Review: The Boys, "Beware The Jabberwock, My Son" | Season 4, Episode 5
The show crosses a line (no, not that kind)
This is exactly what I was afraid of.
Ever since the early reference to plot points from Gen V that appeared in episode one, I’ve been warily awaiting some element that felt out of place. Maybe a MacGuffin introduced awkwardly, or a casual mention of a character or event in which it seemed as though the show were expecting you to know what it was talking about—something to signal that the two shows are connected to the point where unfamiliarity with the newer series could harm your enjoyment of the original. But all through this season, I’ve felt comfortable with the storytelling (with regard to this issue, anyway). It’s never come across like there was something missing, some gap in my knowledge that was clearly traceable back to the spinoff. I hadn’t seen Gen V? No problem, The Boys seemed to be saying; this is a TV show. It can, and should, stand on its own two feet.1
But wow, did this episode shred any lingering hope of The Boys continuing down that …