There’s a problem with marigolds, however. At the same time that Abigail synthesized this new element, someone else created its exact opposite: durango. Abigail says that when marigold and durango interact, it creates a chain reaction known as “The Cleanse” that triggers the extinction of…well, everything. It turns out that, while the Hargreeves kids are marigold babies, Jennifer was a durango baby. That’s why Reginald swiftly killed her and Ben. Their union would lead to The Cleanse.
Of course, that was back in 2006 on a whole different timeline. Now we’re in 2024 and there’s no way that Ben and Jennifer could meet again…*holds finger to earpiece* I’m receiving word that Ben and Jennifer have met again.
Season 4 antagonists Gene (Nick Offerman) and Jean (Megan Mullally) Thibodeaux are somewhat aware of all this because they gained access to a document from the Umbrella Academy’s original timeline that mentions Ben, the Jennifer Incident, and The Cleanse. Abigail herself goes undercover as Sy Grossman (David Cross) to make sure The Cleanse goes off without a hitch because she’s sick of all this timeline nonsense and wants to give Reginald and herself the respectable death that their original planet always had planned for them.
Did The Umbrella Academy Just All Die?
So let’s talk about the timelines. Through four seasons, The Umbrella Academy have gone all over the place. Klaus time traveled a bit in season 1 and then everyone time traveled back to the 1960s in season 2 to prevent and/or cause the Kennedy assassination. Season 3 then saw the team return to the wrong timeline while season 4 reveals, via a temporal subway, that there are infinite timelines branching out from one moment within it.
Simply put: time is being stretched to its breaking point on The Umbrella Academy and it’s all due to the Hargreeves and their marigold-tinged powers. As The Cleanse begins with Ben and Jennifer merging into a giant all-consuming flesh monster, Number Five finally realizes what they need to do: nothing. The Umbrella Academy is the problem. Their mere presence in the world is what has caused all of this madness. The only way to save the world this time is to let The Cleanse consume them, be written out of history entirely, and let the proper timeline get rolling once again.
After some debate, Lila and the Hargreeves resolve to do just that. Lila guides the Umbrella Academy’s loved ones (including her parents and Allison’s daughter) to the subway outside of time so they have the chance to survive and then the rest of the gang settles in to get swallowed up by the Bennifer blob.