The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 4 recap: "The Cleanse"

Strapped into Reginald's memory machine, the Hargreeves siblings are about to learn what actually happened to their Ben in The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 4. But that's not the only discovery made this episode. Once they figure out what the Cleanse truly is, they realize the mission they're on is more important than they had initially thought.

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 4 are below.

Luther, Diego, Allison, and Viktor are brought back to October 14, 2006 — the day their Ben died — while in Reginald's machine. They watch the siblings together in the house as kids, getting ready to go on the "Moldova mission." Reginald gives them very specific instructions not to open the container they find, and Pogo drives them in a spaceship-looking vehicle to their destination. There, Ben disregards Reginald's directive and opens up the container, finding Jennifer inside. He tells her he's going to get her out of there, while his siblings advise against it.

Luther calls Reginald and tells him they've got a problem, while Ben reaches out to grab Jennifer's hand to pull her out. When he does, power surges through their hands. Reginald soon shows up and shoots Ben and Jennifer, which shocks the siblings. Luther, Diego, Allison, and Viktor wake up and unsurprisingly, they're furious. Now they know how their Ben really died, and it was at the hands of Reginald. Reginald explains that while this was a different version of himself, he did have reason to kill them.

The Cleanse explained

Reginald explains that if he didn't kill them, Ben and Jennifer would've set off a chain of events that would lead to the end of humanity. Abigail then steps in and takes responsibility, saying that it's all her fault. She explains that years ago, she created a new element, the marigold, but without realizing she accidentally created a second particle called "durango." When the marigold and durango interact, they will cause the extinction of everything. This is the Cleanse.

Durango is inside of Jennifer, which is why Reginald has kept her far, far away from the Hargreeves siblings. But it's too late now. We then cut to Ben and Jennifer together in the woods after escaping from Gene and Jean's. Ben believes they're connected somehow and should stick together.

Luther tells everyone about the rash on Ben's arm, and the siblings are stressed. What should their next move be? Reginald takes out a gun and tells them that either Ben or Jennifer must be killed in order to save the world, but the siblings disagree. He can't just murder one or both of them again. Allison gets the upper hand by throwing a decorative object at Reginald's head, telling him that he no longer calls the shots.

Angry, Viktor's powers come out and possess Reginald, with Viktor yelling at him and telling him that he's the reason all of this is happening. Abigail eventually stops Viktor and Reginald is able to get up. One of his security guards comes over and says they've found Ben.

Meanwhile, Klaus works as a medium to pay Quinn back his debt. He meets with a woman whose husband died and he's able to summon him. The woman comes back again, but this time, she's angry with her husband. She believes he hid her money somewhere and demands to know where it is. Through his powers, Klaus is able to help her locate the money.

The rest of the siblings show up at Jean and Gene's and inspect the crime scene while the CSI and other teams are on the scene. Lila tells Five there must be a way to stop this without having to kill anyone, suggesting going back on the time travel train to stop Jennifer and Ben from touching in the first place. Five is doubtful, not believing it'll work without a suitcase, but Lila thinks it's worth a shot. Five reluctantly agrees, though they don't know what to do with Diego. Diego comes over and wants to speak with Lila privately.

Viktor has a plan

Diego asks Lila about her wanting to take a break from their marriage, and she explains that while she still loves him, he makes life very hard for her and the kids with his constant complaining and miserable attitude. At the crime scene, Viktor tells Reginald he can save Ben.

The CIA shows up at the crime scene and one of their men speaks with Five, who asks the man to take Luther and Diego back with him to their headquarters. The man knows Five is essentially asking him to babysit because they're in the way, but he agrees.

Allison calls home hoping to talk to Klaus, but when Claire answers, she knows something is wrong. She goes home and Claire calls her out, telling her she needs to figure out her relationship with Klaus.

We then get to see what Jean and Gene are up to. They take over a fast food restaurant for The Keepers crew, who all team up to try and look for Jennifer. Sy shows up and goes by a fake name, acting like he's a fan of the couple. Who is this guy, really? Is he working for Reginald or does he have motives of his own?

Ben and Jennifer open up

Ben and Jennifer stay at a hotel, though in two separate rooms, and they talk to each other through the wall. Ben says that he's never felt this way before, though Jennifer thinks they should go their separate ways. Ben is lost, however, feeling like he has nowhere to go. His real family is gone, but Jennifer can relate. Her family is gone, too. Jennifer then opens up to Ben and tells him about the squid. She says she was never claimed after she was pulled out of it, and she must have been tossed overboard.

Knowing all of this, Ben believes they're meant to be together, considering his tentacles and her connection to the squid. Is this fate?

Five and Lila blink to the train station and when they get off the train, they find themselves in what appears to be the original timeline again. They blink to the Hargreeves house and it's October 14, 2006. They need to stop Ben from going on the mission, but they're in for a surprise when they're met by kids of the Phoenix Academy. They're in the wrong timeline. They blink back to the train station and get on another train.

Klaus' semi-entertaining subplot

Klaus is able to escape wherever he's been held, and he heads to a cemetery to find the woman's hidden money. He digs up her dog's grave and finds the stash, but he's not the only one there. The woman appears with two men who have guns, and then she points a gun at Klaus. Suddenly, Quinn and his men show up at the gravesite and point guns at the woman and her crew, and they all begin shooting. Klaus hides in the grave and hears bodies hitting the ground. When he gets up, he's surprised to find everyone dead.

Well, almost everyone. Quinn is still alive and tells Klaus they're even on the money now. He punches Klaus, who falls back into the coffin, which shuts close. Quinn begins shoveling dirt over the coffin, sealing up the grave with Klaus inside.

Viktor and Reginald go to a diner alone, where Viktor says he can remove the marigold inside Ben. Despite the potential challenges, he wants to save Ben's life, something Reginald doesn't really understand. He calls humans the "inferior species," to which Viktor calls him an "a*****e."

The Cleanse begins

The train Lila and Five are on doesn't stop and they hear someone on the speaker mention it being express as the train goes through a warped tunnel. Back at the hotel, Jennifer knocks on Ben's door and they begin kissing passionately as power thrums between them. They fall on the bed and a red power explodes, traveling outside. As a reaction to this, the alarms of the cars in the parking lot go off, the glass of the hotel breaks, and the hotel concierge begins throwing up a black liquid before dying.

The Cleanse is very clearly beginning; will the Brellies be able to stop it before the world ends? With two episodes left of the season, I predict yes! You can stream all six episodes of the final season right now on Netflix.

Read all of our The Umbrella Academy season 4 recaps here:

• Episode 1: "The Unbearable Tragedy of Getting What You Want"
• Episode 2: "Jean and Gene"
• Episode 3: "The Squid and the Girl"
• Episode 5: "Six Years, Five Months, and Two Days"
• Episode 6: "End of the Beginning"