THE BOYS fourth season will go down as the weakest, yet I have to give it credit for tying everything together nicely and setting up what should be a brutal fifth and final season. What keeps the fourth from soaring is that all eight episodes felt like a setup. Since the producers now have an endgame insight, the season plays like part two of a trilogy. All set up for the inevitable outcome. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. However, it does take away some of the power this show previously had with its shocking character deaths, big reveals, and timely social commentary.
And speaking of that social commentary. THE BOYS is no longer hiding that it’s directly spoofing the U.S. political landscape. They even had to remove the title of episode eight because it contained the word “assassination” in it. With right-wing supporters shouting, “Make America Proud Again,” and left-wing extremists being too woke, it’s all a bit too much on the nose and sometimes doesn’t serve the overall story.
The biggest highlight is still the disgustingly excellent Antony Starr’s portrayal of Homelander. Also, the latest Emmy snub proves that award shows do not like superheroes.
One character in THE BOYS states, “If we are going to win against monsters, we have to start acting human.” This is an aspirational sentiment, and I’m excited to see it play out as we head into the finale next year.
The entire fourth season is available on Prime Video.
