The Boys Are Back and as Screwed as Ever in Excellent Fourth Season
Photo Courtesy of Prime Video
The Boys, Prime Video’s bloody, violent send-up of the superhero genre, has become one of the streamer’s biggest hits over the past few years. But with any high-concept series, it always begs the question: can it sustain that pace of shocking, surprising, compelling, and just jaw-dropping insanity for yet another year?
Thankfully, the answer is a resounding “f—k yes” for The Boys as it enters its fourth season.
Based on the 2006 Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson comic that ran until 2012 for 72 issues, the show started with a fairly simple pitch: what if superheroes were real, but instead of being altruistic ideals like Superman or Wonder Woman, they are corrupt assholes who are little more than super-powered reality TV stars that leverage their abilities for celebrity?
With that as the setting, the story largely follows a ramshackle group of covert government operatives (aka “The Boys”) tasked with trying to keep the out-of-control superheroes in check by any means necessary, from blowing them up from the inside out with explosives, to simply beating them to death in a public bathroom if needed.
The show has taken more than a few liberties with the finer points of the story beyond that, but the through line remains the same: superheroes are lying, corrupt narcissists and leaving that type of power unchecked could fundamentally destroy the world. Think Brightburn or Superman: Red Son, with setting the story right in the gritty mess of the people trying to keep the world from falling off that razor’s edge.
In Year 4, we see the stakes continue to ratchet up, as the powerful supe Homelander becomes more openly unhinged and the fraying mess of The Seven (basically a top-tier superhero team, like the Justice League or The Avengers of this universe) continues to burn out and fall apart around him. We’ve been slouching toward a potential political coup with supes possibly taking over the world, and Season 4 picks up those threads and doesn’t shy away from telling the story fans have seen them plant the seeds for over the first three seasons. It’s a wild ride, arguably the show’s wildest yet, which is saying something. Fans will love it; Season 4 is simply phenomenal.
The stellar main cast is all back for Season 4, led by Jack Quaid (Hughie Campbell), Karl Urban (Billy Butcher), Erin Moriarty (Annie January), and Antony Starr (Homelander). They’re as strong as ever, but Season 4 also goes deeper into the bench bringing out some excellent performances and story arcs for Laz Alonzo (M.M.), Jessie T. Usher (A-Train), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), and Karen Fukuhara (Kimiko). No spoilers, but if you’re fans of those characters, there is a lot to love in Season 4 for them.