The Umbrella Academy Showrunner Reveals Which Ben Was in the Post-Credits Scene

[Warning: The following contains spoilers from the finale of The Umbrella Academy Season 3 Read at your own risk!]

The ending of The Umbrella Academy's Season 3 raised way more questions than it answered. One of the most curious moments was the post-credits scene, which showed a suited-up Ben (Justin H. Min) on a train bound for Yeouido Station in Seoul. It's unclear which Ben this was, since the scene took place shortly after Hargreeves (Colm Feore) reprogrammed the universe. To be fair, he didn't finish reprogramming the universe because Allison (Emmy Raver-Lampman) stopped him, but Hargreeves still altered enough to change the world in major ways — the Umbrellas lost their powers, and Hargreeves' wife Abigail (Liisa Repo-Martell) came back to life — so we couldn't help but wonder if the Ben on the train was a different one from who we followed this season. 

"When I filmed that scene, I was given no information about what we were filming, what it would be used for," Min told TV Guide. "And when I saw it in the post-credits scene, I was as shocked as everyone."

While the actor didn't have much context to share, showrunner Steve Blackman provided some clarity on this ending. "I can only tell you that is the Sparrow Ben you met in Season 3," he said of the post-credits scene. "It's not ghost Ben, it's not a Ben from that Umbrella timeline. It's the Ben that we met this season, it's that Ben on the train."

Blackman also shared more about the universe reprogramming, and particularly Allison reuniting with both her daughter Claire (Coco Assad) and her husband from 1963, Ray (Yusuf Gatewood). "Her deal with the devil, with Hargreeves, paid off. She got what she wanted," the showrunner said. Hargreeves gave her the "impossible." "She doesn't have to choose timelines because she can have Hargreeves reprogram the universe and give her both, which is two people from different timelines put into one," Blackman continued.

On the other hand, it was less clear whether Hargreeves got what he wanted from the deal. "She didn't let him complete what he wanted to do, though he did get his wife back," Blackman said of Abigail. "But Hargreeves did not finish reprogramming the universe."

Blackman didn't share details about where Hargreeves and Abigail were in relation to the Umbrellas at the end of this season. But his motivations for reprogramming the universe appeared to be quite clear. "Everything so far for Hargreeves was leading to the point where he wanted his wife back, and he has her but not everything is as it seems," Blackman said.

The reprogramming also rendered the Umbrellas, Sparrow Ben, and Lila (Ritu Arya) powerless. Blackman said this is not necessarily a bad thing. "Is that a blessing or a curse? Did Hargreeves give them a gift or did he give them something terrible?" he shared. "Because maybe in his mind, this is what they always wanted? They don't have the thing that they've complained about." After discovering that their powers were gone, the Umbrellas walked off in separate directions. A revived Luther (Tom Hopper) began searching for his wife Sloane (Genesis Rodriguez), who has disappeared. Diego (David Castañeda) and Lila — now pregnant — left to "live [their] lives."

Blackman said he has an outline in mind for the next season. "We haven't got picked up yet, but if we got a fourth season, I know what the beginning, middle, and end is," he said. Blackman said this is partly because he has been in conversations with Gerard Way, the writer of The Umbrella Academy comic book series. "I have a good sense of where he is going," Blackman shared. "I think he'll go a lot further than what goes in TV show, he's got 10 volumes in his head." The showrunner said the graphic novel will continue to inspire the TV series: "I don't want to go on our own path completely away from the graphic novel. That's not my intention."

Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy is available to stream.

(Additional reporting by Megan Vick)