Let’s just hope it’s just a penultimate season syndrome and Season 5 will go back to the roots.

On July 18, the final episode of the fourth season of The Boys aired. In it, the writers set the stage for a grand finale.

But the fourth season was probably the weakest of all The Boys chapters and didn’t live up to fans’ expectations – and here’s why.

1. There Were Many Filler Episodes

Only four out of eight episodes were really important. The rest of the time the writers showed us secondary plots that did not affect the overall story.

For example, a lot of time was spent on Hughie’s dying father, but this storyline did not affect Hughie in any way. And Frenchie’s love suffering and Kimiko’s showdown with the criminals seem frankly unnecessary – we saw all of that in previous seasons.

2. Screenwriters Still Afraid to Kill Important Characters

The stakes are extremely low this season, as you don’t feel any tension and don’t worry about the characters. The Boys act openly, recover easily from injuries and are not afraid of the Seven at all.

Even A-Train, who betrayed the supes team, survived. Only Victoria Neuman died, but she was eliminated because she was no longer a threat.

3. The New Characters Lack Charisma

Firecracker isn’t a threat because she’s just a subordinate of Homelander and has never participated in a full-fledged battle. The writers have tried to make her interesting: she holds a grudge against Starlight for bullying her in the past. But this detail is not enough to make Firecracker comparable to Stormfront or Soldier Boy from previous seasons.

Sister Sage also doesn’t seem to be a serious obstacle for the Boys. Her only superpower is a regenerating brain, and she can be easily eliminated with a shot to the head.

By the end of the season, Sage had become a caricature character: the writers tried to portray her as a genius who makes plans within plans and foresees all sorts of events. But she looks more like a deus ex machina than a well-thought-out personality.

4. The Writers Tried to Fill the Void with Shocking Episodes

As before, The Boys is full of grotesque, nasty scenes. For example, Episode 6 shows Tek Knight’s BDSM basement and sexualized violence against Hughie. But these moments don’t work as well as they used to.

In previous seasons, they helped relieve tension and showed just how scary supes can be. However, in Season 4, these episodes have no plot justification.

5. Events Do Not Move Forward

The confrontation with Homelander is clearly dragging on, and the writers are running out of ideas. Season 4 could have been great if the writers weren’t afraid to kill off characters and weren’t distracted by secondary storylines – and that’s what made Season 4 the worst of all.