The Boys Episode Season Four Finale Recap and Review aka Buckle Up for Phase Two

I remember going to the theater to watch Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 1 when it came out.  I had read the book and was rather excited to see how it would interpret into a movie.  I was a bit skeptical when I heard they broke it into two parts, but there had to be some entertainment value, right?  Not at all.  Part 1 was a somber, depressing, bad guys taking over story that left our heroes reeling over their losses and the fact that they were on the brink of defeat.  I left furious that I had to wait over a year for the next installment, the one that had the epic fight and triumph over evil I was expecting.  Part 1 left us with no hope.  

I felt exactly that way again after watching The Boys “Assassination Run” or “Season Four Finale” (whatever title they chose at last minute to give it).  What a bummer, and how patient will I be now to see it all play out in season five when I have to wait until 2026 to see it?  I can’t say right now.  

The episode itself was really good, exactly what you expect from a finale.  It was fast paced, had high-stakes tension, offered some exciting action sequences, and the story that was built up all season came out to its logical conclusion.  There were also some really sweet character moments (I’m looking at you Frenchie and Kimiko).  The problem is, a season finale is often a reflection of the season gone by.  Did the exciting finale redeem season four’s slow storylines, grim scenes, and shock value that by this point in the series isn’t so shocking anymore?  Not really.  Although, it did have a nice dinger in the end that we’ll get to later!   

Recap

So, let’s get one thing out of the way.  A-Train can be marked safe!  There was no spectacular A-Train death like we feared.  Heck, he wasn’t even in the episode.  That’s a good thing, because finale supes that cross Homelander tend to end up dead.  Hopefully he’s hanging with Queen Maeve and her girlfriend enjoying the quiet life.  Looking forward to seeing his redemption story in season five.  Just don’t die! 

It’s January 6th (hint hint) and the election has been certified.  Bob Singer is President, Victoria Neumann is Vice President.  Except, isn’t there something about an inauguration on January 20th to make it official?  That’s usually when the term starts?  I think that step was skipped.  Anyway, Victoria goes on Firecracker’s show with Homelander to celebrate her new status, and Homie decides to let the cat out of the bag.  He outs her as a supe, and the shit hits the fan.  Bob Singer is publicly outraged, Vicky’s proud day is about to take a horrific turn.  

Let’s talk about the absolutely HORRIBLE things they have done to Hughie.  Come on!  So it’s bad enough that Starlight has been replaced by a Shapeshifter but for her to propose to Hughie??  That is so cold.  He was so overjoyed and even gave her his mother’s ring.  Aww man, what a buzzkill.  I was looking forward to seeing this moment with the real Annie at some point.  Now it’s all ruined.  If anyone deserves joy it’s Hughie, and it will all get ripped out from under him.  I’m actually pissed off about this.  Quit fucking with Hughie’s emotions show!

Hughie was with the doppelgänger for 10 days and didn’t notice a difference?  Then he tells Annie later (after she berates him unjustly for sleeping with someone else) he did notice, but he was probably too enamored by the fact that she put on the Starlight suit that she hated for foreplay and the sex was fantastic.  Annie was being everything he wanted, and the fact that it took a shapeshifter to give this to Hughie means that the real Annie really needs to get out of her rut and start taking chances with her life.  That is likely the point of making Annie the victim, so she literally has to face herself.  It does tie in with her arc this season, she’s lost who the true Annie is, but the real victim in all this seems to be Hughie, not her.  

Hughie does notice just in time I guess, when they are in the bunker protecting Bob Singer.  As Singer ranted about how they didn’t manage to kill Victoria like he ordered while he played on an indoor putting green, Hughie noticed Annie was sweating.  Uh oh, she doesn’t sweat.  The shapeshifter they ran into does though!  He cued Mother’s Milk just in time, and they start to scuttle Bob to safety when the fake Annie attacks.  She’s really damn good at being an assassin and almost does her job when she’s stopped by the real Annie, who FINALLY manages to escape.  I’m questioning of course how does the real Annie get into a secure bunker protecting the new President of the United States with no ID and normal street clothes?  Ah well, I suspend disbelief because it was a really good fight between the two. The real Annie kicked some major ass and looked good doing it.  The season metaphor was set, Annie’s greatest enemy is herself.  

Back at Vought Tower of Doom, Homelander was feeling very smug knowing he had the Vice President in his back pocket, so it was time to enact his plan of killing all those that oppose him.  He put The Deep and Black Noir in charge of killing everyone at Vought that had info on him, and he made a list since he’s not dealing with the best and brightest.  He then realized Ashley should be on that list, so The Deep scribbles her name at the top, but he doesn’t know her last name!  That led to the tragic demise of Ashley’s assistant, Ashley, because this new Black Noir didn’t know which Ashley they were supposed to kill.   Needless to say, lots of Vought employees die, and I’m wondering how they’ll get past all the labor lawsuits.  Not Homelander’s problem I guess.  

In meantime, Butcher was hospitalized at some government facility waiting for his inevitable death.  He gets a call from Hughie, and Butcher recalls one last memory about his brother Lenny and tells Hughie to tell The Boys he’s sorry, leaving him one last task to deal with before he dies, Ryan.  

The kid already had a bad run in with dear old psychopathic dad.  Homelander found the photo that Butcher sent of him and Becca in Ryan’s book bag and ended up laser eyeing his entire apartment in anger.  Ryan came home and a furious Homelander ordered him to come ‘here’, yelling that Butcher was NOT his dad.  Ryan smartly turned the other way and left.  He went to see Butcher in the facility and who should arrive but “Aunt Grace”, aka Grace Mallory.  Ryan was happy to see her and gave her hugs, but after a heartwarming game of Connect Four with Butcher, it became obvious to him these two had other plans for him.  

I’m not sure why Butcher didn’t want to tell Ryan the truth, aka all the horrible things Homelander has done, but I’m glad Grace finally spilled the beans.  It was a really careless move on her part though to tell Ryan the truth before she had him locked down.  You’d think after all these years she’d be more careful.  It only got her killed.  She told him that Homelander crashed that plane he tried to save and he raped Becca which led to his birth.  As Ryan was trying to process the news, the fact that they were in a lockdown facility and they were going to keep him there and use him as a weapon against Homelander was just a bit too much for the boy to handle.  He slammed Grace against a wall, killing her instantly, and left while a very sick Butcher watched him go.  Turned out, that was enough of a catalyst for Butcher to surrender to Kessler in that whole internal struggle thing.  Saving Ryan was no longer a thing, or any other supes for that matter.  

With their backs against the wall, there was at least one very gratifying scene to come of all this.  Frenchie and Kimiko, after both going through some painful self loathing and discovery this season, finally came out on the other side accepting what we knew all along, these two belonged together.  Kimiko admitted she wanted him to have a relationship with Colin because she thought he deserved someone better than her.  Frenchie had the perfect words.  “Mon coeur, there’s no one better than you.”  Meep, I’m a little misty now.  They kiss in the sweetest fashion and it’s very satisfying given it was four seasons in the making.  If there was any glimmer of hope to come out of this episode, it was these two.  Their personal stories this season were a bit too cumbersome to get to this point, but it was nice to see them get there.  

So yeah, big finish time.  Victoria, whose plan and basically entire world has unraveled, called Hughie offering surrender.  She was done with the whole thing.  She couldn’t control Homelander and she wasn’t going to be his puppet either.  Maybe the arrogant chewing out earlier by Homelander had something to do with that.  She wanted Zoe to be safe too. Hughie offered her protection with The Boys, something the gang was not on board with at first.  He convinced them though and Victoria and Zoe arrived at the hideout, just for Butcher as usual to fuck it all up. 

It was very clear by this scene that Butcher wasn’t Butcher anymore, he was Kessler.  Taking in Vicky was not an option.  Tenacles burst from his chest, wrapped around Vicky and then ripped  her in two in gruesome and bloody fashion.  Zoe tried to defend but she was slapped aside by one of the tentacles.  Then Butcher took the one shot of virus that Frenchie created from Kimiko’s cut off leg and that was that.  Too bad, because I was looking forward to Victoria becoming an ally.  She was powerful enough to do what it took to take Homelander and maybe even Vought down.  But I can see why she was discarded, because it was the final nail in the coffin for the gang to admit defeat.  They all got their fake papers and chose to go their separate ways.  

Homelander on the other hand was totally crushed by losing Victoria.  Bob Singer was in charge now and he didn’t have his control of the White House.  That is, until Sister Sage showed up, saying that Vicky’s demise was all part of the plan.  She knew she wasn’t going to be reliable.  Guess what she had?  Evidence that Bob Singer ordered Victoria to be assassinated (remember that comment in the bunker earlier?).  He was arrested for Victoria’s murder and the Speaker of the House, aka the corrupt tool that was at the Tek Knight party the previous episode, took over the presidency (I’m assuming this all happened after Bob Singer was sworn in or is this all the same day?).  Naturally, President Calhoun pledged his allegiance to Homelander, who was completely stunned by the events, wondering why Sister Sage would do this after what he did to her.  “Because I could,” she said.  Spoken like a true nefarious genius.  She just wanted to proved something.  She also promised Homelander she would help, no matter what he did.  She had to know that he wouldn’t follow her plan willingly.  After all, she’s the smartest person in the world, although Homelander is an easy read.  She also left with some ominous parting words for season five.  

“Hells yeah, Blonde Ambition, buckle up for phase two.”  

So yeah, the new President declared martial law, and started a new supe task force led by Homelander allowing supes to basically take control of law and order, aka, do whatever the hell they wanted.  Homelander even had the President step aside at the podium so he could announce the new initiative.  Yep, meet the new boss.  

Anyone who supported Starlight was wrangled up.  We see supes from prior seasons make new appearances as part of Homelander’s task force.  Love sausage captured Mother’s Milk in the airport bathroom, which sucks because he always made for great comic relief.  Henchman is not his thing.  Cate and Sam from Gen V were there to capture Frenchie and Kimiko, which FINALLY led to Kimiko say her first spoken word.  She screamed ‘NOOOOO’ as they took a mind controlled Frenchie away.  The skinhead supe chick that was sprung from the asylum in a prior season intercepted Hughie and Annie on the road, but Annie, who finally found her powers, went flying in the air and escaped before she could be captured.  

You think that was it?  Well wait for the closing credits.  Just like Gen V, there’s a “gotcha” scene.  President Calhoun summoned Homelander to Grace’s lockdown facility, which he had just found out about a few hours prior.  Guess who was being kept in stasis in a tube?  It’s none other than Homelander’s daddy Soldier Boy, aka one very fine looking and scruffy Jensen Ackles.  Looks like Solider Boy will be back for the final season!  Which, won’t be until 2026 by the looks of it.  Dang.  

(Awesome shot!  The reflection of Homelander with Soldier Boy is so perfect). 

So, Homelander is now in control of Vought and the USA, Butcher is now an evil supe on the loose with the mission to take out other supes, and Starlight is free while the others are captured.  She better find her mojo and choose to fight evil rather than hide.  That’s probably why they had her useless this season, to give her a big rise in season five.  At least I hope so.  She’s been too insufferable to watch lately.  

Other Thoughts

So, Ashley, in a panic after hearing she was on the kill list, raced into Homelander’s quarters, grabbed some Compound V, injected herself and then that’s it???   We don’t see what happens to her until next season???  I call that bogus.  

Zoe, Neuman’s daughter, was taken BTW to the same place Victoria grew up, the Red River foster home for supes.  Remember, Madelyn’s son is there too.  Considering that Marie from Gen V is also from there, think there might be a crossover?  

The Supernatural easter eggs continue!  This time, it comes from Bob Singer.  Not only did we get an “idgit”, we got a “balls” as well.  There is an article on CBR that goes through several SPN references in The Boys.  It’s pretty clever! 

Eric Kripke directed the finale, but while filming this episode he came down with COVID.  Jeffrey Dean Morgan mentioned at the recent Creation Columbus convention that he received detailed instructions from Eric Kripke while shooting a scene via video chat.  It was a strange experience for everyone involved, especially when Kripke was on site the first two days.  

Some Season Four Reflections

Umm, err, not a fan?  I’m going to call season four The Supes Strike Back because the opposition didn’t stand a chance.  Except, I loved Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  The Boys season four, not so much.  It wasn’t completely terrible, but out of the four I enjoyed this the least.  The normal back handed commentary with it’s satirical biting wit went by the wayside for all out brutal treachery.  The journey just wasn’t as fun as prior seasons.  I get it, this show was always a little hard to watch, given the knocks against human nature, corporate greed and the daunting political ecosystem, but I enjoyed the subtlety, dark edged humor, and the fact that despite it all, there was still some hope in the messages.  All that was crushed with realism, as if these fictional struggles are worries we must seriously consider in our own reality.  It’s spreading fear by making us aware of how others are spreading fear.  It’s not a bad lesson, but it does chop away entertainment value.  

I see now why Eric Kripke called final season.  The shock value of the “shocking” scenes that this show is known for is starting to wear off.  There’s only so much of Homelander winning that we can take.  There’s only so much of Butcher seeking revenge that we can take too.  To devote an entire season just to setup the final one opens up the storylines to a lot of delay tactics, not to mention hopelessness.  For those that watched Gen V, it ended very poorly too.  The good guys got captured, the bad ones were rewarded and became Homelander puppets.  That is just too much pessimism for me in one sitting.  

I appreciate extra focus on the internal struggles each one of the characters faced, but it didn’t seem they went anywhere, except for Frenchie and Kimiko.  Mother’s Milk is still a PTSD mess, Butcher personal growth ended being for not as he lost himself to his inner demons, Hughie cannot be good after all the crap they did to him, The Deep decided to go bad entirely, Ashley chose not to do the right thing, A-Train is redeemed but on the run, Ryan is out there doing who knows what and Annie still needs to prove herself.  I love the idea of the final season having all the supes that Homelander screwed over coming together to fight him, which should be about every supe out there, but given the cynical nature of this show, that is not likely.  There’s too much weakness and self serving interests in the characters.  I don’t see the puppies and kittens ending.  Not to mention there are other spinoffs planned, so closure in this universe might be limited to Homelander and Butcher.  

So what did we learn here?  There are no heroes.  Everyone on both sides are flawed and in some cases, psychopathic.  Don’t give into personalities, or you’ll find yourself on the wrong end of marital law.  Don’t build up heroes who with their power are very likely to do the wrong thing because absolute power corrupts absolutely.  Don’t buy into corporate promotional machines that give you hope.  Hope comes from within and from those around you, not from a woke marketing message.  Don’t vote for an asshat because he looks strong and powerful on TV.  Sound familiar?  It is a stern warning for our own country going into elections this year.

Overall grade of the season four finale, A-.  Overall grade of season four, C+.  That’s it for now, see you all for a revisit in 2026, this time with Soldier Boy!