The Boys Season 4 Episode 1

Season 4 of The Boys opens with Victoria Neuman taking the stage to thunderous cheers. Kimiko is a waitress there and is present during her big speech. The team crashes the party with The Boys. Butcher's out back, spitting his guts out, though. Naturally, it's a side effect of being on Temp V, but it also serves as a reminder that he is also living on borrowed time. Because he is supposed to cover their exit rather than participate in the plan, the other team members are leery of him.

Backstage, Homelander gives Ryan a motivational speech and forces him to repeat the line that people are just "toys for their amusement." Although he is here to "support" the new administration, Neuman isn't overly thrilled to have him here.

Remember what Butcher was told, as they converse? Regarding staying out of it? He becomes deeply involved, though, and begs Ryan to leave when he gets a chance to speak to him. Sadly, Homelander appears and realizes that Butcher has limited time left. It turns out that Victoria's daughter Zoe is also a Supe as they depart together. Kimiko and Frenchie are forced to jump out of the window to escape.

Victoria arrives to see Hughie when the team is all together. Hughie is taken aback to discover that Victoria gave the compound to her daughter. Regretfully, Butcher shows up and goes all Trinity "dodge this" on Victoria, but it doesn't work because she is essentially unbreakable at this point.

Following the disastrous operation, Butcher is ejected, and Grace Mallory takes a personal dislike to Mother's Milk. Zoe killed two agents, and their poorly executed intelligence (about using acid to kill Victoria) fails miserably, particularly when Hughie hits her with the vial and it has no effect.

Butcher runs into Kessler, an old friend, who offers him some words of encouragement, particularly since they're getting closer to the death camps that Supes set up in order to round up and kill humans. However, Homelander is tired of seeing yes men all around him and the Seven need new members for the time being. The issue is that, given his power, they are unable to firmly refuse him. Consequently, he chooses to visit Sister Sage, the world's most intelligent person and one of the suggested Supes.

Sage recognizes that Homelander is going through an existential crisis when he shows up, but she more than holds her own against him. Homelander is stunned, but Sage is prepared and acts as a kind of counselor to him as he spills his guts and scoffs at how meaningless it all is. She essentially likens him to Caesar because she thinks he should be encouraging the people to fight among themselves so that a "hero" can intervene and save them rather than Nazi-izing everything. Homelander wants her to be a member of the Seven as a result.

Speaking of not giving up, Hughie won't give in and lets Butcher go. Despite being on the periphery, he remains a member of the team. That evening, Butcher meets with Victoria late at night in an attempt to agree. Hughie's information about the Red River Group Home is what Neuman wants in return for stopping Homelander and cooperating with Butcher. The two reach a shaky understanding.

When Hughie arrives at the hospital, his father is there and has been admitted. Particularly after not returning his call earlier in the episode, he's a bit of a mess. While Mother's Milk and the others resolve to find and follow Todd, Hughie is overcome with guilt.

Todd walks straight into a terrible situation as they gather information. Homelander appears next to Sage, and the Seven are present. Homelander wants the Seven to kill Todd and the other die-hard fans with bats in hand. They carry out this exact action as Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko observe Homelander depart in preparation for his trial.

Sage is also present outside the courthouse, wearing Starlight's colors, as Homelander is surprisingly acquitted. She stirs things up right away, hurling coffee and yelling that someone is a fascist, which sparks a riot. Given that Homelander and Annie wind up squarely in the center of it all, this is all part of her plan. To make Annie and company appear to be the aggressors, Homelander has A-Train plant the dead bodies of the ardent fans right in the middle of this. They failed to consider the fact that MM took pictures of Sage outside the warehouse.

Towards the end of the episode, Butcher finds himself in his apartment and meets Becca, who gives him advice on how to be the man she married. That also entails not negotiating with Victoria. He attaches an explicit photo of his ass instead of sending her the files.