DISCLAIMER: This recap of The Boys Season 4 Episode 2, “Life Among the Septics,” contains spoilers. Proceed at your peril.
Episode two, “Life Among the Septics,” finds our titular heroes making their way to TruthCon for conspiracy-laden fun. One thing I love about this show is its desire to subvert societal norms and media tropes. Sure, the male nudity can feel gratuitous, but that’s the point. We see an oversaturation of female objectification in media, so why not shine that spotlight on the men this time? It’s brilliant. All this is to say that Chuck does dirty stuff in this episode.
This outing zeroes in on trauma and how we deal with it while poking fun at white supremacists and QAnon. It’s irreverent and cheeky. The drama between Mother’s Milk and Butcher is also sad to watch.
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A-Train and Will Ferrell
We open with A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) shooting a movie with none other than Will Ferrell, and it’s one of those “white savior” type racist films. This cameo was not on my 2024 bingo card. Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne), Vought’s favorite director, is at the helm. He praises Ferrell’s performance while telling A-Train he could loosen up. Later, Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchell) chats up A-Train, revealing he thought that killing the Hometeamers was “wack as f*ck.”
Meanwhile, Annie (Erin Moriarty) sits with Kiara (Kimberly-Sue Murray) after those Hometeamers beat her. She sees a news segment about two Black men being accused of murdering Todd and the Hometeamers. Of course, we know they aren’t the real murderers, but it perfectly highlights our corrupt, racist justice system.
Voughtality
Elsewhere, Hughie (Jack Quaid) talks to his mother, Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt), after not having seen her since he was six years old. So, what has Mommy Dearest been up to? Why, selling products for Voughtality, of course. Hughie explains that he and The Boys are fighting to dismantle Vought. As for his comatose father, we learn that Daphne has power of attorney. She and Hughie’s dad have been talking for the last year or two.
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Then, Frenchie (Tomer Capone) tries to sneak out of Colin’s (Elliot Knight) place after spending the night there. Colin wakes up before Frenchie leaves. He’s still sore after taking a few hits at the Hometeamers versus Starlighters violence outbreak the day before. Frenchie embraces Colin. At the same time, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) tries therapy on for size. She becomes overwhelmed, though, and leaves the session prematurely.
Kimiko returns to The Boys’ headquarters to find Butcher (Karl Urban) telling Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Hughie, Annie and Frenchie about his terminal diagnosis. Annie reminds him that she told him Temp V was dangerous. MM fires Butcher. He’s rightfully angry that Butcher has been lying to the group for the last six months.
Homeboy
Later, Homelander (Antony Starr), Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) and Ashley (Colby Minifie) check out the unveiling of the latter’s official supersuit. Folks, meet … Homeboy. Everyone in the room is impressed except Ryan. Okay, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) is also unimpressed. Sage states this pitch blows harder than Nancy Reagan on the MGM backlot. This bit made me giggle. She believes Ryan’s brand should reflect that he’s the first natural-born superhero, not one of Vought’s lab rats.
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Then, Sage and Homelander hand Ryan his crime itinerary. He’s on track to make his first (staged) save. Pretty soon, Homeboy will be on The Seven like his old man. Ryan looks less than enthused. Ashley doesn’t like Sage stepping on her toes, even though Homelander wants her in the room. She follows Sage onto the elevator and is about to tell her off when The Deep (Chace Crawford) hops on.
He asks Ashley if he can be present for Ryan’s first solo save (which doesn’t make it “solo,” but I digress). Ashley insults him and reminds him that he’s still on PETA’s bestiality watchlist. After Ashley exits the elevator, Sage tells Deep that Ashley shouldn’t talk to him that way. He’s a person with deep feelings (Get it?).
Follow Sage
Elsewhere, The Boys hash out what happened to Todd and the two Hometeamers. Who actually killed them? Mother’s Milk assumes this is Sage’s doing after having researched her. We see a photo of her driver’s license on the screen. MM tapped Sage’s phone and learned she has a reservation at a fancy Vought hotel in Harrisburg. He asks Kimiko and Frenchie to accompany him to said hotel. Annie stays in New York to support Hughie.
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Meanwhile, Ryan is in rehearsal for his first save. The fight choreographer walks him through what’ll happen. Homelander oversees the rehearsal, while Deep and Black Noir II somehow find a way to be involved. Deep finds Ashley at the craft services table during a break from practice. He declares that she’s not allowed to denigrate him. He asserts his dominance. I’ll admit, I thought Ashley was feigning fear in this scene, but perhaps Deep legitimately scared her.
Later, the gang arrives at the Vought hotel to find none other than Butcher waiting for them. Hey, he might be a dying man, but he’ll always be 10 steps ahead. Butcher walks with them through TruthCon, a convention for white supremacists and QAnon. Side note: I love the “Stormfront is alive” sign. While walking through the booths at the convention, Kimiko notices a sign for child trafficking with the sentence, “We demand all children released now!” She experiences a flashback to her childhood in the Shining Light Liberation Army. Kimiko breaks away from the group and decides to shotgun beers.
Do Not Engage
Then, we meet Splinter (Rob Benedict), who sets the stage for Firecracker’s (Valorie Curry) panel. MM, Butcher and Frenchie sit in the audience. We see Sage in the front row. Kimiko sneaks in after the panel starts. She’s a bit tipsy after her beer-chugging spree. The Prime Splinter leaves the room. MM asks Frenchie to tail him but not to engage.
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Kimiko accompanies Frenchie as they comb the convention booths for Splinter. She notices he received a text from Colin but hasn’t responded. Kimiko takes it upon herself to send Colin an eggplant emoji. This girl is the president of the Frenchie Needs a Boyfriend Club. She encourages Frenchie to get that dick, stating that she’s already had sex with someone.
Next, our pair follows Splinter into a sauna, where they see something that’s standard fare in the world of The Boys. Splinter and his copies eat each other’s bums while he masturbates to a photo of Firecracker. Is this what you’ve been up to since Supernatural ended, Chuck?
A Family Reunion
Later, Hughie and Annie follow A-Train. They see him walking through a park with his nephews. His brother Nathan (Christian Keyes) arrives, and he’s furious. If you recall, at the end of Season 3, Nathan cast A-Train out of his life. Naturally, their reunion is tense and fueled by anger. Annie tries to exit Hughie’s car to confront A-Train after Nathan and his sons leave; however, Hughie stops her.
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Meanwhile, Sage introduces herself to Firecracker, revealing she works with Homelander. MM and Butcher eavesdrop on their chat from afar. Sage asks Firecracker to put her powers on display. Firecracker snaps her fingers to generate a tiny spark and some smoke — pretty lackluster. Sage wonders what Firecracker is selling, to which she responds that she gives people a purpose. Sage requests that Firecracker meet her in Deep’s Blue Sea Room that evening.
Then, the ire festering between MM and Butcher reaches a fever pitch. MM confronts Butcher outside the hotel. He also beats the snot out of Butcher, which the latter seemingly enjoys too much. Meanwhile, inside the hotel, a drunk Kimiko writes “Bullsh*t” on that child trafficking sign. A man confronts her about this, and Frenchie finds Kimiko laying the smackdown on said man.
The Footage
Later, Annie and Hughie return to The Boys’ headquarters to find A-Train waiting for them. He knew they were tailing him. A-Train hands them security camera footage of the two Starlighters in custody being wrongfully accused of murder. They were a mile from the Hometeamers at their time of death. He thanks Annie and Hughie for not confronting him when his family was present. Annie fires back that A-Train should thank Hughie because she would’ve blasted him, and he would’ve deserved it. A-Train agrees before speeding away.
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Elsewhere, it’s time for Ryan’s first solo save. The fight choreographer is playing the criminal in this scenario. Deep and Black Noir II stand off to the side, useless, while Ryan pretends to save a little girl from the antagonist. Homelander arrives, which gets the bystanders’ phones buzzing as they record him. However, Ryan struggles with his lines and stunt choreography even after all the rehearsals. Homelander orders his son to push the man away. Unfortunately, Ryan uses his full supe strength, sending the man flying into the building off in the distance. He’s very much dead.
Meanwhile, The Boys file into Deep’s Blue Sea Room to meet Sage. She arrives with Firecracker, Prime Splinter and his copies. All the Splinters brandish guns in The Boys’ direction. Sage declares that Homelander would love it if Firecracker and Splinter killed our heroes. Why? Because they’ve taken out more supes than anyone in the world. Sage departs so the fun can begin.
Splintering
Then, the bloody battle begins as The Boys fight Firecracker and the Splinters. The violence spills into someone’s bat mitzvah, which has a Marvelous Mrs. Maisel theme (another brilliant show). While duking it out, Frenchie notices the Splinters rubbing their eyes. They have pink eye after their ass munching in the sauna. At one point, the Splinters overpower Butcher, so MM, Kimiko and Frenchie step in to help.
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Thankfully, our titular heroes take out the Splinters, including their prime. Firecracker flees the scene. Elsewhere, Homey brings milkshakes back to his penthouse for him and Ryan. Naturally, Ryan is distraught over inadvertently killing someone. Homey doesn’t understand why Ryan cares so much. That stunt guy went out doing what he loved. Homelander reminds his son that he’s “chosen.” He’s special. Again with the fostering of the god complex…
Later, Annie and Hughie are present when the two Starlighters are exonerated. The Starlighters gather outside the courthouse to celebrate their freedom. Hughie encourages Annie to show her support and embolden the Starlighters to keep fighting the good fight.
Frenchie’s Secret and Butcher’s Plea
Frenchie gets high and talks to Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) via video chat. He talks to her about Colin. She clocks it right away that Frenchie is intimate with Colin. Cherie wonders what will happen when Colin discovers that Frenchie murdered his family. Uh-oh.
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After practicing his speech, Hughie tells his mom off at the hospital. I don’t blame him. I would do the same thing. Hughie declares that Daphne cannot make any medical decisions without him signing off. Meanwhile, Kimiko sits at her desk with the therapist’s business card in her hand. She’s contemplating returning to therapy. Then, Kimiko reads an article about the Shining Light being in NYC. She storms out.
Butcher and Mother’s Milk have another heated conversation. Butcher begs MM to help him save Ryan from Homelander. He needs MM. Butcher confesses that now that he’s staring death in the face, he realizes he’s messed up his life at every step. Mother’s Milk declares Butcher’s softening is “too little, too late.” He refuses to help. Butcher leaves in silence.
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The Boys drops new episodes every Thursday on Prime Video.
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