Eric Kripke, the showrunner for The Boys, explains why Homelander (Antony Starr) returns to the lab where he was reared as a child in season 4, episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages.”
While the superhero series is notorious for its horrific sequences, the newest Boys season 4 episode amps up the savagery even further as Homelander fully embraces his evil tendencies. In the episode, the supe arrives suddenly to the lab and begins torturing and murdering the employees. However, Kripke believes there is a rationale for his seemingly random and horrifying massacre.
Warning: This page includes SPOILERS for The Boys’ season 4, episode 4, “Wisdom of the Ages.”
In an interview with TV Insider, Kripke talked about Homelander’s return to the lab in The Boys season 4. The showrunner explained that Homelander believes all of his flaws and human features originated in the lab, so he returned to “𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 the part of him that’s human.” Although his acts in the lab may bring short comfort, he is eventually unable to shake his humanity, which is driving him insane because it contradicts his hatred for humans. Check out Kripke’s remarks below:
His goal was to finally confront his feelings of vulnerability and humanity and his need for approval and love because he feels like that all originated from [his] time there. So he wanted to confront it and 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 it. And was he successful? I think he thinks he was successful. The thing about Homelander is no matter how hard he tries to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 the part of him that’s human and become a god, he’ll never be able to because he’s human and as much as he’s disgusted by it or represses it, he has human emotions and I think that’s what’s slowly driving him mad is he’s someone who hates humanity and yet he is one.
And I don’t need [the audience] to be sympathetic towards Homelander, I wanna go on record with a hot take that I do not condone or approve of any of his behavior. But I want them to understand him a little bit more and get why he is the way he is. I don’t like nor do I know how to write villains who are just evil for the sake of being evil. They’re evil because they have a really heavy disconnect between their internal life where they think they’re a hero and their external life when they’re definitely not. And so I’m interested in that space and, and what makes someone so self-deluded.
The Boys Reminds Viewers Of The Importance Of Homelander’s Childhood Trauma
Homelander Is Awful, But He Also Had A Horrible Upbringing
The latest episode of The Boys reminds viewers of Homelander’s childhood trauma and the role it played in who he eventually became. Although Kripke doesn’t want anyone to feel sympathy for the supe, his childhood does inevitably raise that emotion. While many characters in The Boys had very traumatic childhoods, Homelander may have had the worst. Through flashbacks in the main series and portions of The Boys Presents: Diabolical, it’s established that the supe never had a childhood. Rather than being raised by parents, he was essentially bred in a lab as an experiment.
Although Vought scientist Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum (John Doman) provided a tiny bit of warmth to the young boy, it wasn’t anywhere near what a child would receive from a mother and father. Most of the scientists were afraid of Homelander during his first years since he couldn’t control his powers. He was horribly isolated and often viewed from afar, as no one would touch him or come near him. As he grew up, Homelander was inundated with patriotic propaganda and subjected to horrific experiments to test the limits of his powers.
Season 4 of The Boys highlights Homelander’s childhood suffering through a brutal confrontation. Given that he faces his past in an unacceptable manner, the show also serves as a reminder to viewers that his background is only partially to blame for his behavior. His childhood had a significant impact on his behavior and drive for evil, but it does not justify his actions.The Boys acknowledge the impact of Homelander’s horrific background, adding dimension and empathy to the monster.
