The Boys Season 4: Fans' surprise at Homelander and political satire

The fourth season of 'The Boys' has unleashed a wave of criticism from fans who accuse the series of going "woke." Surprisingly, many seem to have failed to grasp that Homelander was always the villain. This phenomenon reveals a dangerous gap in media understanding.

The Boys, Amazon Prime Video's acclaimed and brutally satirical series, has always prided itself on its lack of subtlety. From its first episode, it has presented a world where superheroes are corrupt corporate products and its leader, Homelander (Patriot), is a narcissistic sociopath with delusions of grandeur. However, with the premiere of its fourth season, a disconcerting phenomenon has emerged: a significant portion of its audience seems to be realizing this for the first time, and they aren't happy.

Social media has been filled with complaints accusing the series of being "woke" and having a "political agenda," with many viewers expressing their fury at discovering that Homelander, the character they seemingly idolized, is, in fact, the story's villain.

From the beginning, The Boys has been a scathing critique not only of the superhero genre, but also of contemporary society. The series has mercilessly parodied:

• * Corporatism and media manipulation through Vought International.
• * Religious fanaticism and hypocrisy.
• * Celebrity culture and the obsession with image.
• * And, increasingly explicitly, American politics, with Homelander becoming a thinly veiled allegory for authoritarian and populist political figures.

The character of Homelander, draped in the American flag and speaking of law and order while secretly (and now, publicly) committing atrocities, was never presented as a hero. He was designed as a critique of the idea of ​​absolute power without accountability.

"The show is a lot of things. Subtle isn't one of them. If, for example, you think Homelander is a hero, I just don't know what to tell you," series creator Eric Kripke said in response to the criticism.

The reaction of a segment of the public reflects a worrying pattern in media consumption, where satirical or critically portrayed characters are adopted as icons by groups that fail to grasp the irony. This has happened before with figures like Tyler Durden of Fight Club and Patrick Bateman of American Psycho.

In Homelander's case, some viewers were drawn to his power, his anti-establishment rhetoric, and his apparent defiance of political correctness, deliberately ignoring the violence, abuse, and mental instability that define the character. The fourth season, by making its political satire even more direct—with plotlines that reflect current polarization and misinformation—has made it impossible to ignore the message any longer.

Criticism isn't limited to Homelander. The introduction of characters like Sister Sage, a super-intelligent Black woman, and the exploration of Frenchie's bisexuality have been described as "forced inclusion" by the same groups.

This reaction exposes a fundamental division in the audience:

• * A group that enjoys the series for its social commentary, dark humor, and criticism of power.
• * Another group that apparently only saw the violence and the spectacle, and now feels "betrayed" upon realizing that the series has a critical point of view on ideologies that they themselves might share.

Despite being described by some as the "weakest" season or as having "filler plots," the fourth installment of The Boys has proven to be the most provocative. Not because of its graphic violence, but because it forces a portion of its audience to look in the mirror the series has been holding up to them for four years.