This review contains full spoilers for The Boys Season 4, Episode 6, “Dirty Business”
Only on a show like The Boys could make an episode about sex dungeon foreplay, lobotomies, and heroic gimps provide welcome levity. “Dirty Business” avoids feeling needlessly complicated or distracted, chasing a singular storyline that involves covertly infiltrating an alt-right cocktail soirée. It lifts our spirits after the downer that was last week’s teary-eyed conclusion, and even drops its own bombshell of a parting reveal (that you probably saw coming if you’ve been paying close attention). Unshackled from the multiple storytelling angles still stuck in place after a multi-week lull, The Boys finally feels like its rambunctious self again.
The Big Revelation
The gravely voiced elephant in the room is finally confirmed: Joe Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) is an illness-induced hallucination like Becca (Shantel VanSanten). There had been clues sprinkled throughout past episodes, but nothing concrete until now. Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) isn’t around much in “Dirty Business,” only there long enough to establish his dual imaginary friends — a now one-legged Dr. Sameer Shah (Omid Abtahi) earns the honor of calling out Butcher’s delirious state, complete with a quick montage of Butcher talking to empty rooms in past scenes where we thought Kessler was present. It’s not a groundbreaking twist, yet having Kessler and Sameer react to Butcher’s whacked-out state helps the shock value last longer.
Undercover Shenanigans
Elsewhere, and for the lion’s share of the episode’s duration, we spend an evening in Tek Knight’s (Derek Wilson) Bruce Wayne-like mansion — only his Batcave is a Fifty Shades hideout. An invitation-only, highfalutin affair brings The Seven’s A-list players together with United States government officials, complete with all the self-serving corruption we crave. The gathering’s purpose is to collude and discuss an antinode to Robert Singer’s (Jim Beaver) presidency, which means The Boys have no choice but to send Hughie (Jack Quaid) undercover as The Boys’ Spider-Man equivalent, a junkie named Webweaver (Dan Mousseau).
Intriguing Developments
Sticking innocent Hughie in a secret room with a horned-up Tek Knight and Ashely Barrett (Colby Minifie) is a recipe for comedy gold. It starts simply, with Hughie trying to imitate Webweaver’s drugged-up stoner speak — then panic sets in when he notices Homelander (Antony Starr) at the party.
- Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) steals the show
- Performances shine with a narrower focus
- The Boys’ unintended actions have consequences
“Dirty Business” resuscitates The Boys’ satirical wits and bleak comedy beyond Hughie’s psycho-sexual episode. Victoria despises hobnobbing with wrinkly conservative ghouls to the point where she imagines violently popping her own head as some Roe v. Wade opposing official can be heard explaining inaccurate abortion facts.
Clever Dagger
Best of all, Tek Knight’s death leaves The Seven in disarray. The Boys may be in shambles, especially with Frenchie (Tomer Capone) in prison, but their unintended actions are a clever dagger. Homelander realizes the mole is still alive — it was never Ashley’s sacrificial lamb Cameron Coleman (Matthew Edison) — and he’s one step closer to the edge (and he’s about to break).