Jan Thijs/Prime Video
Amazon has released a statement and added a warning with the launch of “The Boys” Season 4 finale, which is the conclusion to a season-long storyline that has taken place in the time between a presidential election and inauguration day, during which assassination attempts are made on the president-elect and vice president-elect.
Though the episode of the satirical superhero drama, previously titled “Assassination Run,” was written more than a year ago and was filmed last year, its release comes in the days following an assassination attempt on former U.S. president — and current presidential candidate — Donald Trump. The episode was retitled to simply “Season Four Finale” and added a “viewer discretion advised” warning at the beginning.
“The season finale of ‘The Boys’ contains scenes of fictional political violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, especially in light of the injuries and tragic loss of life sustained during the assassination attempt on former President Trump,” read a statement shared by Prime Video. “‘The Boys’ is a fictitious series that was filmed in 2023, and any scene or plotline similarities to these real-world events are coincidental and unintentional. Amazon, Sony Pictures Television and the producers of ‘The Boys’ reject, in the strongest terms, real-world violence of any kind.”
Created by Eric Kripke based on the graphic novel series of the same name, “The Boys” has covered political storylines that often mirror current events, since its first season launched in 2019. Season 4 has been set in the aftermath of the election of presidential candidate Robert Singer (played by Jim Beaver) and his villainous running mate, the undercover super-powered Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit).
Neuman has been working for superhero mega-corporation Vought, and with its supe supremacist leader, Homelander (Antony Starr). Her agenda has made her a target for assassination by the anti-supe squad, The Boys, led by Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie (Jack Quaid), who have been attempting to kill her since the season premiere on June 13.
The sixth episode of Season 4 of “The Boys” featured Homelander, Victoria Neuman and supe Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) rally some Federalist Society one-percenters to fall in line with their plan for total supe domination, which includes assassinating Singer following inauguration and upping Neuman to president and then creating internment camps for any of their detractors.
“When we first pitched the show, it was before Trump was elected,” Kripke said in a June 18 interview with Variety, explaining the increasing political nature of “The Boys.” “And the idea that a celebrity would actively want to turn themselves into a fascist autocrat was kind of a crazy idea. I mean, it still is. But it turned out to have happened? We sort of lucked into a show whose metaphor is really about the moment we’re living in, which is the cross-section of celebrity and authoritarianism. And so once we realize that, we’re like, ‘Well, we have to go all the way.’ And so every season we’ve just pushed it a little bit further, but it’s all over. I mean, it’s all over Season 1. I mean, [Homelander is] giving very George Bush speeches. He’s being praised by throngs of devout followers. It is there from the beginning.”
