Note: This story contains spoilers from “The Umbrella Academy” series finale.
In the iconic words of Rihanna’s “Umbrella,” they’ll never be worlds apart.
After four seasons and multiple timelines, “The Umbrella Academy” came to a distinct (yet ultimately rushed) conclusion with this week’s series finale on Netflix.
While fans and critics remain apprehensive about showrunner Steve Blackman’s choice to kill off our heroes in order to save the multiverse once and for all, the cast had a slightly more optimistic take on the ending … for the most part.
“I loved it. If you just ended on a happy ending, I feel like that’s just not really our show,” Justin H. Min told TheWrap. “Our show is kind of dark and weird and unexpected, I kind of love that we all die together.”
“It’s a complicated ending,” Elliot Page added. “The feeling of, ‘Oh my gosh, I can’t believe this is the end.’ You’re so busy making a show and trying to make the best season and get your days, so it was very late that we even got the ending or knew what the final ending was going to be.”
“I think that’s the reality; that’s the correct timeline,” David Castañeda said of the final scene. “Everyone’s happy enjoying their day and obviously we’re not there, because we’re sort of the cause of the entire apocalypse.”
As Blackman explained to TheWrap, the Hargreeves siblings didn’t necessarily die in the end, but rather never even existed in the first place.
“I was not expecting it,” Aidan Gallagher said. “There’s a song at the very end and the whole credit sequence put me in a very strange state: surreal, appreciative, emotional.”
“I felt like it’s a very satisfying ending and an emotional one. When I read it, it was very emotional. Like a reminder, not just that this show is ending, but that everything essentially at the end … nothing lasts,” Ritu Arya shared. “But [there’s] something beautiful about that which makes you feel very alive, because if you’re here, then don’t take it for granted, because one day it’ll be gone. It’s been a big part of our lives.”
“I love the acceptance in it, when you know it’s the end,” Tom Hopper elaborated. “I thought it was really well-written and it was great for us to do, because the synergy between us as actors and as characters. It was the last thing we shot as a group, so we weren’t on set again together after that. So it was emotional that it felt real, actually.”
“I was quite touched — in an emotional way, not in a Human Resources way,” Robert Sheehan joked, staying true to his character. “Our show is all about mystery and intrigue. So it was nice to give it that lovely, quite literally circular closure at the end that felt really nice. It’s owning up to the audience, going, ‘This is the end.’”
And speaking of the audience, which has stuck around since the comic book adaptation premiered in 2019, the core cast also shared special goodbye messages to their dedicated fans.
“Thank you, my God, thank you. We love you, you’re what let us get to play these characters season after season and be a part of such an incredible show,” Page said. “So I, for one, just feel so lucky and grateful for all the enthusiasm and support, it’s meant so much.”
“It’s meant so much to all of us,” Castañeda agreed. “Hopefully you guys watch Season 1, and 2, and 3 and 4 later on a few years from now when you want to have a fun marathon with your family or by yourselves and maybe it reminds you of your childhood. Thank you.”
“I have no words because I love the fans so much,” Min offered, while Arya added, “Thank you so much for giving us so much love.”
“They’re very loyal, our fans. So we’re very thankful that they stuck around for four seasons,” Hopper said with pride. “They’re super loyal and super engaged; they’re extremely engaged in the show and with us personally.”
“You’re dead to me. So see you from time to time,” Sheehan again joked, referencing Klaus’ superpower. “When I start the real world cult, be ready. That’s all I’m saying: Be ready to mobilize.”
“There’s a fifth season buried somewhere in an undisclosed park,” Gallagher concluded. “Good luck.”
All four seasons of “The Umbrella Academy” are now available to stream on Netflix.
