In July 2022, the Season 3 finale of Prime Video’s "The Boys" saw series villain Homelander rise from the ashes and reclaim his spot at the top of the Vought pecking order. Showrunner, executive producer, and head writer Eric Kripke completely intended for that cliffhanger to rile audiences up as he prepares them for season 4.

The idea that Homelander can get away with murder — and gain support for it — is exactly what Season 4 will grapple with. Kripke explained: "[Homelander] literally kills someone on 5th Avenue and people cheer for him, it's a sign of the devotion of his followers and it's not an accident that there's also a bunch of these well-meaning, lefty Starlighters."

Season 3 has completely upended the status quo, with Kripke saying: "It's a hint of one of our big themes in Season 4, which is society as a whole is fracturing into these two factions, and no one's listening to each other, and the threat of violence just gets worse and worse every day. It's an appetizer of what all these superheroes are gonna be doing to society in Season 4."

Ultimately, the upcoming Season 4 is drawing from real-life events. It's all pretty damn bleak and a little too close to society’s current hellscape, but if there's any show that audiences can rely on to somehow still inject levity into that political parallel, it's the hyperviolent, hyper-sexual, and regularly absurd package that is "The Boys."