One Thing Is Uniting Every Character In The Boys Season 4

This post contains spoilers for "The Boys."

In a world where every facet of existence is owned by a corrupt megacorporation like Vought, whose celebrity supes are agents of chaos instead of hope, reality might start to feel a little strange. This is a world where parents willingly inject their kids with the DNA-altering Compound V, leading to messy, broken lives that spiral out of control, while socio-political power structures leverage the situation to further their agenda. The titular boys in the latest season of the Prime Video series already have it rough — years of fighting a losing battle against such deep-rooted corruption is bound to take a toll — but episode 4 makes it clear that each of them has something more dangerous to contend with: their past.

Granted, none of the boys have ever been saints, just like in Garth Ennis' source material, where the team, led by a hyper-violent Billy Butcher (played by Karl Urban in the show) has had their fair share of demons to wrestle. However, episode 4 makes the audacious choice to reveal some unsavory truths about characters we actively root for and accept despite their moral shortcomings. The previous episode gave us an uncomfortable confrontation between Seven member Firecracker (Valorie Curry), and Starlight (Erin Moriarty), where the former reveals that the latter used to be a bully during her pageant years, prompting Firecracker to harbor resentment since then. Although Starlight is not the person she used to be, and her behavior might have stemmed from her mother's encouragement to be ruthless, it still leaves a bitter aftertaste in terms of our perception of her.

That being said, episode 4 takes these themes to the extreme, where almost every character is hounded by something inherently traumatic in their past that they simply cannot shake off.

Frenchie (Tomer Capone) has been on an ongoing journey to outrun the past since season 1. Every revelation about the crimes he has committed (both willingly and on accident) has wracked him with ceaseless guilt. His relationship with Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), who has an equally traumatic and violent past, provided him with solace to a certain extent, as she emerged as an unconventional emotional anchor throughout season 3. However, this fleeting sense of belonging is not enough to sustain him now, as he finds himself tangled with the charismatic Colin (Elliot Knight), whose parents were murdered by the Russian mob when he was younger. The killer is none other than Frenchie, who presumably carried out Nina's orders without taking the repercussions of his actions into account.

Although Kimiko is incredibly supportive of Frenchie and Colin's romantic dynamic, she's unaware of the truth gnawing away at Frenchie's soul and is shocked when he shuts her out completely. Taking refuge in drugs, Frenchie hallucinates the inevitable confrontation with Colin and deems himself a monster for being directly responsible for his pain. Unable to cope with the pressure of these mounting emotions, Frenchie confesses the truth, leaving Colin shaken and devastated.

On the flip side, Kimiko struggles with who she used to be as a part of the Shining Light cell, as she is faced with a woman whom she had previously forced into a fighting arena to recruit her. The mere sight of children in cages repulses her, and she desperately wishes to make amends for her part in the cruelties that shaped everyone in the organization. In her case, there's an earnest urge for redemption that can only be granted by those she has wronged over the years. 

Some characters in "The Boys" have never known peace. Butcher is the first contender here, as vengeance and remorse have interchangeably driven his actions, shaping him into the man he is today. Butcher's acceptance that he's doomed exacerbates his maverick unpredictability, but lately, he has shown some grace to his friends, or is at least trying to. Starlight, on the other hand, has always ended up with the shorter end of the stick since she joined the Seven: severe trauma propelled her rude awakening that her naive dreams about being a hero in a ruthless world, and her consistent attempts to be kind have been thwarted (and ridiculed) many a time.

With Firecracker intent on ruining Starlight's reputation further, the latter has to relive unsavory aspects of her past self and accept that her actions have contributed to this targeted tirade against her, even though she is a changed person now. However, what's completely unwarranted is how her past is weaponized against her in the most disgusting manner: Vought leaks her abortion papers to the public, causing her to spiral and beat Firecracker up in front of cameras. Even the rookie mistakes she made early on in her supe career are put on full blast, causing Starlight to mire in guilt. Firecracker had it coming, obviously, and as Hughie (Jack Quaid) states later on, her private decision about her body is not anybody else's business.

Speaking of Hughie, the past literally catches up with him after his father has a stroke, as he bumps into his estranged mother at the hospital. The confrontation is emotionally distressing, as forgiveness is hard to dole out even in the face of honest accountability, and the quiet promise to do better.

Homelander (Antony Starr), who perceives his need for emotional validation as a weakness, decides to visit the lab he grew up in to nip this sentiment in the bud. This journey to the past riles up traumatic memories, including being treated as a guinea pig, tortured for experimental purposes, and ridiculed by the staff on certain occasions. As Homelander is devoid of any capacity to forgive or show mercy, he kills these people in an increasingly graphic fashion, believing his retributive violence is enough to "cure" his condition. I do not believe this is the case, as Homelander's aberrant psychopathy ultimately stems from his twisted worldview and narcissistic tendencies, where his lack of empathy for anyone but himself weighs heavier than any glimmer of vulnerability present in him. The cracks have already started to form, and he has lashed out many times without check, and he will continue to do so.

When it comes to Butcher, the after-effects of Temp V are not only taking a toll on his body (he's puking a tar-like substance, and has worms crawling underneath his skin) but also his psyche. He's haunted by Becca's ghost, which is a manifestation of his conscience, as her phantom is ready to chastise him when he gets off-track or indulges in anything too immoral. Butcher is already making attempts to save Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), but he's in a race against time, fated to be remembered for his brutality no matter what he does.

"The Boys" is throwing some heavy curveballs this season, and it remains to be seen whether the titular group overcomes the chains of the past (sans MM, who already seems stressed out by everything) and moves forward toward their unified goal of taking down Vought.