The Fall of The Umbrella Academy Season 4: What Went Wrong?

(Major end plot spoilers ahead)

By Eliana Miller

   The Umbrella Academy is a beloved Netflix original series based off of the comic book series The Umbrella Academy, written by Gerard Way. While most seasons were cherished by fans, a majority of the fan base seem to agree that the series’ downfall happened in season 4. What went wrong? Why were fans left with more questions than answers?

     The Umbrella Academy had outstanding reviews, seen from sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb. With an outstanding 91% Rotten Tomato rating for seasons 2 and 3, The Umbrella Academy had fans excited for the season finale. Unfortunately, the release of the final season would prove to tank the overall rating of the show, along with scoring the lowest of all the seasons with a 54% rating according to Rotten Tomatoes. The writers of The Umbrella Academy landed an overall score between IMDb and Rotten Tomatoes at roughly 75.5%. However, removing the finale season would have landed them with roughly an 81.7% rating. For being the worst rated season of the show, fans were left with questions due to poor writing. 

    With many questions and very few answers, fans were left to theorize. Some of the most asked questions between TikTok, Reddit, YouTube and some other social media platforms included the following:

Where did Sloane go? Who built the train? How are Lila’s kids still alive despite her no longer ever existing? Was Five and Lila being a couple necessary? In an interview with The Umbrella Academy cast members filmed by Vanity Fair, even the cast seem to agree there were plot holes. 

Robert Sheehan said while helping the cast answer a question about Sloane at 3:24, “Filling in all the plotholes on our behalf, which is great.” He then proceeded throughout the video to make constant jokes about fans becoming new writers for the show.

     Another key point that has fans complaining about the season is the length. Throughout The Umbrella Academy season 1-3, fans were given 10 episodes each spanning at around 40-60 minutes each. However, once reaching season 4 fans were given 6 episodes each spanning 47-70 minutes. This dropped show time by about 2.5 hours compared to season 3, 2 hours compared to season 2, and 3.5 hours compared to season 1. 

     With the short watch time, poor reviews and endless plot holes, the season ended as a dud with an unsatisfactory ending. Now that the show is over, fans will be forever left speculating, leaving the show behind with an unhappy farewell.