The fourth season of the Amazon Prime Video hit series, “The Boys,” is rattling some anti-“woke” critics and has a much lower audience score on Rotten Tomatoes than its predecessors, but the show’s creators have said the series was always intended to be a satirical critique of right-wing politics.

"The Boys - Season 3" : Special Screening At Le Grand Rex In Paris

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KEY FACTS

The first three episodes of “The Boys” season 4 premiered on Prime Video last week, and several elements of the plot and new characters have drawn criticism for allegedly turning the superhero series “woke.”

Though the new season boasts a strong 95% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes, the audience score stands at just 51%—much lower than the previous three seasons and the only to have a “rotten” score.

In the season’s first episode, a primary character Frenchie is revealed to be pursuing a relationship with a male character, suggesting that Frenchie, who has previously pursued women, may be bisexual—and causing some fans to lament that “they made Frenchie gay.”

The season also introduces a new character, Sister Sage, a Black woman who is considered the “smartest person in the world”—and a tweet by video game publication IGN introducing her garnered hundreds of replies, many of which criticized her inclusion as “woke.”

Some critics on social media accused the show of pushing an anti-Donald Trump message—though many others pointed out that the creators of the show have long maintained Trump inspired the main antagonist of the series.

KEY BACKGROUND

“The Boys,” created by writer-producer Eric Kripke, first premiered on Prime Video in 2019 and takes place in a universe where superheroes are real and powerful figures in society, though they abuse their powers and engage in corrupt behavior. The Emmy-winning series has been interpreted by some viewers as having an anti-right-wing tilt, with Kripke describing the series as a “story about the intersection of celebrity and authoritarianism and how social media and entertainment are used to sell fascism.” Some viewers have perceived one character—the antagonist superhero, Homelander—as a metaphor for Trump. Kripke told Rolling Stone in 2022 that Homelander has “always been a Trump analogue for me,” pointing to the character’s “combustible mix of complete weakness and insecurity, and just horrible power and ambition.”

CONTRA

Days before the premiere of season 4, Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter that viewers who think the show is too “woke” should “go watch something else.” He also expressed surprise some viewers perceive the Trump-inspired Homelander as the series’ hero: “What do you say to that? The show’s many things. Subtle isn’t one of them.” Many social media users mocked others who lamented the anti-Trump undertones of season 4. “It took some people 4 seasons to realize The Boys was making fun of them the whole time,” one user tweeted, garnering nearly 350,000 likes. One scene from the fourth season, in which a right-wing character gives a bizarre speech about children being forced to become transgender with references to the QAnon-affiliated adrenochrome conspiracy theory, went viral on X, with one user garnering 130,000 likes pointing out similarities between the series and real far-right talking points. In another viral tweet with more than 200,000 likes, film critic Erik Anderson posted: “Right wing fans of The Boys finally realizing the show has been making fun of them the entire time,” with a picture of a character from the series “Euphoria” asking, “Wait, is this f—ing play about us?”

TANGENT

Some social media users drew comparisons between “The Boys” and “The Acolyte,” a Disney+ series set in the “Star Wars” universe that has drawn anti-“woke” backlash this month. An interview of “The Acolyte” creator Leslye Hedaland, a queer woman, and lead actress Amandla Stenberg went viral after the two laughed when the interviewer suggested they had made the “gayest” installment in the “Star Wars” franchise. Stenberg also replied: “Star Wars is so gay already—I mean, have you seen the ‘fits?” The series’ third episode, which aired last week, drew further criticism from fans who felt a controversial plot line broke “Star Wars” canon. In the episode, Stenberg’s character is implied to have been conceived by two female witches who used the Force—prompting critics to slam the “lesbian space witch” plot and others to question whether their birth diminishes Anakin Skywalker’s status as the “chosen one,” as he was also born by the Force. The series has been review-bombed on Rotten Tomatoes, with just a 14% audience score.