The Boys Season 4 Review: Superhero Satire's Razor-Sharp Edge Gets A Bit Duller In New Episodes

Two years on from season 3, The Boys is returning to a changed world (sort of). Superhero fatigue seems to have fully set in as Marvel and DC are both in the midst of retooling their film and television slates after diminished box office returns and middling responses from critics.

On the other hand, it’s an election year and, just as when the first and second seasons of The Boys premiered, Donald Trump and Joe Biden are facing off in a national election that will be just as divisive and exhausting as the last two. The Boys has always been prescient, and this season is no different, but it struggles to find a balance between satire, commentary, and the gross-out action and humor that the series is known for while still presenting something that feels fresh.

The Boys Season 4 Starts Off Strong

Dynamics have changed since the end of season 3

When season 4 begins, Homelander is having a midlife crisis, cracks are showing in the titular team, and a new threat has ascended as Victoria Neuman becomes Vice President and threatens to upend the US government with her covert pro-Supe agenda. It’s a welcome reprieve from the focus of the last two seasons: Homelander versus Butcher is sidelined for new stories, including an exploration of Kimiko’s past, Butcher’s reunion with Ryan, and Homelander’s plan for world domination.

Butcher is currently on the outs with his teammates after the end of The Boys season 3, with Hughie his only advocate. Having a new threat to deal with takes some of the pressure off of Homelander, and it’s a welcome reprieve for the series. Claudia Doumit is quietly sinister as the head-exploding VP Supe and her powers present a new challenge for The Boys. Her rise, coupled with Homelander’s relationship with Sister Sage adds new layers to villains that otherwise feel stale.

The Boys Is As Prescient As Ever — For Better & Worse

Season 4 settles into an all-too-familiar pattern

In its three-episode premiere, The Boys season 4 remains a distorted mirror of today’s moment as fascists infiltrate the government and a seemingly untouchable figurehead is the defendant in a highly-publicized trial. Homelander’s murder of a civilian in the season 3 finale is met with support from his “Hometeamers” — they insist that the man was a violent maniac attacking his son Ryan — but they are not without enemies. Starlight’s faction (dubbed “Starlighters”) is just as active on the frontlines of protest, leading to violent clashes in the first few episodes.

If it weren’t so prescient, it would be too on-the-nose. Instead, it ends up in a liminal space between genuine satire and a reminder of the bleak state of things. Kripke and the team behind The Boys had no way of knowing that the premiere episodes would be released mere weeks after Trump was found guilty in his hush money trial, but this fact doesn’t do the show any favors. The violence against protesters, the unstoppable blonde megalomaniac, and the deep state conspiracy theorists no longer feel like satire — the mirror isn’t distorted anymore.

As chilling as its social commentary is, though, The Boys season 4 retains a kinetic energy that somehow skirts around the creeping feeling of repetition and the depressing reality of its satire. Kripke and his team have found a formula that works, and it’s an entertaining one. There’s enough action and violence — and enough bad people on the receiving end of that violence — to keep us hooked.

The cast continues to excel as time adds depth to their characters. Starr, in particular, is able to add layers to Homelander that stop him from becoming a one-note villain even while his dynamic with the series’ main antagonist is beginning to feel that way. Explorations of Kimiko and Frenchie’s pasts also give Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone room to explore new sides to their characters.

The most intriguing addition to the show is Susan Heyward as Sister Sage, a new member of The Seven whose power is being the most intelligent person in the world. She’s the first person who is able to give Homelander a run for his money in the sociopathy department, and they make for a deliciously evil pair that will shake up the dynamics even more as the season goes on. In the first three episodes of season 4, The Boys is still an entertaining show, but its sharp edge is becoming a bit duller as time goes on, even when elements of the whole move in exciting new directions.

The Boys season 4, episodes 1-3 premiere on Prime Video Thursday, June 13. The remaining episodes will release weekly each Thursday until July 18.

Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca’s son as well as his job as The Boys’ leader. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it’s too late.

Pros

• Dynamics between characters shift in exciting ways in The Boys season 4.
• The action and violence The Boys is known for does not slow down.
• Homelander’s new partner Sister Sage is a standout character, as is his new story.

Cons

• Despite new dynamics, The Boys is beginning to feel repetitive.
• The Boys season 4’s prescience of current events undermines its social commentary.