The Boys season 4 ending explained: How does it set up the final season?

The season 4 finale delighted fans with plenty of plenty of political intrigue, various betrayals, a shocking death and even a romantic moment.

With season 5 not set to land on Prime Video until 2026, now's the perfect time to recap the fates of Homelander, Butcher, The Boys and The Seven coming out of this finale.

Whether you've seen the finale and want a recap or just want to know what happened, read on for everything you need to know about the ending of The Boys season 4. But be warned: spoilers follow.

The Boys ending explained: Did Robert Singer survive?

At the start of The Boys season 4 finale, things looked bleak for President Elect Robert Singer, with a shapeshifting supe attempting to assassinate him, having been hired by Sister Sage.

She had taken the form of Annie and infiltrated The Boys – she even asked Hughie to marry her, which he agreed to.

However, as Singer, The Boys and a host of bodyguards went into a bunker, Hughie realised the truth about the fake Annie.

They managed to escape, and the real Annie arrived to take down the fake one, meaning Singer was saved. However, as for his political career? That was another matter...

What happened to Victoria in The Boys season 4?

Near the start of the season finale, Homelander outed Victoria Neuman as a supe on Firecracker's TV show, leading her to realise how dangerous he was. In an attempt to save her daughter Zoe, Victoria called Huey, turning to the Boys for help.

She came to the Boys and asked them to get her and Zoe to safety, in exchange for helping to take down Vought and Homelander.

However, what she didn't realise was the journey that Butcher had been on. As Ryan started to turn against Homelander, Grace got him to visit Butcher, but out of desperation told him the truth – that his father, Homelander was a monster and that he had raped Ryan's mother.

Realising that they just wanted him to try and kill Homelander, Ryan pushed Grace, brutally killing her. He then ran from Butcher, who, in the thrall of Joe, came to realise the danger any supe, even Ryan, caused to the world.

Butcher took V, giving him tentacle like powers bursting from his chest. He arrived at the Boys', saying they would be doing no deals with Neuman. Hughie pleaded with him, but it was too late. Butcher used his new powers to knock out Zoe and kill Victoria, ripping her in half.

He then took the virus from Frenchie, aiming to unleash it, even if he would be killing himself too, now.

We later saw that Zoe had been put into the Red River Institute, exactly the life her mother never wanted her to have.

What happened to Homelander?

At the start of the episode, Homelander put together a list of faithful supes, hoping to use them to assert control once the plan was complete. He also planned to take out anyone who knew The Seven's secrets, starting with Ashley, who took Compound V.

While Homelander later thought the plan had fallen apart, Sister Sage arrived to reveal that was not the case – instead, she had kept parts of the plan to herself.

With Neuman dead, Sage released an out of context video of Singer saying he had ordered her death, after which he was arrested. This left a vacuum at the top of the US political system. With the 25th amendment being invoked, the Speaker of the House was next in line to be President, but he decided to pledge his allegiance to Homelander.

Sage then warned Homelander to listen to her next time, telling him to "buckle up for phase two".

On Homelander's instruction, the Speaker of the House declared martial law and deputised supes across the country to report directly to Homelander.

Homelander announced he was "coming for" the Starlighters and that "a new age of superheroes" was beginning.

Does Ashley die or become a supe in The Boys season 4 finale?

As detailed above, in The Boys season finale, Ashley Barrett injected herself with Compound V, the substance used to transform ordinary people into Supes.

While she didn't die, it’s unclear how Compound V will affect her going forward, and what powers she may have developed, and fans will have to wait until season 5 to find out!

What happened to Butcher and The Boys?

At the end of the season, all seemed lost for The Boys. Butcher had the virus and was on a mission to unleash it, killing every supe on Earth. Meanwhile, Homelander started asserting his power.

The Boys split up, with Kimiko and Frenchie going one way, Mother's Milk going another and Hughie and Annie going another.

Soon, all of them were ambushed by supes under Homelander's employ, and arrested. Love Sausage took out Mother's Milk, Frenchie was entranced by Cate Dunlap, Kimiko was grabbed by Sam Riordan (and finally found her voice in process, screaming no) and Cindy helped get Hughie.

Starlight, her powers now restored, was the only one who escaped, sharing one final knowing look with Hughie before flying away.

Did Soldier Boy come back?

He did! Sort of...

Soldier Boy made a brief appearance at the end of the finale with Homelander, now in charge of the US government, being informed of his survival and storage in a regulated coma.

As he was shown Soldier Boy's unconscious body he simply said: "You gotta be f***ing kidding me. This whole time."

Did Frenchie and Kimiko get together in The Boys season 4 finale?

After years of a will-they-won't-they dynamic, Frenchie and Kimiko finally became a couple at the end of season 4, and fans were even treated to a kiss between the duo.

Speaking about the romantic moment, Karen Fukuyama told Entertainment Weekly: "I did a cute little gasp when I read it [in the script]," she said. "It took the entire season to get to that point."

"This relationship, it's crazy because it got more complex and more interesting along the way," Capone says in a separate interview.

"I don't know every beautiful friendship/romantic soulmate/twin flame story needs to evolve to kissing. It was weird, but also felt very right. It is that bridge you cross in a relationship where nothing's going to go back to being the way it was for these two."

The Boys seasons 1-4 are available to watch now – try Amazon Prime Video for free for 30 days. Plus, read our guides to the best Amazon Prime series and the best movies on Amazon Prime.

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