“The Boys” started with an interesting issue for our superhero-infused pop culture: what would happen if exceptional abilities were combined with corruption, neuroses, and corporate greed? However, that dark, satirical take on the genre has developed into TV’s most political drama, a trait that will be even more evident in its much-anticipated 4th season.
Don’t fall for the masks and capes, to put it simply. The fact that the most recent episodes are released as the United States prepares for a presidential campaign further highlights characteristics that have existed throughout the show’s existence on Amazon Prime Video, becoming the service’s defining series, including the spinoffs “Gen V” and “The Boys Presents: Diabolical.”
The 4th season sees the regular fight between superheroes under the uncomfortable control of Vought International and those who resist them. The nearly invulnerable, psychotic Homelander (Antony Starr), whose meticulously crafted public persona conceals such characteristics, is in charge of the first group, while Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), even though they frequently question his methods, is in charge of the latter.
The conflict between Butcher and Homelander over Ryan, the latter’s biological son (Cameron Crovetti), raises the question of nature versus nature and exacerbates the standoff.
More than any previous season, the new arc focuses on politics, due to the presence of politician Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) and attempts by Vought and Homelander to influence the political discussion.
This contains barely disguised allusions to a group that represents QAnon, the conspiracy-minded movement, as well as the use of propaganda methods to deceive the public and voters. At one point, the participants attend an event called Truthcon, where a banner reading “There are no conspiracies or coincidences” is prominently displayed.
The program also displays the secret scorn of people in (and with) power for their fans, which is made in a particularly “The Boys”-esque style.
To that end, there’s a new hero, Firecracker (Valorie Curry), whose political views mirror those of Vought News’ conservative pundits (she even has her own program). According to series creator Eric Kripke, the figure represents “conspiracy-minded movements and the super extreme right-wing news media.”
Without regard for nuance, Kripke and crew have ringed that satire with violence and excess, elements that seem natural in this universe, where the conventional ideal of heroism is exploited to mask horrific reality. Although the Deep (Chace Crawford), an Aquaman-like member of the Vought-backed superhero squad known as the Seven, is sometimes mocked, he sums up that philosophy when he realizes, as he puts it, “Violence is power.”
Inevitably, the upcoming season will have new, surprising, and awkward partnerships and the contentious (and apparently annual) issue of finding methods to deactivate Homelander, which does not seem like a fair battle.
Having gained a reputation as the most gory and kinky program on television, “The Boys” is under pressure to live up to the expectations of its fans. The eight-episode season mainly clears that threshold (or, if you prefer, limbo under it), with a few explosively humorous (and, not coincidentally, horrific) visual jokes.
Success has also allowed “The Boys” to play a lengthy game, so don’t expect too much closure from this season with a fifth and final season to come.
From that perspective, the series may have lost some of its freshness, but not its power to startle and provoke, peeling back its mask just a bit further to deliver a warning about the dangers of brilliantly colored fascism, a message designed to reverberate beyond its world into ours.
The 4th season of “The Boys” will premiere on Amazon Prime Video on June 13.
