Critic’s Rating: 4.2 / 5.0
4.2
Well, boys, that’s a wrap on Season 4.
And what a season it was. The Boys Season 4 Episode 8 delivered all the drama, action, and shock value we hoped for.
In the bloody and fast-paced installment that was The Boys Season 4 finale, we finally got the answers to some questions we’ve had all summer.
Plus, they left us on a cliffhanger. At least that will give us a lot to look forward to in Season 5.
Truthfully, Gen V Season 2 will likely address some of what just happened since several characters from The Boys’ spinoff had big roles in the events of this episode.
But until Eric Kripke gives us new seasons of something, our jaws will stay on the floor, reeling from the chaotic ending to a highly anticipated season finale.
Related: Gen V Season 1 Ending Explained: How it Connects to The Boys Season 4
Let’s dig in, shall we?
Shapeshifters, Sexual Assault, and Victim-Blaming in The Boys Season 4 Finale
First, congratulations are in order, kind of. Hughie and Annie are engaged!
Except, of course, they’re not.
I will always be a sucker for a mutual proposal. It shows how in sync a couple is.
But in this case, it doesn’t count as mutual because Hughie finds himself betrothed to a shapeshifting psychopath instead of the woman he loves.
Obviously, it doesn’t take too long for Hughie to figure out that Shifter Annie isn’t who she claims to be.
But it’s certainly understandable that he fell for the ruse as long as he did. It’s not every day that your romantic partner is suddenly replaced with an evil lookalike.
This brings me to Real Annie’s reaction to the whole thing. It’s bizarre that she was angry at Hughie at all, frankly.
Hughie was — quite literally, and for the second time this season — sexually assaulted as a result of mistaken identity.
Sure, he consented to sex with Annie, but consent doesn’t count if it’s given under false pretenses.
Annie had no right to act as though Hughie was anything more than a victim of this situation, just like she was.
It’s great that she came around eventually, but the whole thing really grinds my gears.
Related: The Boys Ending with Season 5!
Maybe it’s because this is the second time Hughie has been through something like this and has been given no sympathy for it.
I’m talking, of course, about the now infamous scene that took place in Tek Knight’s sex dungeon during The Boys Season 4 Episode 6.
Fans were shocked and disturbed by the scene, which involved Vaught exec Ashley and billionaire supe Tek Knight doing things to a disguised Hughie that I won’t detail here.
Supernatural References in The Boys Season 4 Finale Bring on the Nostalgia
On a more enjoyable note, we were given the gift of nostalgia in the form of several Supernatural references.
No, I’m not talking about the shapeshifter this time.
President Robert Singer, brilliantly played by the formidable Jim Beaver, tossed us some lines originally uttered by another character Beaver brought to life.
Supernatural’s grouchy but lovable father figure coined such classic expletives as “Balls!” and the fan-favorite insult “Idjit.” (Fun fact: his name was Bobby Singer on Supernatural, too!)
President Singer tossed out these zingers during The Boys Season 4 Finale, and it was another way for the writers to make us feel like we were in on an inside joke.
Who doesn’t love a good cross-reference?
Butcher’s Fight Against Time Continues in The Boys Season 4 Finale
The elephant in the room is that Butcher has finally completely gone off the deep end, and now everyone knows it.
It’s not just that he killed (read: ripped in half) Victoria Neumann, though that is certainly part of it.
Butcher has now been consumed by the Compound V-induced supervillain that has been growing inside him all season long.
Related: The Boys Characters Who Deserve a Spotlight Episode
He’s no longer interested in working the plan with the rest of The Boys.
Instead, he’s taking matters into his own — um — tentacles.
Clearly, this means there’s a whole extra battle to fight next season. As of now, there may not even be anyone left to fight it.
After all, the episode ended in a pretty bleak way, with most of the team either captured or fleeing.
Soldier Boy, Tell ‘Em
We did finally get a glimpse of Soldier Boy, who has been in a cryopreservation tank all season long.
It’s a shame, really, because fans were looking forward to seeing Jensen Ackles again.
He made a brief appearance in Gen V and more recently guest starred on the CBS drama Tracker, but Ackles has been absent from The Boys.
However, Homelander looks ready to “grip him tight and raise him from perdition,” as Castiel from Supernatural might say. So we’ll be on the lookout for more of Soldier Boy in The Boys Season 5.
While fans missed Ackles, this season had another breakout star, and she stole the show.
Sister Sage’s Strategies Pay Off in The Boys Season 4 Finale
Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) absolutely understood the assignment.
This is a complicated character — she’s smarter than anyone else (literally), she’s invincible, and she unwinds by lobotomizing herself.
As weird as that is, she’s still constantly calculating new ways to do the impossible.
Related: 13 Television Characters with Evil in their Veins
And look, I’m not saying I support what she did. I’m not Team Homelander by any means.
But she even said in the episode that she just wanted to test her limits.
What she did — ensuring that Singer would go away for Neumann’s murder and lining up a successor whose loyalties lie with Homelander — was less about her own political motivations and more about finding out how powerful she is.
Goodbyes All Around in The Boys Season 4 Finale
Now, obviously, The Boys Season 4 finale came with a fresh side of murder, and it wasn’t just Neumann’s head on the plate.
Ryan killed Grace, Butcher’s CIA agent friend.
Perhaps it was an accident; after all, Ryan doesn’t really know his own strength.
But either way, it was entirely preventable. Why did Grace and Butcher think cornering that kid who accidentally killed someone already was a good idea?
Not only is he powerful to an unknown degree, but Homelander has been in his ear, influencing his capacity for compassion and thirst for control.
It seems to me that there was a way to get Ryan to understand his role in taking down Vought without making him feel like a rat in a cage.
As we know, the episode comes to an end when the new acting president, Calhoun, deputizes supes (including some Gen V cameos) to report to Homelander. He orders them to capture The Boys, one of whom manages to escape.
Annie, whose powers are back, takes off to do who-knows-what while Hughie, Frenchie, Kimiko, and Mother’s Milk are all taken prisoner.
Friends to Lovers: Fine, I’ll Allow It
On the bright side, Kimiko finally found her voice after four seasons. It was a testament to how much she loves Frenchie.
Related: Jared Padalecki Reveals Plans to Join Cast of The Boys
I’m usually not a big fan of the trope that opposite-sex best friends have to eventually become romantically involved, but I can get behind Kimiko and Frenchie together.
He’s the only person who has shown her that he actually knows her. Hell, he’s the only one who even bothered to really communicate with her after all this time.
It’s a love that has endured, and here’s hoping they’ll get a happy ending somehow in Season 5.
Now What?
Now that Season 4 has come to an end, there’s plenty to discuss.
What are your theories about The Boys Season 5?
What did you love (or hate) about The Boys Season 4 finale?
The whole series is streaming on Prime Video, so check it out there if you need a refresher! Let us know all your thoughts in the comments, and check back with us soon for a full season report card.