Events escalate as we build to the season finale

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The Boys season 4 episode 7 – titled ‘The Insider’ – follows on from what is arguably the most NSFW instalment of this season. As I’m sure you all remember given how fucked up it was, last week’s episode saw an alt-right cocktail party take a nasty turn as Hughie ended up in Tek Knight’s sex dungeon and Neuman convinced a bunch of rich assholes to back her in invoking the 25th amendment. Oh, there was also the small matter of the reveal that Joe Kessler only exists in Billy’s head!

Events are clearly escalating as we build to the season finale, with this week’s penultimate episode further ratcheting up the tension. Ryan is having doubts which causes issues for Homelander, MM has to face an impossible decision, and Sage’s apparent lack of progress with her masterplan is leading to frustration. Elsewhere, The Boys run into a shape-shifting Supe who means trouble.

There’s therefore plenty to unpack, so join us as we dive right into The Boys’ latest episode. Warning! The following features plenty of spoilers for The Boys season 4 episode 7, so make sure you have watched the latest episode before reading on!

A musical interlude

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We open on the rehearsal for the Christmas special of Vought’s musical-comedy show Avenue V, where Ryan becomes uncomfortable as he discusses antifa with a puppet version of A-Train, unhappy that they are advising kids to report on their parents. The frustrated Ryan comes home to a present from Billy of a Butcher family photo, whilst Homelander leaves him a voicemail telling him to “suck it up” when it comes to the show. Later during the live version, Ryan tells the crew to stop as he delivers his own message to the audience about how family is all that you’ve got.

And that isn’t the only thing causing issues for Homelander, who tells Sage that he and his right-hand woman Firecracker will take over finding the leak. He tells Sage to instead focus on preparing ‘the shooter’ for the inauguration on January 6th.

Meanwhile The Deep’s romance with octopus girlfriend Ambrosius is fracturing due to his sexual relationship with Sage. Later, Ambrosius reveals that she knows about his tryst and they have a fight, which results in him killing her. This has a huge impact on The Deep who tells Homelander he finally has “clarity” and is willing to kill whoever he needs to.

It seems that everyone is having problems, which for Annie at the start of the episode comes in the shape of mommy issues. Her mother is shocked about the abortion and has been ignoring her calls. More crucially though she accidentally reveals that Hughie saved the Starlight suit, much to Annie’s dismay.

Later at The Boys HQ Butcher returns informing the group that Sameer has been working for him creating more of the virus – the news that it could lead to a ‘Supe genocide’ doesn’t go down well. Billy also reveals that he managed to get Frenchie out of jail as they needed his help when it came to the virus – they promise it will be strong enough to top Homelander but not cause a global pandemic.

MM puts Billy back in charge of The Boys following his panic attack in the last episode. He gives his family money to escape whilst things are heating up in the US – his ex-wife Monique responds by kissing him and asking him to come with them. A-Train then pays MM a visit, delivering some harsh realities that encourages Marvin to stay and fight. Naturally the news disappoints Monique.

Now leader of The Boys once more, Butcher takes Annie and Hughie with him to enter a suspect’s home where they find files with detail of assignments for January 6 – Singer’s rally. They also discover a bruised woman hiding in a closet, who then attacks them. During the chase she starts peeling off her skin taking on a new appearance, revealing that she is a shape-shifting Supe. That only means one thing – trouble.

Doppelganger delight

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Following that Hughie pays Neuman a visit in a last-ditch attempt to beg her to stop with these dangerous plans – she doesn’t but she does say she’s sorry to hear about the death of his dad.

Meanwhile The Deep and Black Noir visit The Boys HQ, where they fight Annie and Butcher. A-Train comes in to save the day revealing that he’s been betraying Vought. He does a runner after defeating the Supes taking out his tracking chip, whilst The Boys evacuate.

Homelander and Firecracker have more luck on their mission, visiting a nervous Webweaver who reveals that he has been sharing information with The Boys. Homelander responds exactly how you would expect him to do so, tearing Webweaver’s body in half. It’s very gruesome.

Upon returning to the Vought Tower Firecracker and Homelander learn of A-Train’s betrayal. She comforts the heartbroken Supe, whilst Sage makes things worse by revealing she knew A-Train was the leak all along. And not only that, but she was feeding him information to give to The Boys that she wanted them to know, it all being part of her big masterplan. An angry Homelander fires her from The Seven and on Sage’s way out she bumps into Black Noir and The Deep, where it’s revealed she’s been sleeping with both of them.

Back at the makeshift lab, Frenchie and Kimiko open up to each other after he avoided her visitations in jail. She reveals why she can’t speak, with a flashback showing a young Kimiko murdering another girl without making a sound during her time with Shining Light. After that, she was unable to speak again. In the flashback we also see Kimiko fight the mysterious woman she keeps encountering this season. Her and Frenchie both wonder how they can possibly forgive themselves, saying that once the virus is ready they should set Sameer free despite Butcher’s wishes.

Sameer reveals that with Frenchie’s help the virus is now good to go – but in a shock move he injects Kimiko with it. However, before it starts spreading Frenchie amputates the infected leg saving Kimiko. He now hopes to be able to recreate the virus from that leg.

Celebrating at a bar after, Butcher collapses as the imaginary Joe Kessler watches on. At home, Hughie tells Annie he visited Neuman – he’s interrupted when she comes in wearing the Starlight suit, saying that she wanted to try it on. They then have sex whilst she’s in the suit, but later that night as Annie opens the safe to take the laptop with all their information on it, it’s revealed that she’s the shape-shifting Supe not actually Annie. That’s because the real Annie has been kidnapped (by the woman who took a selfie with her at the bar earlier) and is chained up in a basement somewhere. And so the episode closes, setting events up neatly for what is sure to be an exciting finale.

The Boys season 4 episode 7 Easter eggs

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Tilda Swinton: Following her cameo earlier on in the season, the actor once again returns to voice The Deep’s octopus girlfriend Ambrosius. Given that she dies during this episode, this will be the last time we hear Swinton’s dulcet tones in The Boys.

Black Noir: During this episode it’s revealed that the new Black Noir is able to fly, which adds a fun twist to the fight scene. It’s also a smart nod to the fact in the comics he’s a clone of Homelander who, of course, possesses the power of flight.

Shape-shifting Supes: This episode introduces a new shape-shifting Supe into the mix, one who poses as Annie which means that trouble lies ahead. However, as Butcher mentions, we have come across some before in The Boys – most notably a character named Doppelganger who worked for Vought in both seasons 1 and 2.

The anti-Supe Virus: This has repeatedly been a feature this season but here we see it in action as Sameer stabs Kimiko with it. It was first introduced in spin-off show Gen V and you can learn more about it with our Supe Virus guide.

The Boys Season 4 episodes 1 – 7 are available to stream on Amazon Prime Video right now with new episodes dropping every Thursday.