7 Burning Questions We Still Have After the Boys Season 4

The Boys‘ fourth season isn’t its strongest. In fact, it suffers from some pretty bad pacing issues and painfully obvious plot devices. Even so, there’s plenty to look forward to in the final season, and we have some burning questions after watching The Boys Season 4.

What Happened to Ashley?

Frenchie and The Deep have been my favorite characters in The Boys for a long time now, but I have to say, Ashley is slowly making her way up there. Not only is she perfectly portrayed by Colby Minifie, her entire character arc has just been so fascinating to watch. So yeah, I really wanna know what happened to Ashley at the end of The Boys Season 4. And it is an absolute crime that her Season 4 arc ended on a cliffhanger.

In the Season 4 finale, we see her shoot up some Compound V as a last-ditch defense against the Supes coming after her, and she starts developing weird growths all over her cranial area. I wouldn’t be surprised if Compound V turns her into a Leader-type character who gets super smart—allowing her to even rival Sage, perhaps—or if she suddenly grows a ton of hair and becomes Medusa, basically.

I’d love either direction. I just want good things for my girl Ashley.

What’s the Deal With Butcher’s Cancer Now?

I have no doubt in my mind that Butcher will get some sort of redemption arc in The Boys Season 5. A last-minute talk off the ledge from Hughie, perhaps, or even imaginary Becca. But what I really want to know is the science behind Butcher’s V cancer.

At the end of the final episode, we see Butcher show up with terrifying tentacle powers. I also couldn’t help but notice that he looked a lot healthier than he had been this entire season. I believe it’s because he finally gave in to the demands of his literal cancer cells, and was thus rewarded with physical health and powers, but what comes after that?

I can only assume that the cancer will continue to kill Butcher even if he manages to achieve his goal of killing all Supes and somehow survives the virus. Does the cancer become a main antagonist in Season 5? Who knows?

Is Kimiko Finally Able To Speak?

It’s been a long time coming, and I always figured that Kimiko’s speech would return in a way that involved Frenchie, but this still hit hard. She lost her ability to speak due to trauma, and it’s tragic that she had to go through yet another traumatic experience for her speech to come back.

Now the question is, is this a permanent change for Kimiko going into The Boys Season 5? Talking Kimiko would drastically change the dynamic of the group, and also mark a shift in how she responds and reacts to different situations.

Is Ryan Going back to Homelander? Again?

Perhaps the biggest question mark of the season, Ryan’s motivations are still very uncertain at the end of Season 4. After getting trauma dumped on by Mallory and feeling like Butcher has manipulated him yet again, is Ryan really going to go back to Homelander? Again?

He’s clearly being set up to play a key role in Homelander’s downfall in the final season, but to be honest, I’m not so sure after the Season 4 finale. I could see Ryan going either way at this point. He could go full evil and side with Homelander, which wouldn’t be preposterous, considering Homelander has always been upfront with him, compared to Butcher, or he could also get his own redemption arc with Butcher and gang. Though, after Mallory’s death and with Butcher being on the warpath, I have a hard time visualizing the latter.

Will A-Train and Maeve Return?

At least one good thing came out of The Boys Season 4. A-Train’s redemption arc was complete, and he actually got out of Vought. I can’t imagine that this is the end for him, though. A-Train has shown a tremendous amount of empathy this season, and if the opportunity to take down Homelander and the Seven came up, it seems likely he’d seize it.

Let’s also not forget that Maeve is still alive as well. I mean, sure, she’s no longer a Supe, but she could play some sort of supporting role in the final season to help the push against Homelander and Vought. This could just be me being selfish, seeing as her story wrapped up nicely in Season 3, but I wouldn’t be opposed to some sort of Maeve comeback in Season 5, no matter what form it takes.

What Will Soldier Boy Do When He Wakes Up?

The Boys Season 4 ended with one final big reveal: Homelander has found Soldier Boy. This is the Chekhov’s Gun to end all Chekhov’s Guns. The fact that we saw Soldier Boy get put to sleep in Season 3 meant that there was still a chance he could come back at some point, and this pretty much confirms it.

Given that Homelander has spent all season trying to cut his ties to humanity, however, one big question we have is what exactly he stands to gain by waking up Soldier Boy again. In Season 3, we saw that Soldier Boy clearly had no respect for Homelander. Are we going to see Homelander try to win the approval of his dad again?

Soldier Boy is one of two major wild cards going into Season 5. His allegiance isn’t set, though it’d be fun to see him react to the new Black Noir.

What Is Sage’s Plan?

Speaking of wild cards, Sage is the other one. For a brief moment, I was afraid her story had come to a sudden end when Homelander dismissed her in episode 7. But as it turns out, it was Sage all along!

She may not be clairvoyant, but she was certainly smart enough to predict that the Boys would find some way to take Neuman out of the picture and install a figurehead into the presidency that Homelander could control. In her final scene, she leaves and tells Homelander that there’s still plenty to do, and she ominously refers to a “phase 2” as she exits.

Personally, I can’t really picture someone as intelligent as Sage wanting to stick with Team Homelander the entire journey. I could see her eventually turning on him as well, but then again, if she doesn’t, and our Ashley Leader theory comes to fruition, I’d also love to see those two play major mind games as they try to outsmart each other.

The Boys is available to watch now.