The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 4 answers some big questions that reveal why Ben (Justin H. Min) and Jennifer (Victoria Sawal) are such a dangerous combination.
Not only that, but the siblings finally discover what really happened the night their version of Ben died and why it is called "The Jennifer Incident" on the redacted document that Diego (David Castañeda) found. The siblings now have to find the pair before it is too late.
Five (Aidan Gallagher) and Lila (Ritu Arya) plan to change the past, but they must find a way to distract Diego from wanting to join them on this time-sensitive mission. Meanwhile, Klaus (Robert Sheehan) is in a precarious situation.
The siblings get their memories back
Flashing back to October 14, 2006, reveals the memories that the original Reginald took from the siblings when they were teenagers. Reginald (Colm Feore) refuses to let Viktor (Elliot Page) go in Ben's place on the mission to destroy a deadly new weapon, but he warns they should not open the container under any circumstances. When Ben hears something inside, he discovers Jennifer is the weapon. When Ben reaches down for Jennifer and their hands touch, there is a similar energy exchange that happened to them in the present. Luther radios their father to tell him Ben disobeyed orders, so Reginald kills both Jennifer and Ben.
In the present, the siblings are furious Reginald murdered their brother, but this Reginald reminds them he did not commit this crime. He also thinks that his counterpart did the right thing, as Ben and Jennifer would have destroyed the whole world together.
Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) admits she is to blame as she is the one who synthesized the marigold, but she didn't realize a second particle called "durango" was created. When the two particles interact it causes an unstoppable physical reaction that will destroy everything, otherwise known as the Cleanse.
Abigail and Reginald know the danger firsthand because it destroyed their planet. The durango inside Jennifer is now reacting with Ben's marigold, and the pair are on the run without knowing the danger they are putting the world in.
A new plan
The clock is ticking and Reginald wants to kill either Ben or Jennifer to prevent the apocalypse. Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) and Viktor (Elliot Page) step up to stop Reginald from enacting his plan.
While the siblings face off against Reginald, Klaus is held captive by his drug dealer, Quinn. To pay off his rather large debt, Klaus is forced to use his ghost-communicating skills to earn money via sex work. Klaus not only communes with the dead, but ghosts can possess him.
There are more dead people to contend with at the scene of the massacre at Gene's (Nick Offerman) and Jean's (Megan Mullally) farm. Ben tore multiple Keepers apart, but Gene and Jean escaped. Upon seeing this bloodbath, Lila (Ritu Arya) suggests going back to stop the original Jennifer Incident.
Lila convinces Five (Aidan Gallagher) that this plan will work, but before they can hop on the time train, Lila has to distract Diego. Five asks his CIA boss to occupy Diego and Luther (Tom Hopper) while Five follows some leads.
Keep moving
At the new Keeper's base of operations, Gene and Jean continue to plan for the Cleanse with their supporters when they get a visit from Sy Grossman (David Cross). Sy no longer pretends to be Jennifer's father, telling the couple he is a "true believer." Is Sy a friend or foe?
Still on the run, Jennifer and Ben hide in adjoining motel rooms, watching the same movie (The Blob). Through the wall, Jennifer says she "feels like I am going insane." They have intense energy, but she thinks they should go their separate ways. Jennifer doesn't know who her family is, as no one came to claim her post-squid. Ben believes it's fate that they are together, not realizing the broader implications.
On the time-travel subway, Five and Lila plan to go back to Five's original apocalypse to warp back to 2006 to stop Ben from interacting with Jennifer. Unfortunately, this is not the rookie mission they think it is, and they end up in a different version of 2006 with a mix of Umbrellas and Sparrows called The Phoenix Academy.
Lila has a map, so she thinks they can figure it out. Unfortunately, they take the express train and are not returning to where they started.
Viktor and Allison attempt to save Ben and Klaus
While Viktor has a plan to save Ben, Allison's daughter Claire (Millie Davis) explains that Klaus took valuables from the house and left in an agitated state. Despite their rift, Allison knows she has to go to Klaus' aid.
Klaus gets a return visit from Loretta, a client who wants to know where her dead gangster ex hid his ill-gotten cash. Klaus gets a vision of the location and asks for Loretta's brooch in exchange for the information, but he tells her the wrong place.
Using the pin, he escapes after picking the window lock. Klaus heads directly to the pet cemetery where the money is concealed, but Loretta knows Klaus lied and follows him to this spot. Klaus can't escape his dealer, as Quinn shows up. A shootout kills everyone except Quinn, who buries Klaus alive.
Viktor tells Reginald he can save the day by removing Ben's marigold, he has done it before. But Reginald can't understand why Viktor wants to go to these lengths. Viktor explains even though the siblings bicker like crazy, they will also drop everything for each other no matter what. "More evidence that humans are an inferior species," Reginald responds.
Unfortunately, Ben and Jennifer can't resist each other, and when they kiss, the chain reaction has deadly results for the poor motel worker. Can Viktor find his brother before the new couple bring about the end of the world?
All episodes of The Umbrella Academy are now available to stream on Netflix.
