The Boys Season 4 Episode 4

Homelander arrives to "home," or what most would consider a filthy, subterranean research facility, at the start of the episode. It's hardly the type of setting that shouts "happy childhood," to put it another way. Acting uncannily upbeat, Homelander shows the employees a cake shaped like Fudgey the Whale and notes that one of the scientists who took his stool samples as a child, Marty, is now the deputy director. Then he asks Marty to introduce the head director, Barbara .

A fictionalized version of Butcher's late wife Becca awakens him from his fall in the shower during a different episode and tells him to get up, reassuring him that "the world doesn't stop just because your crappy existence does.

" Not only is he on the verge of death, but Hugh Sr. is too. A doctor tells Hughie and Daphne that Hugh Sr. is brain dead now and will die soon if they don't opt to end his life.

In a Vought-hosted fan event, a true-crime series, and a Vought News broadcast, President-Elect Robert Singer is seen watching something offensive. Annie interrupts him, giving him notes on the "Supe Control Law" and revealing that he cannot pass it through Congress due to his inadequate PR team. Annie vows to use her outfit as Starlight to spearhead nationwide demonstrations to pressure Congress into action.

When they wake up next to one other, Colin tells Frenchie everything about what happened the night his family was killed, even though he still doesn't know who is actually to blame. Frenchie hides beneath the bedsheets after he confesses that he was in the house during the killings and only seen the perpetrator's wounds.

Sister Sage has arranged for "The Truthbomb," Firecracker's upcoming television series, to be taped just in front of Starlight House. To his astonishment, the Deep makes an attempt to flirt with Sage, but she rejects him, calling him "repulsive."

To her dismay, Mother's Milk tells Annie as she leaves the Starlight House that he has let Butcher to rejoin the squad.

Once the scientists return to the subterranean facility, Homelander coerces Frank (Mark Cowling) to enter the enormous furnace. He says that instead of playing wastepaper basketball or screaming and writhing in agony inside the oven as a youngster, Frank just lazed around.

The scientists watch in horror as Homelander happily dumps wadded-up paper into the wastebasket as Frank burns alive.

Unaware that they are meeting with A-Train, Hughie and Kimiko arrive at a dockyard.

Reluctantly, Hughie asks the speedster to break into Homelander's apartment and take a vial of Compound V.

A-Train first declines after saving Hughie from Homelander in the previous episode, but Hughie explains that it's for his father and that he wouldn't even be in this predicament if the speedster hadn't killed Robin at the start of the show. Kimiko and Hughie are attacked by the surviving members of the Shining Light terrorist group just as A-Train departs.

While Firecracker and The Deep are performing a duet on Truthbomb, Butcher and MM are surreptitiously approaching backstage, asking the latter to intervene on Ryan's behalf.

As Firecracker gets into her trailer, they close up on her, and Butcher starts extorting her. Butcher has threatened to post a message on social media that says the southern supe had sex with a 15-year-old kid while she was 28 years old and a counselor at a bible camp.

Firecracker, unfazed and certain she has nothing to lose, tweets the picture herself and returns to the stage to confess "her misdeeds" live.

Annie says that this romance is what made her a born-again Christian, according to Firecracker, standing next to her as her old youth pastor Ezekiel.

Annie accidentally causes blindness to a mother of three children by using her skills. Ashley and A-Train steal Compound V from Homelander's penthouse, promising not to inform each other.

Homelander returns to the subterranean facility and tells Marty a story from his early years, where he saw him masturbating and laughed at him.

Marty apologizes, but Homelander has him masturbate in front of him and the crew.

When Marty cannot get up, Homelander laughs and mercilessly makes fun of him. Marty gives up, terrified, and Homelander shoots his penis with a laser in retaliation.

Barbara gives Homelander the command to end Marty's suffering.

Hughie and Kimiko escape a warehouse taken over by Shining Light members, who Kimiko spares and tells her she will always hate her since she was made to fight as a youngster.

In a live broadcast segment, Firecracker discloses that Annie had an abortion six months earlier after discovering she was expecting Hughie's child during a standard physical examination. Annie becomes furious and walks out of the Starlight House, beating Firecracker up live on stage until MM stops her and tells her that she is going to be televised. The beating is subsequently captured on tape, which goes viral and further tarnishs Annie's reputation.

Ezekiel discovers Frenchie and Butcher breaking into Firecracker's trailer, and he attacks them. While Ezekiel is utilizing his stretchy powers, Butcher gets hold of a fire extinguisher and freezes his arm, breaking it. As Ezekiel is strangling him, Butcher passes out. When he awakens, the trailer is a bloody mess, and Ezekiel has probably torn Ezekiel to bits.

When Homelander gets to the facility, Barbara draws him aside and informs him that he could have broken out whenever he wanted, but he refrained because of fear that she wouldn't be pleased with him.

She also discloses that in order to teach Homelander's "human" desire for love and increase his obedience, Vought recruited a renowned psychologist. Homelander asserts that he is not human and rejects his humanity.

After Colin tends to Frenchie's injuries sustained in their struggle with Ezekiel, Frenchie violently pushes Colin away and eventually admits that he killed Colin's family. Colin almost chokes Frenchie to death in a fit of fury before fleeing and vowing to kill him if he ever comes near him again. Before stopping him and pleading with him for a favor, The Deep confronts Sage about her rejection earlier in the day.

Sage informs The Deep that she may have a lobotomy on herself to momentarily disable her powers. The Deep agrees to do it for her, and the two have SEX after that.

When Hughie returns to The Boys' office, a distraught Annie confides in him that she just wasn't ready to be a mom. Hughie attempts, but fails, to console her. Subsequently, Annie gets a call from Singer, informing her that while the "Supe Control Act" would have passed Congress with ease due to her abortion and the video showing her hitting Firecracker, it would now not pass. Annie offers an apology, but Singer rejects it and severs all contact with her.

Hughie later runs into A-Train in an alleyway, where he receives the Compound V vial. At last, the two agree to a ceasefire and shake hands. As soon as A-Train takes off, Butcher emerges from the shadows and tries to talk Hughie out of using V on his father.

Then, in an attempt to heal himself, he admits that he gave himself an injection of V from Frenchie's desk; however, this did not only prevent him from gaining abilities, but also made his fatal disease worse.

Upon arriving at the hospital with the vial, Hughie considers using it on his father, who the doctors say "should go at any moment now."

When Hughie returns from his room, he discovers that Daphne gave his father a Compound V injection. Hugh body started to shake as his eyes pop up, and the mother and son observe. At the end of the episode, Homelander has killed everyone save Barbara, who is left shivering and imprisoned in a cell, and is leaving the subterranean facility covered in blood and guts.