Confused By That Umbrella Academy Post-Credits Scene? Here's What It May Mean

Don’t close Netflix when the end credits start to roll at the end of The Umbrella Academy Season 3. There’s one brief scene hidden in the middle of the finale’s closing credits that could be a big hint about what’s to come. Spoiler alert: Don’t read on until you’ve finished The Umbrella Academy Season 3. The little moment may not seem huge, but there are some theories about what Ben’s Umbrella Academy post-credits scene that could have some pretty major ramifications.

Ben’s journey has been a particularly interesting one in each season of The Umbrella Academy. Having perished during a mission gone wrong as a teenager, Ben existed as a spirit only Klaus could see during Seasons 1 and 2. However, he got a whole new personality in Season 3 after the Umbrellas created an alternate timeline. In the new timeline, Ben was a mean, power-hungry second-in-command of the Sparrow Academy. But nobody can stay mad at the Umbrellas forever, and by the end of the season, Ben had warmed up to them. However, he and the rest of the team still decided to go their separate ways once the universe reset and the group discovered they no longer had their powers.

The very last scene of the season could tease something more for Ben, though. In it, Ben is sitting on a train reading a book. He looks up when the conductor announces the next stop is Yeouido Station, a location in Seoul, South Korea.

It seems pretty clear from his spiffy style that this isn’t the Ben who just arrived with the Umbrellas... which could mean a lot of different things:

1. Ben has a doppelgänger because he’s not from this timeline.

For all the warning about doppelgänger psychosis that Five dished out in Season 3, it never really rose as an issue. However, it could have been laying the groundwork for Ben’s next issue. If the universe the group returned to at the end of the season truly is the original Umbrella Academy timeline, then the Sparrow version of Ben wouldn’t exist there. It would make sense for him to have a Ben doppelgänger in this new world, and that would also mean Sloane could have one too... wherever she is.

2. Everyone has doppelgängers in this universe.

Another theory is that Ben isn’t the only superhero with a variant version of himself. If this is a whole new timeline, then nobody in the group is originally from this universe, and therefore they would all have doppelgängers.

3. The Ben on the train is the original Ben brought back to life.

OK, one last theory: What if the Ben in the post-credits scene is actually a reincarnated version of the Umbrella Academy’s original Ben? The big thing supporting this theory is that Luther was mysteriously brought back to life when entering this new universe — maybe the same thing happened to Ben.

The Umberlla Academy Season 3 is now streaming on Netflix.