The Umbrella Academy season 4 will focus a lot on Ben Hargreeves (Justin H. Min) according to its final trailer, but I don’t think this is a good idea. After three seasons of time traveling, preventing apocalypses, and creating chaos, The Umbrella Academy is ending with its fourth season. The final episodes of The Umbrella Academy have a lot to cover, as the past seasons left many mysteries and unanswered questions, and if that wasn’t enough, the Hargreeves will face yet another apocalypse and other obstacles – but first, they have to get their powers back.

At the end of The Umbrella Academy season 3, the Hargreeves and Lila arrived at a timeline where Reginald and his wife are alive, Sloane is missing, Allison has the family she dreamed of, and they are all powerless. Now, the trailers for The Umbrella Academy season 4 have teased the Hargreeves parting ways, reuniting again, regaining their powers, and teaming up with Reginald to save the world, but this time, Ben will be key to saving the timeline – but after what we’ve seen in past seasons, I don’t think focusing so much on Ben will be a good idea.

The Umbrella Academy Left Ben Aside For Too Long

Ben Was Dead For Two Seasons

When The Umbrella Academy premiered, it introduced all the Hargreeves, their names, and their numbers, but one of them was a special case: Ben, as he died many years before the events of season 1. However, it was thanks to Klaus (Robert Sheehan) and his powers that the audience was able to see and hear Ben and get to know him, as only Klaus could see him and interact with him. Ben finally crossed over in The Umbrella Academy season 2 after comforting Viktor (Elliot Page) during a crisis that almost triggered a new apocalypse – but that wasn’t the end of Ben Hargreeves.

At the end of The Umbrella Academy season 2, the Hargreeves returned to their present (2019) but in a different timeline where Reginald created the Sparrow Academy instead of the Umbrella team with six different superpowered children and Ben, who was alive and well in this timeline. Season 3 saw Ben and Sloane (Genesis Rodríguez) as the last two Sparrows standing, and at the end of the season, he was the only Sparrow who made it to Reginald’s custom timeline, though he and the rest are now powerless.

With so many characters, it was inevitable for The Umbrella Academy to not focus on some more than others, and had it been given more seasons, every character could have been in the spotlight at some point. Viktor and Five were at the front and center throughout the first two seasons, while season 3 was more into what Five and Allison were doing (separately). Ben is one of the Hargreeves that has been mostly left aside, so having him now be the center and source of almost everything in season 4 doesn’t feel quite right.

Out of all the Hargreeves and Lila, Ben is the one the audience knows less of (both the Umbrella and Sparrow versions of Ben), and he has mostly been seen interacting with Klaus. One season (and even worse: the show’s shortest season) won’t be enough to give Ben the development he needs to be the center of everything in season 4, and as much as I love him, throwing him into the spotlight in the final season feels risky.

The Umbrella Academy Could Be Preparing For A Second Ben Death

Ben Died Before The Events Of The Umbrella Academy Season 1

In addition to him having not been given the attention he needed in the previous seasons, Ben as the central character in The Umbrella Academy season 4 is also risky due to his tragic past. The Umbrella Academy has a track record of twists and shocking moments, and it won’t hesitate to kill beloved characters (let’s not forget how Luther was killed by Reginald in season 3, but luckily, he was brought back). Ben already died once, and his death was shocking enough to divide the team and make their relationship with Reginald even worse.

Ben survived the timeline reset but lost his powers as did the rest of the Hargreeves, but that doesn’t guarantee that he will survive the new apocalypse that, according to the trailer, will be caused by him. Nick Offerman’s character mentions the “tentacle boy” is the key to understanding all the timelines, which isn’t exactly painting an optimistic future for Ben. The Umbrella Academy’s final season could have one more tragedy for the audience with Ben’s second death, perhaps showing that his death is a fixed point in time, meaning that, no matter where in the multiverse they are, Ben will die young.

At Least The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Will Solve The Biggest Ben Mystery

There’s A Huge Ben Mystery The Umbrella Academy Kept Avoiding

There are many mysteries and questions The Umbrella Academy season 4 has to answer and solve, but I feel the biggest one is everything about Ben’s death. So far, The Umbrella Academy has mentioned that Ben died while on a mission in 2006 (meaning he was 17 years old), with Reginald blaming his siblings for it. A statue of him was erected in the courtyard of the Umbrella Academy, and Klaus summoned him right after his funeral. In season 3, Ben’s death was referred to as “the Jennifer incident”, and in the room of Sparrow Ben were sketches of the mysterious Jennifer.

However, it’s unclear what that mission was about, how exactly Ben died, who Jennifer was, and what she had to do with Ben’s death. It’s also unclear if it was truly his siblings’ fault that he died or if that was another of Reginald’s lies and manipulations, as the final trailer for The Umbrella Academy season 4 implies this might not be entirely true and there are secrets around Ben’s death.

Season 4 is the show’s final chance to solve its biggest mysteries, and, despite the risks of making Ben the center of everything, at least all questions about his death will finally be answered – although I have to say that I have a feeling the truth is going to be more heartbreaking than what the show has made us believe.

How The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Can Be Ben-Centered & Succeed

The Umbrella Academy Season 4 Surely Has Many Surprises Up Its Sleeve

Again, looking at The Umbrella Academy’s track record, there’s surely a lot more than what the season 4 trailers have shown, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it isn’t exactly Ben-centered, but he’s still key to preventing the apocalypse (and understanding the multiverse). The final trailer has a lot of subtle emphasis on the umbrella and sparrow logos and the two timelines, which is making me think Ben will be so important in this timeline because he’s the only one from the Sparrow timeline (supposing Sloane is truly gone… which would be heartbreaking).

Similar to how the presence of the Umbrellas in the Sparrow timeline caused the end of the world, that could be Ben’s role in the final season (and, in a way, mirroring Viktor’s role in the first two seasons). Ben as the trigger of the apocalypse can also be what finally prompts the Hargreeves to heal all their trauma after pushing it aside for so long. The Hargreeves have a lot of healing to do as a team and family with the whole Jennifer incident, Reginald’s upbringing and betrayals, and all the tragedies, losses, and apocalypses they have gone through.

Ben as the core of the conflict in The Umbrella Academy season 4 can work if the show uses it to address other questions, mysteries, and issues, instead of only focusing on what’s happening to him. A lot will happen in The Umbrella Academy season 4, but hopefully, the biggest questions will be answered in coherent and believable ways, bringing everyone’s stories to a satisfying end.