The Umbrella Academy Season 4: What Is The Concept Of Timeline Theory And The Cleanse Process Of The Cult? Explored

As a dedicated fan who has followed The Umbrella Academy since its inception, I must say that Season 4 was a captivating rollercoaster ride filled with intrigue and unexpected twists. The introduction of Gene and Jean Thibedeau, along with their cult, The Keepers, added a fresh layer of complexity to the series. Their obsession with restoring the ‘natural order’ through ‘The Cleanse’ was both fascinating and terrifying, creating a sense of tension that kept me on the edge of my seat.


In The Umbrella Academy Season 4, we encounter two new antagonists, Gene and Jean Thibedeau, who head a group known as The Keepers, a cult with an unusual objective. The Thibedeaus are on a quest to amass artifacts that disprove the authenticity of the present timeline, influenced by recollections from past timelines that seem to seep into their current reality.

They hold faith in the Umbrella Theory, which posits that previous apocalypses and timeline reboots have given rise to a fabricated world. The Thibedeaus are fixated on altering this constructed reality, and they strongly suspect that Jennifer, a character linked to the enigmatic Jennifer Incident during which Ben perished, holds the key to achieving this change.

The Thibedeaus intend to set off an event called “The Cleanse,” hoping it will return things to their original state. They seize Jennifer with the aim of initiating this reset, but complications arise when Ben from the Umbrella Academy attempts a rescue, causing conflict. Fearing failure, the Keepers employ their assets and connections – even CIA agents – to counteract the Hargreeves siblings’ actions.

Over the course of the narrative, it becomes clear that Sy Grossman, disguising himself as an ally, has in fact been deceiving the Thibedeaus, secretly working to undermine rather than support them.

In the revelation that Sy is actually Abigail, Reginald Hargreeves’ wife in disguise, she harbors secrets regarding Ben and Jennifer. Unfortunately, the Thibedeaus meet a tragic end due to their ill-fated attempts to manipulate reality. Meanwhile, Sy presses ahead with her covert intentions.

Ultimately, the Thibedeaus’ tale unfolds as a cautionary story about well-meaning actions leading to unintended harm. They aspired to save the world yet found themselves manipulated by forces beyond their control. Their destiny serves as a stark contrast to Reginald and Abigail’s, underscoring the tragic outcomes that can result from attempting to act like gods.

In the Netflix show The Umbrella Academy, there’s a hypothesis about a timeline where the characters return to their original universe, but it looks significantly different. According to this theory, in the year 2019, Harlan accidentally causes the death of the women who carried the Umbrella Academy members by unleashing an energy explosion.

In this scenario, the explosion reaches as far back as 1989, taking the lives of each mother prior to their deliveries. Consequently, such events result in a conundrum, giving rise to an alternative reality where these seven siblings never came into existence.

For this round, The Umbrella Academy’s Season 4 features a compact structure compared to its preceding seasons. Previously, Seasons 1 through 3 ran for ten episodes each, providing ample time for the Hargreeves siblings to thwart several impending apocalypses. In contrast, this new season consists of just six episodes, which is approximately half the length of the previous seasons.

Steve Blackman, the showrunner, revealed to RadioTimes.com that originally they intended to produce more episodes, but decided with Netflix to create only six. Blackman stated that this number seemed fitting and, while some content needed to be condensed, the six episodes ultimately proved to be an ideal conclusion for the series.

In this season’s fourth run, here are the durations for each episode:

All four seasons of The Umbrella Academy are available to stream on Netflix.

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2024-08-09 18:24