RECAP: ‘The Boys’ Season 5 Episode 4 — “King Of Hell”

The Boys Season 5 is in full swing. Now that we’re mid-way through the season, The Boys Season 5 Episode 4, entitled “King of Hell”, has a lot of heavy lifting to do to get us through the back half. Directed by Karen Gaviola (Gen V) and written by Geoff Aull, the episode balances its storylines dutifully and clears a path for what promises to be an extremely exciting back half of the season.

The Boys Season 5 Episode 4 picks up right where the last episode left off. The immediate question: how is Ryan (Cameron Crovetti)? Audiences are allowed to breathe as it’s reaffirmed that he’s very much alive. A softer Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) comforts him, while also reminding him that he’s The Boys’ greatest weapon that they can’t risk losing, so next time he goes after Homelander, he needs to have the virus with him.

Speaking of Homelander (Anthony Starr), he lets Firecracker (Valorie Curry) in on his newfound plans to, well, become God. The Vought machine starts working overtime to sell this absurd notion to the public. In the scenes where The Seven, Ashley, and Episode 1’s The Worm (Ely Henry) brainstorm ways to make the public accept Homelander as their lord and savior, the strength of the series’ satire is on full display.

The Church rebrands as the “Democratic Church of America.”

The Boys’ greatest boon, in its brash, obvious manner, is showing how the often grossly unqualified in power manipulate public perception to make the masses accept the unacceptable. Firecracker’s grand idea to do so involves essentially fusing the Church with the State, irrevocably. As Homelander has power even over the President, he’s already got the State. Rebranding the Church as a patriotic organization, the “Democratic Church of America,” would cede total control to him, especially if he accomplishes his goal of getting the original formula V1.

That’s if our titular band of rogues has anything to say about it. Let’s jump into the meat of The Boys Season 5 Episode 4. The Boys are heading towards Fort Harmony to find the V1 that’s allegedly left there. It seems like your typical The Boys mission: a smash-and-grab in a funky location. Easy peasy.

Yet, there’s a hostile vibe here. What starts as jarring comments towards each other evolves into outright insults and then physical violence before Frenchie (Tomer Capone) comes up with a theory- something in the air is turning them against each other. A spore, like The Last of Us, if you will.

Soldier Boy is everything Homelander wishes he could be.

Before they can solve their predicament, Homelander and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) are spotted approaching Fort Harmony. A lot of criticism of The Boys Season 5 has centered around what’s perceived to be an overuse of Soldier Boy. For me, that couldn’t be further from the case, especially when it comes to his relationship with Homelander.

As they’re walking in the woods in search of V1, Homelander looks like a puppy dog, practically screaming for his father’s approval, while Ackles’ gruff, perpetually pissed off turn communicates a resolve, a completeness that Homelander could never have. Even if it does come with a wallop of toxic masculinity, Soldier Boy is everything Homelander wishes he could be.

As the two approach Fort Harmony, their bickering intensifies. Soldier Boy, sick of the disappointment his son has brought him, locks him in a chamber that will blast him with pure uranium while he goes to look for V1 to destroy it. Little does he know, as The Boys discover, the V1 is gone, likely stolen by one of the few surviving V1 test subjects, Bombsight.

The Boys Season 5 Episode 4’s Starlight b-plot has her visiting her estranged father.

Now there’s an interesting tidbit, as Bombsight is set to be part of the cast of the upcoming spin-off Vought Rising. Along with some notable inquisitions by Soldier Boy into the whereabouts of Season 2 villain Clara/Stormfront, they’re not-so-subtly laying the groundwork for that show this season.

Meanwhile, The Boys Season 5 Episode 4’s b-plot involves Starlight (Erin Moriarty) visiting her estranged father. They have a frank discussion where he reveals he walked away because of her mother’s affirmation that Starlight was chosen by God, despite her knowing for a fact that isn’t the case. Starlight then sees how the local communities are affected by the hunt for Starlighters.

She realizes that those hunting her supporters are usually doing so out of fear of retaliation—a reality of living in an increasingly totalitarian society. Her subplot, which involves her father standing up to a local cop buddy who almost takes her away, is clear-eyed in showing how giving into fear is cowardice and that trusting in one another can be a quietly radical act, not to mention giving Erin Moriarty the sort of showcase she deserves. By the time she leaves her father, their relationship is repaired, and she has a new resolve.

Butcher intends to destroy the V1 when they find it.

Homelander, in the uranium chamber, is in rough shape, skin peeling off, when Butcher comes over to taunt him for what he’s done to Ryan. He says that his own desire to be liked—no, needed—is what makes him pathetic. In one of my personal favorite scenes of The Boys Season 5 Episode 4, Homelander does not back down. Instead, he reaffirms his own destiny as God, claiming that the rivers will run with the blood of enemies and that the world is his Birthright.

Homelander’s lonely void has been filled by his new, terrible purpose, while Anthony Starr is savoring the new opportunities to portray Homelander in this, ironically, demonic form. Even as a caged animal, his malice feels like it could bring the whole world down

When Butcher returns, The Boys are still going at each other’s throats, leading him to reveal that he’s not planning on keeping the V1 when they find it, but instead, planning to destroy it. That predictable beat is followed by the team members airing their grievances towards one another.

As The Boys Season 5 gains confidence, the prospect of it sticking the landing seems more and more likely.

Frenchie realizes that whatever’s causing this needs to be stopped now, so he comes to find a Supe fused to the wall in a mold-like formation. Soldier Boy arrives as well, recognizing him as a fellow V1 candidate. Ever savvy, Frenchie goads Soldier Boy into getting angry and killing the teammate to stop the anger it’s causing everyone.

After the kill, Soldier Boy seems completely dejected at the tragedy of losing a comrade, allowing The Boys the opportunity to slip out. Homelander busts out of his uranium prison. As he prepares to kill his father, he notices him crying. Even when Soldier Boys tells him to “just do it already,” he gives pause. It seems as though Homelander, now seeing that his father can be “weak,” sees an opportunity to gain his approval.

The episode ends with The Boys in various stages of upset, reeling from their inability to obtain the V1, as the Democratic Church of America introduces Homelander as its leader. The Boys Season 5 Episode 4 is a great episode of the series that affirms Homelander’s new resolve and the fractured nature of the titular team, making way for what I hope will be the sort of absolute chaos a “final season” has promised. As the season gets more confident, the prospect of it sticking the landing seems more and more likely.

The Boys Season 5 Episode 4 is now streaming on Prime Video with new episodes every Wednesday.

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