The Boys end of season 4 review: the gory superhero-hating show gets political as it sets up for its final season

By John Caro, University of Portsmouth

As this season of The Boys, Amazon’s superhero-hating blood fest, comes to a close, its storylines have grown closer to our own reality as the show gears up for its fifth and final series.

Notably in this US election year, Homelander (Antony Starr), the super villain we love to hate, has unquestionably become an analogue for Donald Trump. Throughout the entire series, Homelander finds that not only does his increasingly bad behaviour go unchallenged, but in the divided political landscape of The Boys, the worse he behaves the more his approval goes up among his followers.

With the assistance of his new colleague, the super intelligent “Sister” Sage (Susan Heyward), he manipulates the media and effectively discredits his opposition, with the planting of agents provocateurs and unproved accusations of paedophilia.

Season four of Eric Kripke’s adaption continues the tale of the brutish Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and his eponymous anti-superhero group’s conflict with the vicious Homelander, along with the corrupt Vought corporation that created him. The latest storyline doubles down on the satirical content and manages to be both thought-provoking and entertaining.

There has been some discussion that the current season is more political than previous entries, but given the ongoing hints that Homelander is building up to a run for office, it’s not really much of a surprise to anyone who has been paying attention. After all, over the four seasons to date, he has gone from celebrity superhero to the de facto CEO of Vought International.

https://youtu.be/EzFXDvC-EwM?si=rJKqO541pW_Ubf-v

The supposed backlash from some viewers is a topic that both Kripke and Ennis have addressed in recent interviews, with both making the point that The Boys was always designed as a criticism of the political right. In a discussion with The Hollywood Reporter, Kripke expressed his frustration:

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