Shows like The Boys always have an expiry date. Homelander (Anthony Starr) is the ultimate prize, but how long can he keep escaping?
It stands out from other superhero shows because it doesn’t try to sell viewers a binary view of the world in which there is good and evil.
Good and evil occur at varying measures, and people should be judged by both.
With Season 4 in the rearview mirror, it becomes evidently clear that The Boys has extended its welcome and might even have overstayed.
‘The Boys’ Works to Redeem Characters
When the show introduced Colin (Elliot Knight) and Frenchie (Tomer Capone), it was unclear why then.
However, this arc seems solely meant to redeem him from his past actions, like several other characters. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) doesn’t deserve good things after what happened to Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) late girlfriend.
No one is deluded enough to think that the Boys are saints.
Were it not for the fact that they realized they needed to make up for past mistakes, they would have been no different from Vought and The Seven.
A theme that emerges from the season is there is a deliberate attempt to redeem some of these characters. Whether from their hubris or crimes, the intent is there.
Frenchie and several others in the boys do not deserve to emerge from this unscathed. If the show was truly looking to fix these characters, having them face the consequences of their actions would be a great place to start.
Some sulking and turning himself to the police only to be released a few episodes later is not taking responsibility for Frenchie.
The most disappointing thing is deciding to make Homelander appear wise when he has not made a good decision in his life.
Did it really take this long to realize that everyone bends to his every whim?
If he realized that, why not chart his own way? That’s because he can’t. He works great as a dumb puppet; keep it that way.
Whatever Happened to the Virus and Gen V?
One of the biggest allures of Gen V was that events at Godolkin were bound to shake the entire world.
The first season spends a lot of time trying to prove how lethal and game-changing the virus would be, to the point of having Butcher make a cameo.
However, in The Boys Season 5, the show quickly shuts down that idea by saying it isn’t strong enough to kill Homelander.
No matter how lethal Homelander’s powers are, he has the same Compound V running in his veins. It would have worked just fine.
The appeal of having shows set in the same universe remain independent is great, but when a huge development happens in one show, it should affect the entire universe.
Even Sam (Asa Germann) and Kate (Maddie Phillips) are disregarded in the season despite the fact that God U is a factory for the seven members.
The show goes on an entirely different tangent, bringing in new members from nowhere.
With The Seven in such disarray and their future not guaranteed, what is the point of Gen V anymore?
The Boys manages to shock and wow with every installment, but gore and penises can only be entertaining for so long.
Every season ends on a major cliffhanger, and Season 4 is no different as they lay all their cards on the table.
Maybe revealing a thousand and one things in the last few minutes will interest viewers in what comes next. Is that the plan?
As the fifth and final season rolls around in the next several years, maybe the doozy events in the current might have escaped our minds.
Rating: 5/10