The Boys Finally Confirms Why Kimiko Can't Speak

Karen Fukuhara explains her character's new backstory.

By Jenna Anderson

The fourth season of The Boys is nearly in the books, after weeks of remixing a lot of the Prime Video series' lore. This was especially the case in the series' latest episode, "The Insider", which unveiled a surprising justification for why Kimiko Miyashiro (Karen Fukuhara) has been mute for the entirety of the series. As she explains in the episode, she was taught by her captors at the Shining Light Liberation Army to move and fight like a "ghost", with deadly consequences if someone speaks or screams. Eventually, Kimiko murdered multiple young girls "without making a sound," only to discover that she couldn't speak once she was allowed to.

"From initial conversations with [showrunner Eric] Kripke, we spoke about having Kimiko's muteness not come from a physical attribute because if it was a physical attribute, it's sometimes impossible to get your voice back after a physical trauma," Fukuhara explained in a recent interview with TheWrap. "So I said to [Kripke], I don't think it can be a physical attribute if we want that tinge of hope, if we want to change the storyline or incorporate that in future seasons, and he was really receptive to that early on."

"I love it because this entire season is about even the heroic characters facing their demons, such as Annie's past with Firecracker. She was never this cookie-cutter good person that we always expected her to be, and I love that entire storyline and backstory because it gives her a lot more humanity. I think the writers were able to do that with Kimiko," Fukuhara said. "She's always kind of viewed herself as a victim to Shining Light, a victim to Compound V. A victim to all the s–tty things that have come her way, but Season 4 ,she had to face her own own darkness and own up to all the wrongdoing she did to other people."

Related:

What Is The Boys Season 4 About?

In Season Four of The Boys, the world is on the brink. Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the muscly thumb of Homelander, who is consolidating his power. Butcher, with only months to live, has lost Becca's son as well as his job as The Boys' leader. The rest of the team are fed up with his lies. With the stakes higher than ever, they have to find a way to work together and save the world before it's too late.

The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Cameron Crovetti. Season Four will welcome Susan Heyward, Valorie Curry, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

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