The Boys Season 4 Episode 5 “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son” takes us over the halfway point of the season (8 episodes total), and the season has arguably delivered the densest character work wrapped in the most overtly political narrative yet. Episode 4 has become a quick fan-favorite with its horrifying look into Homelander’s birth and formative years – while The Boys team both took and delivered some hard hits.
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There were also several new mysteries thrown in the mix that Episode 5 had to answer – read below for the full SPOILERS breakdown!
V52 – A sizzle reel of footage from the Vought Cinematic Universe plays, be it clips of movies like “Dawn of The Seven” or promos for their news entertainment shows with the familiar talking heads (Cameron Coleman), or real-life promos featuring the various members of The Seven (Homelander, A-Train, The Deep). We cut to a crowd dressed in cosplaying as members of The Seven, in what is revealed as the “V52 Expo” (in mockery of Disney’s D25 Expo). Coleman (Matthew Edison) and The Deep (Chace Crawford) take the stage and hype the crowd; meanwhile, Homelander (Antony Starr) is standing offstage and is having another psychotic episode, with flashbacks of himself at various traumatic stages of childhood in the Project Odessa lab colliding with his memories of Ryan’s disappointed face. Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) appears at Homelander’s side and asks him if he had a nice trip home. When Homelander looks twitchy, Sage switches to praising the turnout for the event and the crowd’s love of him, adding the dismissive slight of calling it “bread and circus,” which further annoys Homelander. The Deep (in mockery of Marvel Studios) presents “phases seven through nineteen” of the Vought Universe Timeline of upcoming content, with Coleman promising exhaustive details. The crowd goes wild.
Super-Dad – Hughie (Jack Quaid) is in the hospital room with his mom Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt) examining his father Hugh (Simon Pegg), who was dying until he got a dose of the Compound V A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) stole for Hughie. Hugh Sr. is unbothered, applying chapstick while recalling that he was shopping for pizza rolls when he blacked out – he’s convinced the medical diagnosis must’ve been wrong. Hughie gets his mother in the hall and confronts her: he knows that he stopped short of giving his dad Compound V, but also knows Daphne proceeded to do it without him. Daphne admits it, saying she interpreted it as his wish; Hughie shares his concerns based on all the horrible things he’s seen happen with Compound V in the past (Butcher). Daphne says she couldn’t let Hughie lose another parent after being absent so many years and seeing what it did to him.
Truth (Bomb) Hurts – Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is watching the FIrecracker’s (Valorie Curry) show “Truth Bomb” where Firecracker is sharing her reaction to Annie beating her down on live TV. Firecracker’s rhetoric about Starlight (and her secret abortion) has been turned up to an 11 (out of 10), and she adds Annie killing supe evangelist (and closet sex deviant) Ezekiel to her list of conspiracies. Firecracker declares an official culture war, with the Starlighters as an enemy of America. Annie looks around her Starlighter political group headquarters, which has been vandalized and defaced with graffiti, realizing she is losing that culture war, badly.
Like Father, Like Daughter – Mother Milk (Laz Alonso) and his ex-wife Monique (Frances Turner) are co-parenting their daughter Janine (Liyou Abere) who has been suspended from school for fighting. Janine counters the usual parenting mantras by revealing that she had an argument with another student about Homelander’s true nature, and when the other student called her derogatory names, she hit him. She says she’s fighting like she knows M.M. is fighting, and Monique is not happy to see that father-daughter connection taking shape. Janine is sent away, and Monique is clear: after losing her man Todd to Homelander and Vought, she’s done with her loved ones being involved in supe matters. She commands M.M. to fix the situation.
Cloak and Dagger – Butcher (Karl Urban) meets his CIA buddy Joe (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) in the park, where Joe shares new intel on a Neuman’s virus-testing facility, and offers to join Butcher on the mission. Butcher starts to refuse but Joe insists that The Boys team is wholly dysfunctional at the moment; Butcher insists they’re alright and Kimiko is still a great weapon, but Joe points out this is his last shot at Homelander (brain tumor) and it’s not time to go soft and sentimental
In Need of New Mission – Annie, Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) are at Boys HQ where Annie asks Frenchie where his lover Colin is – because he’s also one of the top organizers of the Starlighters movement. Frenchie plays off Colin’s absence, not wanting to confess their fallout; Kimkio sees him snorting drugs and knows something is off, so she asks. Frenchie lies that he’s fine and asks Kimiko the same; she lies that she’s also fine. Butcher enters and makes fun of the team for looking so down – Annie angrily exclaims that she’s getting blamed for Butcher’s murder of Ezekiel; M.M. wants the explanation of how that happened and doesn’t believe Butcher saying he doesn’t know. The subject gets changed to Butcher revealing that he knows about the supe-killing virus that was developed in The Boys spinoff series Gen V. He knows it won’t kill Homelander but thinks it could kill Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) and stop her march toward the presidency. All they need to do is still the virus from Neuman before they use it on her. Annie and Kimiko have obvious objections to unleashing the virus, but M.M. agrees it shouldn’t be left in Neuman’s hands. The group agrees, but Butcher throws in a big caveat: Annie getting him a presidential pardon.
Remembering the Holy – Firecracker has a sizzle reel of footage for her faith-based views playing, followed by a remembrance tribute video to Ezekiel. Sister Sage and A-Train watch from the sidelines, and A-Train kicks up a conversation that he probably shouldn’t have. Sage turns the convo toward her search for the mole that stole and leaked the footage to The Boys, commenting that it didn’t “run itself out of Crime Analytics.” A-Train smiles through it, offering to help her. When she’s gone he clearly looks worried.
Jailbird – Butcher and M.M. go to the jail to visit former Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). Stan tells his guard to stay close and informs The Boys he has a pottery class to get to. Butcher catches his interest by slapping the presidential pardon on the desk offering a deal that if he helps them get Neuman he’ll get freedom. Stan refuses, out of his fatherly loyalty to Victoria – until Buchter plays the ace card of telling Stan that Victoria gave her daughter Zoey Compound V, turning her into a freakish tentacle-mouthed monster. Butcher adds custody of Zoey to the deal, and Stan finally accepts. Stan meets the full Boys’ team outside the jail, acknowledging Starlight in particular. Stan wants a towel to sit on before getting in The Boys’ dirty van.
Family Reunion – Daphne is feeding Hugh a fruit cocktail, as they reminisce about a trip to Acapoco they once took, arguing about why Hugh ended up buying a timeshare there when he hated the trip so much. Hugh has a lot of renewed wishes for family vacations to various locations – including Paris; Daphne gives Hughie a necklace of her he always loved, apologizing for not being there but revealing she wants to have that family dynamic back. Hugh also apologizes for keeping Daphne out of Hughie’s life, and Daphne gets emotional and walks away. Hugh senses tension and Hughie admits he feels some kind of way about Daphne getting power of attorney over Hugh. Hugh reminds Hughie of their cat Jar Jar who got cancer, and Hughie refused to let him be put down, even when the cat’s quality of life was so bad it was suffering. Hugh makes the point that Hughie is a wonderful person for the depth of his love and personal attachments – but when it came to making the hard choices about life and death, he chose Daphne so as not to end up like poor Jar Jar the Cat. The first weird sign of Compound V side effects appears when Hugh doesn’t remember that Daphne left the room, a symptom he quickly plays off.
Vacation Home – Stan leads The Boys to a vacation home he suspects Victoria Neuman is using as a hideout and/or testing lab. Inside the lodge-style home, Butcher and Co. find bloody handprints all over the wall, leading down to an actual lab. There are signs of horrific experiments having taken place, with crushed vials of Compound V seen over a drain. Butcher finds a bunny in a cage and sets it free, making Kimiko smile at his softer side. Frenchie examines a fridge of samples, explaining to M.M. that there used to be iterations of the virus being tested but they’ve all been taken away. Right on cue, everyone’s noses start bleeding, as Victoria Neuman, her security, and a few scientists all come sauntering in. Neuman is hurt that Stan betrayed their beloved home to her enemies – Stan sarcastically counters by asking why Neuman would be surprised that he betrayed her after she betrayed him. Neuman wants to know what happened to someone named Sameer, but Stan mediates by acknowledging Sameer is a key ally he too would’ve brought in. Stan and Neuman acknowledge their stalemate: if she hurts The Boys, they expose her as a supe. Stan proposes Neuman use the team to find out about Sameer, because if they die, who cares? M.M. doesn’t love that.
Hall H Trailer – The official trailer for “Training A-Train” plays for the crowd at V52 Expo, with Will Ferrell’s coach character featured in the scene we saw him filming in an earlier episode. While A-Train panders to the crowd about the film being near and dear to his heart, The Deep and Cameron Coleman have a talk about Coleman’s salacious reporting on the Deep’s personal scandals. Coleman explains the need to look impartial by criticizing Vought now and again, claiming it’s not personal. As A-Train wraps up his promotional speech, Deep and Coleman come on to do even more pandering about how The Seven now has two black members, demonstrating a diversity initiative that has been branded as “Black At It” featuring imagery of A-Train, Sister Sage, and Black Noir on a promo banner. The Deep reveals that new interactive features will allow Vought to digitally alter product placement in its content, with black fans seeing Vought cognac instead of, say, the IPA beers white fans see. The black fans in the crowd look like the presentation is suspect, while A-Train stares down Sister Sage, wondering how and why she’s allowed this.
Ryan: The Show – Ryan Butcher (Cameron Crovetti) and Homelander are in a meeting with Dawn of The Seven director Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne), walking through Ryan’s panel presentation at V52 Expo. Ryan will be debuting the new TV series based on him, Super School, a title Homelander doesn’t love. Bourke walks through Ryan’s presentation, and how he’ll be pitching to the crowd as the next generation of super-savior. An assistant named Bonnie (Conni Miu) comes in, and Bourke clearly has personal designs on her. Homelander asks Ryan what he really thinks of Super School, and Ryan doesn’t like it, so Homelander says he doesn’t have to do it. Bourke tries offering favors and producer credits to Ryan, but Homelander intimidates Bourke into giving the kid his black Amex card, and the keys to his Jaguar. Outside in the hallway, Ryan presses to know if Homelander is mad at him for disliking Super Schoo, but Homelander insists he likes his son speaking his mind. Homelander opens up and tells Ryan about his years of being controlled and manipulated, and how his “reflective journey” to Project Odessa gave him the breakthrough that he’s repeating that cycle as a dad. Homelander declares that a new era is beginning where he and Ryan have no rules to follow.
Back on the Farm – Victoria and Stan walk together across the snow-covered land of their farm, with Stan lamenting when he steps in a puddle of something brown sinister. Victoria recalls loving the farm for its freedom, but Stan counters that she’s turned her beloved place into an infectious disease lab and sniffs out that she’s after a method of controlling Homelander – who Stan knows is too unstable to be controlled. They argue about who has been the worst parent to Zoey, but Victoria calls Stan out for forcing her to live as a closeted supe, while Zoey will never have to go through that. Meanwhile, Butcher and the team conspire on have to take Neuman out once they find the virus. Butcher notices a barn with the door left ajar. Inside, they find one of Sameer’s lab assistants dead with his abdomen blown out and two eggs left sitting in it, and are subsequently attacked by crazed super-chickens who had been test subjects. Bullets can’t stop the birds, but Neuman explodes one bird’s brain before it can hurt Stan. The group retreats outside where Neuman and Butcher argue, and Neuman exposes Butcher’s planned treachery of giving her Hughie’s files proving she’s a supe in exchange for securing Ryan. Annie is furious with Butcher who she thinks will never truly change; M.M. tries to mediate while Stan can’t believe The Boys have managed to survive this long.
What Happens at Expo… – Ashley (Colby Minifie) goes full dominatrix on Coleman in the buffet line within Vought Tower demanding he re-insert his remote-controlled butt beads. Coleman laughs it off before dropping the bomb that he’s dumping Ashley, due to her lowered power and position within the company being a turn-off (“I need a dom who’s dominating”). Ashley is left standing alone, fuming. Sister Sage approaches Firecracker asking about her expression and joking that Starlight messed up her face during the beatdown. Firecracker smiles by whispers a threat of how she would take Sage “behind the toolshed” and beat her if Homelander didn’t favor her. Firecracker knows Sage set her up to take a beating from Starlight, and Sage confirms it as a strategic move that allows Firecracker’s rhetoric to hit even harder. Firecracker calls out that Sage sees her as poor white trash, and Sage states that she knows poverty is not part of the equation. Firecracker leaves, threatening that Sage’s betrayal will make it all that much easier to eventually turn the tables and stab her in the back.
Team Tensions – The Boys are walking the farm. M.M. tries to get what’s wrong with Frenchie out of Kimiko; Butcher is struggling to keep pace, and Annie gets provoked by Neuman into lashing out again. Butcher finds the rabbit he set free in the lab lying on its side. A set of tentacles come bursting out of the animal, and Butcher angrily stomps it out before it gets free, looking both hurt and horrified. At V52 Expo, Tek Knight is talking about his big movie reboot as A-Train approaches Ashley and informs her that Homelander and Sage are hunting for moles. He confesses that he is the leak and lets Ashley know she’s in the mess with him – which she sees as an unfair risk considering her only rebellion was pooping in Homelander’s toilet when he wasn’t home. A-Train coerces Ashley to help him or suffer the consequences with him. Ashley is left stressed.
Super-Senior Moment – Hughie and Daphne find that Hugh is missing from his hospital room. They run around looking for him and find him in another room, standing over the corpse of a nurse, with her bloody heart in his hand. Hugh is confused about what happened and Hughie tries to placate him, but Hugh freaks out, unable to remember who Hughie is. Another nurse comes in and screams, and Hugh flees, phasing his body (but not the heart) through the wall. Hugh ends up running right into the middle of another patient who is lying in bed in the next room, hitting on a nurse. Hugh is horrified and confused about what’s happening and has to focus his phasing just to get out of the man’s body. Hughie and Daphne find Hugh in the hallway, and try to talk him down; Hugh thinks that he’s years younger, and needs to take a young Hughie to the Vought store for a Tek Knight doll – refusing to call it an action figure. When Hughie tells his dad who he is, Hugh can’t accept it – or that Daphne is back. Hugh starts coming at Daphne in a rage; a security guard intervenes until Hugh phases into him, killing the man instantly. Hughie and Daphne flee.
Guardians of Godolkin – Vought’s “Guardians of Godolkin” Cate Dunlap (Maddie Phillips) and Sam Riordan (Asa Germann) take the stage at the V52 Expo. The Deep and Coleman talk about how long the convention will last, as Deep reveals he has tentative plans with Coleman’s wife. Coleman counters by threatening to expose Deep’s affair with his octopus lover Ambrosius (Tilda Swinton), telling Deep to keep things classy between them. Cate and Sam present their film project “Flipped,” which will see them caught up in a Freaky Friday situation. Homelander and Ryan walk backstage talking about what to do; Ryan thinks he means pizza for dinner, but Homelander means what to do in life. Ryan confesses that he wants to make his mother proud by actually saving people and not faking it; to test it out, Ryan goes over to Bonnie and asks if Bourke’s advances make her uncomfortable. After hesitating, Bonnie confesses they do and Homelander asks Ryan how he wants to meter out justice. Ryan calls for an apology and Bourke tries, but Ryan doesn’t buy it. Homelander suggests the issue is power and perspective, so Ryan makes Bourke get on his knees and make the apology again. Bourke looks pissed but gets down and sarcastically echoes talking points about power inequity and exploration – which Ryan still won’t accept. Homelander suggests a lesson be taught: Ryan takes that and tells Bonnie to slap Bourke, which she enthusiastically does over and over as Ryan watches proudly, and Homelander proudly watches Ryan take a step closer toward him.
No Farming For Old Men – Stan needs a break from walking the farm. Annie notices that Frenchie is holding a crucifix and starts inquiring about his religious beliefs. Frenchie goes on a tirade about not believing that it is possible to sin and wash it all away with a few words to a priest who could be as sinful as you are. Annie gets concerned about the level of trauma and guilt Frenchie is sitting on, and pushes him to talk to someone – even if it’s Kimiko. Frenchie confesses that he’s concerned about revealing his past to Kimiko, both because she might think him a monster, and because she may now be such a monster herself that she won’t be affected at all. The conversation gets cut when a bull shows up, powered with Compound V. Butcher tries to back the group away, but the bull gets torn to shreds by a pack of flying monster sheep. The Boys and Co. make a run for it, losing one of Neuman’s security guards on the way. The group takes shelter in a barn, where they find Sameer (Omid Abtahi) hiding out. Dr. Sameer Shah shows immediate concern for the whereabouts of Neuman’s daughter Zoey, making Annie realize he is Zoey’s dad. Stan reveals the backstory that Dr. Shah was the top scientist in Vought R&D until he secretly slept with Victoria. Sameer explains that a Compound V test on a hamster led to the destruction of the lab and loss of the virus – save for one dose he kept on him in a syringe. Butcher looks thirsty to get the virus; M.M. proposes using the corpse of one of Sameer’s colleagues to feed the sheep the virus – but Neuman, Stan, and Butcher won’t waste the bio-weapon. Butcher sells out Stan over his plan to get custody of Zoey, causing Annie to snap on Butcher – but M.M. shuts it down, showing true leadership as he makes each player in the room realize they have a common goal if they can put aside their emotions. They go with M.M.’s plan to use a corpse Trojan Horse.
Family Therapy – Hughie and Daphne run into a hospital storeroom so Hughie can find a drug to incapacitate his dad, realizing that Compound V and Hugh’s dire health conditions have created an unstable mix. Hugh phases into the room still raging but Hughie jumps in front of his mom, taking his dad back through his memory of buying the Tek Knight doll and being short money, telling his father that he was always his real hero. The memory wakes Hugh up for a second, but he’s overwhelmed by the gore and carnage all over him. Hughie proposes a way to make the nightmare end for them.
Sheepish – The Boys watch through the barn door as the V-sheep snatches the body rigged with the virus. They wait for the animals to consume it, and hear many hooves and heavy sounds falling onto the barn roof. The door opens and two normal sheep walk in, until they open their mouths, revealing Venom-style teeth. The Boys and co. all flee the barn and get attacked by the sheep again, only to be saved when the virus kicks in and the sheep all start falling down dead. When the dust settles, Neuman can’t find Sameer and starts to have a breakdown. The Boys turn Stan back over to the authorities, with M.M. confirming that the loss of the virus ends their alliance. A field agent informs Neuman that Sameer was not found, but shows her a severed leg with his clothing and shoes on it.
Regrettably Loyal – Stan is being driven back to jail, when his driver’s head explodes. Neuman opens the door to his car, staring at her father. Back in Vought Tower The Seven and Guardians of Godolkin are gathered in the conference room for Homelander’s announcement. Homelander informs them that their new mission objective is to save America and the world to secure a future for their children. Homelander makes it clear that in the coming days, being “heroes” will be obsolete, as they will take control through force if necessary, as that is what “war” requires. He asks if he’ll have their loyalty when needed, and then reveals he’s found the leak: The Deep brings in Coleman, who professes his innocence as Ashley looks on vengefully from outside the room. Homelander calls for wrath from his “patriots” and watches who jumps in to deliver it. A-Train hesitates (which Homelander clocks), while Deep whispers to Coleman that he’s still going to sleep with his wife after he’s gone. Frenchie walks into a police station and interrupts the desk cop by screaming he’s committed multiple murders.
Goodbye Dad – Hughie and Daphne get Hugh to a hospital bed as Hughie mixes a cocktail of drugs that will finally put his dad down for good. The Campbells have a heartfelt, tearful goodbye as Hughie injects the drugs; Hugh gets confused and freaks out at the end, but Hughie and Daphne comfort him, listening to Hugh slip again and fondly talk about going to Paris for the DaVinci Code tour. Hugh slips away, and Hughie cries, letting his mother hug and console him.
CIA Style – Butcher and Joe drive up to a horse stable on Stan’s farm, where Butcher stashed a captive Sameer. Butcher cut off the leg to fool Neuman’s people, so he could keep Sameer for a new mission: recreating the virus. Joe smiles, acknowledging that the old Butcher is still very much alive.
[End Credits]
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