There were lots of problems with Umbrella Academy Season 4, and truthfully, if you want a good overview of the individual plot lines and character issues, this video brings up almost everything I would, plus some things I forgot.
What I want to talk about is the ending. Yes. Spoilers.
So the entire story is that Hargreaves released the merigold, which created our characters, and with it a ton of timelines and an equal number of world ending scenarios. The Umbrellas stave off one world ending only to find another looming. So the ultimate reality is that for the Umbrellas to actually save the world they have to wipe the marigold (and themselves, who were created by the marigold) from existence.
We watched the Umbrellas, abused misfits that they were, working to do good, to make things better, to fight for good, to struggle and fail. Their quirky lives, their vivacious humor, as they lived their lives trying to navigate their traumas and their powers and each other. Saving the world, only to have it hurtle toward another ending.
This is not a matter of not liking that the story didn’t have a happy ending. This is the fact that not only was it a shaggy dog story, but the message was: no matter how hard you try or what your intentions are, you are worthless because everything you do only makes things worse. You were born wrong. You don’t belong. You can’t improve or change it. The world will be better off if you literally never existed in the first place.
I apologize if anyone is trigger by this; but that’s the point.
That was the take away message from this story, and as a creator, I’m appalled by it. We, as creators, have a responsibility to our readers/listeners/watchers to cause no harm. The industry of storytellers as a whole is trying to change the harmful stereotypes and tropes surrounding LGBTQIA+ groups and POCs in stories because of the misinformation and negative feelings it perpetuates. And this story’s message was a painful misstep that no one needed.
