Commentary: ‘The Boys’ Downgrades Homelander’s Minder In Season 4

There’s no question that Homelander (Antony Starr) is the strongest character in The Boys. There’s also no question about just how unhinged he is. A reoccurring theme with Homelander is that he may just snap at any moment. But The Boys has a reoccurring way of trying to reign him in and bring him under control. This, of course, is through the use of a strong female figure. Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue) served this role in the first season while Stormfront (Aya Cash) handled it in the second. This past season of The Boys tried to do it again with Firecracker (Valorie Curry), but it’s not having the intended effect.

Firecracker is a fairly low level superhero. Her powers are nowhere near as strong as Homelander’s or almost any of the other major superheroes. The only reason she made the Seven and is on Homelander’s radar is because Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) wants to use her for her plans. Sensing an opportunity, Firecracker manipulated her hormones to produce breast milk as this is how Stillwell used to keep him under control. It was a smart move, except for the fact that they had begun making her sick.

The fact that the show constantly uses women to reign Homelander in says a lot about the character’s psychology. But from a storytelling standpoint, Firecracker is definitely a downgrade. As a human, Stillwell held a very particular role in trying to keep Homelander under control. It ended disastrously as he killed her. Stormfront was a big step up. Not only is she extremely powerful, but she was the wife of the Nazi scientist who created Compound V. She was a strong physical presence as well as a strong presence in the story as Homelander became more and more extreme. Firecracker doesn’t have anywhere near this notoriety both in terms of stature and storytelling potential. So things will probably end very badly for her.

The Boys is now streaming on Amazon Prime.