Warning: Minor spoilers ahead for The Boys season 4, episodes 1-3.
Summary
The Boysseason 5 is already confirmed by Amazon, butseason 4’s opening episodes reveal the problem with the show’s future plans.The Boysseason 4debuted with three episodes on June 13, raising the stakes for the titular team asHomelander’s plans become more and more insidious. But whileThe Boys’new episodesturn up the heat on the conflict between Supes and their adversaries, they have one weakness that’s exacerbated by Amazon’s publicized plans to continue the series.
That’s right,The Boys’fifth season confirmationimpacts the early episodes of season 4 — andit also makes it harder to enjoy certain elements of the latest outing. While it’s exciting that the series has a future on Prime Video — albeit a short one — it’s less satisfying to guess where things are going based on that reality. Viewers can surmise that there are certain placesThe Boyswon’t go until season 5. Fortunately, this problem won’t repeat itself in the fifth outing, as Amazon confirmed thatThe Boysseason 6 isn’t happening.
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The Boys Season 4 Feels Like A Transitional Season Before Season 5
The New Episodes Focus On Several Peripheral Storylines
It’s exciting that Amazon greenlitThe Boysseason 5, but the show’s confirmed future has a noticeable impact on the fourth season. Rather than feeling like a high-stakes addition to the story,The Boysseason 4 reads more like a transitional periodintended to connect prior outings,Gen V, and season 5. Although the first three episodes of season 4 tease major developments later on, they place a heavy focus on side storylines that don’t have much relevance to the main plot. The subplots following Kimiko, Frenchie, and Hughie’s father are prime examples of this.
Although the first three episodes of season 4 tease major developments later on, they place a heavy focus on side storylines that don’t have much relevance to the main plot.
All of these storylines feel very peripheral toThe Boysseason 4’s overarching threat: the looming war between Supes who believe they’re superior to humans and everyone else. Of course, the first three episodes don’t totally ignore this. Homelander, The Seven, and Victoria Neuman have a few critical moments. However, even during these scenes,it feels like the show is gearing up forThe Boysseason 5. This build-up isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it makes the fourth outing feel less focused. It also meansThe Boysisn’t as fast-paced as it normally is.
Slow Pacing Is A Problem In The Boys Season 4’s Opening Episodes
The Prime Video Series Spends More Time On Its Characters
AlthoughThe Boys’writing and acting maintains its usual high quality in season 4,slow pacing is a major issue during the opening episodes. The members of The Boys team are struggling individually this season, and the new installments spend a lot of time exploring that. This gives viewers significantly more insight into the characters, but it comes at a cost. While the Prime Video series typically packs a punch with each episode, its fourth season unravels more slowly. Even with the main storyline, there’s a lot of talking and maneuvering this time around.
This won’t be a problem for some fans, but it could turn away viewers more interested in the show’s action sequences and twists.It’s certainly a change of pace fromprevious seasons ofThe Boys,which move a lot faster. Season 5’s confirmation may not be fully responsible for this, but it does feel like the series is trying to drag out its main story. And Amazon confirmingThe Boysseason 5 isn’t just slowing the pace; it’s also lowering the stakes, suggesting certain developments won’t happen during this outing.
Amazon Confirming The Boys Season 5 Has Lowered The Stakes For Season 4
Certain Deaths & Showdowns Seem Less Likely To Happen
The Boysseason 4 could pick up the pace after episode 3, butseason 5’s confirmation suggests that long-awaited developments won’t happen in this batch of episodes. For example, the majordeath teased inThe Boysseason 3seems less likely to occur with another outing on the horizon. Butcher taking on Homelander needs to be the climax of the Prime Video series, and that can’t happen if Butcher is gone. While season 4couldsurprise viewers, it seems more likely the show will find a way to keep Butcher around for the next chapter.
AsThe Boysseason 4 isn’t the series' last hurrah, it’s unlikely to take out any major players or resolve the show’s biggest storylines.
Likewise,The Boysis building to Homelander truly losing it and putting the entire world in danger. Season 4 is taking his character further in that direction, but the existence of season 5 means he won’t go completely over the edge until at least the end of this outing.The Prime Video show will probably save Homelander’s worst momentsfor its final episodes. AsThe Boysseason 4 isn’t the series' last hurrah, it’s unlikely to take out any major players or resolve the show’s biggest storylines.
The Boys Still Has Time To Escalate The Narrative In Season 4
Even ifThe Boyscan’t resolve the series' biggest conflicts in season 4,it still has time to escalate the narrative in the coming episodes.The Boysseason 4 consists of eight episodes in total, so it hasn’t even hit its halfway point. There’s plenty of time to turn things around, moving Homelander closer to his end goal — and making The Boys team increasingly desperate as a result. The series can still raise the tensions and deliver action and twists, even if it doesn’t feature the show’s biggest showdown in the next five episodes.
The most important thing is thatThe Boysseason 4 starts to bring its peripheral storylines together, either resolving them relatively soon or tying them into the overarching plot. Viewers are eager to see the personal and political tensions between the major players unfold, and it’s hard to make that happen when the characters are focused on other things. There needs to be some movement approaching the end of season 4, with the titular team coming together rather than keeping secrets and withdrawing from each other.
Homelander, Neuman, and The Seven also need to move into the openrather than manipulate the political landscape from the shadows. That seems to be what Homelander and Sister Sage are working towards. The stakes will be elevated significantly if they succeed, marking a more fast-paced and exciting ending forThe Boysseason 4 — and a great segue into season 5. Season 5 should feel much more urgent, as it will mark the end of the superhero series. Unfortunately, there will still be a wait until things truly hit the fan. Hopefully, the fifth outing isn’t too far off.
The Boys
Cast
The Boys is a gritty and subversive take on the superhero genre, focusing on a group of vigilantes who confront powerful superheroes abusing their abilities, exploring themes of corruption and moral ambiguity in a world where heroes are not always what they seem.
