What happened in The Umbrella Academy season 3? Full recap before season 4

After being born to non-pregnant mothers without explanation on 1st October, 1989, the seven ‘siblings’ we know as The Umbrella Academy were adopted by multimillionaire Reginald Hargreeves as babies, with the cold-hearted magnate intending to use their superpowers to create a vigilante superhero team in his image.

Naturally, it didn’t quite turn out that way, with the dysfunctional family collapsing on itself after the mysterious death of "Number Six", Ben, while in action.

Reunited in their late twenties/early thirties after Reginald’s death, the gang quickly found themselves fighting against their past in order to save the world from an apocalypse "Number Five" accidentally time-jumped to.

Since then, from a trip to the 1960s to parallel universes, The Umbrella Academy have been forced to work together in order to keep their timeline in place.

Season 4, which kicks off in August, sees them the closest to "normal" they’ve ever been in – but powerless and average, going their separate ways.

Jumping forward half a decade, the group are forced to reunite as new forces come out to play and threaten their existence.

If you’re needing a little refresher, here’s what’s happened in season 3, how they found themselves in this new timeline, and what you need to have a handle on before the new episodes drop.

What happened in The Umbrella Academy season 3?

In season 3, after messing with history back in the 1960s far too much, The Umbrella Academy return to their present day and discover different people in their place.

After meeting Reginald in the past, he had opted to adopt seven different children with superpowers back in 1989, and formed The Sparrow Academy instead.

Among them is Ben, who is alive in this new timeline, and is far more cold than the warm-hearted ghost we’ve grown to love.

Rejected from their home and now seen as the enemy, the Umbrellas hole up in the run-down Hotel Obsidian.

While there, Viktor comes out as transgender, Diego discovers ex Lila is pregnant with his child, and Klaus discovers he can’t just channel the dead, but can also come back from the dead himself.

Luther falls in love with Sparrow Academy member Sloan, while Allison goes on a furious rampage when she discovers her daughter, Claire, no longer exists in this version of reality.

Her husband, Raymond, from the 1960s, has also since died of old age.

However, the differences between the Sparrows and the Umbrellas need to be put aside after the discovery of the Kugelblitz – a giant ball of light with the ability to wipe this universe from existence.

While the Kugelblitz grows underneath the Hargreeves’ mansion, the Umbrellas struggle to stay together as a unit, especially following the re-emergence of Harlan, the young child Viktor looked after back in 1960s Dallas.

Now much older, he has lived unable to control the powers Viktor accidentally gave him while trying to save his life.

We also discover powers come from a mysterious entity of glowing yellow particles known as Marigold.

After his mum died in 1989, a rageful Harlan let out a burst of energy that killed the birth mothers of the Umbrellas. When this is discovered, a furious Allison hands him over to the Sparrows, despite Viktor succeeding in removing his powers and finally returning him to normal.

Allison’s rage proves to be her downfall, with Reginald using this to his advantage.

For years, Reginald has been devising a plan to reset the universe and had initially intended for the Sparrows to orchestrate this plan.

When it doesn’t work out, with many of the Sparrows dying as a result of the ever-growing Kugelblitz, he recruits Allison to get the Umbrellas on board instead, promising her everything she ever wanted on the other side of it.

The Sparrows had spent years keeping Reginald docile on pills to stop him orchestrating the plan, but when Klaus bonds with him, he gets him off the medication, not realising the outcome.

The Hotel Obsidian actually contains a portal to the Hotel Oblivion – which is a masked machine with the ability to reset the world.

Reginald attempts to galvanise the Umbrellas and Sloane into action by murdering Luther, blaming it on the ‘guardians of the portal’ rather than himself.

As the Kugelblitz reaches a point of wiping out the universe, the group jump through the portal from Obsidian into Oblivion – but Reginald pushes Klaus out, telling him he’s "more trouble than he’s worth" and leaving him to face his death once again.

What happened in the season 3 finale?

At Hotel Oblivion, the Umbrellas are left confused as to why Klaus didn’t make it, but Reginald instructs them to shake it off and find a sigil they need to reset the universe.

When the search results in more fights against Guardians, the Umbrellas confront Reginald in the atrium about what exactly he’s up to.

Meanwhile, Luther and Klaus reunite in the afterlife, discussing what Reginald is up to. Luther encourages his brother to return to the world once more and save his siblings.

Five realises the sigil they are looking for is actually on the atrium floor, but is stopped in his tracks by a new, powerful Guardian who nearly overpowers them, before Klaus returns – channelling the brute force of Luther.

When Five instructs them all to stand on the stars on the floor, Allison holds back, and is horrified as a powerful blue energy beam binds her siblings to each other and their spot.

As Reginald’s plan begins to take effect, he starts working behind the reception pushing buttons that are effectively sucking the life out of the Umbrellas.

Realising her siblings are being killed, Allison kills Reginald, bashing him over the head and exposing the mechanical alien he is underneath.

However, on observing the machine, she decides to go through with the plan, telling Viktor to "trust her" before she pushes a large button, and the screen goes black.

Where did we leave the Umbrellas?

At the end of season 3, all of the members of the Umbrella Academy find themselves in Obsidian Memorial Park – which appears to be in New York.

They have no idea of how they got there, what world they’re now in, and have all lost their superpowers with no clear reason as to why.

Among them is Luther, who is mysteriously alive again, but his now-wife Sloan has disappeared without a trace.

Allison – who wasn’t in the park – is seen reuniting with her husband Ray from the '60s (although he’s seemingly not aged) as well as her daughter Claire, from her previous marriage to never-seen husband, Patrick.

It’s not known if she is in her own version of heaven, or has somehow managed to survive with her best-case (albeit impossible) scenario now in place.

The group decides to go their separate ways on their own missions and say goodbye to each other before heading off in different directions.

Reginald is reunited with his now-alive wife, Abigail, and is seen overlooking the park from one of his skyscrapers, having after succeeded in his mission with his business empire seemingly bigger than ever before.

The Umbrella Academy season 4 will arrive on Netflix on Thursday 8th August. Seasons 1-3 are available to watch now. Check out more of our Sci-Fi coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to see what's on tonight.

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