The Boys season 4 finale may have just saved the latest season of the superhero drama from being meh. From important character deaths to a mid-credits scene that had every screaming, the penultimate season finale truly embodied diabolical. But wait, where was A-Train?
Amidst all the murder and mayhem, there was one major character that was rather conspicuous in his absence. Our friendly neighborhood speedster did not board the finale train at all! Instead, the episode opened with a newscaster announcing that Vought Studios had decided to scrap the movie Training A-Train (the one with Will Ferrell) despite the production being nearly complete, because they believed they could make more money that way. Pfft!
Something smells suspicious, doesn’t it? We missed him, especially now that he is one of The Boys!
What has A-Train been up to in The Boys season 4?
One of the better arcs on this season of The Boys has been A-Train’s. Remember him in season 1? All doped up on V, running through Hughie’s girlfriend and killing her, and not being the least bit apologetic or remorseful? Well, we have run a long way since then, and season 4 was the beginning of a new A-Train.
This season, we saw him finally realize that being in the Seven was possibly the worst thing that happened to him. He was merely an actor owned by a corporation. His brother didn’t respect him anymore. His superhero persona was a lie, and he wasn’t helping anyone or making any difference to his community, except being a lackey for Homelander’s murderous whims.
By season 4 episode 3, MM has managed to flip A-Train for The Boys, and he begins helping them by leaking sensitive information about Sage and Homelander’s plans to dispose of president-elect Robert Singer and replace him with Victoria Neuman. His redemption arc hits a real milestone in episode 6, “Dirty Business,” when A-Train saves MM’s life by transporting him from Tek Knight’s mansion, where MM seems to have had a heart attack, to the hospital. A young kid sees A-Train save someone’s life, and seeing the kid smile, A-Train experiences the warm fuzzies of being a real hero for the first time.
By episode 7, Homelander has already killed Vought News anchor Cameron Coleman and the supe Webweaver, believing them to be leaks. But after he sends The Deep and Black Noir to kill The Boys, and A-Train and MM interrupt their fight with Butcher and Annie, A-Train is outed as the leak. Fearing Homelander’s wrath, A-Train decides to flee the country with his family. He asks Ashley, who was also covering for him, to run away with him, but she decides to stay on.
And that’s why A-Train is MIA in The Boys season 4 finale—he has fled the country and is in hiding!
Why it’s a good thing that A-Train was not in The Boys season 4 finale
It’s obvious that Homelander wouldn’t have thought twice about killing A-Train when he just as easily did it to Black Noir last season, who he actually liked. Even if A-Train did stick around, and was nigh uncatchable, he would’ve had to go up against the Godolkin kids or Butcher alone, or Sister Sage would’ve made him part of some new plan, and he might’ve ended up dead or worse.
This way, A-Train remains out of harm’s way for the time being and can find a way, on his own, to deal with Homelander. In the season 4 finale ending, we see Annie get her powers back and escape when Hughie gets captured, and it looks like next season, she might be rounding up all the help she can get against Homelander & Co, including bringing back some old members of the Seven, like a certain Queen … and a supe like A-Train would be a valuable ally, wouldn’t he?
Guess we’ll have to wait for that A-Train redemption arc a little longer, eh?
Published: Jul 19, 2024 04:00 pm