Every episode of The Boys, Prime Video’s ultraviolent, savagely satirical superhero series, offers an abundance of gross moments. Some involve violence. Others involve sex. And others still feature characters crossing moral, personal, and ethical boundaries. But even in a series in which no one’s hands are ever fully clean — literally or figuratively — some characters behave worse than others.
It’s odd to write this of an episode in which we see a man ripped in half, but “The Insider” is a decidedly less gross episode — literally if not figuratively — than its immediate predecessor, “Dirty Business.” Did this fourth season reach a grossness climax with its last installment? Or is this just the calm before the season-finale storm? For that, we’ll have to wait a week. For now, let’s rank who outgrossed whom in the penultimate episode of a frequently revolting season.
24.
Monique Milk
Monique just wants her family to be together and safe. She remains a loyal and supportive spouse to Mother’s Milk, and it’s easy to understand her frustration when MM abandons plans to abandon the Boys. She’s not in every episode, but whenever Monique shows up, she’s reliably the series’ least gross character. This appearance does not change that.
23.
Ryan
That look on Ryan’s face as he tries, and fails, to play the part scripted for him while rehearsing The Avenue V Christmas Special? That’s an awakening conscience. Butcher and Homelander have been the good and bad angels on Ryan’s shoulder all season — that Butcher is the “good” one says a lot about the moral universe of The Boys — and by going rogue on national television, Ryan has seemingly committed to aligning himself against his biological father and with the Anti-Vought forces. Good luck, buddy!
22.
A-Train
Similarly, A-Train goes all in on heroism by helping fend off an attack on Boys HQ. It turns out that the look of awe and respect he received from a random boy on the streets was enough to push him fully over the edge. Now he’s de-chipped himself and departed for parts unknown. Could it be Florence? Ashley seems to think it would work as a hideout. And, if nothing else, he could check out some of the best museums in the world and enjoy the gelato.
21.
Hughie
Hughie is, as ever, just trying to do the right thing. He can’t even keep a secret for long, confessing his “Hail Mary” visit with Victoria to Starlight and sheepishly apologizing for holding onto her costume after she attempted to discard it for good. And, as ever, life seems to kick him in the ass for his choices. Even his nice, fantasy-fulfilling night with Starlight (or “Starlight”) will undoubtedly come back to haunt him.
20.
Mother’s Milk
Marvin, too, is caught in a moral dilemma, albeit one with a less clear choice between right and wrong. On the one hand, leading the Boys is clearly killing him, or at least triggering debilitating panic attacks. The team might need him, but so does his family. Should he keep putting his life on the line? Hasn’t he done enough? On the other hand, the fate of the free world hangs in the balance, and though he might question his leadership abilities, the way he springs into action when the situation requires suggests otherwise. Ultimately, he opts to attempt to do the greatest good for the greatest number, though that doesn’t mean his family won’t suffer for his choice.
19.
Starlight
Starlight remains unwavering in her commitment and her convictions, not even letting her mom push her around when they have a tense conversation about how Donna’s been kicked out of the Tuesday Bible Group because everyone knows about Starlight’s abortion. Even Shelley! Starlight’s even generous when a fan approaches her for a selfie. And what does she get for it? Drugged, kidnapped, and manacled while a pitiless killer wears her face. Sometimes the underlying theme of this show seems to be that vileness pays and virtue suffers.
18.
Butcher
While Ryan’s had a metaphorical angel and devil on his shoulder this season, they’ve been a bit more concrete for his adoptive father, even if no one else can see them. Butcher’s ongoing debate with his tumor ghosts continues, though Ghost Becca doesn’t make an appearance in this episode. That leaves Billy alone to hold his own against Ghost Kessler, which he does by letting the rest of the team in on the fact he’s been holding Sameer hostage and forcing him to re-create the supe-killing virus. Part of Butcher doesn’t care that he could create a global pandemic that would wipe every supe off the face of the earth, even his teammates and Ryan. But a bigger part of him does care. Then again, both parts seem in pretty bad shape by the end of the episode, so it may not matter much longer.
17.
Tommy
It’s hard to tell if the Christmas special director is a true believer or just a scared guy trying to do his job and not, you know, get killed. Let’s be generous and assume the latter.
16.
Frenchie and Kimiko (tie)
The team’s tightest duo reunites after a few rough episodes. While it might be a stretch to say all their conflicts have been resolved, it’s clear that their connection remains intact. Kimiko shares the horrifying chapter of her origin story that robbed her of her ability to speak. Frenchie cuts off her leg before Sameer’s virus can take her life. (It’s a gross moment, but they’re not responsible for the grossness.) It’s downright touching, if not quite touching enough to overlook they’re holding Sameer hostage and forcing him to work with meager supplies in filthy conditions in chains. Also: Poor Kimiko! She can’t even scream in pain or turn off Len’s “Steal My Sunshine” as she undergoes an anesthesia-free amputation.
15.
Sameer
Speaking of Sameer, it’s hard to fault him too much for stabbing Kimiko with a deadly virus that turns her leg into a hideous spiderweb of necrotic blood vessels given everything he’s gone through. On the other hand, he does stab Kimiko with a deadly virus that turns her leg into a hideous spiderweb of necrotic blood vessels.
14.
The Avenue V Puppets
They’re just saying and singing what their puppeteers make them say and sing, but it’s still repulsive (though, it must be said, pretty catchy).
13.
Ghost Kessler
Given two options, Ghost Kessler will always choose the one that leaves every supe on the planet dead. He’s predictably repellent. And he just won’t. Shut. UP.
12.
Donna January
Come on, Donna. You’ve got a great, no, downright heroic kid even if you don’t see eye to eye on abortion and other issues. And who cares what Shelley from Tuesday Bible Group thinks, anyway?
11.
Shelley from Tuesday Bible Group
Seriously, Shelley: Who cares what you think?
10.
Victoria
Victoria, by contrast, still seems like she might be swayed. But until she shows some serious intent to veer from her “killing the president-elect while teaming up with Homelander to destroy democracy” trajectory, don’t expect her to leave the top half of this ranking.
9.
Ashley
When she’s not enthusiastically channeling her darkest fantasies into the BDSM arena or dooming popular cable hosts/disobedient subs, Ashley, too, appears to doubt the life choices that made her Vought’s in-name-only CEO. She wants to get back to the old Ashley, the real Ashley, the “studying abroad in Florence chilling out to Dave Matthews” Ashley. “It’s so easy to become a monster around here,” she tells A-Train. But does the old Ashley even exist anymore?
8.
Firecracker
Firecracker’s not exactly sidelined this episode, but she doesn’t get too many opportunities to be actively icky. Homelander even spurns her offer to suckle him. (Some of the sentences this show makes you write …) Even she seems turned off when her hero rips Webweaver in half. Could Firecracker be questioning her commitment to her chosen path, too? On the other hand, she does say that some people, namely A-Train, are just “born uppity,” suggesting she still has a long way to go.
7.
Sage
Similarly, Sage doesn’t get a lot to do onscreen this episode, but it’s pretty obvious she’s cooking up something awful even before Homelander fires her and sends her back to her “litter box in Detroit.” (Is pissing off the world’s smartest person a good idea? TBD.) Also, we learn that she’s sleeping with Black Noir II, which is only marginally less dubious than sleeping with The Deep.
6.
Black Noir II
That said, this is the first episode that suggests the faux Black Noir has anything to contribute in the way of superpowers and isn’t just an actor playing a gig. Good for him. It’s too bad those powers take the form of mindless violence.
5.
Ambrosius
It’s easy to pity Ambrosius. She’s a lovelorn, cheated-on partner and, by episode’s end, a murder victim. But she also tells The Deep he has the soul of a poet and a tongue like an outboard motor. Undoubtedly, she deserved a better fate, but she went out after delivering one reminder of her awful taste after another.
4.
Unnamed Shape-shifting Assassin
The shape-shifting assassin proves to be a formidable foe but also a disgusting one on a couple of fronts. Their powers involve a lot of flesh-tearing gore, and they sleep with Hughie while posing as Starlight. A late addition to the season, they’ve immediately established themselves as a rising star in the field of grossness.
3.
Homelander
As usual, Homelander’s offenses are both moral and physical. When he learns of Ryan’s reluctance to stick to the script, his fatherly advice is simply “Just suck it up and do it. For me.” Also, he rips Webweaver into two parts in one of the grodiest deaths we’ve seen on this show, which, of course, says a lot.
2.
The Deep
If cheating on Ambrosius and lying to her about it weren’t bad enough, The Deep breaks his lover’s (quite small) tank, ensuring her a painful death that is protracted enough to offer The Deep plenty of opportunities to change his mind, none of which he takes. Apart from this, his sycophancy reaches a new low when he tells Homelander, “I’ll kill every goddamn fish in the ocean if you say so.” Also, he greets his foes with the phrase, “’Sup, cumburgers?” How is he not No. 1 on this list, you ask? Well, meet the competition.
1.
Webweaver
Webweaver died as he lived: simpering in fear, jonesing for a fix, and emitting a weird milky fluid from an orifice located just above his butt. A lot of weird, milky fluid. RIP, Webweaver. At least you went out on top.
