The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4 recap: Kugelblitz

This article contains SPOILERS for The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4.

As Luther figures out how to handle his romance and family, Five and Lila find answers to the paradox in the fourth episode of The Umbrella Academy season 3.

Catch up here on everything from the last episode!

This episode of The Umbrella Academy season 3 begins with flashbacks that look at what Sissy and Harlan got up to after Viktor left. Because of Harlan’s abilities, they were constantly moving around the country while Sissy’s health worsened.

Cut to October 1st, 1989, Harlan, who is now a full-grown adult, holds his mother’s hand as she passes away in an Oakland hospital. Understandably distraught, he lets out the same fiery and echoing blast that audiences saw him do at the end of episode 3.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4: Luther’s loyalties are tested

Blending perfectly to the present day, Harlan and the Umbrellas are looking over this aforementioned blast from the child Viktor once looked after. As this goes on without anyone saying a word, Stanley comes out of his hiding place to hug Diego out of appreciation for being alive, before going upstairs.

Klaus then returns to The Hotel Obsidian and instantly thinks Viktor went full “Carrie” again. As he gets caught up with Diego and Allison, Viktor checks on a struggling Harlan who is now fully audible.

Meanwhile, Luther is making sure Sloane is ok who, after she sees her siblings are dead, runs away. Things get hectic when Diego chases after Luther who is chasing after Sloane along with Harlan running away.

Viktor tells Allison to go help Luther as he goes to check on Harlan. Five and Lila enter the Commission and see that the insides have also been destroyed by the wintry storm, something that Five states was caused by the grandfather paradox.

Lila decides to go check Herb’s office while Five goes to check the Infinite Switchboard. Luther finds Sloane in the bathroom.

She holds him up before Diego gets her to put his brother down. As Allison arrives too Luther tries to plead with his angry siblings to let him talk to her.

They agree but Allison looks to have some ulterior motives. Harlan is getting some air when Viktor catches up with him.

Harlan explains that he can sense people with powers. It feels like a tuning fork is vibrating in his head.

Viktor assures him that he and his siblings can help him.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4: Learning more about this Ben

In the hotel’s bathroom, Allison tries using her abilities to convince Sloane to talk but she does not know anything. Allison gets her frustrations out by trying to rumor herself at a mirror into being happy, but this does not work.

She punches the mirror out of anger and uses a shard to cut her hair.

Returning to The Sparrow Academy, Fei is mad at Ben for leading their team into a slaughter because he can’t lead. She explains this is exactly why Marcus was promoted to Number One some time ago.

Ben retaliates by slapping and calling her a poor Number Two. Reginald is waiting for a debrief where Fei and Ben share the news of the deaths of Jayme and Alphonso.

They try to make a plan but Ben folds under the pressure and loses some respect from Christopher who has been on his side until now. Because Stanley lit the Molotov cocktail that burned part of The Hotel Obisidian’s lobby, Diego has him clean it up along with a list of rooms given to him by Chet.

Since Klaus is not helping, Diego has his dopey brother supervise his son so he can go protect Luther from Allison. Arriving at the Infinite Switchboard, Five sees a video message from Herb explaining that this is the end before he is swallowed up.

Five infers that the paradox has led the universe to collapse on itself, like a reverse Big Bang. Lila shows Five she found the only copy of The Master Handbook which explains “The Founder” should be at the operations bunker.

This all leaves the two with much more questions than answers.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4: Harlan and Viktor catch up

Finally getting some privacy, Luther and Sloane try to figure out if the other is being honest about their information and feelings. Luther gives a beautiful speech where he says in a matter-of-fact tone that he will do anything to protect his family, except betray Sloane.

This builds some trust between them. As they realize they are in a Romeo and Juliet situation, the two lovers conclude their families will not stop fighting each other.

However, Sloane has an idea of how to stop this. Klaus is “watching” Stanley clean the room but in actuality, Klaus is having a small breakthrough as Stanley pockets expensive-looking things in the room.

After Klaus talks about how he always acted up because of his dad, he tells Stanley to put everything back because he did notice the boy’s sticky fingers. In Harlan’s room, Viktor and Harlan catch up with Harlan explaining Sissy loved Viktor dearly and said he saved his mom’s life.

Viktor explains he left because he and Sissy believe Harlan was safer without him around, but he does wish he could have stayed with them. Luther brings Viktor to the lounge where he tells his brother, Allison, and Diego the plan he came up with Sloane’s help.

The star-crossed lover plans to release Sloane to her family with Jayme and Alphonso as a gesture of good faith so she can talk with her siblings. Diego and Allison are justifiably upset with their brother’s plan but Viktor thinks it might be a good idea to have an ally on the inside.

Five and Lila are wandering through the Commission where Five reflects on how he was almost out of it as he begins scratching and farting. They both talk about how neither is built for a domestic life as they finally walk up to the Operations Bunker.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4: Five finds the founder

To cool down after listening to Luther’s plan, Diego and Allison go for a drive where they get slushies. Allison explains how her life in Dallas was different for her than their siblings because she was black.

This is something Diego can understand as a Latino man. Diego then explains how the people at the bar down the street, a building with a Confederate flag on the side, do not like people like them.

He hangs this fruit in front of her, wanting to beat up racists, and says she could use another drink. The two get out and walk to the bar.

Luther and Viktor bring Sloane to the designated handoff spot where Ben, Fei, and Christopher arrive. The exchange is made but before they go their separate ways Ben changes the agreement.

He wants the Umbrellas to bring the Sparrows Harlan to them or they will retaliate.

When they arrive at the actual bunker door, Lila and Five are slowed down by a biometric lock where her eyes are not working. When she comments about Five’s flop sweat (and he farts again) he has an idea and scans his eye.

Five’s eye is accepted, they go in and find “the founder” is hooked up to a ventilator. Five walks up to this man who founded the Commission to discover that he is the founder.

Old man Five explains how a “kugelblitz” has formed which audiences learn is the ball of energy in The Sparrow Academy basement. Young Five is ticked off that he feels like he is going in a circle with saving the world and takes out that frustration on his older self.

Old man Five then instructs the pubescent Five to not save the world before he dies. Five kicks out Lila so he can have the room and think of a plan on what to do next.

The Umbrella Academy season 3 episode 4: The grandfather paradox’s cause

Back at The Hotel Obsidian, Klaus and Stanley sneak into the “White Buffalo Suite” to find a lavishly furnished room with a big stuffed white buffalo head on the wall. The two examine the room some more but this ends when Stanley accidentally shoots Klaus with a harpoon gun in the center of his chest, looking like a fatal wound.

Harlan hears or senses something is the matter, so he goes to look for Viktor for comfort. When he arrives at one of the Umbrella’s rooms, he finds the news clippings of the Umbrella’s birth mothers.

For some reason, Harlan is upset about this and storms out of the room. Viktor then walks into the hallway and asks Harlan what’s the matter and why he has the news clippings.

In response, Harlan grabs Viktor’s shoulder and shows his former nanny his memory of unleashing the blast after Sissy died. However, also during this memory, Viktor sees each of the Umbrella’s mothers die as a result of Harlan’s blast, thus revealing he was the cause of the grandfather paradox.

Do you think Luther will try and give Harlan over to the Sparrows?  How will Diego and Allison handle the racist bar patrons?

What will Five do now that he knows he founded the Commission? Let us know your answers and opinions in the comments below!

Watch all of The Umbrella Academy season 3, only on Netflix!