The Boys – Season 4 Episode 1 Recap & Review

Department of Dirty Tricks

Episode 1 of The Boys season 4 starts with Victoria Neuman stepping out on stage to rapturous applause. As she gives her big speech, Kimiko is there working as a waitress. Alongside The Boys, the team crash the party. However, Butcher is out back spewing his guts up. It’s a side effect to being on Temp V of course, and it’s a reminder too that he’s also on borrowed time. The rest of the team are wary over him, especially as he’s tasked with covering their exit rather than actually getting involved in the plan.

Elsewhere, Homelander gives Ryan a pep-talk backstage, making him repeat the mantra that people are “toys for their amusement”. He’s here to “support” the new administration but Neuman isn’t exactly happy to see him.

While they talk, remember what Butcher was told? About not getting involved? Well, he very much gets involved and speaks to Ryan when he gets a chance, pleading with him to leave. Unfortunately, Homelander shows and knows that Butcher is on borrowed time. As they leave together, it turns out Zoe, Victoria’s daughter, is also a Supe. Kimiko and Frenchie find themselves forced to flee by jumping out the window.

While the whole team is together, Victoria shows up to see Hughie, who’s shocked to learn Victoria has dosed up her own daughter with the compound. Unfortunately, Victoria is basically indestructible at this point and even a bullet to the brain from Butcher, who shows up and goes all Trinity “dodge this” on her, doesn’t do the trick.

After the botched operation, Butcher finds himself forced out, while Mother’s Milk faces the wrath from Grace Mallory. Two agents were killed by Zoe and their botched intel (about using acid to kill Victoria) fails spectacularly, especially when Hughie hits her with the vial and it does nothing.

Butcher meets up with an old buddy called Kessler, who gives him some encouraging words, especially as they’re matching closer to death camps, created by Supes to round up humans and dispatch them. For now though, the Seven need new members and Homelander is sick of everyone around him being yes men. The trouble is, they can’t exactly say no to him, given his power. As a result, he decides to pay Sister Sage a visit, one of the recommended Supes who happens to be the most intelligent person in the world.

When Homelander shows, Sage realizes he’s going through an existential crisis but she more than holds her own against him. Homelander is shocked but Sage is one step ahead, and ends up being a therapist to him as he pours his heart out and retorts how pointless everything is. She essentially compares him to Caesar, believing he shouldn’t be Naziing it up but instead, encouraging the people to fight amongst themselves and then acting as the “hero” to swoop in and save them. As a result, Homelander wants her to be part of the Seven.

Speaking of not saying no, Hughie refuses to back down and cut Butcher loose. He’s still part of the team, even if he is on the fringes. As for Butcher, he meets with Victoria late that night and tries to strike a deal. In exchange for stopping Homelander and working with Butcher, Neuman wants the material Hughie has on her regarding the Red River Group Home. The pair come to a tenuous agreement.

Hughie shows up at the hospital and finds his father has been admitted. He’s a bit of a mess, especially after not answering his call earlier in the episode. Hughie is consumed by guilt, while Mother’s Milk and the others decide to track down Todd and follow him.

As they do intel, Todd walks right into a horrid situation. The Seven are there and Homelander shows alongside Sage. With bats in hand, Homelander wants the Seven to beat Todd and the other hardcore fans to death. They do just that, while Mother’s Milk, Frenchie and Kimiko watch Homelander leave before heading to his trial.

Sage is outside in attendance at the courthouse too, dressed in Starlight’s colours, as Homelander is unsurprisingly found not guilty. She immediately riles things up, throwing coffee and screaming “fascist”, causing a riot to break out. This is all part of her plan, as both Annie and Homelander end up right in the middle of this. In fact, Homelander has A-Train plant the dead bodies of the hardcore Homelander fans right in the middle of this, to make Annie and co. look like the aggressors. However, they didn’t account for MM snapping photos of Sage outside the warehouse.

As the episode closes out, Butcher ends up seeing Becca in his apartment, who encourages him to do the right thing and be the man that she married. That includes not making a deal with Victoria. Instead of sending her the files, he instead attaches a explicit photo of his ass.

The Episode Review

The Boys is back and that dark satire that made the first 3 seasons so endearing returns here too. There’s a satirical wit running throughout the episode, and the same humour and style that made the previous parts of the show so good are still here too.

It remains to be seen exactly whether this season can hit the highs of the first two, given season 3 was somewhat of a step down, but there’s enough here to sink your teeth into all the same.

The inclusion of Temp V has added a new dimension to the show and it’ll be interesting to see exactly who comes out of this in one piece and who comes out victorious when all of this is said and done. One thing’s for sure though, this battle is far, far from over.