‘The Boys’ Season Four Premiere Review – Mid-Life Crisis And Daddy Issues

Amazon Prime’s The Boys has always gone bigger and crazier. Have the first three episodes of season four lived up to that tradition? While absolutely nothing could beat Herogasm from season three, season four chooses to balance the crazy with the sentimental. There’s the usual brand of vulgarity and shock value, but the moments that touch upon real issues are where The Boys shines this season. 

Slight Spoilers

Season four has a lot of ground to cover, but it’s not rushing its way to the finish line. The two huge dynamics in season four are the relationship between Homelander and his son Ryan and Billy Butcher’s limited time on this Earth. Both are equally intriguing and are being approached in manners that make you want to continue on with the season.

The dynamic of Homelander and Ryan always feels unnatural. Sure, Ryan essentially made the decision to go with Homelander instead of Billy, but it’s not a happy-go-lucky father/son relationship. Perhaps there was some chance at some point that Homelander could have been a good father and had a turn in his life and personality, but the show isn’t going in that direction. He simply does not know how to be a father and it’s starting to show that not only is he terrible at it, but he can’t even let his son be the person he was even amping him up to be. Any chance to show that Ryan is this magnificent being who is literally the first natural-born superhuman, Homelander’s ego steps in, and he has to overshadow this moment.

Ryan Will Have to Make a Choice

Scenes between Homelander and Ryan are uncomfortable. Scripted. Fake. The scenes between Billy and Ryan are also uncomfortable but in a different way. They’re raw and honest, and you can sense both are awkwardly stumbling on their feet trying to get to something akin to a better relationship. Billy’s commitment and love to Becca, as well as his looming time clock; is making him a different person this season. Sure, he’s still an asshole and you can’t blame M.M. for beating the shit out of him. But, Billy is contending with his limited time and he’s approaching things with Ryan differently, which makes you hope that he can finally save Ryan from Homelander this season.

Other Themes

There’s a lot going on in this season outside of the aforementioned topics. A-Train continuously sits on the fence between doing good and bad, as he’s done for the previous seasons. While he’s helped the team from time to time, he falls back to the status quo of being a Vought-bought Supe. The Deep has slight character development, but it’s not huge. And the “who is under Black Noir’s mask” is equally disappointing and hilarious.

But, something tells me the show is gearing up to kill off Frenchie. The first three episodes focus on him and his sins of the past. We have moments that seem like he and Kimiko are making peace with each other and Frenchie’s right to find love. It could be considered nice in any other show, but it’s raising some flags that are worrisome for fans. Please, The Boys, don’t kill off Frenchie!

As a final point, let’s talk about the new characters this season. With the “death” of Queen Maeve, Vought needs more Supes to fill up the Seven. And why not introduce new characters? Someone like Firecracker feels on par with the kind of commentary the show always makes when it comes to real-life politics, though; they’re seemingly giving her a little more depth than they did with Stormfront with the scene between Firecracker and Starlight.

The Real Mastermind

But, Sister Sage is a standout this season. Not only does she challenge Homelander, but she is unbelievably smart. It is incredibly enjoyable to see what web she is weaving. Every time she is on the screen you have a feeling that she is five steps ahead of everyone else. That should be a given considering she’s the smartest person in the world, but as a viewer, it feels like whatever happens this season will be all part of her plan, which will shock even Homelander.

So far, season four is good. Now that we know that the next season will be the last one, it feels like we have some clarity into how this show intends to end. What will happen from here is anyone’s guess.

What do you think of season four of The Boys so far?

The Boys is currently available to stream on Prime Video. New episodes will be available every Thursday.