Sister Sage's Lobotomy Was Delightfully Disgusting (& The Best Scene) in Boys Season 4 Episode 4 Review
While the fourth season of The Boys does not seem to be treading water, in episode 4 it does feel like The Boys is pulling its punches. The fourth season of The Boys opened with three episodes that, although entertaining, felt like much of the same. That's not always a negative thing; Prime Video's superhero satire can still find humor in the grim politics of our day, and its action still gets as nasty and brutal as it always does. Four seasons in, however the superhero spandex is somewhat thinner from overuse.
Midlife Crisis for Homelander
Homelander returns to the Vought lab where he grew up. Heeds the call home. Some of the very ones who carried out experiments on a young homelander are the naive staff members of this lab; despite his politeness, it is obvious that he is not there to make nice. Hammering home once more that Homelander is a sociopathic monster, this is an entirely predictable ending. Here, Antony Starr's wild performance is on full show; he keeps producing layered work even if the story around him falls short of the same heights.
Though "thrive" means something quite different to someone like Homelander, his midlife crisis is, so far, an interesting thread to tug at — not only is he worried about aging, but he also worries about legacy and creating a world where his son may thrive. This is the first time Homelander shows concern for someone in a way that actually changes his behavior; it's a fresh side of the character more worth investigating than his sociopathic one. Fortunately, the block now boasts a new sociopath.
Psychosexual Relationship of Sister Sage with The Deep
One of the new Supes in The Boys season 4, Sister Sage's character develops more fascinating every episode. Her psychosexual connection with The Deep is the best scene in episode 4. The most I've squined at The Boys in quite some time is watching him perform Sister Sage a lobotomy; the combination of Susan Heyward's horrific performance, the off-putting sexual chemistry between Sage and The Deep, and the act of the lobotomy itself is wonderfully repulsive.
Though Sister Sage's plan for world dominance is not much advanced, the foundation has been laid and today we know her a little bit more. Sage tells The Deep the rationale behind the lobotomy. Her mind is always running nonstop since her brain can regenerate itself while the rest of her body cannot; the lobotomy is the only way she could feel "normal". Though it's too early to say whether this will be relevant later in the season, this is the first we have heard about Sage's discontent with her abilities.
The Rest Of The Boys Are Dispersed Everywhere.
It's good to see Starlight fight in episode 4 following a three-episode hold-back. So far, Starlight has engaged respectability politics by teaming with the new president to limit Supes' influence in the government and adopting a pacifist attitude to the surrounding unrest. Seeing her beat down nut-job Supe Firecrackers as she peddles propaganda and conspiracy theories in front of Starlight's headquarters is fulfilling.
The riddle around Kimiko grows more complex, and Frenchie's affair with Colin ends tragically when he tells Colin he killed his family years earlier. Butcher is knocking on death's door while Hughie has given his dad V. Particularly since Starlight cannot now collaborate with the president, all of our heroes have reached a fresh low. They find an interesting posture here, and in the next weeks they probably only will encounter more insane events. With the series' endgame in sight, craziness hopefully helps pick up the momentum and maintains The Boys season 4 as fresh as it can be.
