The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 5 recap: "Six Years, Five Months, and Two Days"

In one of the most surprising episodes of the whole series, The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 5 takes us on an emotional journey through timelines as Ben and Jennifer continue running away and The Keepers make major process on their mission. Five's boss at the CIA is revealed to be not who he thought he was and we learn what Sy has been up to this whole time.

WARNING: Major spoilers for The Umbrella Academy season 4 episode 5 are below.

The fifth episode of the season, which marks the penultimate episode, begins by catching us up on Five and Lila's mission to stop Ben from ever meeting Jennifer. But somewhere along the way, they get lost in various different timelines and can't find a way home. They've been time-traveling for six years together, and through those six years, they've gotten very close. The bond they form during this time won't be easy to break.

Meanwhile, in the show's current timeline, Klaus tries to break out of the coffin while Viktor and Reginald are on the road together. Viktor and Reginald show up at the hotel that Ben and Jennifer were staying at, with Reginald explaining that his monitor recorded a magnitude 6.3 seismic event and that this is the epicenter. They see dead birds scattered across the parking lot and are surprised to see the state of the hotel when they walk in. Things are destroyed and the concierge is dead. Reginald declares this is only the first phase of the Cleanse.

Ben won't leave Jennifer

On the run, Ben and Jennifer stop at a gas station and Ben suggests they get married. One of Reginald's men spots them and Ben is surprised to hear the phone from the phone booth ringing. He answers and it's Viktor, who tells him the world is going to end in 48 hours. Reginald corrects him and says it's 24 hours now. Viktor explains to Ben what the Cleanse is, and tells him the virus is taking over his body. He tells Ben to stay away from Jennifer, but Ben doesn't want to hear any of it.

At the CIA office, Diego and Luther are brought down to a room of workers who Luther suspects are rejected agents, but Diego believes they're a covert operation.

Lila and Five have been surviving on rats down in the train station and still can't get home, not even after six years, five months, and two days. Five recalls a timeline they recently stopped at that seemed pleasant enough to spend some time in. Lila doesn't want to give up, but Five says they deserve a break, a bed, and a shower. She ultimately agrees but maintains that she doesn't want to give up on finding a way home.

Allison and Claire go looking for Klaus, and Allison breaks into the building Quinn had him held in. As she walks through the hallway she sees people doing drugs, and then is surprised by Quinn who shows up and hits her over the head with a bat. She tries to use her powers on him but she's too weak.

In the nick of time, Claire shows up and tries to hit Quinn with the bat, which allows Allison to get up and finally use her powers against him. She pins Quinn up against the wall and makes his testicles explode, a callback to him asking her if she was a "ball buster." She demands to know where Klaus is, and fortunately, he tells her.

Diego has an unexpected heart-to-heart with one of the agents at the CIA who tells him he's been divorced multiple times and his kids can't stand him. He blames the job and says he would trade it all in for dinner with his kids when they were young and to be with his ex-wife. The agent also tells Diego that this is the "file and pile group," which disappoints him. Diego picks up the phone and tries calling home to talk to Lila, but, of course, she's not there.

Five and Lila find romance in another timeline

Five and Lila make a home in a very peaceful timeline, eating strawberries and tending to a nursery of plants. There's certainly tension between them, and it's here when they kiss for the first time. Their romantic relationship blossoms and in another scene, we see that Five has made a bracelet for Lila.

Needing more supplies, Five heads to the train station and is surprised to find a journal with his handwriting in it. It's their way home. Lila shows up after him and he hides it, denying that he found anything.

At the CIA, Luther snoops around on another floor and begins looking through files. Ribbons catches him and says he's going to bring him back to Diego, but in the elevator, unexpected events go down. When Ribbons puts his hand on Luther's shoulder, he notices an umbrella tattoo, revealing he's one of The Keepers. Other men get on the elevator with them and a fight breaks out. Luther beats them up, killing most of them, and he quickly goes to get Diego.

The Keepers infiltrate the CIA

When Luther reaches Diego, however, other people show up, presumably more members of The Keepers. Luther and Diego begin fighting them off in a thrilling scene but are eventually forced to flee when they become outnumbered.

Allison and Claire find Klaus and as he punches the coffin open finally, they're able to pull him out. Meanwhile, something is bothering Jennifer in the car ride with Ben, and we see that the side of her face is glowing red.

In the other timeline, Lila surprises Diego with a gift for him for their seven-year anniversary lost together. Feeling guilty, he decides to show her the journal, confessing that he's had it for months. She's angry he didn't tell her and says they have to go back. He isn't so sure, however. He doesn't want to go back to a broken timeline and tells Lila she'll be going back to a broken marriage. Understandably, this angers Lila, who tells him their relationship has been nothing but survival.

It's the end for Lila and Five

Lila explains that she has children she needs to be with, and while Five seems to understand, he reminds her that they don't know what they're going back to. Everything could be gone, but at least they have each other here. It doesn't matter for Lila, though. She needs to go home.

During their drive, Reginald and Viktor see two cars on fire in the middle of the road and they get out to see what's happened. Suddenly, people with guns come out of the woods and begin shooting at them. Viktor shoves Reginald back into the car and gets shot before using his powers to kill as many of the people as he can. He moves one of the cars out of the way and gets in the car so they can drive away, but he's wounded. Reginald opens up to Viktor and tells him it was unfair of the other version of himself to treat him so badly.

Jennifer's pain is increasing and she makes Ben pull over. He brings her into a rundown department store, while one of The Keepers out in the street calls someone and says she's found them. Ben calls 911 and finds Jennifer lying down in the fitting room. Her face is burning up and when he lays down next to her to comfort her, his face lights up too.

Abigail has been on her own mission this whole time

Over at the fast food joint, Sy confronts Gene in the parking lot and stabs him. As Gene dies, Sy rips off his face and reveals their true identity: it's Abigail! Gene falls to the ground and Abigail begins removing his organs so she can put on his body as her next disguise. What is Abigail doing? She's been working on her own this whole time?!

Abigail, disguised as Gene, goes into the restaurant and it isn't long before Jean grows suspicious. Her husband is acting strange. One of The Keepers announces that they've found Ben and Jennifer, and Jean and "Gene" instruct them to put out "the call." We don't know what this call is, but presumably, it has something to do with the next phase of the Cleanse. There are so many moving pieces at this point in the season, and this episode does a great job setting up what'll have to be resolved in the season 4 finale.

All six episodes of The Umbrella Academy season 4 are now streaming 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 4: "The Cleanse"
• Episode 6: "End of the Beginning"