I don’t usually ask for spin-offs for a series once it’s over, but The Umbrella Academy desperately needs one, not because this was a phenomenal series finale and I’m just hungry for more; it’s the opposite. It’s the series finale and I’m still looking for answers to questions that have been around for the last few seasons. It’s sad, but the last season of The Umbrella Academy is just average and arguably a step below season 3, but they still compete for the title of worst season of the series.

At the end of Season 3, the universe reset and we found our Umbrella Academy without its powers. Season 4 picks up six years later and follows each character as we see them live a life free of chaos (for now). Unfortunately, it wouldn’t be The Umbrella Academy if the end of the world didn’t threaten the team. A new secret group called The Keepers is watching the Umbrella Academy closely and suspects them of bringing about the end of their world. It’s up to the Umbrella Academy to unite as a family once again and prevent the end of the world.

After what felt like a disappointing third season, there was no excitement for this final season, especially after the news that it was being cut from ten episodes to six, which was bound to cause problems for the overall structure of the season. The season begins as we learn where our Umbrella Academy has gone after five years. Diego (David Castañeda) has been working as a mailman while trying to provide for his family with Lila (Ritu Arya), Viktor (Elliot Page) has been working at a bar, Luther (Tom Hopper) has committed to the life of a stripper (and let’s just say he’s not really good at it).

Allison (Emmy Raver-Lammas) is currently trying her hand at acting and attending numerous auditions. Klaus (Robert Sheehan) is now sober and has a germophobia, but at the same time lives with Allison and helps her take care of her daughter Claire. Ben (Justin H. Min) was recently released from prison and Five (Aidan Gallagher) is working undercover for the CIA, trying to find out what the Keepers are up to.

New life, same problems

This new life they’ve all built for themselves creates an interesting dynamic in the family and changes the way they normally solve problems. In the first episode, they play around with this idea, but as you can imagine, with the series only six episodes left, they had to get their powers back quickly, using a method I’ll keep secret for now because it contains spoilers.

It would have been nice to have had a few extra episodes to explore this dynamic and have something new to work with, but instead we quickly return to the same doomsday plot element.

This time around, that storyline is well executed, until it isn’t. The Keepers are an interesting group, led by Jean and Gene Thibedeau (Nick Offerman and Meg Mullay). It’s unfortunate, as it feels like they’re both wasted as antagonists given how the story unfolds, and that can only be attributed to the number of episodes and the script trying to cram all of this into the six episodes.

There are some great, standout moments in their performances, but not once did I feel threatened by them.

One problem with this season is that it leaves so many plot holes and unfinished stories, and while some episodes can be very explanatory, essential information is still not mentioned, making it hard to believe that Steve Blackman really knew what he was doing. From last season, we know about the Marigold who gives the Umbrella Academy its powers.

Well, in this season, a counterpart named Durango was introduced, and it is explained that the contact between Marigold and Durango creates “The Cleanse,” this creature that destroys the world.

Unsatisfactory answers

With this being The Umbrella Academyof course, two people, Marigold and Durango, come into contact with each other, with the person with Marigold being Ben and the person with Durango being a new character named Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), who is very important to Ben and also answers a question about how Ben died in 2006 in the original timeline.

We get the answer to that, but it never feels satisfying, as the only member of the Umbrella Academy who should really know what happened decides they don’t actually want to be involved in the decision. It was a brave decision by Steve Blackman and the writers to go down that route, but it’s the least outrageous decision made this season.

The first four episodes were bearable, and while I didn’t know how the series would end with only two episodes left, I wasn’t expecting my favorite characters to be slaughtered. Once again, characters are put into a weird relationship that not only ruins their characters, but also affects other characters and ruins two more relationships in the series. A reminder that this all happens in the final two episodes.

Not all of the characters are ruined, as Viktor (Elliot Page) has some of the best dialogue and scenes to work with. He’s one of the few characters that you actually feel like gets closure in the series, unlike others that just existed while everything else was happening.

The ending is bittersweet, but is spoiled by the complete mutilation of three characters, the lack of development of some other characters, and the repetition of familiar storylines we’ve already experienced – such as Klaus’ drug and alcohol addiction.

There is a timeline where this final season took a completely different direction and had a larger number of episodes, but unfortunately we live in the timeline where Steve Blackman and the six episode count spelled the downfall of the Umbrella Academy. From one of the best comic book series when it first released to one of the worst, this is a huge accomplishment for Steve Blackman.