Honestly, Homelander’s (Antony Starr) journey through the past in “Wisdom Of The Ages” was hard to stomach. It is also one of the most important arcs because The boys takes us into the lab where he was shaped into one of the most notoriously evil Supes. It’s interesting that there are no flashbacks in episode four. What we get is Homelander verbally explaining the torture he suffered. This technique of relying on his narration rather than having a young John run through it works mainly because it lets Starr go completely berserk by the minute. My goodness, he’s awesome and bloody scary in this episode as Homie’s bloodthirsty self enjoys lashing out at the doctors who put him through hell as a teenager.
The boys teased it would happen at the end of episode three when Homelander’s split personalities call to him from the mirror. He’s deeply unhappy, duh. Killing people or being worshiped doesn’t bring him the ecstasy he’s used to. Nothing works, not even the anti-Starlight (Erin Moriarty) campaign he started with Sister Sage (Susan Heyward). Therefore the more The evil version encourages him to go back to the beginning, which leads him to the underground laboratory he grew up in. And we’re getting a live preview of it after learning more about its origins in The boys: evil, Main videoThe 2022 animated spinoff. If you haven’t seen it (it’s a good show!), don’t worry: “Wisdom Of The Ages” brings you up to speed.
We know Homelander is Soldier Boy’s (Jensen Ackles) son after he donated his sperm in 1980. To make him the God-loving patriot Americans will love, Vought kept him locked up as a child until until he is ready to join the Seven. Throughout this period, which Homie revisits during this hour, he suffered enormously and has not forgotten a single second of it. Now he returns for revenge, hoping that miserably hurting those who hurt him might bring him some relief. Does it work? His super-satisfied, blood-covered face at the end of the episode says that’s probably the case.
Nervousness sets in as soon as those damn elevator buttons ring at the start of “Wisdom Of The Ages”. Homelander walks into the office with a cake – not the worst last meal, I suppose – and reconnects with the couple of people who helped Vought raise him. His method of torture seems slow and miserable because you know it’s coming. No one in this room, including the new employees, comes out alive. The first to leave is Frank (Mark Cowling). Homelander burns him in the same oven where, years ago, he was locked inside, with Frank increasing the temperature to see if his skin would burn. It didn’t inflame him, but Homie says, “My tears sizzled,” and that’s a chilling description of his agony.
The next victim is Marty (Murray Furrow), who has gone from low-level employee to major player since Homelander joined The Seven. It does not matter. His fate is sealed because he once made fun of John after catching him without his pants on. You can’t help but feel sorry when Homie remembers that masturbating during the two minutes of privacy he had at night was the happiest he’d felt as a teenager. The boys‘writers find an incredibly vivid way to delve into the complex emotions of a horrible man at a pivotal time. I’m glad we don’t see it, because hearing about it is already a punch in the gut. It’s a vicious cycle: he was treated horribly, and now he’s making it worse. In revenge for being nicknamed “squirt”, Homie forces Marty to jerk off in front of everyone, making comments like “You look like you’re shelling a little mushroom”. When Marty doesn’t get hard, despite his spitting, his dick is torn off with a laser and finally, his head is crushed like an insect. Yeah, it’s a lot, and it’s not over yet.
Homelander seeks ultimate revenge when his old friend and doctor in charge Barbara (Nancy Lenehen) finally arrives. She witnesses her worst creation murder everyone in the “bad room” and spill a ton of blood all over the white walls. His punishment is that the image will remain burned into his brain forever. Phew. Homie leaves the lab looking smug and happy (the bookend of the episode starting and ending with the elevator buttons is a nice touch), but I worry that his actions here will motivate him to get worse. The boys repeatedly tells us that Homelander is vile and unkillable. As he erases his past, what’s stopping him now? Is this too gory even for this show? I appreciate the insight into his upbringing, but damn, I felt exhausted by yet another reminder of Homelander’s horror, and I suspect I won’t be alone in that.
We are talking about The boys, so, of course, the Homelander arc wasn’t the only wild spectacle (we’ll get to Sage and Deep this time, don’t worry). Everyone is going through something serious, even Hughie (Jack Quaid). Is he still incredibly stupid and useless? 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 father Compound V against the advice of Kimiko and Butcher (Karl Urban). Hughie gets a vial after A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) steals it from Homelander’s house, but decides not to take it to Hughie Sr.’s deathbed. Too bad his mother Daphne (Rosemary DeWitt ) had the same idea and executed it. And there you have it, Simon Pegg will now have something to do besides being horizontal and silent.
Elsewhere, Annie, aka Starlight, is having a miserable day when Sage launches a plan to televise Firecracker’s (Valorie) hate speech. They set up a scene across the Starlight Home, and Firecracker explodes, spreading absurd lies but also revealing to the world that Annie had an abortion six months ago. (She and Hughie decided together, we later learn). The leak of her medical records is the final straw for Annie. She flies onto the stage and nearly beats her nemesis to a pulp – it’s all on camera, so the zealous Christians have yet another reason to take her down while supporting Firecracker and Vought. Dare I say that their rivalry goes through repetitive moments?
Annie receives help from Frenchie (Tomer Capone), MM (Laz Alonso) and Butcher to no avail. Although Butcher, whose visions of Becca (Shantel SanVanten) have returned as a sign that his health is deteriorating, possesses a secret power that threatens him thanks to Compound V. Even he is surprised at how strong he could be because the man he was fighting completely breaks out. And yes, there’s the Sage and Deep (Chace Crawford) situation. I wasn’t entirely sure if the brief shooting of a bloody arrow in episode three meant a lobotomy, but yeah, that’s where we are. Many commenters have pointed this out, and you were right!).
Sage asks Deep to perform a frontal lobotomy to slow his brain growth. She doesn’t want to be the smartest person in the world for a few hours, she wants to relax and be someone else. This explains her mixed reactions to Deep and why she enthusiastically sleeps with him whenever he does. Does this explain why she was so quick to agree to team up with Homelander, join The Seven and wreak havoc? He’s such a fascinating new character, just like Firecracker. I wonder how the remaining four episodes will further delve into their story. Anyway, it’s The boys for you, huh?
Stray observations
- It’s safe to say The boysThe fourth season is a mixed bag so far, but episode four is the strongest and most promising yet. I hope the second half continues this momentum.
- So, what is the Odessa Project? As the episode opens and we get a scan from the lab office, a pinned note from Barbara reminds the staff not to divulge any details about this, under any circumstances.
- A-Train and Ashley (Colby Minifie) form an alliance after she discovers him stealing Compound V and he realizes she’s playing with Homelander by, uh, pooping in his bathroom . I love this couple. I hope they help each other get out of this nasty Vought thing.
- In case you missed it, Jon Voight gets a name-drop when it’s mentioned that he’s one of the celebrities in attendance at the ridiculous Firecracker gathering.
- The boys definitively denounced the CSI franchise by calling its viewers “those who left the TV on because they are dead”.
- Frenchie yelling at Starlight when she ran out of the room in tears saying “Miss 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 upset by this update.
- If anyone is interested in Frenchie’s plot, he tells his lover Colin (Elliot Knight) that he was the one who killed his family.
- We get another one Generation V mention when the news clip says that the Godolkin 4 – Marie, Andre, Emma and Jordan – have disappeared into thin air. This is information known to us, the viewers, so let’s see how The boys finally, a crossover takes place Generation V season two.