TV Review: ‘The Boys’ Continues To Meander In Season 4, Episode 6
by Frank Martin
The Boys is beginning to face a lot of the same problems that other series do when they run for several seasons. The program first began with a lot of tension as Homelander (Antony Starr) just couldn’t be contained. Now that he is off his leash and stepping into the realm of politics, he’s become distracted from his ultimate mission to be loved by everyone. Because of this, the story feels disjointed without the immediate tension that he could snap at any moment. That may come back in the season’s final episodes, but it feels comparatively minimized at the moment.
This episode primarily focuses on an elite and upscale party at Tek Knight’s (Derek Wilson) mansion. The Seven is there, which makes the Boys’ attempt to infiltrate the party that much more difficult. They have Hughie (Jack Quaid) disguise himself as a hero named Web Weaver in order to access the festivities. Unfortunately, this causes Hughie to subject himself to Tek Knight’s perverted sexual fantasies in his secret cave. Meanwhile, Butcher (Karl Urban) starts to unravel as he finally discovers his friend Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is a figment of his imagination.
The show still manages to have some fun moments, such as seeing this universe’s bizarre version of Spider-Man. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) also performed a genuinely heroic act — a surprise that may lead him down a more noble path. But seeing Homelander play politics is not the show’s strength. It completely minimizes the insanity his character is facing, and the shock value of seeing him breastfeed isn’t the character moment it was in the first season. There is still time left for this season to turn itself around, but it is going to have to end on an extremely strong note.