The Boys season 4 review: “Erin Moriarty, season’s ‘Starlight'”

If anyone had told us Erin Moriarty would be the saving grace of The Boys season 4, it would have been an in-joke than an outright fact.

For anyone who hasn’t figured it out yet, the American television series ‘The Boys’ is every bit of messed up and disturbing as the real world it tries to satirize in its political commentary of modern day America. And season 4 wasn’t any tamer.

Though the season started slower than viewers expected, its season finale ‘Assassination Run’ lived up to the expectations of what The Boys have been known for. But talk about expectations of the season, Erin Moriarty’s character ‘Starlight’ being the high-light of the season was an irony and perhaps a joke fans did not see coming.

Completing the season’s central theme of ‘identity and forgiveness’, Erin Moriarty shines brightly as Annie January this season, with the show giving her lots to do and a range of emotions and character to play with and off.  Annie January unlike the prior seasons wasn’t just the girlfriend or love interest who very often and occasionally comes through for The Boys, but a character who has a lot to do this season in terms of finding her own identity.

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The theme of course ironically mirrors the show’s season 4 which in many episodes found itself asking what it was trying to become rather than what it started off as; the entertaining parody of modern day America that many found to be funny. But of course, humor can only last long till it becomes repetitive.

And talking about repetition; Antony Starr’s ‘Homelander’ was very much repetitive this season without any new element to his declining mental state. Though, the actor shines bright with his line delivery, facial expressions and body mannerisms, his story arc this season can alternatively be skipped over by audiences without anyone missing any key detail ahead of next season.

His son, Ryan who was introduced as an added element to the Homelander character, only helped to make things a lot more repetitive in the show’s penultimate season.

Hence, viewers are left to watch the debate that is a ‘Would he, wouldn’t he’ battle right down to the season’s final episode.

Of course, the idea was to go all out ‘scorched earth’ in the final season of the series, but when season 4 moves nothing forward for the main antagonist compared to the series’ 3rd season, the redundancy becomes way evident for viewers.

In spite of the season’s flaws, there are many positives and star-lights (pun very much intended).

Jesse T. Usher’s A-Train and his ‘redemption’ arc was a highlight, Laz Alonso’s Marvin T Milk being a real character on his own terms and independent of another character to move his story like it was with Soldier Boy in season 3, was good to see.

Colby Minifie’s Ashley Barrett was another shout out. The character of Ashley for many who haven’t figured it out, is an imagery of the everyday civilian who knowing full well they are merely pawns to the big corporation they work for and at the mercy of its toxic working environment, remains intent on staying, either out of fear or greed.

We also look at the series’ comic relief; Chace Crawford’s The Deep.

Deep this season had much to do compared to prior seasons of being just the ‘fish guy’ whose story arc pleaded on audience’s sympathy. This season, Deep isn’t the sympathetic character anymore but a straight-up villain who is ready to give everything for the big corporation tearing down the State. It was some character development.

For the new cast of characters; Sister Sage and Firecracker, the highlight of their arcs rests solely on their actors’ performance, with Valorie Curry and Susan Heywood selling every scene they appeared in to make episodes that were dragging, a lot more watchable.

The Boys however, is another story entirely, with only 3 characters (MM, Butcher and Annie January) having lots to do that wasn’t repetitive at the very least. We saw Karl Urban’s William Butcher battle with his morality, and the show executed perfectly well why Billy had no option but to go dark.

Speaking of irony, Ryan; Homelander’s son fit perfectly well in bringing new elements to Billy Butcher than he did with his own father. Viewers were given a likeable aspect to see in Butcher, with the character being a dying man who wanted to make things right with a son that isn’t his but could have been his.

The likes of Frenchie, Kimiko, and Hughie all had repetitive arcs this season, with only Hughie showing some promise.

But the MVP of The Boys season 4 is the Starlight herself, Annie January, whose actress, Erin Moriarty showed lots of acting chops to unravel a conflicted character that is barely hanging on to an identity she cannot really tell.

Fans had given Moriarty a lot of stick for her life choices outside of the show, but season 4, especially the season finale really shows viewers there is a lot more to the actress than what the media or the outside world says about her.

This season was supposed to be about The Boys, but Erin Moriarty made it her show and starred so perfectly as Annie January to live fans excited for what’s to come in season 5.

With the set up so far, it is only going to be diabolical…