When The Boys Season 4 premiered this year, I was quite excited to see how things would turn out following the ballistic blast of an ending in Season 3. (Also, because I was looking forward to seeing more of Soldier Boy) So, after finishing the first three episodes as soon as they were up on Amazon Prime, I looked at all of the future episode dates and tallied down the days to see how this season goes for our favorite and not-so-favorite characters.
Following the first three episodes of The Boys Season 4, I watched the next four within a few hours of their release, but can’t say the same for the final one. It was an awful period for us, and the release date of the final episode coincided with one of the darkest days of our country, the day that bears witness to so many lives being lost and so many losing the chance to live a normal life for the rest of their lives.
I dedicate this writing to all of the fallen warriors, heroic martyrs, and the nation’s children who deserved and still deserve a good life in our motherland. And by ‘children’, I mean everyone. It took me a long time to bring myself to watch the final episode and finish The Boys Season 4. And now that I’ve done it, I have a lot to unpack about the latest season of The Boys.
Three Episodes Just For Setup?
It kinda sucks how Amazon Prime went cable tv mode with The Boys Season 4. The decision did bring them consistent traffic for two whole months, but for the audience who have built the habit of binge-watching several episodes at one go, it was kind of difficult to wait six days for an episode to get only a nibble of the whole diabolical situation.
This also made me wonder why they released three episodes together. Then I realized, these were just for setting up the season. To show where our old boys are at the moment, how things are going inside Vought, Victoria Neuman’s plans for the supes, and to introduce new characters whose superpowers are basically saying lots of stuff and not doing tons with the hands.
Everybody Is Bad: Fine Example of Gray Nature of Humanity
We learnt to hate the ‘bad guys’ since season one, but it looks like The Boys Season 4 was all about making the fans realize not everyone is fully good or bad. The creators gave middle fingers to the admirers of the Boys by establishing the fact that even the “real heroes” of the Boys are somewhat fucked up and could just be as terrible as the people they’re up against.
If making Frenchie, Kimiko, and Starlight confront their past, where their actions cost people their happiness and lives, wasn’t enough; Hughie slitting a throat and Butcher giving into the toxic advice of Kessler sealed the deal pretty much for their character….what’s the opposite of development?
While Mother’s Milk didn’t hit the wall as hard as the rest of the boys in this season, his trying to play it safe for a while could be considered his own shortcoming. Good thing, he managed to embrace the bold warrior in him at the end. And then MM getting his family back was like a cherry on the icing.
Hughie’s Family Kerfuffle: Needed More Simon Pegg
Hughie is absolutely the main character of the show since everything started with his tragic loss. But in The Boys Season 4, he felt like the least significant part of the story until the last two episodes.
I wrecked my brain and still couldn’t understand why it was so important for him to “resolve issues” with his mom and lose his dad for Hughie to become the tough cookie that can kill a guy and won’t bat an eye. And the mother felt super shady up until his father’s death. I’m still convinced something isn’t right with her, let’s see if season 5 will have something to say about this.
Hughie’s father’s death was super tragic. I’ve loved Simon Pegg since “Shaun of The Dead” and always lighten up whenever he’s on my screen. Although he didn’t have a big part in the show, Simon will always be a major part of the story as Hughie in the comics is based on him. I wish compound V worked for Hughie’s dad. It was heartbreaking to see him suffer and die a second death in such a poetic yet sad manner. Mr Pegg, you’ll be missed.
Which Is Worse: Butcher’s Accent, Starlight’s Face or Frenchie’s Sexuality?
Since the first three episodes of The Boys Season 4, people couldn’t shut up about three things: oi oi, ‘omlandah done killin Bucha’s woife and takin ‘is son, Starlight’s contoured features, and Frenchie doing a guy. I don’t know what the creators were aiming for, but it looks like they were already delving into the jokes before the memes were even made.
It was fun seeing the Kiwi actor messing up his ‘cockney’ accent badly in The Boys Season 4, but it was even funnier how this was addressed by different characters on two separate occasions inside The Boys universe.
The way Erin Moriarty was constantly made fun of for her botched surgery and stuff, was not fair. Stuff like this is the reason why people get insecure in the first place and go under the knife. And comments like this never help. But nothing compares to the ironic situation the show put Erin through by making Annie January revisit photos from her past.
It’s surprising to see people’s reactions to Frenchie getting spicy with a boy. He always acted a little fruity, so this shouldn’t come as a surprise. And in season 3, he and Kimiko kind of agreed that they were best off as friends. However, loved to see these two giving the romance a shot anyway with a passionate kiss inside the warehouse.
The New Characters: Yay or Nay?
The Boys Season 4 introduced several new characters. Say whatever you want, Sister Sage and Firecracker made the season a lot more bearable, otherwise, there wasn’t much going on to be fair.
I’m terrified of Sister Sage. Her ability to connect the dots so fast, manipulate everyone to believe what she wants them to believe, orchestrate huge butterfly effects, and get out of a nasty situation simply with the right words are way scarier than Neuman’s daughter’s superpower or whatever’s living inside Butcher’s body.
While Firecracker isn’t that powerful, it’s entertaining to see how she’ll even jeopardize her own well-being for a douche like Homelander. And her shedding tears on national TV at the end of the finale was an iconic moment.
And then there was the nasty shifter who violently shed skin to shapeshift. Damn, I’m glad that person is killed (or, are they?) because they were scarily good at what they did. I legit held my breath after seeing how they managed to get engaged to Hughie and get inside the safety vault.
Webweaver is the new supe I couldn’t bring myself to like. Too much of a junkie for my taste. And his superpower didn’t help either. It’s one thing for the stringy goo to flung out of hands, and another thing for the same goo to flung out of…… It was tragic to see him die though. Dude got ripped apart for something he didn’t do.
Did Victoria’s husband do anything in The Boys Season 4 worth mentioning? Not much comes to mind. Him betraying the boys was quite expected. How do you hope for this guy to help you after amputating him for life?
Black Noir as a character isn’t a new addition, but the guy who hid behind the mask in The Boys Season 4 is. My heart goes out to OG Black Noir, the dude deserved better. However, the new Black Noir is to die for (pun intended). Never thought someone being so chatty could be this entertaining. And not every day you meet a guy who gets ‘murder b***r’. Also, sorry I can’t stress this enough, he can fly???
The Boys Season 4 Gen V Characters Weren’t Impressive
Since the events of The Boys and Gen V are connected, it was expected that we’d get a glimpse of them in The Boys Season 4 from time to time. Cate and Jordan didn’t offer much except for their supe rizz in the last scene. Tek Knight was disappointing in his episode, he was a lot better in Gen V. His butler’s Avenger arc was more impressive than his own appearance.
Not Another Fight Club Reference
Butcher spent most of The Boys Season 4 just talking to imaginary people and trying not to breathe his last breath. I can forgive the lackluster presence of such a key character for the most part of the season; what I can’t forgive is that the show pulled a Fight Club with the entry of Joe Kessler.
It was so obvious from the beginning that the reveal didn’t come as a shock to most fans. It was kind of tiring to see this trope being repeated for quite some time now in recent years. For instance, we watched this just last year in You’s fourth season.
The Peak: He Can’t Get Any Better Than This
Calling him Deep is unacceptable now, as he’s THE PEAK of human evolution, and everyone else is just capa…barnia, whatever that is.
It was amazing to see how Peak learnt nothing, as he shouldn’t. He doesn’t care about fakeness and always believes in being his genuine self, a misogynistic cheater who isn’t sorry for abusing colleagues or betraying his friends under the sea.
Also, in The Boys Season 4, Peak takes responsibility for racism, by happily lobotomizing Sister Sage for some validation and spicy time, and being the ultimate bro to Black Noir. And have we forgotten how he was DOWN for doing anything for A-Train as a part of the Seven?
Justice for Ambrosius the Octopus though, who died for love. Not for being a mere Vought writer, like that other guy. Or the idiotic Homelander fan.
Confused About Ryan
Needless to say, Ryan was super confused in The Boys Season 4 about what to do and who to believe. I applaud him for standing his ground on national television, not falling for every bit of his father’s superficial actions, and trying to reconnect with Butcher.
Yet none of these can erase the fact that Ryan enjoyed the power he had over that creepy producer, and killed people, although not intentionally. So, I was confused too as a viewer, just like Butcher fighting his imaginary personalities in mind. I hope for the best outcome for him though.
Victoria Neuman Deserved A Chance
Needless to say, I was kinda pissed with Neuman for the entirety of the third season after learning her reality. But The Boys season 4 changed that for me. She felt like the enemy at first, but as the season progressed, it was evident that Neuman regretted her bad choices and was ready for a positive change.
I can’t possibly deal with the fact that Victoria was butchered right when she decided to turn a new stone in her journey. I will miss our gorgeous girlboss.
Ashley Should Have A Different Outcome
Speaking of gorgeous girlboss, season 3’s ending gave us hope for Ashley’s redemption, but that took a nosedive at the beginning of The Boys Season 4. However, as the story unfolded, so did the amount of regret Ashley had inside as an accomplice of Homelander’s wrongdoings.
Her assaulting Hughie was awful, but got to appreciate how Ashley’s one shitty action led to her character growth we’re looking forward to since last season. At least she felt sorry for framing Coleman and helped A-train to escape. There’s still hope for her if compound V hasn’t destroyed her already.
Homelander At His Ugliest And The Oldest
Because of the promo of The Boys Season 4, was curious about how they handle Homelander’s manslaughter charges. It’s sad how this thing didn’t even have an impact on the plot for more than one episode, which is quite like how it would be in our universe.
Still, it was amusing to see the guy getting insecure because his son was getting all the attention as Homelander’s face was ‘too old’ for the crowd. One minute dude is getting upset that Ryan isn’t being the son he wants, next minute he’s completely ignoring his duties as a father. Maybe shouting angrily and forcing him to sing propaganda songs ain’t the way to a kid’s heart?
He was at his best during the fourth episode when Homelander decided to pay his old friends a little visit down at the lab. Kinda terrifying that it doesn’t matter whether Homelander laughs while talking, makes jokes, talks in a relaxed manner, gives a poker face, or yells angrily; you should say your last prayers either way.
It’s also baffling how his childhood trauma and Vought’s failure to give him a good environment when growing up made the guy so paranoid that he’s convinced supes are more than mortal humans and anything is a fair game to keep it that way forever. Homelander’s inability to track Hughie down, finding the leech, believing Sage blindly, or just straight-up ignoring political diplomacy is proof that his paranoia is blurring his ability to think straight.
I’m genuinely waiting for season 5 to see how Homelander being a part of the government turns out for the people. (Of course, the ending wasn’t promising)
Old Faces Disappointed Hard
We, the fans, adore Stan Edgar and Soldier Boy. So, it was kind of sad to not find them in their full potential in The Boys Season 4. Even Mallory acted way too immaturely for a woman with her wit and wisdom.
Biggest Appeal Of The Boys Season 4: A- Train’s Redemption Arc
A-train’s redemption arc was undoubtedly the highlight of The Boys Season 4. Feels funny how the show started by showing A-train as one of the most horrible people in the story. Our hatred for the character knew no bounds, and after season 4, we’re rooting for him to survive and win. Now this is a character development I will obsess over for a long time.
For almost three seasons, he was just a murderer junkie, and nothing else. Not a hero by any chance. Seeing that person redeeming himself by risking his life and helping out for the right cause was really uplifting. His brother started the spark, but he became the flame with his own effort.
Was scared to death for A-train after his truth was revealed. It was great to see him survive The Boys Season 4. Want to see him survive till the end.
Is The Boys Season 4 Too Grotesque?
It did have some moments that went beyond our wild imagination. A photo here or a scene there ruined our appetite or scarred us for a long time, but hey, the show has never shied away from being too graphic, has it? Rather it’s way milder than the comics.
At least we weren’t the ones who had to act in the breastfeeding or the sauna scene. Nor did we have to pretend someone’s awfully long genital is smacking us on the face like Laz Alonso.
Is The Boys Season 4 Too Politically Aware Or Just The Right Amount?
The Boys Season 4 focused a lot more on real-life issues than the previous ones. During June and July, the show and their YouTube channel heavily ridiculed fake sentimental celebrity ad campaigns, diversity stunts, and right-wing propaganda of various groups and media networks.
Through Starlight’s struggles, The Boys season 4 attempted to engage in the conversation about how the decision of abortion affects a girl emotionally and socially. Hughie’s interactions, on the other hand, opened the door for discussion about guys getting sexually assaulted or raped.
It even (probably unintentionally) showed how assaults on guys are often brushed over by other stuff (when Annie got mad that Hughie was intimate with the shapeshifter, not giving a damn about how everything happened without him knowing the truth behind this).
The show also got super real about its concerns about the US presidential election by referencing the 6 January incident from 2021.
However, while bashing the biases of so many aspects of American culture, it was kinda hilarious to see how the show proudly held and projected its own bias till the end of the season. Not mentioning what I mean because of a certain reason, not because I’m scared.
In The End
I’ll say, after watching all eight episodes, The Boys Season 4 was sort of like a bridge season to set up the next season of Gen V and the final season of The Boys. Maybe this is the reason why, apart from an event here or there, the episodes were too weak event-wise until the last one.
The eighth episode delivered and it delivered well, I was at the edge of my seat till the last minute. More happened in the 50 minutes of that episode than during the entire runtime of the last seven episodes.
I’m terrified to even assume what supes partnering with the government will lead to. Butcher being driven by his ‘tumor’ raises so many questions for his actions in the next season. Waiting for the next season is difficult after seeing the rest of the gang (apart from Starlight) get caught by the evil (are they really evil or just playing?) supes at the end.
At least Starlight got her power and Kimiko got her voice back.
