Every episode of The Boys, Prime Video’s ultraviolent, savagely satirical superhero series, offers an abundance of gross moments. Some involve violence. Others involve sex. And others still feature characters crossing moral, personal, and ethical boundaries. But even in a series in which no one’s hands are ever fully clean — literally or figuratively — some characters behave worse than others.
This week’s episode, “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son,” plays as if it will be a grossness drought in its opening scenes. It’s pretty tame — until it’s not. A visit to a quaint country farm goes terribly awry, and Hughie’s dad’s miraculous recovery turns into, to borrow a phrase from Nope, a bad miracle. And a gory one, too.
30.
Monique Milk
In the previous episode, Butcher told Mother’s Milk that he considered him a great father. And that’s true, though Monique’s contribution to this episode is a reminder that he’s being graded on a curve. Marvin might be a good dad, but he’s not always around and does not always set the best example for his daughter.
29.
Janine Milk
Speaking of, Janine has been attempting to solve her problems with violence. That’s not good, but it does sound as though the kid she punched, an obnoxious Homelander fan, had it coming.
28.
Bonnie
Janine’s situation echoes that of Bonnie, the assistant being harassed by director Adam Bourke. It might be a little distasteful to take that much pleasure in slapping him (again and again), but it’s also hard to blame her.
27.
Hughie
Hugh Sr.’s hospitalization keeps Hughie away from the main action in this episode, and he does his best to contain bloodshed caused by his dad’s unexpected (and unpredictable) recovery. He has witnessed a lot of disgusting sights but, for once, is only indirectly responsible for them.
26.
Daphne Campbell
Could it be that Daphne has been a genuinely concerned ex-wife–absentee mother this whole time? Hugh Sr. is glad to see her, and her only crime, really, is using Compound V to revive him. That, of course, has horrifying consequences, but she means well. Doesn’t she?
25.
Kimiko
Kimiko’s mostly along for the ride in this episode, attempting to support the team with violence when needed and attempting to support a clearly tortured Frenchie.
24.
Mother’s Milk
Marvin is still trying to provide a steady hand for The Boys, but, wow, is it challenging. Kessler’s assessment that he’s “on the verge of a breakdown” might be harsh, but is it wrong? That he’s breaking out in hives doesn’t seem like a good sign. Also, they look nasty.
23.
Fucking V’d-Up Bull
Sure, he looks scary and might have committed all kinds of repulsive acts of violence if he’d had the chance. But he didn’t, so it’s not fair to place it too high on this list.
22.
A-Train
Once again, A-Train lands firmly on the less-gross end of the scale in this episode, docked points mostly for Training A-Train, the cheesy biopic about which he can barely feign enthusiasm at the V52 Expo.
21.
Frenchie
Openly snorting drugs at his desk, Frenchie is clearly bottoming out, even suggesting that he has committed sins even God should never forgive at the episode’s end. He’s trying to do the right thing by turning himself in but perhaps not thinking too much about the consequences.
20.
Starlight
Starlight’s going through her own dark night of the soul during this stretch of the season, though it looks tame when compared to Frenchie’s. She tries to help, and she’s trying to hold on to some form of faith. Of course, she also has to fight a bunch of mutant farm animals, too, so she’s not entirely removed from this episode’s grossness.
19.
Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy
This poor, penned-up lab rabbit is as adorable as his name, though that cuteness doesn’t survive through the entire episode. RIP.
18.
Sameer
Sure, Sameer’s complicit in Victoria’s secret experiments and, presumably, in her other questionable actions. But he does genuinely seem to care for her and their daughter, Zoe. And the guy also lost a leg this week. Let’s cut him some slack.
17.
Ryan
The many subplots running through The Boys’s fourth season include a battle for Ryan’s soul, and, for a while, it looked as though Butcher was winning pretty easily. Ryan wants to do the right thing, but there’s no denying Homelander’s allure or the fact that he’s Homelander’s kid. Just how much of Homelander’s kid is he? Ryan really takes to using his power to bend Adam to his will (much like Homelander during his “homecoming” in the previous episode) and lights up at his dad’s “No more rules” pronouncement. Butcher better redouble his efforts — if it’s not too late.
16.
Butcher
Of course, Butcher is kind of busy, faking Sameer’s death by removing his leg and holding him hostage to force him into re-creating the virus that kills supes. In his mind, he’s working for the greater good, but isn’t he taking a little too much pleasure in the task for that excuse to fly?
15.
Kessler
At least we know Butcher thinks he’s doing the right thing. Does Kessler? Or is he working some hidden agenda that’s going to end up biting Butcher in the ass? If nothing else, he’s a bad influence. He hits Butcher with a gross, vagina-based insult. Butcher lays an even grosser one on Starlight. Still not sure about this guy.
14.
Stanford Edgar
Edgar returns and appears largely unchanged by his time in prison, meaning he remains dapper and highly morally dubious. Yet if there’s any doubt his allegiance still lies with his adopted daughter, Victoria, that’s put to rest by the episode’s end. Their reunion does not bode well.
13.
Victoria
As for Victoria, it’s strange to see her finding some common ground with our heroes given, well, everything. But a common enemy can make strange bedfellows, and her contribution to the chicken fight serves as a reminder that she remains (a) terrifying and (b) able to fill the air with blood and viscera in no time.
12.
Sage
Sage is mostly on the sidelines this week, and most of her active nastiness is directed in Firecracker’s direction. Still, there’s every reason to expect unspeakably vile acts from her in the near future. The memory of that lobotomy is still fresh.
11.
Guardians of Godolkin / Tek Knight
Oh look, it’s a Gen V crossover! Like Sage, we never see them actively participating in any disgusting acts, though the Guardians are witness to Cameron Coleman’s violent beatdown. Or is it murder?
10.
Jar-Jar
Hughie’s childhood pet was a “cat that wouldn’t eat and yet somehow still had diarrhea.” We never see him, but that’s quite an image.
9.
Adam Bourke
Still seemingly Vought’s go-to director, the sleazy Bourke gets some deserved slaps this week after harassing Bonnie. That he’s able to talk clearly about the power imbalance involved in his actions when threatened with violence suggests he knew exactly what he was doing. Bourke’s not directly responsible for any violence or grossness this week, but he still earns a pretty high berth.
8.
Cameron Coleman
It’s hard to feel too much pity for this possibly (probably?) deceased VNN celebrity who’s just as sleazy in real life as he is when spreading propaganda onscreen or talking up Vought Faith and the inclusive new film Black at ’Em. He’s heartless in the way he discards Ashley (and her “vibrating Bluetooth anal beads”) after realizing her professional stock has declined. It’s cruel to suggest he got what he deserved, but he definitely deserved some kind of comeuppance.
7.
Ashley
That comeuppance arrives because Ashley frames him as the Vought leaker, a cruel act of revenge that would seem like confirmation of her moral bankruptcy if it didn’t also help A-Train’s effort to undermine Homelander and Vought. That’s probably just coincidental, as Ashley has shown no sign of being sympathetic to the Boys’ cause or of having any kind of conscience, for that matter. But if A-Train can come around, maybe she can too? Welcome to The Resistance, Ashley? (Probably not.)
6.
Homelander
From the way he manipulates Ryan’s affections to his declaration that the Seven would now be doing “violent, merciless, maybe even cruel things for the greater good,” it’s a pretty gross week for Homelander, even if nothing here compares to last week’s massacre.
5.
Firecracker
Firecracker actively and enthusiastically participates in Coleman’s stomping, but she’d still seem pretty nasty even if she didn’t, between “declaring hunting season on Starlighters” and her questionable acting, as evidenced by the trailer to Firecracker: Lord’s Soldier.
4.
The Deep
Without a radical change in his life, the Deep will always be one of The Boys’s grossest characters. This is someone who (a) has a relationship with an octopus and (b) flagrantly cheats on her, a potent cocktail of unsavory behavior. (Also big yuck: the way he calls Ezekiel a “brother in Christ.”) Yet it’s hard not to like him a little bit when he tells Coleman he still plans to have sex with his wife. Also, the Deep’s claim to be able to “just breathe right through her juices,” though crassly phrased, suggests maybe he’s a generous and giving lover? Best not to think about that too much.
3.
Mutant Murder Chickens
Superpowered chickens don’t sound all that terrifying or capable of gory acts of violence. And yet they sure are and they sure do. They’re outdone only by …
2.
Mutant Murder Sheep
Yikes! Not only are these creatures terrifying, but they’re sadistic, seemingly committed to taking out their prey in the most violent ways imaginable. You’ve probably never been kept up at night with fears of being torn apart limb by limb by blood-and-gore-covered sheep. This episode is sure to change that.
1.
Hugh Sr.
With all respect to Hughie’s dad, whose death scene gives the series one of its most touching moments, nobody else approaches his grossness in this episode. He can’t really help it. He has been cursed with misfiring powers and an addled brain that cause him to make an entire floor of a hospital look like a slaughterhouse. His death is sad, but his last bit of life was truly nauseating.
