‘The Boys: Season 4’ review: A blood-soaked mix of politics and gore

TV review

Amazon’s Prime Video series “The Boys” returns for a fourth season that’s not subtle in its satire of Trump-era MAGA politics but it’s certainly funny.

Jeffrey Dean Morgan (“The Walking Dead: Dead City”), who grew up in Kirkland, reunites with “The Boys” executive producer Eric Kripke (they previously worked together on “Supernatural”) to play a new character, Joe Kessler, who has an established relationship with Butcher (Karl Urban).

Butcher leads The Boys, a vigilante group aligned against a group of corporate superheroes known as The Seven, created by conglomerate Vought International and led by the fascist Homelander (Antony Starr). This week the first three episodes of the eight-episode season debut; then it’s one episode weekly on Thursdays through July 18.

The extremely gory — it’s often hilariously blood-soaked — series savagely satirizes right-wing politics and culture wars this season.

Homelander discovers a new ally in Firecracker (Valorie Curry), a right-wing TV news pundit who uses the slogan “Make America Super Again.” That fits right in with Homelander’s plan to take out anti-supes President-elect Bob Singer (Jim Beaver) and install Vice President-elect Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), a closeted superhero.

Tellingly, Homelander’s culture warrior shtick doesn’t play with the elites who poke holes in his plans for supes domination. But they respond approvingly to Neuman’s approach.

“The masses are [expletive] stupid,” she says. “Anyone who owns a ‘Live, Laugh, Love’ mug shouldn’t have a say in how our country is run. People are a labor force that need a kind but firm hand. There are no nations. There’s Apple, Exxon and Berkshire Hathaway. Corporations are the real superpowers here. You should be able to operate without any regulation or restrictions. After all, you’re billionaires. You’re smart enough to know what’s best.”

Kripke, the series’ creator, has always used “The Boys” as a clever ongoing satire of corporate media culture. This season includes an over-the-top Vought event with ham-fisted attempts at inclusivity.

“For the first time in Vought history we have two Black heroes in The Seven and one unspecified,” The Deep (Chace Crawford), one of The Seven, says. “Vought proudly supports and amplifies BIPOC voices.”

In addition to Butcher’s interaction with Kessler, this season Butcher is also preoccupied with his own mortality and taking care of Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), his adoptive son, who was born after Homelander raped Butcher’s wife. Ryan wavers in his allegiances, shuttling between Butcher and Homelander.

“The Boys” is a lot to take and the gore will certainly make it a no-go for some viewers. But from the intricate plotting to the show’s knack for parodying already over-the-top American political and cultural touchstones, “The Boys” remains unlike any other American series.