The Boys: Season 4 – Review

7th August 2024

The Boys: Season 4 – Review. By Christopher Patterson.

A Smart and Yet Kind Of Boring New Season

The Boys has always been one of those shows I started watching when it came out and continue to. It’s one of those I stuck with every time a new episode came out since the first. It is sad to say that this new season has disappointed me. On its own, it is not a short stick, but it does come close. The issue is that it suffers from abundant repetition, feeling like almost every plotline feels dragged out for two seasons, or we have already seen it and now we are seeing it again since it was cool the last time. Instead of feeling like our leads are ever progressing in taking down the bad guys, they simply rely on the form known as talking and boring, stretched-out reasons as to why nothing ever happens, and when it does, it is, so surprisingly, done to random generic thrown in new characters that the plot can just use as shock value instead of killing off anyone. While this season shines in showing some new, scary antagonists, and it in some ways is the usual great stuff with the entire cast just owning their roles and giving it their all, it feels like the show should do more. The one thing it does rile up is the politics, which it does brilliantly, but that is really it. My issue would be that more core characters should die, sadly. It feels like plot armor is a nice synonym to describe the kryptonite they have against the idea of death. While this could work for two or three seasons, it is four seasons in, and it feels like the show won’t do more. It is comparable to catching up on a show you like, but that is mostly it. Just catch up so your best friend doesn’t accidentally spoil you.

A fundamental issue here is that the shock value has lost itself. No longer do moments of Homelander or anything hold value since you know the result. Either they die and that’s it or barely get away or are slightly injured if they are the main character. If they are not and show up once, then it is set in stone. It is sad when your show reads more like a math equation of how’s gonna die next so people don’t get bored than like a coherent, flowing narrative.

Imagine a show you watch that has like a thousand episodes—let’s say Pokémon—and now do you think Ash will ever die? Probably not, not just for the fact it is a kids show, but also for marketability and ratings, and also for the fact that the writers can’t because if they do, then the cast member won’t be on. Attachment. While I understand it, it doesn’t make it less annoying when you see leads in a show that the writers want you to believe escape death at their fingertips every single episode when it is obvious that won’t happen, so show something else. When this thought arises, the writing hides away for meandering character drama that sometimes reads like the writers are mimicking better shows than understanding the foundation of character communication.

The one area severely hurting season four is the derivative and somewhat copied nature of it. Simply put, seasons two and three feel far too similar in both intensity and plot, and it feels as though our heroes have done basically nothing and are still stuck in the same situation: trying to fight the overwhelming bad guys. Season four is even worse.

For instance, in episode four, where we see Homelander kill someone, It doesn’t feel shocking or stand out; rather, it’s just average and boring. We have seen him kill and have these switches so often that it all feels hollow now. The death he commits is now casual to expect rather than shockingly morbid. My issue is that Homelander and the continued representations of his morality have been overplayed so, so much and feel continued for the sake of memes online rather than speaking to something.

The major standout for this season is the new addition of Susan Heyward, who played one of the best roles in Orange Is The New Black. She owns the screen again with another fantastic performance. Her presence truly makes the show more interesting than it usually is thanks to what a fascinating character she plays.

My least favorite part of this season has to be that season finale. Truly, it should’ve been the midseason finale of the season, not the actual finale. Another issue is the shock value of it all. Victoria’s death was not just random but completely unneeded. It felt as though the writers couldn’t have her for the next season, so she was killed off randomly, which seems to work perfectly in the Boys’ more “shocking is quality” thing. She turns sides, might finally help our heroes, in a way the writers are trying to do something with her character before…. Shock reveal! And it all feels pointless. All of it.

I will repeat, Homelander is not as threatening anymore. We have episodes now where our leads just go to parties where Homelander is and casually escape, with Homelander seemingly barely putting in the effort to really go after them. In other words, our leads are essentially saved from any possible idea of death in the narrative and now it feels like they have plot armor and the fact that each cast member likely has a contract, which destroys the tension completely.

In seasons one to two, especially, if Homelander showed up, it meant something was going down. Now, he is just a joke who can’t kill our heroes since “that cast member can’t leave the show now.” I said seasons one to two since season three, for all its triumphs, still felt like that season where nothing but meandering happened and season four, I expected, would have more fight scenes and stakes. Instead, a slower, more boring season has been accomplished.

A key element this season provides is well-written politics and biting humor, which previously were never this apparent, and it’s amazing. It feels as though the writers are just having fun touching on politics and masterfully so, with each scene involving that area feeling poignant and well done, but that’s mostly it. For instance, when Starlight literally beats up Firecracker, none of Homelander’s goons do anything in terms of fighting back but rather observe which makes it clear none of our leads are in danger. They just let her get away. Instead, the stakes are on the more mental side of things, which makes things feel less possible in terms of death happening since now it feels like no one can die except for newer characters.

Another problem is how Butcher is written. To put it simply, he does absolutely nothing for the most part, with the exception of the finale. Instead, we are left with boring and overly done sequences in his head that bore the mind every single second it appears. It’s not scary his mind battles, but rather something The Boys use to avoid, generic and overly predictable.

That goes for our entire crew. Even in season three, the new villain played by Jensen Ackles gave some stakes, but here it’s all mind battles or more mundane things our characters fight off, and one thing this season makes clear is that more down-to-earth writing is what The Boys suffers most at. At this point, it’s comparable to Gen V, but as a representation of how Gen V did it actually right. For the most part, in Gen V, it’s understanding our characters, their surroundings, and how it forms them. There is a story, but for the most part, it’s our lead’s backstories and trying to get through life and making friends that compels the entire narrative. The Boys season 4 focuses on this more emotional aspect but falls right on its head. Hughie and Starlight, for instance, are a boringly written couple that represent morals, but it’s clear the show wants to add problems in their relationship but does it terribly. For instance, Starlight kills that clone of her but never really has dilemmas towards killing which seemed to be something our leads were a bit stuck on. Just a glance at the corpse, then cut. Even decisions our leads make unknowingly feel odd and morally gray but are never really questioned. For instance, that kid who saw her mom die by Butcher’s hands, who was literally knocked out of the room when it happened, seemingly none of The Boys give much of an emotion. Rather than have these questions, the series avoids them as usual for what it is interested in.

I have mentioned a lot of things that fit one line. Meandering. Hughie spends so long with his dad in the hospital and that drama, which is mediocre and boringly written with nothing that compelling about it. Butcher, as said before, is just some guy talking to people in his head for like most of the season. Starlight just sits around and does nothing for the most part except for a couple of things and another couple of things her clone does. Frenchie mainly does nothing but sit around and ponder his past choices and morality. I can barely remember what Kimiko did. My favorite character. The drama with Ryan and his dad is so old at this point that it’s like we already saw this two seasons ago. Ryan is angry at his dad. Butcher guides him but then hurts his feelings, and he goes back likely to his dad or whatever. Essentially, just bunches of soap opera drama that will make you pass out after the first time it appears. All our leads are doing nothing and are villains sitting around and just pondering the idea of doing things. This all could be an interesting half of a season or episode, but as a whole, it feels like a wide amount of nothing. Even worse, their goals seem all over the place. Nobody has a plan that really drives them anymore. It feels like a group of old people who failed their one job they’ve been doing for a while and just sit around and daydream for like ten hours.

To end off, here is an example. In one episode, the boys show up to Firecracker with a phone and something on it to incriminate her, and in previous seasons our leads would get beaten up or die or kill her; here, she just presses send. While this is biting commentary the writers are clearly aiming to reflect the kind of villain she is and something about society, aside from that, it reduces the stakes massively. Our leads can just walk in and be ignored like throwaway trash. Firecracker, after pressing the send, doesn’t even, I don’t know, attack them since they are down there to go after her; instead, she just kind of brushes them off, which makes it seem like our leads are nobody when they are major big deals in the universe who are killing sups. It makes it feel like the writers are coming up with ways to save our heroes.

VERDICT

The Boys season four is a strong return on its own, but sadly, it makes a continued dilemma with this show clear. Simply put, our heroes still feel trapped without any leverage, and their frequent attempts for four seasons all feel too minor and purposeless to a degree that makes this season very unfulfilling. It has taken four seasons, and it still feels like every main character couldn’t just die immediately for contracts, and if they did as a joke for some reason, they would have nothing against the villains who are seemingly casual about their presence. In a sense, you could argue, the stakes haven’t changed; they have just adjusted for a new season. Though I disagree. I would call it a situation where the writers feel less engaged by the Boys and their taking down of Homelander and more towards interesting ideas. Aside from that, the politics are well written and poignant, but that’s mostly all this season offers.

3.5/5

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