However, last year with the release of “Gen V,” a spinoff of “The Boys,” it became clear that it may not just be the genre at fault, but the people behind these projects. The spinoff series injected a fresh new buzz into the superhero genre in its own way, and “The Boys” continues the rich world-building of arguably the only franchise in super-department that matters. The key is the deliberate, confident pace of this season. While the writing is as sharp as ever, this season takes a slower approach than all its predecessors, and it’s all the better for it.
Picking up right where Season 3 left off, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) is reeling after being given a few months to live after taking Compound V. His mortality weighs down any chance of existing in a world where Homelander (Antony Starr) and The Seven are taken down, but it’s clear he would rather die trying than sit idle. But he has something that may finally do the trick: a virus–introduced in “Gen V” that has been created to specifically kill off Supes.
Despite taking a slower pace, have no fear, the show isn’t devoid of the shock factor that garnered this series a huge following. Instead of feeling like the show doesn’t know where to go, each of the shock moments feels integral to showcasing just how quickly this universe is unraveling. The world of “The Boys” is on the brink of destruction, and its characters are just as uncharacteristically vulnerable as the country they live in. Perhaps the most vulnerable of them all is the series’ main villain, Homelander.
When we’re first re-introduced to him this season, it’s with a close-up shot of his face, mouth turned down in a frown while his forehead strains under the weight of not only his anger but what seems to be fear. When the camera pans down and comes into focus, we can see he is staring at a gray hair he holds between his fingertips. As the season progresses, when he isn’t trying to stage a government coup, Homelander is staring at every reflective surface he passes, reckoning with his aging, and his childhood trauma.