First Reactions to ‘The Boys’ Season 4 Finale Are In: “Best Episode of the Show”

‘The Boys,’ a globally popular superhero series, concluded its fourth season with a resounding impact. Despite initially lukewarm reception, the season gained momentum, achieving a Certified Fresh rating and high viewership. However, a significant number of fans expressed dissatisfaction, review-bombing the season due to its heightened political themes, which the showrunners seemingly disregarded.

Today, July 18, 2024, marks the release of the final episode of Season 4 titled “Season Four Finale” (originally titled “Assassination Run,” as detailed in our special report). We have reviewed the episode for you. In summary, the series ended with a bang, seamlessly tying together the season’s chaos into a fittingly dramatic conclusion.

However, instead of a traditional review, this article will compile initial reactions from both fans and critics. We’ve scoured Twitter and IMDb to gather the earliest comments from viewers, which you can find detailed in this piece.

As mentioned, the ending was chaotic and intricate, yet critics, for the most part, are content, as evidenced by these reviews:

“So a messy but compelling season ends with a vision of America that is not so different from what was recently outlined in Project 2025. At this point in the show, the satire might not have the same punch as it did in the first couple of seasons, but even now, The Boys’s idea of dystopia still feels painfully familiar.”

– Ben Rosenstock, Vulture

“No matter how witty and innovative the satire, however, the show is always slightly hemmed up by being about goodies and baddies. So, the finale, inevitably, had to be heavy on breathless running about and light on character development, while people had to spout lines such as “If we’re ever going to win against the monsters, we need to start acting human”, which would fit nicely into the sort of franchise movie the show pillories.”

– Chris Bennian, The Telegraph

“Season 4’s ending is depressing, for sure, but it’s also one that leads nicely into the final season of The Boys, where Butcher and Homelander will face off for the last time. “Season 4 Finale” and the series as a whole are a far cry from the comics, which justified and lionized Butcher’s bottomless hatred and anger at every turn. After faithfully adapting the comic’s most important basics and beats during its earliest episodes, The Boys grew into its own beast. Even better, the series’ original story was a much better political commentary and character study of superheroes than its source material ever was. Despite its aggression and edginess, The Boys is arguably one of the strongest appeals to humanity and demolitions of toxic masculinity on air today.”

– Joshua M. Patton, CBR

Thus, the critics are largely aligned in their views. The episode, though chaotic, was deemed impactful and effectively sets the stage for the final season. But what about the fans? Initial IMDb reviews suggest they are even more enthralled:

“Oh my god where do I even begin? Craziest episode of The Boys, in my opinion beating it’s best episode until now, Herogasm. Quoting the director himself Eric Kripke, nothing will EVER be the same. Action packed, a lot of plot twists, and shocking to say the least.

No spoilers will be given but dear god my heart is pounding, I screamed a lot for this episode, you will have anxiety from start to finish and it will keep you wondering, what road this single episode will lead to the fifth and final season of the story.

Every character in this episode went CRAZY, every single one of them, best episode of The Boys EVER.”

– RYHlhysii3426

“Spoiler free review here. I thought this episode set up season 5 nicely while also tying up a lot of the subplots from this season. There were several unexpected moments in this one, for sure. Also, love that Erin Moriarty got a chance to show off her acting chops, thought both she and Antony Starr (as always) were phenomenal this episode.

I’m interested to see if the cameos we saw will have any weight on the next season, and if we will get any additional closure for characters like A-Train and Ashley. All in all, I think that this season was very entertaining, but certainly felt like an exposition season for whatever insane ride season 5 will be.”

– cksmith51

“Season 4 of The Boys was clearly a set up season for Season 5. It lacked a clear central narrative and sometimes felt like a bunch of unconnected things happening. Fortunately, all of those individual plots and character arch’s came together in episode 8 for an incredible finale. From start to finish, this episode is incredibly exciting. It is genuinely one of the best episodes of this show so far (second to maybe Herogasm) and it really cleverly sneaks in reveals that will change the whole dynamic the final season. Mainly, it injects some much needed momentum back into the show and I couldn’t be more excited to see how season 5 plays out.”

– joshberndt

IMDb is brimming with such reviews and reactions, indicating fans are largely in consensus about the greatness of the finale. Now, let’s turn to Twitter to see what’s being said:

And that wraps it up. Have you watched the Season 4 finale? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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