Department of Dirty Tricks

"Department of Dirty Tricks" is the first episode of the fourth season of The Boys. It was released on June 13, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. It is the twenty-fifth episode overall.

Summary[]

CALLING ALL PATRIOTS. BE AT THE COURTHOUSE TOMORROW FOR HOMELANDER’S #VERDICT AND BE READY. IF THE CORRUPT “JUSTICE” SYSTEM WANTS TO F**K AROUND, THEY’RE GONNA FIND OUT. #HOMEFREE

Plot[]

Victoria Neuman walks out onto the campaign platform to address a crowd, while Kimiko walks in the background pretending to be a caterer. The Boys are in the back plotting something.

Meanwhile, Homelander goes to the bathroom and unexpectedly finds a gray hair, which visibly bugs him. The Boys see that Homelander is in the building and they’re confused. Victoria seems just as surprised, not keen to be associated with a Supe on trial for murder. Ryan is there with his dad and leaves with Victoria’s daughter Zoe. Butcher sees him and offers to bring him back to Grace but Homelander overhears and intercepts.

The Boys infiltrate Victoria Neuman’s room but her daughter encounters them and reveals that she is a Supe. She attacks and Kimiko loses her arm. They jump out of the window and Starlight intercepts to save Frenchie but she doesn’t catch Kimiko, who drops to the concrete but regenerates.

Victoria walks outside and finds Hughie in the van. Hughie threatens to expose her but Victoria tells him a truce is the only option. Hughie throws acid over her and Butcher attempts to shoot her in the head however they learn that she is invulnerable.

Ashley meets with Homelander, The Deep, A-Train, and Black Noir II to discuss the recruit of a new member of The Seven. Among the candidate is Sister Sage, whose power is that she is the most intelligent person on the planet. A-Train recommends against recruiting her, having worked with her in Teenage Kix from which she was kicked out. Homelander gets annoyed with everyone else pandering him and demands The Deep performs oral sex on A-Train. When the two actually prepare to do it, this just makes Homelander angrier as he is tired of everyone fawning over him and agreeing with anything he says.

Butcher meets with Victoria Neuman at Vought Video and he tells her he knows what’s happening at Godolkin. He suggests she needs him and vice versa. She demands files that Hughie has as a show of good faith.

Hughie’s dad has a stroke and he rushes to the hospital. Meanwhile, Annie visits the Starlight House and denies their request to dress up like Starlight to raise donations because she wants to support as herself — Annie January. Frenchie has a seemingly romantic moment touching fingers with Colin, a guy who works at Starlight House. Kimiko sees them from afar. Later, Colin texts Frenchie and Kimiko asks about him. She tells Frenchie she loves him but that they are not happening so if Colin makes him happy, to go for it.

Homelander pays a visit to Sister Sage and asks her to prove her extreme intelligence. She tells him he’s aging because she can tell that his hair is being colored more often and his prostate is enlarged. He is part impressed by her assumptions and also annoyed, but she knows he won’t hurt her because he needs her for something. He asks her for advice, claiming that no matter how much he does he’s still not happy and life feels meaningless. She tells him to let the control go and to let them tell themselves apart. He invites her to join The Seven, and she tells him no way as he'd only hate having to listen her as a young black woman woman, but he convinces her that he'll be open to her advice. Butcher gives Hughie a hug when he hears about what happened to his dad, taking the chance to steal the flash drive containing the films Victoria Neuman wants.

The Boys run another operation, tracking Todd, who goes to meet with Sister Sage who brings him to meet Homelander. The other members of The Seven are surprised to see Sage there. Homelander thanks Todd and the other fans for their dedication and sacrifice. Homelander then hands baseball bats to A-Train, The Deep, and Black Noir II to kill them. A-Train hesitates but the others do it. Sage tells them to stay there and wait for further instructions. Homelander walks outside and M.M. spots him, confused by his presence since he's meant to be at his trial.

Later, Homelander arrives at the courthouse for the verdict from his trial. Starlighters gather outside the courthouse, including Sage in disguise as one of them. The verdict reads "Not Guilty". Sage throws a cup of coffee on one of Homelanders’ supporters and says “F*** you fascists!” which incites a riot. The Boys try to intervene. Frenchie grabs Colin to save him and they share a passionate kiss.

Homelander and Annie show up to discourage the violence, although Homelander’s words are empty. A text gets sent to A-Train with instructions to run the bodies to the scene of the riot. M.M. sees that Todd is one of the dead people. The police move in and clear the crowds. As a result, it is believed that the Starlighters killed the three and public opinion on them begins to turn.

At the end of the day, Homelander celebrates with Ryan at home. Ryan tells him he doesn't want Butcher to die. At home, The Deep opens up to Ambrosius the octopus about how messed up the murders were that day. Frenchie lays in Colin's bed later. Hughie sits at the hospital with his dad. Hughie's mom shows up at the hospital, surprising Hughie.

Butcher talks to Becca Butcher in his head, trying to defend his actions to help Ryan. Becca insists he doesn't become like Homelander. "Be the man that I married", she says to him. As a result, he decides not to betray Hughie and instead sends an obscene photo to her.

Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

• The title of the episode is named after issue 13 of the comics.
• The van that The Boys are using is decorated with the branding of a company called Mr. Marathon Catering, complete with an image of a running man. This is a clear reference to Mister Marathon. In the comics, Mister Marathon was the original speedster member of The Seven, with him preceding A-Train as a member of Vought's premiere superhero team. However, he still hasn't appeared in the show, although he has been mentioned.
• The episode features a meeting in which Ashley presents a list of 25 potential supes to The Seven. The 25 supes on the list are Talon, Europo, Hyperion, The Standard, Lady Arklite, Dogknott, Malchemical, Big Game, Tek Knight, Sister Sage, The Devine, Incineron, Dr. Peculiar, Shout Out, Stacker, Airburst, Luckless, Jetstreak, Pit Stop, Black Helmet, Holy Mary, Lord Horus, Wrangler, Pinwheel, Groundhawk, Invisi-Lass, and Jimmy the One. Most of these are references to real heroes from the comic series
• Inside Vought Video, there are two notable easter eggs. The first of these is the Polarity standee, with this referencing the character who was first introduced in Gen V. The second is the Soldier Boy poster, which shows off the character's classic design and references one of the movies that made the supe popular before his disappearance.
• The Vought Video location is seen next door to another abandoned building that is labeled Church of the Collective Reading Room. The Church of the Collective is a fictional church in The Boys universe, with it being a cult that markets itself to celebrities and other notable figures. The Church of the Collective played a major role in The Boys season 2, with The Deep attending the Church as part of his path towards reconciliation.
• Homelander opens up a secret box that contains several significant items. The first item that is seen is a framed picture of Stormfront at her wedding, with her being seen in front of a Nazi flag. The box also contains a baby bottle, this being a clear reference to Homelander's breast milk obsession, with him having drunk Madelyn Stillwell's milk from this bottle. The final significant item that is seen is Black Noir's sword.
• Before her conversation with Homelander, Sister Sage is seen reading the book 'Naming and Necessity' written by Saul Kripke, a cousin of Eric Kripke.
• At the end of the episode, a massive protest takes place, featuring Starlighters rallying against Homelander's trial and Homelander supporters celebrating his acquittal. The protest is filled with a variety of signs, many of which reference superheroes from The Boys universe and parody real-world political slogans. One particularly interesting sign reads "RIP Blue Hawk." In season three, Blue Hawk, a racist supe, is killed by A-Train during Herogasm.

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