(Left to right) Chace Crawford, Jessie T. Usher, Antony Starr, Valorie Curry and Susan Heyward in … [+]

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With the first three episodes of The Boys season four now streaming on Prime Video, we have returned to the dysfunctional television universe of superheroes behaving badly and an unlikely team of outcasts continuing to rise up against them.

This season, the fight gets bigger and more complicated, with the addition of new characters and the evolving storylines of these longtime characters, as the line between good and evil becomes more blurred. Created by Eric Kripke, The Boys has become a global phenomenon since its premiere in 2019, with even a successful spinoff series Gen V debuting last September.

Actor Antony Starr plays Homelander, the central superhero for the strategic business conglomerate Vought International, whose longtime quiet insecurities start to unravel within the public eye, as he sometimes tries to do the right thing, with it often backfiring. One of his sidekicks in the once-coveted (and now somewhat tarnished) “The Seven” superheroes team, The Deep, is played by Chace Crawford. Heading into this fourth season, I asked these gentlemen what they are enjoying most about their characters’ journey so far on The Boys.

Antony Starr as Homelander in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Starr said, “I don’t think either of these characters have got a redemption that’s going to be satisfying for any audience members. What I love about this job and this character is where we get to go with it because we’ve inverted the superhero universe, so all the morals are upside down, which gives us the freedom to go anywhere. We can literally go anywhere and every time we come back, every episode I read, I’m just like, Okay, we’re going there? Great. There’s nowhere that we can’t go. We’re not bound to anything that superhero narratives are bound to – that’s my favorite part of the show and the character is I never know what’s coming – I just get to enjoy it.”

Crawford added: “Part of what I enjoy most about The Deep is there really is no evolution. He kind of always ends up where he started, which is great, but I did like season two when he goes on a journey of self-discovery, even though he was just kind of being punished and sort of going through the motions and jumping through the hoops of like, Oh, I got to change. The concept that he’s so inept at relationships and human connection, that the fact that he has to have a mistress that is an octopus is so funny, but also play it real is just like my sense of humor.”

Chace Crawford as The Deep in season 4 of “The Boys

One the other side of the fight is Annie January, better known as Starlight and played by Erin Moriarty, a “supe” (as they call them on the series) trying to not only stop more destruction from happening in the world, but also yearns to just get to be Annie for once this season.

Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty in season 4 of “The Boys”

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When speaking about her character’s evolution in season four, Moriarty said, “It’s ironic, isn’t it, because she wants to be Annie, and yet, she kind of can’t. The world expects her to be Starlight, and they want her to forever take on that persona because that’s what she has become notorious for and she’s resistant to it, for obvious reasons and justified reasons. Then, she becomes Annie and that forces out the real truth, and the stuff that she’s not dealt with comes to the surface and she realizes that she doesn’t even know who Annie is.”

One of Annie’s supportive allies alongside her in the fight is Kimiko, played by Karen Fukuhara, who has the extraordinary ability to heal fast from the worst of injuries. In the new season, Kimiko has an intriguing arc, as she learns about and has to deal with her unsettling origin story.

Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Fukuhara said, “I love the new information that comes in every season – every episode even. It’s surprising because as an actor, we always try to humanize our characters. Even if we are playing someone that’s a villain or evil, we try to justify our own actions and not judge – in the same way, I’ve done for Kimiko.” She added: “I think even the heroic characters on our show have darker sides to them and that’s what makes the show unique.”

Arguably, no one is more enigmatic on the series in season four than Victoria Neuman, played by Claudia Doumit, a “closeted” superhero who is running to become the next U.S. Vice President. Being also a protective mother and a character that comes from a strict upbringing, Doumit said of Neuman, “I don’t think she’s evil – I don’t think she’s either on the good side – I think she’s a deeply flawed human being and I think that’s so relatable. I think that’s what is so interesting about her and that’s why I enjoy playing her, because nobody fully exists in all good, all bad. The fun thing about this season especially was the exploration of her figuring where that line is – like how far is she willing to go.”

Claudia Doumit in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Fresh faces this season include the character Sage, played by Susan Heyward, whose superpower is having the smartest brain in the world. Homelander soon finds an interest in her abilities, as she becomes a vital asset in his self-centered plans.

Heyward said of joining this already strong ensemble cast in season four, “In a world where people are so outlandish and sometimes cartoonish, I really wanted Sage to – she’s a bit of a mystery. She doesn’t put everything she wants out there. She’s not necessarily scraping for power. She’s very much someone who works behind-the-scenes and creates the situation where she can reign.”

Susan Heyward and Valorie Curry in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Valorie Curry also joins The Boys this season as Firecracker, an outspoken superhero that promotes conspiracies and uses her religion as both a protection and a weapon within her publicly shared comments.

Curry said of Firecracker, “She is so outlandish. She is such a commentary on so many people that we hear from everyday. I wanted to really bring her emotional vulnerability – it’s very close to the surface for her – this pain, this volatility, this deep-wounding and her willingness to access that and show it at any point that serves her.”

A character that has been surviving more than thriving over the past four seasons is Ashley Barrett. Going from Vought assistant to PR executive would seem like a happy journey, but being a human at the beck and call of superheroes like Homelander has been a quiet misery for a character desperate to hold onto whatever professional power she actually has. Played by Colby Minifie, I wondered if the actor has ever had real world PR or publicist friends ever say that they understand her stressed out character in this “damage control” line of work.

Colby Minifie in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Minifie said, “That’s a great question. I have had some PR people be like, ‘Yeah, it’s really intense’ – but I have never met a publicist that behaves the way that Ashley behaves. Maybe they behave that way in their personal lives, the way that Ashley does. I have been treated like, ‘Oh, you’re so great. You’re so wonderful. This is why we love you – this is great’ and that sucks, but that’s the only time that I met a publicist that is vaguely like Ashley.”

As I concluded my conversations with the actors behind these troubled characters on The Boys, I was curious what each of them would say to their on-screen personas, after embodying them up to this point so far, if only they could.

Crawford started with his message for The Deep, “Go back to the ocean – just leave. It’s not going to happen for you, buddy. Just go right back – the only chance at being happy is getting in that ocean.”

Antony Starr in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Starr said of Homelander and The Deep, “I would sit us both down, I would say look at me, make eye contact and I would hold our faces and say, ‘You are enough.’”

Moriarty said of Starlight, “I would say keep going. Persevere. Trust yourself – keep going.”

Erin Moriarty in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Fukuhara said of Kimiko, “Just leave, girl!”

Doumit said of Neuman, “Leave is a good one. Take your daughter and get the hell out of town. Go! You and her – that’s it. None of it matters.”

Curry said of Firecracker, “Therapy and I don’t know – I’d take away her phone.”

Minifie said of Barrett, “Is it really worth it, honey?”

Susan Heyward, Colby Minifie and Chace Crawford in season 4 of “The Boys”

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Heyward said of Sage, “I would say to Sage the exact opposite thing of Colby – it’s absolutely worth it. You’ve been waiting your whole life for this. Wherever you decide to go, it’s worth it.”