Let’s call this episode out for what it is: one of the best episodes in the entire series. Season five, episode four is named “King of Hell” and the best way to describe it is a tea kettle boiling over. There’s some filler content surrounding Annie, which we suppose was a necessary break from the otherwise intense pacing the rest of the episode has; but in reality, we couldn’t wait for those scenes to be over so we could get back to the good stuff.
Episode four follows many of our main characters to Fort Harmony in search of the V1 that Homelander desperately wants. What happens once they get there will be familiar to Supernatural fans, as the theme of “hey, there’s something supernatural here that’s stoking the hate in all of us until we try to kill each other” was definitely explored once or twice in Eric Kripke’s other well-known show. And while Jensen Ackles did a great job in that same scenario while playing Dean Winchester, his portrayal as Soldier Boy in episode four was nothing short of a masterclass in acting.
Actually, all of the actors did an amazing job here. You could feel the anger and visceral through the screen. The fact is, there were a lot of unspoken issues bubbling below the surface and there was a lot that needed to be said. The effects of Fort Harmony gave them all the ability to say so and while they may have almost all killed each other, it did allow our main characters to get shit off their chests, and decide the best course to move forward. Were we sad that this meant, yet again; that the show seems hellbent on separating Kimiko and Frenchie? Yes. Hopefully, this is just temporary, but it was a more organic and believable way of breaking them up than whatever season four was trying to do. Seriously, though; can the show stop trying to convince us that they aren’t soulmates?
Speaking of Frenchie, he was an absolute standout this episode. While everyone was trying to kill each other, Frenchie was the levelheaded one, and he did a fantastic job in trying to keep everyone steady, while having an unexpectedly poignant moment with Soldier Boy. Not only did this scene give Frenchie depth, but also gave depth to Soldier Boy. We don’t know if Soldier Boy’s story will turn out anything like A-Train, but it’s nice that Ackles has been given a character very different from his comic book counterpart.
Overall, episode four was great, and hopefully, this is the kind of pacing we can expect from the rest of the season. The end of episode four rolled out Homelander’s big new branding in a way where there’s no turning back. Let’s see how it goes.
A girl with too many fandoms to count.
