The Boys 4×02 “Life Among the Septics” starts with an unexpected cameo from Will Ferrell acting in a movie about A-Train’s life. Or rather the life that Vought has written for him. It’s obvious that A-Train isn’t happy with what’s happening, but when has he ever really fought against their decisions? A-Train has always been about staying at the top and in Homelander’s good graces to keep his spot safe. His moral compass has gone back and forth throughout the series, but he’s usually chosen himself over others even if it means people getting hurt or killed.
However, it seems like A-Train is getting a little tired of being Vought’s plaything. After getting caught talking to his nephews, his brother calls him out on his lies and A-Train looks genuinely upset about this. It’s obvious that he’s torn between wanting to stay at the top with also wanting to be a true hero to those who look up to him. It seems like this season is setting up A-Train’s wavering loyalty to Vought, but we’ll have to wait and see how this plays out. There could be some hope for him after he gives Starlight and Hughie evidence to prove the two Starlighters accused of killing Todd and the other two men didn’t do it.
Starlight Is Needed Whether Annie Likes It Or Not
Annie has spent both episodes trying to get away from her Starlight title, but this isn’t the time to do it. Now, Starlight is needed more than ever. Annie may not like it, but Starlight is who she is. They’re not two separate personas like she thinks they are. Hughie does try to tell her that Starlight is not just a hero or title, but that’s who she is and that’s what the people need. It’s what the Starlighters need to keep up the fight against the Hometeamers.
Starlight and Annie are one and the same even if Annie doesn’t like it. But she does come to accept it after getting oddly inspired by A-Train. Despite their differences in the past, A-Train does have his good moments. Thanks to him helping her and Hughie out, Starlight accepts her position as leader of the Starlighters.
Homelander Is Trying To Make Ryan Into Him
Meanwhile, Vought and Homelander are trying to mold Ryan into the next Homelander by giving him showing what could be his superhero costume and his life’s new backstory. Ryan isn’t exactly comfortable with this new image in the works and Sister Sage agrees. She claims that Ryan needs to have his own hero identity since he’s the first natural-born superhero. But Homelander is going through an internal crisis, this doesn’t sit well with him. He has to be at the center of attention.
During Ryan’s first heroic save, he interrupts it and basically orders his son to push Koy (the “criminal” of the save) as hard as he can. Feeling the pressure, Ryan does so and kills Koy. No one expected that to happen, but Homelander isn’t fazed by it and tells Ryan he did well. He continues trying to enforce the belief that his son should look at humans as “toys for our amusement.” However, it seems like Ryan is starting to see his father in a new, cruel light.
Sister Sage Working Behind The Scenes
So far, Sister Sage has been playing behind the scenes to set everything up to get The Boys out of the way and give Homelander his empire. Recruiting Firecracker sets up an opponent for Starlight, who is arguably the biggest threat to Vought. With her good reputation, Starlight has a large number of supporters in the general public. However, Firecracker, who is largely against Starlight, is ready to tear her and her reputation down. Sage knows this will keep Starlight busy and that only leaves The Boys, but Sage isn’t just targeting them.
She’s also targeting people within Vought. After undermining Vought’s plans to make Ryan the new Homelander, Ashley tries to tell Sage she can’t speak to Homelander the way she did. Sage brushes her off but listens to how she disrespectfully talks to The Deep. After that, she encourages Deep to fight back against Ashley. We don’t know what Sage’s plans are or if she’s truly an ally of Homelander, but it’s terrifying how manipulative she is. She knows what to say and seems to be 10 steps ahead of everyone, even someone as smart as MM.
Truthcon Brings Out More Than The Truth
Butcher tells The Boys about his condition and MM makes the hard decision to fire him. However, this doesn’t stop Butcher from attending Truthcon, a conservative and conspiracy theorists convention, with them and learning more about Sister Sage, who is also attending. Turns out Sage is there to recruit Firecracker, who is a speaker there. While there, Kimiko has flashbacks of her brutal past after seeing a Shining Light poster which leads her to drinking 8 beers. If this wasn’t such a serious situation, it would be funny to watch and enjoy. Turns out Kimiko is a bit of a funny and happy drunk. At least around Frenchie, she is. But it was funny seeing her give an awkward thumbs-up when she and Frenchie caught Splinter in an even more awkward situation.
MM and Butcher have a moment when MM takes Butcher outside. While MM faced his demons of the past last season with Soldier Boy, even he’s not completely safe from this season’s underlying theme. Butcher appears to be MM’s past demon this season and he’s at his limit. He mentions the past after hitting Butcher a few times and how he wants them to be brothers again. However, MM can’t ignore Butcher’s past lies and actions.
MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko are caught trying to listen in on Firecracker and Sage’s meeting. Sage has set this up to be Firecracker’s final audition and orders her to kill them. The Boys fight Firecracker and Splinter and his clones. Things get a little hairy when they seem outmatched, but thankfully Butcher appears with his trusty crowbar and kills Splinter. Firecracker runs away after seeing she’s alone.
The Past Haunts The Boys In Different Ways
Later on, we finally learn why Frenchie is unsure about having a relationship with Colin. Turns out, he killed Colin’s family years ago and feels guilty about it. A video chat with his friend Cheri brings little comfort and Frenchie has to find a way to tell Colin the truth. Telling him more than likely guarantees the end of their relationship and Frenchie’s happiness. But not telling him is eating away Frenchie and he doesn’t want to lie to Colin.
Despite helping them, MM refuses to let Butcher back into the group. His past decisions and lies are coming back to bite him and there’s little he can do to stop it. For his friends, it’s far too late for him to turn over a new leaf. Butcher might want to do right, but it’s going to take a lot of work before his friends can trust him again.
The past and all its decisions and choices made back then are coming back to haunt everyone in different ways. And we can’t wait to see if they resolve their issues. Either way, it’s going to be bloody.
The Boys is now streaming on Amazon Prime.
THIS SEASONS REVIEWS
- ‘The Boys’ 4×01 Review: “Department of Dirty Tricks”
- ‘The Boys’ 4×02 Review: “Life Among the Septics”
- ‘The Boys’ 4×03 Review: “We’ll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here”
- ‘The Boys’ 4×04 Review: “Wisdom of the Ages”
- ‘The Boys’ 4×05 Review: “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son”
- ‘The Boys’ 4×06 Review: “Dirty Business”
