Summary

• Abigail created the marigold particle, the key to the Hargreeves' powers.
• Marigold and durango interacting led to apocalyptic consequences.
• The sacrifice of Hargreeves and Lila ended the loop, saving the universe.

The Umbrella Academy season 4 went deeper into the origins of the superpowered children and the apocalypse, and the key elements in both were the marigold and durango particles. The Umbrella Academy season 4 had a lot of mysteries to solve left by the previous seasons, and while it delivered the answers the audience had been waiting for, it also brought some shocking reveals that left many questions. Among the biggest reveals in The Umbrella Academy season 4 were the origins of the marigold, the existence of durango, and what happened when these interacted.

The Umbrella Academy season 4 picked up six years after the ending of season 3, with each of the Hargreeves and Lila (Ritu Arya) living the most normal lives they ever had. The team was brought back together for a rescue mission as they had to find Jennifer (Victoria Sawal), but this task forced them to reunite with their father, Reginald (Colm Feore). In the process, the team made some shocking discoveries and learned some disturbing truths, mostly those about the origin of the marigold particle and the existence and dangers of the durango one.

Marigold Was Created By Abigail Hargreeves & Durango Followed

Abigail Hargreeves Was Responsible For The Supowered Children & The Apocalypses

The Umbrella Academy season 3 ended on a massive cliffhanger as Reginald’s custom-made timeline became a reality and was very different from previous ones. In this one, the Hargreeves and Lila had no powers, Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez) disappeared, Reginald and his wife Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) were alive and well, and Reginald was the most powerful man. As mentioned above, their rescue mission led the Hargreeves back to their father as they needed some answers, and they finally met Abigail, who was the complete opposite of the always cold and often cruel Reginald.

Abigail revealed that, many years before, she synthesized a new element, the very essence of the universe: the marigold.

Abigail was kind, caring, and understanding, but she was keeping some heavy secrets. After some of the Hargreeves regained their memories of the death of Umbrella Ben when they were 16, Abigail had some explaining to do. Abigail revealed that, many years before, she synthesized a new element, the very essence of the universe: the marigold. However, what she didn’t anticipate was the creation of a new particle along with marigold: durango. Both particles were closely related to the Hargreeves and a massively destructive event.

Marigold Is The Source Of The Umbrella Academy's Powers (But Is Unpredictable)

Marigold Was Key In The Hargreeves’ Lives

The marigolds created the 43 superpowered children upon their arrival on Earth, and these particles were also what gave them their powers.

The marigolds made their first appearance in a flashback in The Umbrella Academy season 1. In it, Reginald and Abigail were shown on their home planet, and Abigail was agonizing. Abigail gave her violin to Reginald (which he later gave to Viktor), and before Abigail ed away, Reginald took a jar with light orbs and released them while their planet was destroyed. It was theorized that those orbs, later revealed to be called “marigolds”, were what created the 43 children who were born on October 1, 1989, at the same time and in the same mysterious circumstances – and this was correct.

The Umbrella Academy later confirmed that the marigolds created the 43 superpowered children upon their arrival on Earth, and these particles were also what gave them their powers. As such, the marigolds were key to the Hargreeves regaining their powers in season 4, which was needed for their rescue mission. Thanks to Abigail disguising herself as Sy Grossman (David Cross), the Hargreeves and Lila had access to a marigold jar, which Ben (Justin H. Min) poured on their shot glasses unbeknownst to the rest, thus regaining their powers (except Klaus, who didn’t take the shot as he was sober).

However, the team regaining their powers showed how unpredictable the marigold particle was. The particle was used to save Klaus’ (Robert Sheehan) life after he was shot, which also gave him his powers back, and though they all got their old powers back, they all came with some enhancements. Lila, for example, in addition to mirroring everyone else’s powers, now had laser eyes as well, Klaus could levitate just like in the comics, and Luther got his ape torso back, which was originally a result of an ape serum the original Reginald used to save his life.

Marigold Was Also The Key To Resetting The Universe

Marigold Held Too Much Power

The marigold particles did a lot more than create the 43 superpowered children, as they also doomed them to endless ends of the world. With the help of his variants, Five (Aidan Gallagher) learned that the marigolds' arrival on Earth shattered the timeline, creating the multiverse, but it also doomed them to end the world countless times as these also reset the universe. This created a loop of apocalypses for the Hargreeves, and many of Five’s variants had given up on saving the universe after this realization – but, at the same time, the marigolds were the key to saving the universe.

What Happens When Marigold & Durango Meet

There’s A Reason Why Reginald Wanted To Keep Marigold & Durango Apart

Once a marigold interacts with durango, an unstoppable physical reaction is unleashed.

Marigold and durango are opposite particles with destructive effects when coming into with each other. Abigail also explained this, saying that, once a marigold interacts with durango, an unstoppable physical reaction is unleashed. This causes the extinction of everything, and it’s the event that the Keepers called “The Cleanse”. This event would get rid of the broken timelines and fix the multiverse by restoring the main timeline, but for it to succeed, the Cleanse had to consume all the marigold particles in the world.

When Ben and Jennifer came into in season 4, the reaction Abigail explained gradually disfigured them.

Jennifer was the host of the durango particle, which is why Reginald went to extremes to keep her away from any marigold host in many timelines. As the Hargreeves escaped from other apocalypses, the timeline kept resetting and the loop mentioned above continued. When Ben and Jennifer came into in season 4, the reaction Abigail explained gradually disfigured them until they merged into a monstrous creature that grew more and more as it consumed everything, thus triggering the Cleanse.

Five understood that, for the Cleanse to succeed and end the loop, the Cleanse had to consume him, his siblings, and Lila, so it would take every marigold in the world. However, their sacrifice wouldn’t just kill them in that timeline but also erase them from all history. The team’s sacrifice saved the world and restored the main timeline, with the final scene of The Umbrella Academy showing characters from past seasons living completely different and happy lives now that the Hargreeves no longer exist.

Does Marigold Still Exist When The Umbrella Academy Ends?

The Timeline Reset Left A Couple Of Questions

The flowers let out some golden particles reminiscent of the marigolds, but this is just a visual way of representing the team.

The Umbrella Academy had one final surprise for the audience in a mid-credits scene. In it, the camera showed eight golden flowers blossoming next to a tree. These flowers represent the Hargreeves and Lila, and it’s the show’s way of honoring them, all their efforts to stop the apocalypse in different timelines, and their final sacrifice. The flowers let out some golden particles reminiscent of the marigolds, but this is just a visual way of representing the team.

Restoring the timeline means that the Hargreeves don’t exist and the events of the past seasons never happened, but the fate of the marigolds isn’t revealed. It’s understood that Abigail died, just like before season 1, but Reginald didn’t unleash the marigolds as they never made it to Earth. It’s possible, then, that the marigolds were destroyed along with Reginald and Abigail’s planet, thus saving the universe.