‘The Boys’ Season 4 Episode 7 Review - Doing the Right Thing

The seventh episode of The Boys begins with a puppet show featuring Ryan, but it becomes clear that the content is unsuitable for children. When have things been kid-friendly here? A puppet of A-Train sings a song praising superheroes and encourages people to report anyone who dislikes them. This includes their own parents. This doesn't sit well with Ryan, who is not as cruel as his father, Homelander. When Ryan objects, the director tells him that the lyrics were approved by the megalomaniac leader of The Seven. Ryan calls Homelander, who is too preoccupied with his own issues to address Ryan's concerns. The episode ends hinting at a potential conflict between father and son.

As far as the tone is concerned, Episode 7 maintains the show's strength of expertly navigating between humor and pathos. One of those scenes involves a confrontation between The Deep and Ambrosius. This is where we should take a moment to appreciate Tilda Swinton's voice performance. She and Chace Crawford imbue their exchanges with weirdness, desperation, and sadness. Consider Deep's situation: He cheats on an octopus. The line sounds ridiculous, but see what Crawford and Swinton do during that scene where Deep finally decides to get rid of Ambrosius. Her suffering, and her cries for help, are drawn out to such an extent that the incident pretty quickly moves from being amusing to shocking and uncomfortable. Deep's punishment is dispensed in the form of a joke, which only reinforces that this superhero is not so different from a clown - his whole life is nothing but a joke.

But before this comeuppance, Deep also faces physical injuries when he and Noir break into Mother Milk and the gang's office and fight with Butcher and Starlight. This flop idea was executed under the command of Homelander, who, it seems, is now not only drinking Firecracker's milk but also her plans. You see, Sister Sage's services are no longer crucial. In fact, she is fired from the headquarters. After her dumb behavior at Tek Knight's mansion, Homelander has lost faith in the smartest person on the planet. I wanted to see Sage's foolish actions, but she is fully healed from the beginning itself. What a shame. Anyway, after watching Silly Sage, the sudden appearance of Smart Sage feels strange. It would have been nice to see how her problem was identified and mended.

You experience a similar feeling when "Starlight" talks about her suit and about taking things step by step toward the end. I have put Starlight in quotes because she turns out to be a shapeshifter (the real Starlight is shown trapped somewhere). Now, here's my question: Do shapeshifters absorb the memories of the person whose skin they put on? How else could "Starlight" open that safe? Did Hughie share the code with her? Did he also mention the conversation he had with the real Starlight near the beginning of the episode? If yes, then it would have been nice if The Boys had shown us these discussions. The omission of these specifics results in a noticeable gap in the events. Additionally, Frenchie's abrupt return further contributes to the sense of hastiness. Episode 7, ultimately, places all the chess pieces in their positions. Let's see what bloody reward is in store for us next week in the episode titled Assassination Run. I hope it turns out to be fun.

Final Score- [7/10]