The Umbrella Academy may have a tragic ending, but David Castañeda sees the light in the conclusion. Castañeda, who plays Diego, has been in the show since season 1 and has seen every stage of the bittersweet story’s development. The show is based on Gerard Way’s comic series of the same name and follows a group of young superheroes after they have grown older. In The Umbrella Academy‘s season 4 ending, all those heroes sacrifice themselves to save the universe from various apocalypses.

In an exclusive interview with Screen Rant, Castañeda spoke in-depth about how the ending affected him and detailed his interpretation of the post-credits scene. To Castañeda, the flowers at the end imply the continued existence of the Hargreeves siblings and offers a touching ending, despite the painful themes underlying the flowers’ existence. Check out his full quote below:

I think it’s the interpretation of the cycle of life that, in the end, that’s what we eventually become, right? We become the plants and the trees, and it’s sort of a closure of like, “Oh, their spirit is still here. They might not be here, but the spirit of who they are is still here , and they were able to do what they were supposed to do, which is save the world and the ultimate sacrifice.”

And will someone come along and eat it? Maybe. But I always believe that if your main protagonist feels invincible, then there’s nothing at stake . And hopefully, when people watch it and they feel divisive, they can go back to season 1 and they watch season 1, and they’re like, “Oh, there they are alive and having a good time.”

The Meaning Of The Umbrella Academy’s Post-Credit Scene

The Post-Credit Scene Offers Some Hope In A Dark Ending

There are eight flowers in the post-credit scene, and each represents a different member of the team. All of the siblings and Lila have representative flowers, so they serve as a monument to their sacrifice. Even if they could not live to see the universe that their actions recreated, they are allowed to have a single flowery grave to mark the Cleanse. Unfortunately, there is no reason to believe that the flowers mean that the siblings can return. The show is already coming to an end, giving few opportunities for a follow-up to the scene.

The flowers are each a bright golden color, which functionally relates to the marigold particle. The marigolds have been residing in the Hargreeves children since they were born. When the particles first came to Earth, the children were immediately born to mothers who had not previously been pregnant. The golden coloring has defined the children ever since, and even their deaths are now permanently marked by that bright yellow color. They may never know it, but the timeline that they saved remembers them.

Unfortunately, the post-credits scene does feature a dangerous implication for the timeline. The flowers sprout from nothing and grow remarkably quickly. They also sprout close to each other, where anyone could encounter the flowers and take a clipping. Particles of marigold are seemingly still floating from the flowers, implying that they still exist and could continue to impact the world, despite the heroic sacrifice. With marigold having caused various apocalypses, that’s a dangerous sign for the future of the main timeline for The Umbrella Academy. This time, there may be no Hargreeves to save the day.