One of the best new character in The Boys Season 4 isn’t a hero; she’s a genius. When launched within the first episode, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) is having fun with a quiet life out of the highlight — maybe as a result of, because the world’s most clever particular person, she is aware of no good can come from getting engaged within the mess that’s the world in the present day. Till, that’s, Homelander (Antony Starr) reveals up with a proposition to assist him change issues… and she or he’s on board.
This kicks off the present’s most political and considerate season but, as creator Eric Kripke’s mayhem-infused superhero satire builds on Season 3’s allegories whereas remaining dedicated to a reasonably nihilist worldview. Over the course of those eight episodes, the present’s writers as soon as once more new and creative methods to destroy the human physique, whereas the present’s total physique depend grows exponentially — together with just a few characters who might need appeared comparatively protected, at one level.
The brand new season picks up not too lengthy after the top of Season 3, with secret supe Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) now within the operating to develop into Vice-President of the US and Homelander in additional management over the Vought Company than ever earlier than. The excellent news for the titular Boys is that Annie (Erin Moriarty) is now a full-fledged member of the workforce — the unhealthy information is that Butcher (Karl City) has develop into much more unstable. (Then once more, if you happen to had simply gotten a terminal prognosis and the super-powered child your useless spouse begged you to deal with was now residing full-time along with his psychopathic father, you’d in all probability be a bit on edge as effectively.)
Key to this season’s depravities is the query of management and energy, as some characters have develop into fairly twisted by the insanity of previous occasions, in ways in which Season 4 explores to an unanticipated diploma. One of many present’s best strengths, in reality, is the way in which that we’ve been in a position to see sure folks change over time — as one instance, Ashley (Colby Minifie) has developed from a as soon as hapless Vought assistant to one of many present’s most terrifyingly unpredictable characters, with a nasty streak that feels solid within the fireplace of too many insults from Homelander.
One other key side of the fourth season is the way in which it displays the ever-expanding universe of the franchise, which is one other manner of claiming that if you happen to skipped the primary season of spin-off sequence Gen V, you may need to repair that earlier than watching, as the foremost arc of that season performs a major function right here. The writers are cautious to make sure that Season 4 will nonetheless make sense even if you happen to didn’t occasion with the school children of Godolkin College — however having watched these episodes nonetheless makes for a richer expertise this season, particularly when just a few characters cross over.
The present’s solid stays strong, with Frenchie (Tomer Capone) getting a extra vital plot arc than in seasons previous, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) opening up greater than ever earlier than, and Erin Moriarty getting some meaty scenes in direction of the later half of the season. Past Heyward’s Sister Sage, different newcomers to the sequence embody Valorie Curry (a Prime Video superhero alumnus, after showing on The Tick) as Firecracker, an intensely right-wing supe who, if she lived in our actuality, can be more than pleased to let you know the place she was on January sixth, 2021.
Season 4 suffers, sadly, from some selections that lean too arduous on too-tired tropes — to enter particulars would represent going into spoilers, however multiple twist is fairly predictable, based mostly solely on the truth that we’ve seen it earlier than. These moments don’t detract an excessive amount of from the general narrative, but it surely’s at all times a bit baffling, when a present that’s total so creative delivers a plotline that hasn’t felt authentic for the reason that daybreak of the twenty first century; a few of these moments really feel like they’re going down on a completely completely different sequence.
Nonetheless, when The Boys is leaning arduous into its capability for blood-soaked mayhem, it stays a wild experience that has solely gotten savvier over time. In 2019, I reviewed the primary season as a freelancer for The AV Membership, and my major takeaway then was that whereas the present’s strategy to satirizing superheroes was a superb time, the present itself didn’t add a lot to previous examples of style deconstruction, like Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons’s Watchmen.
What’s modified since Season 1 is that whereas the cheeky nods to superhero tradition stay current, The Boys has developed right into a present remarkably well-positioned to remark not simply on popular culture, however on society at massive.
It’s not simply our (maybe flagging) fascination with capes and tights that’s being focused by the present — the world of The Boys is one the place division and hatred have a decent maintain over the discourse. Which is to say, it doesn’t really feel all that distant from in the present day, whereas providing some foreboding predictions for the longer term forward of us and no simple solutions as to the way to keep away from it. As a substitute, it serves as a reminder that human beings, super-powered or not, have at all times contained the makings of their very own destruction. And nobody is coming to avoid wasting us.
The Boys returns for Season 4 starting Thursday, June thirteenth on Prime Video.
