The Umbrella Academy Season 4 raised the bar for how bizarre the show can get. Fans were particularly confused about Jennifer and the squid, introduced in the final season's third episode.
Unprovoked chaos is nothing new for the four-season Netflix series. This is the same show that has had at least one full-on dance number each season, saw someone start a cult in the 1960s where his teachings were song lyrics from the future, and involved someone being madly in love with the top half of a mannequin.
Despite this, there are typically narrative-enhancing rationalizations or explanations of the strange things The Umbrella Academy introduces, making it clear why each scene was included.
[ Full Cast of Umbrella Academy Season 4 - Every Main Character & Actor Who Appears (Photos) ]
Why Was Jennifer in the Squid in Umbrella Academy?
Season 4, Episode 3 of The Umbrella Academy opens with a newscast showing a young Jennifer being violently extracted from the inside of a giant squid covered in ink. The implication is that she has been living inside that squid for some time.
After being spit out, Jennifer answered a reporter asking her what happened by simply saying, "The Cleanse." Of course, this refers to a larger element of Season 4's plot, but what Jennifer meant by this and how she knew about it is never explained.
Adult Jennifer explains in Episode 4 that, from what she has come to understand, she first encountered the squid after likely being thrown overboard. If this were the case, the squid must have swallowed her whole and kept her alive for however long it was before she got out. After being extracted, she told Ben in Episode 4 that she "was never identified."
The Umbrella Academy Season 4 does not officially explain how Jennifer survived being in the squid for an extended amount of time with no food, clothes, or oxygen, how she knew about "The Cleanse" (and perhaps even what she thought it was), or how she ended up in New Grumpson.
Speculating on Umbrella Academy's Jennifer & the Squid
Since Season 4 marked the end of The Umbrella Academy on Netflix, these questions will likely remain unanswered. However, fans have attempted to fill the gaps with various online theories.
Reddit user Lopsided-Spirit-2184 suggested that perhaps since the substance that gives The Umbrella Academy their powers called "Marigold grows humans inside humans" (the mothers who gave birth to the super-powered children had not been pregnant even an hour prior), "maybe Durango grows humans inside animals:"
"My guess, if Marigold grows humans inside humans, than maybe Durango grows humans inside animals. It being a squid was probs coincidental but was also another reason why she probs connected with Ben so well. Again, not sure, just a guess seeing as they forgot to explain it themselves."
This is not a perfect theory (as some users have noted, why was Jennifer not a baby, and where did her clothes come from?), but with some hedging, it is possible.
User RonsonMBolder looked at it more narratively, thinking that it may have been meant to demonstrate "that even in different timelines, [Jennifer would] always be connected to Ben," whose powers manifest as tentacles:
"Exactly. I think her being inside the squid is a plot device [they're] trying to use to portray that even in different timelines, she was always be connected to Ben. Which is honestly ineffective. Their relationship felt so rushed that it was hard to understand why Ben did what he did. I wish there were more episodes to flesh that out."
Ben even remarked about this connection in Episode 4:
"Obviously, we're meant to be together. Me with my tentacles. You, the miracle squid girl. That has to be fate, right?"
In another Reddit post, user RamblingPants combined these theories, saying that Ben and Jennifer were foils of one another, thanks to the Marigold and Durango in them both:
"I think I can answer this, but it’s not satisfying and we’re not supposed to think about it too hard.
Durango is the anti-marigold.
Marigold made a boy with a squid inside.
Durango made a squid with a girl inside."
This is not the only theory — some have suggested it was the doing of Reginald Hargreeves. In contrast, others theorize that maybe she is from a different timeline like the artifacts in Jean and Gene's collection. This is the most prevalent theory floating around online as of writing.
Unfortunately, it is unlikely that a canon answer for the show will be revealed. If the comics continue, they might touch on it. It is up to fans' imaginations and interpretations, at least for now.
All four seasons of The Umbrella Academy are streaming on Netflix.
Read more about The Umbrella Academy on The Direct:
What Happened to Sloane In Umbrella Academy Season 4, Explained
Gillian Blum has been a writer at The Direct since 2022, reporting primarily from New York City. Though she covers news from across the entertainment industry, Gillian has a particular focus on Marvel and DC, including comics, movies, and television shows. She also commonly reports on Percy Jackson, Invincible, and other similar franchises.
