‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 6, Recap & Review: A Walk on the Weird Side

Spoilers for ‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 6

Last week’s episode brought back the fun and gore, something that has been sorely lacking this season while taking the foot off the pedal in terms of politics, both satirical and being stuffed down the viewers’ throats. However, this week, “Dirty Business” brings back the dark, weird, wacky world of The Boys while inserting politics into the mix. Thankfully, it’s done in a way that serves the story more than simply being wielded like a blunt instrument. 

Speaking of politics, they are front and center at the Federalist Society get-together, where, while honoring Homelander, it is also a perfect place to move some story chess pieces around and insert some not-so-subtle issues that mirror the current political climate. Senator Calhoun (David Andrews) tries to explain to Vice President-elect Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) why he is supportive of an all-encompassing abortion ban, pushing Neuman to Sister Sage’s (Susan Heyward) way of thinking. Sage and Tek Knight (Derek Wilson), who is hosting this event, have plans The Boys need to know about.

Cue the plan to infiltrate the gathering and find out. To do so, they have Hughie (Jack Quaid) go undercover as their supe informant, Webweaver. While he is there to plant listening devices, he is lured by Tek down to his secret Batman-like lair. Only this dungeon is his personal BDSM playground. Before you can say holy whips, chains, and leather, Hughie finds himself in a very ‘exposed’ situation. The weird sexual desires of Tek’s bondage partner Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) save Hugie, but only temporarily.

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Meanwhile, Butcher (Karl Urban) and his grand plan to force the Vought scientist Sameer (Omid Abtahi) to make another batch of the virus to kill Homelander is not going as planned. Sameer informs him that the virus could become airborne and kill not only Homelander but all the supes on the planet. This includes his allies in The Boys and, of course, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). The thought of unleashing a possible supe genocide causes Butcher to pause. Joe (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) tries to push him over the edge, but Becca (Shantel VanSanten) is there to push him back. When Joe begins talking directly to Becca, we get the big reveal that Joe has been a figment of Butcher’s imagination all along, spurred on by the Compound V-induced tumor in his brain. 

Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) tries to visit Frenchie (Tomer Capone) in jail after he turns himself in for the murders he’s committed, but he won’t see her. A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), who gave The Boys a tip about this get-together at Tek Knight’s home, also saves Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) when he has a panic attack at the mansion by speeding him off to a hospital. There is also a weirdly out-of-place scene with The Deep (Chace Crawford) and the new Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), who is unmasked and drinking while both ponder the reasons for not being invited to the big party honoring Homelander. 

Thankfully, the politics in “Dirty Business” help push certain story arcs forward instead of just being a blunt instrument. However, that doesn’t explain the weird goings on this week and the continued trip down demented sexual paths that the show continues to make. Firecracker (Valorie Curry), who is now the “interim anchor” on VNN, lets loose a very familiar wild right-wing conspiracy theory and succeeds in seducing Homelander with the little squirt to the face of breast milk. (She’s been preparing for this moment.) Seduce is probably the wrong word; Homelander is too self-centered and lost for that. But it’s a way to get him to believe in her and save her ass with a little milk and mother-like care. (The whole breast milk/Homelander storyline continues to be incredibly strange.)

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Let’s not forget about poor Hugie as well. He is not well, hiding the pain of his father’s death, only to be rewarded by a trip to a S&M dungeon and subjected to some things with no safe word to stop it. Is this over the top? No, not in this show, but it is weird to pick Hughie for this, especially while he is grieving, even if he does let it all out later in the show. That combination makes it a bit awkward in terms of writing the scene and the reasoning behind it. (Kripke does have a dark sense of humor.)

While there are important moments in “Dirty Business,” the episode feels very strange in terms of pacing and direction, and not because of the bizarre sexual events that take place. However, it does a solid job setting the stage for the last two episodes. After watching this, I can’t imagine what we will see as the season ends.