“The Boys” has returned to Amazon Prime Video for a fourth season. On June 13, Amazon released the first three episodes and additional episodes are scheduled to be released weekly every Thursday. This season has been much anticipated among fans, as the past three seasons have been well-received among viewers.
We open with “The Boys” undergoing a clandestine operation to take out a supe. While they have always aimed to take down Vought and their heroes, we see the team going after a new target, Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit). We learned that in season three, she was responsible for the deaths of the members of Congress.
Now “The Boys” are attempting to take her out under the direction of the CIA. The team also has a new dynamic, with Marvin (or Mothers Milk) in charge of the team. Butcher has been put on the back-burner due to his failure to take out Homelander in season three.
In this new dynamic, we see Butcher continue to pursue Homelander by himself and aims to prevent Ryan from becoming his father, while the rest of “The Boys” are working on a solution to kill Neuman. Within Vought, now that Homelander owns the company, and controls its assets, he is dissatisfied with how unfulfilled he is, along with that battle. He is now battling something he can’t laser his way out of: aging.
To avoid spoilers, this season takes on new and old challenges from every character. Butcher dealing with the negative effects that “Temp V” had on his mind and body, Mothers Milk learning how to navigate being the team leader and we see new supes joining Vought and current members wavering.
Under Attack for Being Woke
The first three episodes have been well received by fans, with an average audience score of 73%, and 93% from critics according to Rotten Tomatoes. This is the lowest-rated season of “The Boys” so far and recently has come under fire. Fans are accusing the show of going “woke” because of a character being bisexual.
The show has always shown its true colors as a criticism of right-wing politics and being heavy on satire. Fans historically have been okay with the myriad of grotesque sexual scenarios such as orgies and bestiality. Furthermore, characters have made morally questionable decisions and downright egregious acts of violence. Yet for some, they draw the line at bisexuality.
“The Boys” has never attempted to hide the message it portrays. Eric Kripke, the creator, said that the show has always been a critique of right-wing politics and authoritarianism in the United States.
Parallels of America
This new season does well to lay on the parallels of modern American politics. We see the characters witness a new rise of patriotism for Vought and Homelander and buy into the lies that are portrayed by Vought. We see extremists threatening peaceful organizations and platforms being used to spread hate and misinformation.
We are kept on edge right off the bat with the tension left over from the third season. Every time Homelander is on screen, it feels as if we are watching a ticking time bomb. Over the past four seasons, we have seen Homelander become increasingly more unhinged and power-hungry. Season four feels as though he is ready to blow at any moment.
We have seen a similar increase in the amount of political strife and civil unrest the universe of “The Boys” is facing. The show has always had a clear direction of the characters’ goals while still keeping the viewers intrigued and guessing. The show also does not hide the incredulous amount of violence, and during a fan panel at the Toronto Fan Expo actors Jack Quaid, who portrays Hughie, and Laz Alonso, who portrays Mothers Milk, said this season has some of the worst gore seen so far.
Quaid said, “There was a scene we shot this season, there was a moment where I found my line, where I went ‘uh, this is too much for me,’” Quaid said. “I actually had a moment, usually I am pretty good with blood and gore and all the messed up stuff we do. But this season I said ‘Nope, this is too much for me.’”
Alonso added, “This was the first time in my life, not the show, in my life, where I broke character and screamed. It caught me so off guard, that I was out of character at that point. But nobody yelled cut so I had to get back into character and keep going.”
The show has set itself up for some of the most thrilling “The Boys” content we have yet to see. While the show has faced backlash, the expectations and anticipation are set high for this season.
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