The Boys episode 5 lampoons Disney and we finally see those V’d-up chickens the trailer teased.
Spoiler warning! These reviews will be spoiler-free for the week in question, but will discuss previous seasons and episodes in detail.
There are days when I can’t quite believe this is my job. It tends to be the days when I get to write the words “V’d-up chickens and flying sheep”. Today is one of those days.
The trailer for The Boys season 4 teased farm animals that had been, shall we say, enhanced with Compound V, the serum which gives you superpowers. In the trailer, we saw a superpowered chicken burst through some poor guy’s chest and we’ve finally arrived at the episode that gives us a whole load of animals with superpowers.
Needless to say, I was a big fan of this episode.
But first, the episode opens with V52 Expo, which is clearly a parody of Disney’s D23 Expo, so kudos for showrunner Eric Kripke for having the courage to go there. V52 Expo gives the cheering audience all the latest projects coming from Vought, including but not limited to, Training A-Train, an inspirational sports movie starring A-Train and Will Ferrell.
If you haven’t watched Gen V, the spin-off series focusing on young superheroes, the rest of episode 5 might require a bit more focus. Not to worry, the pre-episode recap will give the necessary highlights, but it’s starting to seem that watching Gen V is a necessity. Gen V introduced us to a virus that could kill superheroes and now Butcher and Jeffrey Dean Morgan’s mysterious Kessler plot to steal the virus to destroy Homelander.
Which brings us to the chickens. The crew’s search for the virus takes them to a remote farm, where superpowered chickens, cows and sheep roam. And yes, it’s exactly as mental and fun as you’re imagining. It’s gory, it’s crazy, it’s The Boys doing what The Boys does best.
Of course, Hughie has been dealing with his dad being in the hospital and his mum has also made a surprise return into his life. It looked like all hope was lost, until Hughie devised a last-minute plan to shoot his dad with some Compound V, only to abandon the plan at the last minute.
However, as we saw at the end of last week’s episode, Hughie’s mum Daphne did in fact add the V to Hugh Sr’s drip. For a moment, things are looking up as Hugh Sr awakens and the family is all back together. The Boys isn’t exactly known for allowing the characters to live happily ever after, though.
It’s great to see Simon Pegg back in action and being allowed to have some fun with the role, which so far has been a rather small one. Pegg, known largely for his comedy roles, gets to showcase his dramatic acting chops here as Hugh Sr goes through confusion, rage and desperation as his new powers kick in.
If last week’s episode was the most brutal episode of The Boys this season, episode 5 is surely the wackiest. Still, amidst the flying sheep and gore, The Boys still manages to offer us some potent emotional beats. The ending of the episode is a bittersweet one and seemingly sets us for a big finale in a couple of episodes’ time. Butcher is veering closer and closer to villainy, fuelled by desperation, while Frenchie is trying to repent and Hughie learns to let go.
I’ve mentioned before that this season of The Boys is perhaps its most politically explicit yet, but it’s quickly becoming clear to me that this might also be the saddest, most tragic season so far. Kripke and his team of writers are really digging into the characters’ pasts and digging up some great, emotionally resonant stuff.
The Boys streams on Prime Video with new episodes each Thursday.
