The Boys season 4 managed to pull off a nearly flawless season finale. However, its normalization of victim blaming in response to a sexual assault puts a damper on the whole episode.
One of the biggest complaints about The Boys season 4 is its mishandling of Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) subplot. In episode 6, “Dirty Business,” his story takes a dark turn when he is sexually assaulted by Tek Knight (Derek Wilson) and Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) while undercover for a mission. Meanwhile, the show’s approach to the serious topic of sexual assault is to treat it as a joke, with showrunner Eric Kripke commenting that he thought it was “hilarious.” As if that weren’t enough, in episode 7, Hughie is assaulted again when a shapeshifter disguised as Annie (Erin Moriarty) tricks him into sleeping with her. Given only one episode of the season remained, viewers knew ahead of time that the finale wouldn’t adequately handle this assault either.
However, the show does much worse than just glossing over the assault. Instead of classifying what happened as nonconsensual sex due to deception, The Boys frames it as Hughie being a cheater.
What happens to Hughie in The Boys season 4 finale?
When The Boys season 4 finale begins, Hughie is still unaware that Annie is a shapeshifter, and the shapeshifter does even more incredibly messed up things to him. Since they have Annie’s memories, they tell him about Annie’s grandparents’ marriage proposal and use the story to propose to him. Hughie had already planned to propose to Annie and had a ring, so he proposed marriage to the shapeshifter, which they accepted. So, not only does the shapeshifter assault him multiple times, but they even manipulate him into thinking he’s engaged to Annie.
Eventually, he realizes who the shapeshifter is and is reunited with the real Annie. It’s expected that he and Annie will have to work through what happened, though it might be difficult for both of them. However, the pair don’t talk at all about how Hughie was deceived and violated. Instead, Annie is fuming because she believes Hughie cheated on her. He tries to explain that he literally thought the shapeshifter was her, but she continues blaming him for the whole incident, demanding to know how many times he slept with her as if it were consensual. She argues that it was his fault for not knowing it wasn’t her, even though the shapeshifter was so skilled that absolutely no one on the team detected their presence for hours.
It’s clear that Annie has some insecurities, as she accuses Hughie of liking the shapeshifter more than her because they were more seductive and boisterous than her, whereas she struggles with depression and trauma. Even if he was misled, she still insinuates he’d be to blame because he was happy to do those things when he thought it was her. The other characters seem to agree with Annie’s perspective, as M. M. (Laz Alonso) gives Hughie a look and shrugs at one point as if to say, “What the hell?”
What happened to Hughie and the impact it had on him is never mentioned. Instead, it becomes about him trying to win Annie’s forgiveness for what happened to him. They eventually make amends, but she drops a few nasty and judgmental comments, such as his need to be checked for STDs. The way she treats him and the fact that the show frames her reaction as completely normal is horrifying. Annie is openly engaging in victim blaming, not only blaming Hughie for experiencing abuse but also acting as if it changes the way she sees him.
It’s nothing short of heartbreaking to see The Boys normalize this kind of treatment. After all, her reaction is exactly why many choose to stay silent, fearing that they’ll be told it’s their fault. They agonize over thoughts about whether they could’ve prevented what happened or if it will be seen as infidelity. Where was Hughie’s side in all this? Where was the call-out of Annie that her victim blaming was unacceptable? The Boys seems to be validating Annie’s anger towards an abuse survivor while giving audiences the impression that assault by deception isn’t actually assault, and it’s very dangerous that this show is nonchalantly spreading horrific ideas like these.
Published: Jul 19, 2024 12:19 pm