Hold onto your wigs, because Ashley Barrett (and quiet superstar of The Boys) is going full-Supe—well, at least we think so. After that eventful season 4 finale, what’s next for Vought’s unhinged CEO? And what will her powers be?
Warning! Spoilers ahead for The Boys season 4 finale.
There might be a swarm of Ashleys employed at Vought International, but only one has perfected the art of pissing off Homelander (Antony Starr), all while doing it in a fabulous, monochromatic pantsuit: Ashley Barrett, played by Jessica Jones and Fear the Walking Dead alum Colby Minifie. Since her unlikely rise to CEO in season 3, Ashley’s had a rough go of it—and it’s safe to say that she’s not exactly dealing with the pressure well. I mean, who can blame her? It must be hard to juggle being a part-time dominatrix and a full-time corporate sleaze. It just makes you want to rip out your hair, doesn’t it?
The Boys season 4, episode 8, aptly-titled “Season 4 Finale” (its original name of “Assassination Run” was reworked to account for real-world events—you can connect the dots) is here, and it set up some major plot points for season 5. In it, Hughie (Jack Quaid), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) reluctantly agree to help Vice President-elect Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) save face after she’s outed by Homelander on live TV. However, Butcher (Karl Urban) gets there first, and the fallout is, well…diabolical, to say the least.
What happens to Ashely in The Boys season 4 finale?
Back at Vought HQ, Homelander enlists the help of his minions, namely, Firecracker (Valorie Curry), The Deep (Chace Crawford), and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) to help wipe out everyone at the company who has any dirt on him. He has to keep his public image looking squeaky-clean, after all. It’s here that Ashely overhears The Seven discussing their contingency plan, and being the way that she is, breaks into Homelander’s apartment to steal from his secret stash of Compound V so she can shoot up and…fight back? Seriously, was this her master plan? Kudos, I guess, because she’s got an insane will to survive.
All we see is a shot of Ashley’s head in its full, bald glory as she keels over in pain, something squirming around under her skin and moving its way up to her brain à la Mrs. Conehead. Then, she seemingly goes missing. This is all we get of Ashely’s superhero transformation in the episode, implying that we’re not going to see this particular development pay off until next season—and all I can say is that I can’t wait.
So, will Ashley escape The Seven’s wrath and maintain her position as CEO? Well, at the end of The Boys season 4, standing President Calhoun (David Andrews) declares martial law, meaning Homelander can now legally deputize superheroes in the name of national security. With this in mind, it sure seems like the “Blonde Ambition” will be ditching Vought for the White House in season 5, begging the question of whether or not the company even needs a mascot anymore. Homelander is, for all intents and purposes, the ringleader of this absolutely f***ed up circus, and Ashley may want to consider laying low until the whole thing blows over. And yeah, Homelander’s probably not going to be too pleased.
Supe Ashley has the potential to be the best part of The Boys season 5
I, for one, definitely didn’t see this Ashley twist coming, making her superhero reveal ripe for outlandish fight scenes and plenty of hair-related gags. Plus, Ashley doesn’t exist in The Boys comics, meaning there are no reference points for what showrunner Eric Kripke and Co. can or can’t do with the character, especially now that she’s all Suped-up. We’ve seen Ashley’s behavior grow increasingly erratic throughout all four seasons, cementing her as kind of a chaotic fan fave. I mean, she’s one of the few people keeping this show actually funny amid all its bleak, real-world connotations, second only to The Deep. With some whacky new abilities, there’s certainly potential for Ashley’s arc to be a highlight of the final season.
While we don’t know exactly what her powers are yet, fans of The Boys have long speculated that Comp V works by activating a person’s preexisting qualities, and taps in to some buried part of them to make their newfound abilities manifest in an extremely personal way. If this is the case, users on X might be onto something when they say Ashley is about to find herself in a bit of a … hairy situation.
Will we get to see Ashley using her rumored hair powers in season 5? And how long will we have to wait to see her on Comp V? Who knows, but The Boys certainly has a lot of loose plot threads to tie up in its final batch of episodes. Not only is the titular team split up, but a mid-credits reveal also teases the return of Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy, who might be our only hope at this point. With all this and the fate of Ashley left to address, The Boys’ creators sure have their work cut out for them.
Published: Jul 20, 2024 03:09 pm