Spoilers ahead for The Umbrella Academy Season 4!
The series reaches a bitter-sweet conclusion where the Hargreeves siblings sacrifice their lives, essentially erasing their own existence to save humanity from imminent destruction. After battling myriad apocalypses and encountering twisted and overlapping time zones, the siblings realize they’re part of the problem!
However, after his final sacrifice, the post-credits scene shows eight blooming marigolds, which have a deep symbolic meaning. David Castaneda, who plays Diego Hargreeves, spoke to Screen Rant about that scene and its meaning.
He said, “I think that’s the circle of life interpretation, that in the end we become who we are, right? So, we become part of the plants and the trees, and that’s kind of a closure.” The actor further explained that even though the siblings are no longer alive in flesh and bones, their souls still exist somewhere.
He said, “They may not be here, but their spirit is still here, and they were able to do what they were supposed to do, which is save the world and make the ultimate sacrifice.” According to Castaneda, the eight golden flowers – which represent each sibling – meant that they did not disappear completely.
The flowers seem to serve as epitaphs, indicating the cleansing that reset the timeline as well as a symbol of their heroism. Conversely, some theorize that the marigold particles, which are linked to Hargreaves’ powers, indicate that the power still exists. And those particles, which are linked to the siblings at birth, could threaten the timeline they saved.
The golden particle is reminiscent of the show’s first episode, which introduced the rapid pregnancy process that led to the birth of the powerful Hargreaves siblings. Therefore, the ending could have two different meanings, which could open up possibilities for the show’s future!
