WARNING: This article includes SPOILERS from The Boys season 4, episodes 1-3.
Summary
- Homelander’s son Ryan takes a dark path in
The Boys
season 4, learning from his warped father’s lessons. - Butcher may use Ryan as a weapon to defeat Homelander, as the Supe virus falls short in strength.
-
The Boys’
future hinges on Ryan’s transformation into a powerful Supe, setting the stage for an epic showdown.
Series creator Eric Kripke hints at a dark path ahead for Homelander’s son Ryan in The Boys season 4. Picking up from The Boys season 3 finale that saw Antony Starr’s megalomaniacal Supe introduce his son to the world, season 4 now sees the duo take up residence together in Vought Tower. After years of having his parentage kept a secret from him, Homelander is intent on delivering the supposed benefits of his wisdom and warped worldview onto his young heir.
Speaking with Variety in celebration of The Boys’ season 4 premiere, Kripke has explained the decision to focus in on Homelander and Ryan’s domestic life and what lies ahead for the young Supe. Suggesting that the show’s creative team really wanted to see what Homelander would be like as a parental figure, the underlying threat is that Ryan will begin to absorb his father’s lessons and potentially follow in his footsteps. Check out his comments below:
We’ve never really seen Ryan and Homelander together, alone for extended periods. And we wanted to see what Homelander would be like as a father — and obviously the answer is horrible. He’s a terrible, terrible father. And the ongoing threat is that Ryan might start listening to his dad and veering into the dark side and listening to these horrible lessons that Homelander is always giving him and potentially seducing him with power. And if Ryan goes that way, that’s apocalyptic. Two Homelanders is something you just cannot beat. So it was living in the tension of, is Ryan gonna break bad?
Will Ryan Be The Real Key To Defeating Homelander?
Homelander’s Son Could Potentially Deliver Butcher His Final Victory
While further testing and development of the Supe virus could potentially deliver Butcher the edge he is looking for in his ongoing crusade, Ryan may very well end up being the one real weapon capable of besting his father.
Over the course of the past three seasons, Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher and his rag-tag group of vigilantes have repeatedly struggled to find a way to defeat Homelander once and for all. While Butcher came close in the season 3 finale by seeking the assistance of Homelander’s own father, Soldier Boy, he would later sacrifice that opportunity in order to spare Ryan’s life instead. However, that decision may still serve to work in Butcher’s favor and deliver him the one real means of besting Vought’s premiere Supe.
Even though the Supe killing virus introduced by 2023’s spinoff show Gen V is now in Victoria Neuman’s possession, The Boys season 4 episode 1 explained that the biological weapon was still too weak to pose a threat to Homelander himself. While further testing and development of the Supe virus could potentially deliver Butcher the edge he is looking for in his ongoing crusade, Ryan may very well end up being the one real weapon capable of besting his father.
Moreover, with Kripke recently confirming that The Boys season 5 will serve to wrap up Prime Video’s hit show, that final showdown could likely be just around the proverbial corner. With Kripke hinting that the show’s future will hinge on an internal battle for Ryan’s mind and allegiance, slowly transforming him into a Supe with identical, or even superior powers to Homelander, could ensure the show delivers a memorable and fitting conclusion.
Source: Variety