Suddenly we’re almost at the end of “The Boys” season 4 – it seemed to go by very quickly, didn’t it? This season’s reception has been a bit more uneven than the nearly universal kudos for the previous season, especially for the last episode and the treatment of Hughie’s assault.
Upping The Boys Ante
It’s undoubtedly challenging to keep upping the game with a show that started out with such high levels of shock, sex and especially violence right from the jump. That may be the source of some struggle this season, but I’m still thoroughly enjoying what this show does best – hold up a mirror to some of the worst parts of our real life and poke at them. There’s so much that’s over the top in reality right now, sometimes “The Boys” feels a little too real – but mostly for me it’s validating to see the reflection and be assured that yes, someone else sees the insanity too!
I also enjoy watching the show through the lens of what it’s trying to say, which is slightly different each season. It’s why my colleague Matt and I edited a book on “The Boys,” examining those themes with input from actors, psychologists and media experts. I was fascinated then, in Season 3, and I’m still fascinated now. (You can find Supes Ain’t Always Heroes at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon)
So, what happened on “The Boys” Episode 4.07? A lot!
The Life of Ryan
The theme of this episode – attempting to be your own person and who you really are — is expressed in a biting parody of one of my favorite shows of all time, Avenue Q, which I saw on Broadway with my kids a long time ago – and adored. Vought Studios presents, of course, Avenue V, complete with puppets of all the supes and poor Ryan looking uncomfortable with every single thing they sing about.
Most of that is encouraging kids to rat out their parents and teachers and neighbors for anything that might be ANTIFA or Christmas hate. Ryan keeps calling ‘cut’, though the director insists his dad approved the lyrics. Homelander, overwhelmed with issues of his own, leaves Ryan a snippy message to just suck it up and do it, but that doesn’t’ go over too well.
Ryan eventually stops the filming and addresses the camera, much to Homelander’s anger and disappointment (though he’s taking his father’s previous advice not to let anyone else prevent you from speaking your mind…Be careful what you wish for, Homelander)
Ryan: That song isn’t cool, none of this is cool. Your family isn’t your enemy, your family is all you’ve got. I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot. She died but she loved Christmas…and Terms of Endearment…and her husband Billy. But she wouldn’t love this and she wouldn’t want me doing it. My mom always told me to tell the truth.
Ryan is as torn as everyone else this season – in his case, between two dads. At Homelander’s place, Ryan sees a package under the Christmas tree and recognizes the return address as “dontbeacunt”. It’s a photo of his mom and Butcher and their dog.
Butcher, watching Ryan’s speech on a TV in a bar, tells Kessler aka himself that’s why he’s got faith in the kid.
And then he collapses on the floor of the bar.
The bickering halves of his personality momentary quieted, Butcher reunites with the Boys, telling them about the virus Sameer is working on and that it would cause global pandemic and a supe genocide. They all notice for the first time that Butcher is sometimes talking to no one (as Kessler calls him an asshole and warns him that he’s pissing away their best shot). Butcher agrees that they’ll only use the virus on Homelander and Neuman, much to his alter ego’s disgust.
Kessler confronts Butcher, aka Butcher confronts himself. Why does he have such a soft spot for supes? Is it because he fucked Maeve? Cares about Ryan, who’s not even his? Butcher says he gave Becca his word, but Kessler scoffs that if their love was so perfect and pure why did he go around fucking waitresses?
Nobody is better at convincing Butcher that he’s a fuck-up than Butcher himself.
The Boys are starting to pull together again, though. Butcher also got Mallory to pull some strings and free a reluctant and still guilt-stricken Frenchie. MM asks Butcher to be back in charge, saying he’s better off doing research instead of being the skipper – and trying to follow doctor’s orders.
Hughie, Butcher and Annie start to figure out the assassination plot for January 6 (of course) and also find a supe shapeshifter that Sister Sage put on the job. Uh oh.
So Much Evolution, But That’s Not Always a Good Thing
The Deep is torn between two people also – nope, make that two…lovers, not people. He gets romantic with Ambrosius, but is also enjoying being with Sage, quickly dumping the octopus back in her tank when Sage texts with the difficult to resist message: Tough day, stab my brain and stab my ass later?
When Ambrosius confronts him, he cruelly notes that Sage has four limbs, and as soon as he suspects the octopus is calling him dumb, he loses his temper and shatters her aquarium. He steels himself not to respond to her cries for help with any sympathy at all, letting the empathic part of him that at least related to sea creatures go, seemingly for good.
The Deep’s evolution has been hard to watch, as he slid from mostly asshole to total asshole, but here we are. Another damaged person who might have done better, giving in to their dark side.
The Deep to Homelander: I have clarity now, I’ll kill every goddamn fish in the ocean if you say so.
Ooof.
The Deep and Black Noir (who can both talk and fly) also try to take out the Boys, after having a hilarious conversation that consists mostly of “Bro..” “Bro…” and has them realizing they are both sleeping with Sister Sage (though only one of them requires her to be lobotomized to do it…. You guess…)
The Deep confronts Annie, his slide down the slippery slope seemingly complete.
Deep: First you try to cancel me because that’s cool to do to white guys, but Me Too is over, it didn’t work. I do not respect your truth or honor your story or fucking apologize!
There’s a big fight, then A Train swoops in to save the day.
A Train’s evolution continues in the opposite direction, as he follows a path of redemption, Ashley his reluctant (and very freaked out) sort of accomplice. She does care – she fired her assistant to get him out of the line of fire and “away from this fucking place”, and she’s feeling guilty now about Cameron Coleman’s death.
Ashley: I didn’t have to do it by killing him! It’s so easy to be a monster. What if we just left, you and me?
That’s a pivotal line for the episode – it is, in fact, so easy to be a monster. This show, and this season especially, is all about that slippery slope as we watch so many of the characters slide down it.
A Train tells Ashley they know he’s the leak, that he’s gotta go, and tries to convince her to come with him like she suggested. She almost does but changes her mind at the last second. She gives one last bit of caring advice to A Train though, reminding him to cut out his chip.
Ashley looks at a photo of herself before Vought and sobs. Slippery slopes are in fact slippery.
Homelander Distraught Again
Homelander is distraught when he finds out A Train and his family are gone, but I’m pretty happy about it honestly. Firecracker attempts to console him in her own (racist) way.
Firecracker: Some people, they’re just born uppity…
Before he leaves, A Train confronts MM, who has bought tickets for Monique and his daughter to flee to Belize and is considering going with them.
A Train: When I carried your ass to the ER there was a kid there. His eyes were like, holy shit, looking at me like I was a hero. No screaming fans, no cameras, nobody even knew except for this one kid. That felt better than anything I’ve ever done at Vought. For once I didn’t hate myself. And that’s on you.
MM feels defeated, like the fight is endless, like he looks in the mirror and doesn’t even see himself anymore – something A Train has also struggled with.
A Train: You think Homelander and Vought and all this shit ain’t coming to Belize?
Point A Train.
Hughie, Annie and Not Annie
Annie continues to struggle with who she really is too – which becomes weirdly concrete in this episode.
Annie’s mom finally picks up her call, but she’s annoyed about the fallout from the news her daughter had an abortion and about being kicked out of her bible group.
Donna: You’re supposed to be held to a higher standard, that’s how I raised you! You’re Starlight, you’re a supe!
Annie protests that she’s a person. Annie/Starlight has been on a journey to figuring herself out for the entire series, with part of her still trying to leave behind the Supe that her mother groomed her to be.
Donna: Then why did Hughie save the suit?
Oh dear. Hughie pulled it from the trash, thinking she might want it someday. When he comes back from trying to talk sense into Neuman (bringing her a bag of candy and chips like they used to share and making sure she knows about the planned internment camps) he finds Annie in the Starlight suit. She takes off her panties and tells Hughie to admit it, he’s fantasized about keeping the suit on for this…
Hughie: I haven’t NOT fantasized about it…
Nooooo not more non-con for poor Hughie, he’s already traumatized!
Afterward, Annie gets up and goes to the safe and takes out the laptop… while the real Annie wakes up in chains, the remnants of a woman who asked her for a selfie earlier on the floor. She realizes that shapeshifter is now “her”. And with Hughie.
Frenchie and Kimiko Search for Forgiveness – The Boys
Frenchie and Kimiko bring food to poor Sameer and plan to let him go after he makes the virus. Unfortunately, they don’t tell him about their plan…
Kimiko is still upset that Frenchie wouldn’t see her when he was in prison. He says he was ashamed; she says he was torturing himself. She tells him the story that haunts her, of her first night at the camp when they made them fight and told them the first girl who cries out, loses.
Kimiko: I murdered her without making a sound. Then when I was allowed to speak again, I couldn’t.
She too knows she had a choice, and looks in the mirror and hates what she sees – thinks it would have been better if they killed her than what she did to those girls.
Kimiko: You should not hate yourself
Frenchie: Than neither should you.
Free Sameer
Their decision to free Sameer is part of their path to forgiving themselves, even though they know Butcher won’t like it (which probably makes it the right thing to do).
Like I said, it’s a shame they didn’t clue Sameer in. He tells them it’s ready and just as they’re about to free him, he stabs Kimiko in the leg with it and hobbles off. Frenchie sees the infection rapidly going up her leg and grabs a saw, giving her a stuffy to focus on and then sawing her leg off, saying “I’m sorry I’m sorry” the entire time and while 90’s music on the boom box plays incongruously.
Ouch. What’s with all the limb amputations, “The Boys??”
Now the task is for Frenchie to extract the virus from Kimiko’s severed leg.
MM: Why all the grim faces? We’ve done more with less. Chop chop motherfuckers!
Indeed!
One more episode to go, and it is one of my favorites – a new episode streams in the wee hours of Thursday morning next week. Don’t miss the season finale that ushers us into the final season of “The Boys!”
