The Boys Season Four Early Review

The following is a spoiler-free review of Season 4 of The Boys. The first 3 episodes premiere this Thursday on Prime Video.

For our review of the last season of The Boys, click here.

A series that has never been afraid to say what is on its mind, The Boys has consistently delivered biting social commentary through hilarious satire of the current socio-political landscape though that being said, there is plenty of material to mine nowadays. With each new season wilder and more ridiculous than the last, suffice it to say that the bar has been set pretty high come what is now the fourth season. Fighting seemingly insurmountable odds for 3+ seasons, our ragtag team of misfits are still at it, going up against Supes (or superheroes) that have become increasingly more prominent in the world and the maniacal company that has enabled and profited off of them for ages. The symbol for that has of course been Homelander, a powerful Supe who is as charming and charismatic as he was evil. A constant thorn in the side of The Boys, he was a threat that proved elusive, always getting a leg up on them and finding a way to escape their grasp. Antony Starr has been nothing short of phenomenal as Homelander, pulling viewers in by turning up the charm at times but also being downright scary at others, and in this season, he brings him to even greater heights.

Last season ended with the latest attempt to kill Homelander thwarted by a family reunion between he and his father, Soldier Boy. During that battle, Queen Maeve sacrificed herself to stop Soldier Boy, Homelander took Ryan from Butcher, and Victoria Neuman inched that much closer to the White House. Picking up from there, the new season starts on Election Night where Neuman and President-Elect Bob Singer were set to celebrate their victory. However, the group had other plans, attempting to assassinate Neuman before she stepped anywhere near the White House or the presidency but outwitting her proved to be no easy task.

Homelander, faced with his own humanity, found his roots as he looked to further shape Ryan in his image while worrying about the kind of world he wanted to leave behind for him but in doing so, risked pushing him even further away as Ryan started to come to terms with what he was. In that worry, Homelander recruited Sister Sage (Susan Heyward), a Super whose power was her intelligence which made her the smartest person in the world, to help. Little did he realize, she would help him become even more powerful as the story took a turn down a right wing rabbithole thanks to another recruit known as Firecracker (Valorie Curry). Sage looked to leverage the narrative around Homelander and his supporters, and the enemies of Singer to advance their interests but more importantly, her own. On the other side, Butcher, secretly abusing compound V, became too much of a loose cannon, putting his life in jeopardy and hurting his position with the group as he sought to get Ryan back and exact his revenge on Homelander.

Having left The Seven and officially joining The Boys, Starlight looked to move on from her past and leave the suit behind to carve her own path as Annie January, but the suit and what it represented was hard to ignore in fighting for justice against Homelander and what he represented, and his increasing legion of supporters. The back-and-forth between Starlight and Homelander supporters got nasty as he stood on trial for murder. Stirring things up, Sage made sure to have her finger on all the scales to keep fueling the ever growing ideological conflict that divided the nation. Keeping her cool in the midst of the infighting, Annie fell in her trap as the fighting got personal. However, cracks began to form within The Seven (or the remnants) once it was clear that not everyone was on board with Homelander and Sage’s plan. As The Boys remained hot on the trail of Homelander, and now Sage, all roads lead back to Neuman, who they learned was merely part of a much more devious plan thanks to a fortunate leaker who stuck their neck out to assist the group at great risk to themselves.

Working against the clock, The Boys needed to stop Neuman before the election is certified, putting her one head pop away from the presidency. As the fate of the country laid in the balance, the ultimate answer to the Homelander/Neuman problem appeared to be the Supe virus last seen on Gen V though while getting it was one thing, implementing it was another. Setting up one of the wildest finales yet, the story gets turned on its head at least one more time, leaving viewers on the edge of their seats with a few more twists up its sleeve that will surprise those who may have thought they had it all figured out. What turned out to be Sage’s plan all along, the writing perhaps gives her too much credit as the extent of her so-called intelligence became somewhat contrived. Nevertheless, the landscape has definitely changed as The Boys became the targets of the new regime that emerged from the chaos, essentially led by Homelander.

Meanwhile, outside of the main storyline, other characters took a step forward. A health scare in the Campbell family brought back the last person he expected to see but through the experience, he got some much needed closure. Frenchie showed remorse for his past and Kumiko was faced with her past. Diving back into her backstory and the group that held her and many other captive since she was a young girl, we got some more answers as to how it made her into the person she was.

As brutal as ever, subtle went out the window as the parallels to today make it feel even more real in spite of the wackiness. For a series that has never been afraid to say what’s on its mind, the gloves came off here which may rub some viewers the wrong way (though they were probably not watching in the first place). Though as real as its commentary may feel, the lack of subtly works both ways, as it fought to straddle the line without straying too far off it. It could be too much at times but when it hits, it is hilarious, simply for how it often reflects what is happening today with a near frightening accuracy. Leaving a body count in its wake, no one was safe as the season was not afraid to put any of its characters, or anyone else for that matter, in danger. However, the season was more than mere wackiness and stopping a plot to overthrow the government, the sheer amount of character moments, most notably from Butcher, Hughie, and Homelander were so compelling to watch.

In the end, what tied this season, and all seasons of The Boys, together was its performances. The cast dynamic that is still a blast to watch though this time around, they got to show more of themselves as individuals. As mentioned, the standouts were Butcher, Hughie, and Homelander, but the best performance of the three was easily Starr as Homelander. Showing off more of his impressive range, the reliable erratic murderous wildcard, his ego and mean streak found itself tempered by his humanity when it came to Ryan until he scaringly snatched it back.

Overall, The Boys Season 4 raises the stake as it throws subtly out the window to deliver another wild and brutal ride that’s becoming too real.

still courtesy of Prime Video

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Keith Noakes

The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.