The penultimate episode of The Boys season four packs a lot of punches, literally and metaphorically. MM makes the tough choice to stay behind and stick with the Boys instead of living his dream of normalcy with Janine and Monique. Starlight is locked up at an undisclosed location after the shape-shifting supe stole her entire face (and slept with her man). And Ryan is finally standing up to Vought and Homelander to honor his mom’s legacy. But the most important thing that went down in this episode was the big battle at the Boys’ Flatiron headquarters. This fight was a game-changer that sparked a crumble among the Seven and made the Boys stronger (well, sort of). Nothing about it is holly nor jolly despite the Christmas decorations everywhere.
Butcher, Annie, and Hughie go on a mission where they discover the full details of the Bob Singer assassination plan. They run into a shape-shifting supe who gains the upper hand on them, wounds Hughie, and escapes. Butcher and Annie return back to the Boys’ homebase while Hughie goes off to try to reason with Victoria Neuman one last time.
A-Train Reveals That He’s the Leak to the Deep and Black Noir
Upon their return, the Deep and Black Noir are inside their headquarters and intent on killing them as Homelander instructed. The fight starts out quite rough for Butcher, who is sickly, and Annie, who still doesn’t have her powers back. But A-Train shows up and decides to reveal himself as the Vought leak. It’s a bold move for A-Train to make even if he thinks his secret will come out soon.
A-Train and MM help subdue Black Noir and the Deep; however, they don’t kill either one of them because they aren’t quite sure how (especially in Noir’s case). A-Train knows the duo will inform Homelander of his deceit, so he goes to Ashley and accepts her previous offer for them to run away from it all. She declines out of fear but tells him to remove his tracking chip.
Homelander Fires Sage After Discovering that A-Train Betrayed Him
Homelander is legitimately crying and devastated that A-Train would betray him. By this time, A-Train and his entire family are nowhere to be found. As Firecracker tries to comfort him, Sage enters the room and Homelander is angry that she somehow missed this information. She finally admits that she knew it was A-Train all along. Sage said it wasn’t a bad thing because he told the Boys exactly what she wanted him to tell them. Sage says they can still stick to her plan but Homelander immediately fires her. She leaves Vought Tower immediately, but not before a humorous reveal that she was playing (and sleeping with) the Deep and Black Noir. With the Deep and Black Noir beaten and bruised, Homelander heartbroken, and Sage and A-Train gone, the Seven is looking very weak. So much for that diversity initiative and A-Train’s ridiculous biopic, right?
Meanwhile, the Boys are more of a mixed bag. MM is back to being the crew’s moral compass and Butcher is actually leading like he should be, until he passes out at a bar from sickness. Frenchie and Kimiko are learning to forgive themselves and heal their friendship. Hughie is, well, doing the best he can, which isn’t great considering he is clueless about a shapeshifter imitating Annie. The crew is moving forward with stopping the assassination. Oh, and perhaps they will get the supe-killing virus to actually take out Homelander and/or Victoria Neuman. The finale is going to be a wild one, for sure.
Will A-Train and/or Sister Sage Return in The Boys?
That remains to be seen. The Boys could use A-Train’s powers and help in this final fight but he’s a walking target at this point. It is not impossible that he could pull a Queen Maeve and leave to live a normal life with his family. But it is more likely that he will have to face Homelander and the potentially deadly consequences for his betrayal.
Sister Sage felt like she found purpose and power through her association with the Seven. Now, she’s angry and heartbroken but she is also someone carrying a lot of rage and resentment in her bones. Yet another white man has betrayed her and this time she probably won’t let it slide. Sage played such a critical role in this season that it would be odd to have her leave and never return. We will see what happens in The Boys finale after this epic fight.