Television shows receiving negative evaluations are nothing new. But something remarkable is developing in The Boys’ fourth season. It’s not just that people have suddenly switched to Amazon’s hit superhero parody; it’s who those individuals are and why they’ve changed their minds that’s intriguing.

Since its debut to critical acclaim on June 13, claimed fans have been review-bombing the show’s most recent season on sites such as Rotten Tomatoes and IMDB. The most strident and eye-catching of these criticisms claim that the show has become “woke” or is clearly “anti-Donald Trump.”

They are not mistaken, but they are far too late in making this discovery.

Since its premiere in 2019, The Boys has been a superhero allegory about Trump, dangerous authoritarianism, political extremism, Nazis, and America’s inclination toward fascism. Its showrunner, Eric Kripke, has stated repeatedly in interviews that this is a show about Trump’s allure and a condemnation of corporate America. The only apparent difference in this fourth season is that it is so close to what is happening in the United States right now: Homelander (Antony Starr), a Superman-like sociopath who serves as Trump’s stand-in, is facing a criminal trial and fanning the flames of a January 6-style insurgency.

Conservatives’ indignant public admissions that they’ve spent prior seasons cheering for this dreadful character only to now realize they’re the butt of the joke have become more popular than the show itself. It demonstrates our culture’s steadily declining media literacy.

This isn’t the first time in pop culture that a superhero spoof has acted as a warning about fascism, and its most ardent supporters have missed the message. The fact that it continues to occur demonstrates how difficult it may be for all of us to avoid becoming enamored with strong individuals.

What’s happening in this season of The Boys?

At the center of The Boys is a bold deconstruction of the superhero myth, tearing apart the typical comic book superhero arc in which super-powered people save the day and defend those who cannot fight themselves.

In The Boys, however, every character, sentence, shot, and scene paints a greater picture of how completely screwed we would all be if superheroes existed in real life. The Boys’ cynical opposition to the illusion is a belief that humans, including superheroes, are ethically imperfect individuals whose power constantly undermines morality. Regardless of how good we are or believe we are, our selfishness, biases, envy, and everything else will always get the best of us.

People aren’t supposed to be superheroes.

These human flaws manifest in the shape of heroes such as the terminally narcissistic Homelander or any of his coworkers, known as The Seven. Homelander and his friends rape, murder, and lie, but their powers, and, more importantly, their celebrity position, save them from facing any form of justice. The Seven are all supported by Vought International, an ultra-powerful pharmaceutical-entertainment-military defense firm founded by a Nazi who created a serum that granted ordinary people superpowers.

Vought’s tentacles extend into every aspect of human existence, including politics, sports, television and film, and police enforcement. There is no escape Vought and the heroes it employs to turn the globe to its will.

This season expands on the premise that Homelander has amassed such a big and loyal following that Vought is unable to control him. He has always been invincible and capable of firing laser beams from his eyes, but his acolytes have made opposing him impossible. The creature Vought created has risen to power, and he is now pulling the strings and attempting to dominate his surroundings.

Homelander is on trial in the season opener for the murder of a protester who was a fan of former Seven member Starlight (Erin Moriarty). Starlight, who possesses the power to harness lightning and energy, was a rare “good” hero who did not last long in Homelander’s tribe. She is now a member of an anti-Vought, anti-Homelander political movement, which explains why Homelander assassinated her supporter. In addition, Homelander is a painfully vulnerable sociopath. However, everyone, including Homelander, understands that he will not be found guilty. Even if he was, it would be irrelevant since he is too politically significant to face any serious penalties. It’s simply a matter of time before Homelander organizes a coup, a January 6-style insurgency, and a takeover of the United States.

A celebrity turned prominent political figure and authoritarian who is on trial and inciting a fascist uprising should sound familiar to anyone who has followed American politics over the last eight years. The showrunner, Kripke, stated in 2022 that Homelander has “always been a Trump analogue” and that the link should have been obvious in the show’s third season. Kripke’s fourth season feels even more urgent and clear.

Despite The Boys’ purposely unsubtle presentation of the dangerous creep of authoritarianism throughout the previous three seasons, and the creator openly admitting that Trump is the show’s villain, some of The Boys’ viewers are only now screaming foul and expressing disbelief at the show’s politics.