The Boys Season 4: Episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages,” started streaming on Amazon Prime Video. The episode is about a bloody visit from Homelander (Antony Starr) to the laboratory where he was raised. I have to say this because in every frame where Homelander speaks or looks, I wonder who he’s going to kill next. Yes, this episode is fantastically intense.
Episode 4 opens with Homelander revisiting his past memories, starting with seeking revenge in a subtle way by bringing a cake to his laboratory. Meanwhile, Butcher (Karl Urban), who has brain cancer, continues to suffer but refuses to give up. He gains strength from hallucinations of his wife appearing to him.
In the next scene, Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt) decides to remove the tube from Hugh Campbell (Simon Pegg), Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) father, which will kill him as he is already in a brain-dead state. However, Hughie refuses to do it. Annie January (Erin Moriarty) meets Dakota Bob (Jim Beaver), and they both agree to work together to take down Vought. Meanwhile, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) executes her plan and uses Firecracker (Valorie Curry) to give a speech intended to embarrass Starlight and reveal her past. Butcher returns to the Boys’ team with the help of Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) because nobody else wants him on the team.
Hughie and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) meet with A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) to get a dose of Compound V when the Light Liberation Army cell suddenly begins to attack them. Kimiko tells Hughie to either die or fight them, and they start fighting.
During Firecracker’s talk, she reveals a lot of bad things about Starlight. At that moment, Butcher and Mother’s Milk appear and blackmail Firecracker with a nasty thing she did at the age of 28 (Note: it’s very complicated to explain here, so watch it) to get her to reveal Sage’s plan. However, it doesn’t work because Firecracker openly admits her mistake to the world with the help of a pastor. Firecracker also claims that Starlight was pregnant with Hughie’s baby and had an abortion during the fourth month. This revelation makes Starlight even angrier, prompting her to get on stage and beat Firecracker badly (which is actually part of Sage’s plan) while it’s live-streamed everywhere.
Meanwhile, Homelander is busy brutally killing members of his former laboratory. During the fight with the pastor and Butcher, there’s a moment where Butcher is defeated. In the next scene, the pastor is brutally killed, revealing that Butcher still has his superpowers.
A-Train enters Homelander’s room to steal Compound V but is discovered by Ashley (Colby Minifie), who was also there for some reason. They decide to cooperate. A-Train then gives the Compound V to Hughie.
Butcher warns Hughie not to use the Compound V, but Hughie refuses, saying he doesn’t care about the possible aftereffects.
At the end, Hughie injects the Compound V into his dad’s blood tube with mixed feelings. Suddenly, his dad’s eyes open. Homelander kills everybody in the laboratory except for one member, whom he places in a room with everyone else’s dead bodies.
Overall, Episode 4 provides an emotional journey into the supes’ past experiences. Definitely worth watching. The next episode promises crucial moments.
The Boys Season 4 is now available on Prime Video.
