‘The Boys’ Season 4 Episode 2 Recap & Review: Ryan Makes a Life-Changing Mistake

Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Boys Season 4, Episode 2 “Life Among the Septics.”

The three-part premiere of The Boys Season 4 continues with Episode 2. The second installment is now streaming on Prime Video and, like the first, lays the groundwork for some ominous and sinister happenings later in the season. Homelander (Antony Starr) continues to prove how bad of a father he is, while Butcher (Karl Urban) and The Boys can’t get their act together. Make sure you caught all the important details with our recap of The Boys Season 4, Episode 2 “Life Among the Septics.”

A-Train Trains With Will Ferrell for His New Movie in ‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 2

The episode opens with a clip from A-Train’s (Jessie T. Usher) new movie, Training A-Train, featuring his coach Will Ferrell. The director of the film, Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne), praises Ferrell’s performance and asks A-Train to dial into his role a little more. Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) asks A-Train if he can talk and says he’s not cool with murdering people, but A-Train tells him Noir is supposed to be a brain-dead murderer.

Annie (Erin Moriarty) sits in the hospital with her friend who was assaulted during Sister Sage’s riot, and Hughie (Jack Quaid) also sits in the hospital with his father Hugh (Simon Pegg) and mother Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt) who is trying to help Hugh, but Hughie isn’t having it. Hughie is still furious his mother is here, and when she tells him his father gave her power of attorney over Hughie, he walks out.

Frenchie (Tomer Capone) sneaks out of Colin’s place, and tells him to stay in bed after being attacked by Homelander. Kimiko (Karen Fukahara) sees a therapist who theorizes her muteness might come from a trauma in her past, but she gets angry and leaves the office. Butcher tells The Boys he doesn’t have long left and snaps at Annie, so MM (Laz Alonso) kicks him off the team. Hughie tries to talk him out of it, but MM tells him he can join him if he doesn’t like it.

Sister Sage Gives Ryan and Homelander Some Advice

The Boys Season 4, Episode 2 continues at Vought Tower, where the creatives pitch Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) on his superhero backstory in front of Ashley (Colby Minifie) and Homelander. Everyone in the room remarks how they love the pitch, but Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) pipes up, acknowledging that it blows. They tell Ryan about his first save but Homelander isn’t on the call sheet so he tells them to move it forward. Ashley catches the elevator with Sister Sage and tries to offer her advice, but she sees right through her.

The Deep also walks into the elevator and asks if he can be part of Ryan’s save, but Ashley shuts him down and leaves the elevator. Sister Sage says he shouldn’t let Ashley talk to him like that, and the camera transitions to MM talking about what happened at the rally. Meanwhile, Hughie is having trouble focusing because of what’s happening with his dad. The Boys then head out on their missions while The Seven and Ryan rehearse the save.

The trainer, Koy (John Koyoma), gives everyone some feedback and asks Ryan to rehearse some more. Deep tries to talk to Homelander, but he tells him to shut up. The aquatic hero then walks over to talk to Ashley and gets in her face, threatening to drown her in her toilet. Homelander overhears Vought execs talking about airbrushing his wrinkles out of his latest film and begins to panic.

Butcher and MM Search for Sister Sage at TruthCon in ‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 2

The Boys arrive at the hotel convention center to see Butcher is already there. MM asks him to leave, but he refuses, so they walk through TruthCon together to search for Sister Sage. Kimiko sees an old picture of the human trafficking ring she used to belong to and has severe flashbacks. She then gets blackout drunk on A-Train Ale while The Boys show up to Firecracker’s (Valorie Curry) live blog.

Firecracker delivers pure right-wing conspiracy theory bullshit to the crowd, but they eat it up. Kimiko and Frenchie tail Firecracker’s assistant and Frenchie realizes she’s drunk. Kimiko is jealous but tells Frenchie she wants him to be with Colin. The duo find the duplicating assistant having a fivesome with himself in the sauna. Annie and Hughie then follow A-Train to the park and Hughie defends Starlight, reminding her that the people need a symbol.

They see A-Train telling his nephews the stories of one of his past “saves,” but his brother Nathan (Christian Keyes) rolls up on his wheelchair and asks him to tell them the truth. A-Train tells the kids it’s complicated, but Nathan reveals all the saves were fake. Back at the convention, Firecracker talks to fans at her booth and Sister Sage comes up to have a chat with her. Butcher wants to grab Sage since she doesn’t have physical powers, but MM throws him out of the convention center.

After All These Years, A-Train Finally Does the Right Thing

Butcher pushes MM too far when he brings up Monique (Frances Turner), so he punches him in the face and knocks him to the ground. MM says he thought this time would be different, but he was wrong, and tells Butcher to go home. Kimiko sees another poster from her childhood trafficking ring and someone confronts her when she starts to deface it, but she attacks them until Frenchie calls her off.

Annie and Hughie then return to Boys HQ to find A-Train there, who wants to help. He gives them footage freeing the innocent Starlight followers accused of Todd (Matthew Gorman) and the other Homelander fans’ murders. He says he’s giving it to them because they didn’t call him out in front of his family. At Vought Bank, everyone goes through with the save, but Ryan accidentally kills his trainer Koy when he throws him into a building.

At the hotel, MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko get caught trying to spy on Sister Sage, so she tells Firecracker to kill them. They get into a fight and Frenchie and MM exit the room to find a Marvelous Ms. Maisel-themed bat mitzvah (flex those IP muscles, Prime Video) but Firecracker follows and shoots up the party. It looks like all hope is lost for The Boys until Butcher shows up and kicks major ass.Firecarcker’s assistant quickly surrounds him with clones and he tells The Boys to leave, but they save him.

Homelander Is the Worst Kind of Father in ‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 2 “Life Among the Septics”

When Butcher kills the prime clone the rest all fall dead and Firecracker runs out of the building. In Vought Tower, Homelander brings Ryan a milkshake, but he’s crying. He thinks Ryan is crying because he showed up to his save, but he’s upset that he killed a man. Homelander reminds him that accidents happen and humans are fragile, but Ryan claims he’s never saving anyone again.

Homelander tries to tell him humans are only toys before getting mad, leaving, and taking the milkshake with him. A-Train’s footage helps free the convicted Starlighters who were accused of killing Todd and the other Homelander fans. Annie shows off her power in front of the crowd, and they cheer her on. Back at HQ, Frenchie ignores a call from Colin and Hughie returns to the hospital to confront his mother. He tells her about the day she left and recalls every detail.

She apologizes for leaving, but he says he won’t forgive her and that he’ll take her to court if she doesn’t consult him on medical decisions. Kimiko has more flashbacks as Butcher walks into HQ and MM thanks him for saving them at the Con. Butcher remarks that to be a good leader you have to be an asshole, and that MM isn’t a good leader because he’s compassionate and afraid to do the right thing. The episode ends with Butcher asking for MM’s help, but he tells him it’s too little too late.

‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 2 Maintains the Momentum From the First Installment

The issues plaguing The Boys Season 4 are overarching and don’t prevent each episode from shining bright. While Homelander as the primary villain is beginning to wear thin, every other piece on the board is operating with maximum efficiency. The Boys is a perfect two-for-two with thrilling episodes of television so far, with only one installment left to conclude the premiere and set up the rest of the season.

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