The Umbrella Academy Theory: Ben Died During The Jennifer Incident

The following contains spoilers for The Umbrella Academy Season 3, now streaming on Netflix.

There's one unspoken rule in The Umbrella Academy -- never talk about how Ben died. Every character in the Netflix series has danced around the truth of Ben's unfortunate death, but hinted that they'll spill the beans sooner or later. Season 3 doesn't give a solid answer to the long-running question, but it does give the circumstances of his death a name: the Jennifer incident.

While Season 1 stayed pretty vague with the secret behind Ben's death, Season 2 revealed a little more -- while also opening up a bigger can of worms. The second season included a flashback to Ben's funeral in 2006, when all the children were aged 17. Sir Reginald Hargreeves blamed all the other children, believing they allowed him to die because the mission went wrong. Most fans began to theorize that Ben committed suicide because of the cryptic, yet dark inscription on his statue and the fact that he was troubled by his tentacle powers. Season 3 adds another piece to the complicated puzzle that is Ben's death.

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Season 3 of The Umbrella Academy would have been a near-perfect time to include the truth of Ben's death, but the Jennifer incident is alluded in the comics. It first appears as a newspaper clipping on the wall of Luther's moon base in the first issue of the Apocalypse Suite volume. Beyond that, the incident has little to no importance. In fact, the Netflix series might be expanding on the comics by making it the most impactful event of the children's lives.

What exactly is the Jennifer incident? In Season 3, Episode 6, "Marigold," Luther refers to Ben's death as the "Jennifer incident," claiming he died too soon and was the best of them. To pull fans' heartstrings even further, The Umbrella Academy brushes the mention off. Sparrow Ben is curious about the Jennifer incident, but apparently the world-ending Kugelblitz is more important to discuss. Later in the episode, after Viktor and Allison have a brutal talk, the former hides in Sparrow Ben's room to find drawings of a woman tagged with the name "Jennifer." That makes why Ben was puzzled by the mention of Jennifer understandable -- because she exists in both timelines.

Sparrow Ben might be a little cruel and hostile, but the drawings show that he has a soft spot somewhere below that cold exterior. Whoever Jennifer is, he clearly cared for her enough to make a hobby out of drawing portraits of her. Umbrella Ben and Sparrow Ben are dramatic polar opposites, but since they seem to have this one thing in common, the Jennifer incident must be the defining moment in both of their lives.

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Ben very likely developed an emotional bond with Jennifer in both of the timelines, but must have gotten involved in the disastrous mission. Umbrella Ben was kind and selfless, so there's a chance he gave his life save Jennifer. Sparrow Ben's story probably doesn't end the same way. The third season of The Umbrella Academy makes it apparent that Sparrow Ben is insecure of his rank among the Sparrows. He's always trying to prove himself better than Marcus and wants to be the leader. In a desperate attempt to prove himself, he probably chose to let Jennifer die to complete the mission.

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The Umbrellas have already made their peace with how their sweet brother died, but fans are still desperate for more details. The mystery keeps the audience guessing, prompting them to come back each season, and the fourth season is sure to play to that strength. That approach worked well for Season 3's biggest mystery, the truth of Luther's moon mission. And maybe, to play The Umbrella Academy's advocate, it should still be left a mystery. If Umbrella Ben truly did sacrifice his life to save Jennifer's, it doesn't prove anything fans don't already know -- that Ben was the noblest and most compassionate of all the Hargreeves siblings.

All episodes of The Umbrella Academy Season 3 are now streaming on Netflix.