The Boys season four brings the gross action fans have become accustomed to. However, its use of social commentary becomes ham-fisted and forced.
Picking up where the previous seasons ended, The Boys are attempting to find a way to stop Victoria Neuman from getting elected whilst Billy Butcher deals with only having a few months left to live.
A solid plot takes a back seat to fragmented and disconnected story lines that often build to nothing.
Characters like Kimiko and Hughie are given story lines that don’t contribute much to the plot, other than shock value.
“All democracies fail”
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Most of the issues with this season lies with the poor writing
The season opens on a scouting mission that goes wrong. It has a couple of great moments with Butcher and Hughi, but after these moments it starts to go down hill.
In the time between seasons, not much has changed for The Boys except for Starlight becoming a full member.
A lack of development harms the crew of The Boys this season with many characters dealing with the same issues they’ve already sorted seasons ago.
Frenchie is the one hit the worst with repetitive story lines. For the first half of the season he’s back to being an addict and struggling with his hitman past.
Some controversy has also been levied at the show for “turning Frenchie gay.” Whilst never fully confirmed, from the first season it was hinted that he is bisexual. The backlash to his on screen queerness was frankly disgusting to see.
Butcher and Homelander’s rivalry takes a back seat during the season as well, instead most of the tension is focused on Homelander’s son Ryan.
Ryan remains the shows biggest issues. Since season two he’s skirted around the edges of being good and evil. Season four is no different.
His place in the story hasn’t been established fully as it seems he will be a bigger threat or ally come season five.
“Show me a little wrath”
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The Boys has always used dark humour to build up its drama and keep the events of the show from getting too dark.
The comedy this season goes too far in certain areas, adding almost nothing to the drama of the show.
Serious moments with Hughie are played for laughs which ends up leaving a sour taste in many viewers mouths.
The Boys has tackled serious issues since its first season, but its handling of continuous sexual assault during season four has been less than stellar.
This isn’t to say season four doesn’t do anything right, as in many areas it’s marvelous.
Butcher’s condition worsening over the season is handled very well and includes a number of surprises that are sure to keep the audience hooked.
The introduction of new “Supe” Sister Sage was the most effective inclusion that helped push the story forward in surprising directions.
Susan Heyward’s Sister Sage is an unconventional antagonist for the show. She’s not strong, nor does she possess a notable super power – Her strength comes from her intellect and how she effectively manipulates those around her to get her way.
She pairs perfectly with Antony Starr’s Homelander, with every scene featuring the two being a joy to watch.
On the topic of Homelander, he remains the shows most intriguing character as his backstory is explored throughout the season.
In the fourth episode, Homelander visits the place he was raised, and as expected, all hell breaks loose. It’s hard not to praise how terrifying Antony Star makes Homelander.
Another issue that has plagued this season that wasn’t present in prior ones is its reliance on repeated storylines.
The audience has already seen Frenchie and Kimiko face their fast, they’ve seen Homelander start to snap. It becomes a major issue when barely any of the core cast has changed since the second season.
However, a surprising change comes from once-enemy of The Boys, A-Train. Across his time in season four, he goes through major changes transforming his character from one note and shallow, to layered and interesting.
“The whole world is about to burn”
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Unlike early seasons of The Boys, season four sees the show stray further away from its original hook.
The once parady of super-hero cinematic universes slowly becoming one is incredibly ironic, but an easy route to take.
The finale of the season brings back the excitment that was sorely missed, but like every other season, the finale is always exciting.
Ending the way it does opens a lot of directions for The Boys to go down.
Only time will tell if season five can pull back the quality of the early seasons of the show.
Featured image credit: Amazon Prime Video