THE BOYS – SEASON 4. Homelander’s grey pubic hair [Review of episodes 1-3]

Three episodes are already out. The ride has begun, exclusively for fans of this style, with Homelander immediately taking the spotlight at a political party and then in the bathroom. Right behind him are Butcher and the rest of the gang. I needn’t have worried that Season 4 would send “The Boys” spiraling into a boring superhero soap opera. From the very beginning, it’s intense, politically incorrect, linguistically explicit, and generally not for the faint-hearted. The show doesn’t exhaust itself in Deep’s erotic conversations with the octopus Ambrosia. The creators are draining the superhero genre for all it’s worth, showing us a normal society that wants its heroes and essentially molds them from political ideas and holy images. The diagnosis in “The Boys” is painful, not just socially but also family-wise. I can’t wait for Season 5, which will be the last, and that seems like a good idea. Great series should leave in full glory, and I assume the final season will maintain the standard.

There’s a new Noir, which might be surprising. As I mentioned in the title of the review, Homelander finds his first gray hair while peeing, except it’s on his balls. It wouldn’t be fitting if it were on his head because nothing in “The Boys” can be standard. Besides, we learn that the show’s main superhero has an enlarged prostate and is aging, which further exacerbates his perverse tendencies. By no means am I referring to his inclinations to pretend to be an infant suckling on full-breasted women. That was in previous seasons. Determined to gain power, Victoria Neuman will reappear along with her sup-daughter. Joining Homelander is Sister Sage – a walking leftist ideal, but in a distorted mirror, fighting for African American rights. Butcher will be as grim as ever, and his tumor will continue to plague him. Viewers will also be able to attend a party where six adult sextuplets masturbate together in a sauna. I only regret that Starlight is being kept away from the center of the action by the writers, but that might still change. The series pokes fun at all sorts of conspiracy theorists, anti-vaxxers, flat-earthers, and the like, suggesting that Tom Hanks is involved in a satanic cult providing children to pedophiles and other conspiracy theories. The only one missing from this crew is Trump, to whom there are bitter allusions in several scenes. There’s plenty to laugh at but also, unfortunately, plenty to cry over.

Some of you might think that “The Boys” is a show for half-wits who can only curse, objectify sex, and drink and do drugs. Nothing could be further from the truth. The intrigue in “The Boys” is so complex and multi-layered that it’s better not to drink during the viewing so as not to disrupt your cognitive abilities. The language is sharp but skillful, rich in metaphors, and the profanity isn’t meaningless filler. Since Season 1, the series has consistently built an alternate superhero reality in the USA using many means, both allegorical and direct – in a word, lifelike. In Season 4, it’s even sharper and closer to our Polish turf, both from a few years ago and the present, as things may have changed, but the behind-the-scenes deals remain the same. Similarly, in “The Boys,” the Seven still rule, though without Starlight and Maggie. Instead, there’s Sage, the new Noir, and Firecracker. Butcher and his crew hunt them, while Newman slowly reaches for power behind everyone’s backs. Despite occasional glaring plot inconsistencies, this promises an exciting finale for which we are certainly unprepared, much like the episode titled “Herogasm.” Before the premiere, I feared repetitiveness: similar editing, music, narration, footage, and clips from Vought’s meetings and ad campaigns – a large dose of the American world, so alien to us, and this for the fourth time. Nothing has changed in this regard. Surprisingly, I didn’t feel any self-plagiarism or boredom. The creators skillfully ensured the viewer wouldn’t get discouraged. They chose characters and focused on them – Homelander and Butcher – the game will be between them, and it only seems predetermined. I agree with some opinions that over four seasons, the intrigue could have unfolded more quickly, and Butcher shouldn’t be lingering until Season 5 unless the writers have planned a sudden recovery for him. He’s too important a character to be disposed of after Season 4, but will his illness lose its emotional impact if it’s dragged out until the end of Season 5?

After three episodes, I can say that I was captivated by the bathroom and mirror scene – Homelander’s charm still works as I described in my essay about him. Butcher also stuck in my memory with his calmness, something I wouldn’t have expected from him. The prospect of death changes things. A-Train is growing into an interesting character, while Hughie disappointed me. I hope he picks up, as in the scene with Jesus on ice – a very bloody one. I’m also curious about what’s behind the red doors and how it will complicate the moral assessment of Homelander. Is that possible? Referring again to our star’s pubic gray hairs with the American flag cape, after three episodes I still don’t see them, but even if I did, they wouldn’t scare me as much as they do Homelander, who panics at the thought of any imperfection on his body, which he can only calm by playing the role of a child in the arms of a lactating woman. For now, 10/10.