This is a spoiler-free review of season 4 of The Boys, which premieres Thursday, June 13 on Prime Video. Reviews for new episodes will be posted Thursday afternoons through July 18.
If the scandalous herogasm of The Boys has taught us anything, it’s that there’s no high without a fall. Season 3 of the Prime Video series was a masterclass in political satire filtered through the prism of outrageous shenanigans, its excellence continuing into the first year of its fantastic college spinoff, Gen V. After so much bullshit, the Season 4 ushers in a time of discovery – sometimes too much discovery, as showrunner Eric Kripke and his team pack plots like sardines in the can of these eight episodes. The Boys’ unresolved problems have pushed Kripke into a corner, now intensified by the big reveal of Generation V: a virus that threatens the lives of Vought International’s team of not-so-good people in capes and masks.
Season 4 introduces super-hunting vigilante Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his stars-and-stripes-clad nemesis, Homelander (Antony Starr), with the realization of their ultimate goals – but both men are unusually pensive and exhausted by a possible victory on the ground. horizon. Urban effectively presents a more squishy, compassionate side to Butcher, who brushes off a near-death cough due to a nagging Temp V-induced tumor in his brain. Starr remains focused on his task as Homelander continues to fight his way to the top of Vought (and then the world), but he often finds himself staring into nothingness, overwhelmed by what happens next. There’s no turning back their rivalry when Butcher’s days are numbered, but the mutually assured destruction of their conflict looms larger than ever.
The same goes for The Boys’ lack of political subtlety. Season 4 triples down on the corruption that feels uncomfortably familiar in a real-life election year. Homelander’s rise as a superhuman dictator directly references January 6, insurrectionists, and dissident lists with justified urgency. The Boys has never been secretive about who the show’s “Big Bad” is, and Kripke has no choice but to state the obvious about Homelander’s MAGA tactics, which he does without question. sacrificing the values of the series: they fit too well. The threat Homelander poses to the United States must be spelled out in massive, easy-to-read letters. because some viewers still can’t accept that he’s a bad guyand it’s more important than ever to make sure The Boys’ message is crystal clear.
Season 4 is locked in a black box of sadness, manipulation and despair. Butcher’s terminal diagnosis makes him more docile. Marvin “Mother’s” Milk (Laz Alonso) steps in as the Boys’ commander, but he’s plagued by his own bouts of anxiety. Homelander continues the “cleansing” of a super-first nation, but finds his mind clouded by fatherhood duties and abusive childhood memories now that Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) lives in Vought Tower. Frenchie (Tomer Capone) dreams of happiness but finds only pain, Annie January (Erin Moriarty) runs away from her alter ego Starlight because of what she is responsible for, and Hughie (Jack Quaid) is mercilessly put to the test - this is not another high-energy film. season. This is a result of the story’s trajectory and while there are plenty of interesting arcs that end in satisfying ways, the melancholy can become suffocating.
The new arrivals in The Seven offer some respite. Firecracker (Valorie Curry) presents himself as a hybrid of Alex Jones, X-Men’s Jubilee and Stormfront: a Homelander sycophant who complains about ANTIFA and peddles anti-Semitic conspiracies for a biased media. She gives off a deliciously detestable aura. Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) is much more interesting: literally the smartest person in the world, she challenges Homelander’s patience by always telling him the unvarnished truth – even when he’s wrong. Firecracker looks more like a prop in her navy camouflage outfit, while Sister Sage’s playful commentary on Homelander’s god complex is a critical commentary away from a laser eye lobotomy, making for a much more intriguing relationship. Vought’s new recruits fulfill their duties with varying degrees of success, but both are welcome.
Things are a little more mixed for The Boys’ ongoing storylines, given the slow pace of Season 4. Frenchie and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) keep their will-they/won’t-they chemistry afloat, but she risks burning out. steam. Victoria Neuman’s (Claudia Doumit) involvement in Robert Singer’s (Jim Beaver) presidential campaign hints at Vought’s complicity, but that plot also begins to tire. The Deep (Chace Crawford) continues his journey through self-discovery, going through repetitive motions while once again letting someone else dictate his worth. That’s not to say that any of these parts are miscast — a talented cast continues to make the most of the absurd caricatures they play — but rather a commentary on how season 4 resurrects the dilemmas which have existed since the beginning of the series.
Fortunately, none of this impacts the number of action sequences in Season 4. Kripke and company provide a few of the usual “WTF” moments: Bloodthirsty Compound V-powered cattle running amok and a heavy version metal from “Hava Nagila”. »the soundtrack of a fight that features a whole bunch of dong. It just wouldn’t be The Boys without extreme violence and senseless nudity, and while the shock value isn’t as intense this season, that signature blatant charm is still present. There’s something so cathartic about watching Annie knock The Deep unconscious or following Kimiko on a revenge mission into Shining Light territory. The Boys don’t lose their pace; he simply slows down his tempo.
Don’t expect much from the limp noodle of a finale, which feels more like an extended advertisement for Season 5 than a memorable or impactful payoff. The way Season 4 ends is psychologically evil, but it pales in comparison to past season-ending highlights like Starlight, Queen Maeve, and Kimiko teaming up to take down Stormfront in Season 2. Prepare for it consequence: this final takes place quietly. exhale rather than a thunderous war cry.