number One of the Sparrow Academy is revealed to be an equally still-alive Ben Hargreeves. Now sporting a scar and a more vicious demeanor to match, the Sparrow version of Ben rudely asks the Hargreeves siblings who they think they are in The Umbrella Academy season 2's cliffhanger ending.
The Sparrow Timeline: 1918–2019
Reginald's Sparrow Academy Replaces The Umbrellas
1918 — Reginald Hargreeves Builds Hotel Obsidian: The Umbrella Academy finds themselves hiding out in Hotel Obsidian, and it's revealed in The Umbrella Academy season 3, episode 8, through a flashback that Reginald Hargreeves built it. In an effort to find the portal to the alternate dimension Oblivion, Hargreeves surveys the land that the hotel is eventually built on and even sends a team of soldiers through the portal to Oblivion. However, things don't go according to plan, and none of them make it out of the portal alive.
1953 — Lila Visits The Commission's Headquarters: The Commission, an organization that oversees and manages the space-time continuum, finds its headquarters in the 1950s. In 1953, Lila makes a visit in The Umbrella Academy season 3, episode 7, because of her adoptive mother's (The Handler) unexplained death at the end of season 2. After that, she ends up going back to West Berlin in 1989.
1963 — The Umbrella Academy Meets Again: After the Umbrella Academy is separately transported back to Dallas in the '60s in season 2, the five are finally able to reunite in 1963. Consequently, this is the year that the world is supposed to end. However, the team is able to stop the apocalyptic event in time and then travel back to the present day.
1989 — The Super-powered Children Are Born: In The Umbrella Academy season 3, the Umbrella Academy timeline jumps back to the infamous day when the super children are born, reintroducing Reginald's brood as The Sparrow Academy.
2014 — Pogo Becomes A Tattoo Artist: In The Umbrella Academy season 3, episode 6, it's revealed in a flashback that Pogo tries to control a fight between Sparrow Academy's Ben and Jayme, which ends up going way too far. Hargreeves insists that the two continue their brawl, and Pogo vehemently disagrees with him. After an argument between talking chimp Pogo and Hargreeves, the leader of the Academy kicks the former out for good, explaining how Pogo goes on to be a tattoo artist when he's found by Five in 2019.
2019 — The Umbrella Academy Vs The Sparrow Academy: The bulk of The Umbrella Academy season 3 storyline occurs in the present day, with the alternate timeline seeing Hargreeves' Sparrow Academy and the Umbrella Academy go head-to-head. All in all, Five and Lila are the only two characters that travel through time in season 3, making The Umbrella Academy timeline much easier to follow in the third installment. The last bit of time travel sees Five as an elder in an unspecified post-apocalyptic time.
The Reset Universe Timeline
The Umbrella Academy Season 4's Main Timeline, Explained
In addition to dealing with The Sparrow Academy, the Hargreeves siblings realize that all of their time traveling created a grandfather paradox. As a result, a kugelblitz — a concentration of energy that's capable of warping spacetime so much that it creates a black hole — threatens to consume and destroy the universe. Ultimately, the siblings successfully reset the universe after realizing that Sir Reginald's Hotel Obsidian is actually a portal to the Hotel Oblivion — a machine specifically built to redesign and reset the universe. As a result of the reset process, the Hargreeves lose their powers in the reset timeline.
The events of The Umbrella Academy season 4 pick up six years after the reset incident. For the most part, the Hargreeves siblings have gone their separate ways, living fairly mundane, power-free lives. (Notably, Ben is back in this reset version of the timeline.) Eventually, the siblings reunite to locate Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), a woman who was supposedly abducted by The Keepers, a cult that has found evidence of other timelines and, as a result, wants to cleanse the one season 4 takes place in. Ben slips Marigold into his siblings' drinks, causing the Hargreeves to gain new powers.
Five and Lila act on their romantic feelings for each other, resulting in one of season 4's most controversial storylines.
At one point, Five and Lila discover a subway system that allows them to travel to different timelines. This briefly brings the duo face-to-face with The Phoenix Academy and its members — yet another team Reginald assembled in lieu of the Umbrellas. After traveling the subway system for nearly seven years, Five and Lila briefly settle in a timeline that's all their own. In the "Strawberry House" timeline, Five and Lila act on their romantic feelings for each other, resulting in one of season 4's most controversial storylines. Ultimately, Five and Lila rejoin the Hargreeves in the main season 4 timeline, where almost no time has passed.
Ben and Jennifer find themselves inexplicably drawn together...
Meanwhile, it's revealed that Jennifer is the host to a substance called Durango, which, when combined with Marigold, will bring about The Cleanse. Ben and Jennifer find themselves inexplicably drawn together — a development Reginald had tried hard to prevent in other timelines, hence Ben's death. In The Umbrella Academy season 4's ending, it's revealed that Abigail Hargreeves was pulling the strings the whole time, eager to bring about The Cleanse.
The Umbrella Academy Season 4's Final Timeline
The Hargreeves Siblings Sacrifice Themselves To Fix The Apocalypse Problem For Good
While the other Hargreeves siblings and Lila try to stop Ben and Jennifer from becoming an all-consuming, monstrous entity, they eventually realize that the only way to stop the endless loop of apocalyptic events and branching timelines is to sacrifice themselves to The Cleanse. The theory is that if all the Marigold is destroyed, and if the Hargreeves — who keep causing the apocalypse — are wiped from existence, all will be well. Holding hands, the Hargreeves siblings and Lila allow the Ben-Jennifer blob to destroy them, which results in The Umbrella Academy's final timeline — a seemingly idyllic world populated by many familiar faces.
All four seasons of The Umbrella Academy are streaming on Netflix.
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