How many apocalypses does The Umbrella Academy have in it, you might wonder? Well, there’s (at least) one more before the show calls it quits with the fourth season. Notably also as well, this series will officially move past the ending of the Dark Horse comic-book source material from Gerard Way and Gabriel Bá, who previously introduced the world to the initial, Victor-aided catastrophe followed by a time-warping apocalypse (with Klaus as a cult leader during the most fun part of the second season). Then supposedly, the mother of apocalypses happened with the Kugelblitz.
The series could have ended there, since the third-season finale actually provided some (vague) closure for the Hargreaves’ fates. Yet the show’s popularity led Netflix to renew for a last hurrah, which I suppose means that there’s a dad of apocalypses, which makes sense, given what a bad dad that Reginald happens to be. There had better be another dance-off before this show ends, but here’s what has been revealed thus far.
Plot
Expect things to be different. After the “reset” happened in the third-season finale, the siblings walked off without their powers. This continues into the fourth season, where they’re now learning what it’s like to be “normal.” As you can imagine, this won’t be the dream scenario that these siblings might have dreamed about while growing up under Reginald Hargreeves’ thumb. And we also hope that this show goes off book in a more graceful way than the final (controversial) season of HBO’s Game of Thrones.
Tom Hopper, who probably didn’t mind not wearing that part-gorilla padding anymore, suggested to Comic Book that even without these powers, the magic of this show will still be found in the siblings’ bonds:
“I think there’s going to definitely be some things that you already love. These siblings, I feel like one big thing that the reason that the show’s become a hit is because people have fell in love with the siblings, and their relationship to each other and how fun that is. And there’s bucket loads of that, so that you won’t be disappointed at.”
Of course, it remains to be seen how involved Allison will be with the fam after hitting the button in the third season finale, but Hopper stressed, “There is an ending, which I believe is a complete ending. I don’t think fans will be disappointed with how it ends. Whether they’ll be a little bit sad and broken, I don’t know, because it was certainly emotional for us as actors doing it.”
Meanwhile, series creator and showrunner Steve Blackman addressed how out of sorts the family will be without powers (Klaus does not look like he’s having a good time, even after being freed from communing with the dead), but Victor is having a wonderful time:
“Victor is probably the one sibling who is most comfortable in his skin in season 4,” Blackman says. “He’s doing better than any of the other siblings in terms of adjusting to his new life. He’s the most accepting of their new reality.”
That, of course, is what Victor deserves after taking charge of their identity in the third season. The rest of the siblings, however, might see their attitudes reflected in the first episode title: “The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want.” Also, halting an apocalypse will surely be more complicated, now that they are ordinary-ish humans. From the Netflix season description:
Last season ended with a major twist: There’s a new timeline dictated by the family patriarch, Reginald (Colm Feore), and the siblings no longer have their powers. That’s not the only oddity in this timeline, where the stakes are higher than ever before — there are new enemies who want to see them wiped from existence, but how do they face them without their powers? And will the siblings ever get them back?
Cast
This season will bid farewell to this show’s titular Hargreaves family, including Victor (Elliot Page), Luther (Tom Hopper), Klaus (Robert Sheehan), Number Five (Aidan Gallagher), Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman), Diego (David Castañeda), and Ben (Justin H. Min). Lila Pitts (Rita Arya) is still shaking things up, and the series wouldn’t be complete without more madness from Bad Dad Reginald (Colm Feore).
Additionally, David Cross is onboard (as a friendly face or an antagonist? nobody has said yet) as “as a man desperate to reconnect with his estranged daughter,” and real-life married couple Nick Offerman and Megan Mullally will pop in as a pair of college professors.
Release Date
The final season of The Umbrella Academy will stream in full on August 8.
Trailer
My goodness, this trailer is so awkward. The Hargreeves siblings without their powers will take some getting used to this season.