Honestly speaking, Homelander’s (Antony Starr) journey through the past in “Wisdom Of The Ages” was difficult to digest. It’s also one of the most important arcs because The Boys takes us into the laboratory where he was molded to become one of the most notoriously evil Supes. It’s interesting how there are zero flashbacks in episode four. What we do get is Homelander verbally explaining the torture he suffered. This technique of relying on his narration versus seeing a young John go through it works primarily because it lets Starr go completely berserk by the minute. Gosh, he’s terrific and terrifically scary in this episode as Homie’s bloodthirsty self enjoys lashing out at the doctors who put him through hell as a teen.
The Boys teased this was coming at the end of episode three when Homelander’s split personalities call out to him from the mirror. He’s deeply unhappy, duh. Killing people or being worshipped isn’t bringing him the ecstasy he’s used to. Nothing is working, not even the anti-Starlight (Erin Moriarty) campaign he’s begun with Sister Sage (Susan Heyward). So the more evil version encourages him to go back to the start, which leads him to the underground lab he was raised in. And we get a live-action glimpse at it after learning more about his origins in The Boys: Diabolical, Prime Video’s 2022 animated spinoff. If you didn’t see it (it’s a good show!), don’t worry: “Wisdom Of The Ages” gets you up to speed.
We know Homelander is Soldier Boy’s (Jensen Ackles) son after he donated his sperm in 1980. To turn him into the god-loving patriot that Americans will adore, Vought kept him locked up as a child until he was ready to join the Seven. Through this period, which Homie revisits during this hour, he suffered immensely and hasn’t forgotten a single second of it. Now he’s come back for revenge, hoping that miserably hurting the people who hurt him might bring some relief. Does it work? His super satisfied, covered-in-blood face at the end of the episode says it probably did.
The nervousness sets in as soon as those damn elevator buttons ding when “Wisdom Of The Ages” starts. Homelander enters the office with a cake—not the worst last meal, I suppose—and reconnects with the couple of people who helped Vought rear him. His method of torture feels slow and miserable because you know it’s coming. No one in that room, including the new employees, are walking out alive. The first to go is Frank (Mark Cowling). Homelander burns him in the same oven where, years ago, he was caged inside with Frank increasing the temperature to see if his skin would burn. It didn’t set him on fire, but Homie says, “My tears sizzled away,” and that’s a chilling description of his agony.
The next victim is Marty (Murray Furrow), who went from being a low-level employee to a major player since Homelander joined The Seven. That doesn’t matter. His fate is sealed because he once laughed at John after catching him with his pants off. You can’t help but feel sorry when Homie recalls that masturbating in the two minutes of privacy he got at night was the happiest he felt as a teen. The Boys’ writers find an incredibly vivid way to dig into the complex emotions of a horrible man during a pivotal time. I’m glad we don’t see it, as hearing about it is enough of a gut punch. It’s a vicious cycle: He was treated horribly, and now he’s returning it tenfold. To avenge being nicknamed “squirt,” Homie makes Marty jerk off in front of everyone, passing comments along the way like “It looks like you’re shucking a little mushroom.” When Marty doesn’t get hard, despite spitting, his dick gets lasered off and eventually, his head is squashed like a bug. Yeah, it’s a lot, and it’s not over yet.
Homelander seeks ultimate vengeance when his old pal and doctor in charge Barbara (Nancy Lenehen) finally trots in. She witnesses her worst creation murder everyone in the “bad room” and splay a shit ton of blood across the white walls. Her punishment is that the picture will be burned in her brain forever. Oof. Homie leaves the lab looking smug and happy (the bookend of the episode beginning and ending with the elevator buttons is a nice touch), but I fear his actions here will motivate him to get worse. The Boys repeatedly tells us Homelander is vile and unkillable. With him brushing off his past, what’s stopping him now? Is it too much gore even for this show? I appreciate the insight into his upbringing but damn, I felt exhausted by another reminder of how awful Homelander is, and I suspect I won’t be alone in that.
We’re talking about The Boys, so, of course, Homelander’s arc wasn’t the only wild sight (we’ll get to Sage and Deep this time, don’t worry). Everyone goes through something major, even Hughie (Jack Quaid). Is he still being insanely stupid and unhelpful? Yes, but at least he fights to save himself alongside Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) and ultimately makes the right choice. He wants to give his dying dad Compound V against Kimiko and Butcher’s (Karl Urban) advice. Hughie gets a vial after A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) steals it from Homelander’s house, but decides against it on Hughie Sr.’s deathbed. Too bad his mother Daphne (Rosemary DeWitt) had the same idea and executed it. Lo and behold, Simon Pegg will now have something to do again besides being horizontal and quiet.
Elsewhere, Annie, a.k.a. Starlight, has a miserable day when Sage spearheads a plan to televise Firecracker’s (Valorie) hate-spewing. They set up a stage across the Starlight Home, and Firecracker goes off, spreading nonsense lies but also revealing to the world that Annie had an abortion six months ago. (She and Hughie decided together, we learn later on). Her medical records being leaked is Annie’s last straw. She flies onto the stage and almost beats her nemesis to a pulp—it’s all caught on camera, so the zealous Christians have yet another reason to take her down while supporting Firecracker and Vought. Dare I say, though, that their rivalry is going through some repetitive beats?
Annie gets help from Frenchie (Tomer Capone), MM (Laz Alonso), and Butcher to no avail. Although Butcher, whose visions of Becca (Shantel SanVanten) are back as a sign that his health is getting worse, has some secret power looming within thanks to Compound V. Even he’s surprised by how strong he might be because the man he was fighting completely bursts open. And, yes, there’s the Sage and Deep (Chace Crawford) situation. I wasn’t entirely sure if the brief shot of a bloody arrow in episode three meant lobotomy, but yeah, that’s where we’re at. A bunch of commenters did point it out, and you were right!).
Sage requests Deep to perform a frontal lobotomy to slow down her expanding brain. She doesn’t want to be the smartest person in the world for a few hours, she wants to chill and be someone else. That explains her mixed reactions to Deep and why she excitedly sleeps with him as soon as he does it. Does thi explain why she so quickly agreed to team up with Homelander, join The Seven, and cause chaos? She’s such a fascinating new character, as is Firecracker. I wonder how the remaining four episodes will dig into their backstories more. Anyway, that’s The Boys for you, huh?
Stray observations
- It’s safe to say The Boys’ fourth season is a mixed bag so far, but episode four is the strongest, most promising one yet. I hope the second half carries on the momentum.
- So, what’s Project Odessa? As the episode opens and we get a scan of the lab office, a pinned note from Barbara reminds the staff not to leak any details of it under any circumstances.
- A-Train and Ashley (Colby Minifie) form an alliance after she discovers him stealing Compound V and he realizes she’s messing with Homelander by, um, pooping in his bathroom. I like this pairing. I hope they help each other get out of this nasty Vought business.
- In case you missed it, Jon Voight gets a name-drop when it’s mentioned that he’s one of the celebrities at Firecracker’s ridiculous rally.
- The Boys definitely dissed the CSI franchise by calling its viewers “those who left the TV on because they’re dead.”
- Frenchie calling out after Starlight when she tearfully rushed out of the room by saying “Mademoiselle Annie” really helped break the tension.
- The woman who recognized Kimiko in episode three returns to reveal that she was kidnapped by our favorite fighter and taken to camp. Kimiko, who only remembers it in flashes, is shattered by this update.
- If anyone cares for Frenchie’s plot, he tells his lover Colin (Elliot Knight) that he’s the one who killed his family.
- We get another Gen V mention when the news clip says that The Godolkin 4—Marie, Andre, Emma, and Jordan—have vanished into thin air. This is known information to us viewers, so let’s see how The Boys ultimately makes a crossover happen to set up Gen V season two.