Summary

• Sparrow Ben knew Jennifer but didn't recognize in the season 4 timeline.
• The "Jennifer incident" affected Sparrow Ben differently and traumatized him, leading to his sketches.
• Reginald may have manipulated memories in the Sparrow timeline to make the Hargreeves forget traumatic events.

the end of The Umbrella Academy season 3 saw the Hargreeves and Lila (Ritu Arya) arriving at Reginald’s (Colm Feore) new timeline and no longer had their powers, season 4 caught up with them six years later.

The Hargreeves parted ways to try and live normal lives for the first time, but they kept in touch. The team was brought back together for a rescue mission involving Jennifer, who they soon discovered was a key element in an apocalyptic event known as “The Cleanse”. Jennifer had a strong connection to Ben, which triggered the Cleanse, and her presence also led to the Hargreeves ing how Umbrella Ben died. Ben and Jennifer bonded quickly, raising questions about why they were connected so strongly, but it also left a big plot hole thanks to season 3.

Sparrow Ben Had Sketches Of Jennifer In The Umbrella Academy Season 3

Sparrow Ben Supposedly Knew Jennifer Already

The “Jennifer incident” also happened in the Sparrow timeline, but differently.

Umbrella Ben died when they were 16 years old, but his siblings never spoke about what happened to him. In season 3, his death was referred to as “the Jennifer incident”, but season 4 revealed that the Reginald from their timeline had messed with their memories so they wouldn’t he killed Jennifer and Ben to prevent the apocalypse. When the Umbrellas arrived at the Sparrow Academy’s timeline at the end of season 2, they learned Ben was alive and well and part of the Sparrow team, and to their surprise, the “Jennifer incident” also happened in that timeline, but differently.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 showed that Ben had sketches of Jennifer in his room, but it’s unknown what happened to her in that timeline and what exactly the “Jennifer incident” in the Sparrow timeline was about. It was understood that the “Jennifer incident” left Sparrow Ben traumatized, and maybe his way of coping was by drawing Jennifer. His sketches showed an adult Jennifer, but she didn’t look like the one from season 4.

Still, Ben should have recognized Jennifer when they met at the diner in the town she was imprisoned in, or, at least, should have ed that he and his team had already gone through an unpleasant experience with a Jennifer – and yet, The Umbrella Academy season 4 forgot that Sparrow Ben already had a past with Jennifer.

Why Sparrow Ben May Not Recognize Jennifer

Ben’s Memories Might Have Been Changed

It could be possible that the Reginald in the Sparrow timeline messed with their memories.

Klaus (Robert Sheehan) discovered in The Umbrella Academy season 3 that the Sparrows kept Reginald docile by medicating him, so he must have done some terrible things to them in the past. The Reginald from the first timeline messed with the Hargreeves’ memories to make them forget exactly how Ben died, so it could be possible that the one in the Sparrow timeline did the same so they would forget the details of the “Jennifer incident”.

It’s also possible that Ben’s sketches were what he thought Jennifer would look like as a grown-up as he met her when they were young, which would partially explain why he didn’t recognize her, but doesn’t address the fact that he knew his team had already had a traumatic experience with a Jennifer.