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The Boys
S4.E1
All episodesAll
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IMDbPro

Department of Dirty Tricks

  • Episode aired Jun 13, 2024
  • TV-MA
  • 1h 2m
IMDb RATING
7.4/10
23K
YOUR RATING
Jeffrey Dean Morgan in The Boys (2019)
The Boys: Butcher Makes A Desperate Plea To Ryan
Play trailer1:34
3 Videos
51 Photos
ActionComedyCrimeDramaSci-Fi

After Butcher misses his opportunity to kill Homelander by Soldier Boy, he attempts to get Ryan back on his side and correct his mistakes. Meanwhile, Homelander seeks out a new ally as he st... Read allAfter Butcher misses his opportunity to kill Homelander by Soldier Boy, he attempts to get Ryan back on his side and correct his mistakes. Meanwhile, Homelander seeks out a new ally as he struggles to come to terms with his mortality.After Butcher misses his opportunity to kill Homelander by Soldier Boy, he attempts to get Ryan back on his side and correct his mistakes. Meanwhile, Homelander seeks out a new ally as he struggles to come to terms with his mortality.

  • Director
    • Philip Sgriccia
  • Writers
    • David Reed
    • Eric Kripke
    • Garth Ennis
  • Stars
    • Karl Urban
    • Jack Quaid
    • Antony Starr
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • IMDb RATING
    7.4/10
    23K
    YOUR RATING
    • Director
      • Philip Sgriccia
    • Writers
      • David Reed
      • Eric Kripke
      • Garth Ennis
    • Stars
      • Karl Urban
      • Jack Quaid
      • Antony Starr
    • 25User reviews
    • 23Critic reviews
  • See production info at IMDbPro
  • Videos3

    The Boys: Butcher Meets Up With An Old Friend
    Clip 3:55
    The Boys: Butcher Meets Up With An Old Friend
    The Boys: Butcher Makes A Desperate Plea To Ryan
    Trailer 1:34
    The Boys: Butcher Makes A Desperate Plea To Ryan
    The Boys: Butcher Makes A Desperate Plea To Ryan
    Trailer 1:34
    The Boys: Butcher Makes A Desperate Plea To Ryan
    The Boys: Department Of Dirty Tricks
    Trailer 4:46
    The Boys: Department Of Dirty Tricks

    Photos51

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    Top cast41

    Edit
    Karl Urban
    Karl Urban
    • Billy Butcher
    Jack Quaid
    Jack Quaid
    • Hughie Campbell
    Antony Starr
    Antony Starr
    • Homelander
    Erin Moriarty
    Erin Moriarty
    • Starlight…
    Jessie T. Usher
    Jessie T. Usher
    • A-Train…
    Laz Alonso
    Laz Alonso
    • Mother's Milk
    Chace Crawford
    Chace Crawford
    • The Deep…
    Tomer Capone
    Tomer Capone
    • Frenchie
    Karen Fukuhara
    Karen Fukuhara
    • Kimiko Miyashiro
    Nathan Mitchell
    Nathan Mitchell
    • Black Noir II
    Colby Minifie
    Colby Minifie
    • Ashley Barrett
    Claudia Doumit
    Claudia Doumit
    • Victoria Neuman
    Cameron Crovetti
    Cameron Crovetti
    • Ryan
    Susan Heyward
    Susan Heyward
    • Sister Sage
    Valorie Curry
    Valorie Curry
    • Firecracker
    Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    Jeffrey Dean Morgan
    • Joe Kessler
    Tilda Swinton
    Tilda Swinton
    • Ambrosius
    • (voice)
    Simon Pegg
    Simon Pegg
    • Hugh Campbell, Sr.
    • Director
      • Philip Sgriccia
    • Writers
      • David Reed
      • Eric Kripke
      • Garth Ennis
    • All cast & crew
    • Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

    User reviews25

    7.422.7K
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    Featured reviews

    8aboalhija

    In love with the boys

    If it isnt the best social commentary about our human life and how corrupt politicians and and corporations are then i dont know what is!

    The boys are back with a new season but the same old good humor, great acting and wonderful story to follow especially after Gen v series.

    The background music is excellent as always, the sarcastic tone in this episode has topped up a notch than the 3 seasons before and im loving it!

    I hoped to see more im im being honest for a one hour episode, especially after what happened in Gen V last episode. But maybe its just a build up to a great season as we saw before!
    5Amthermandes

    They just had to ruin it

    Aside from the obvious real-world ignorance of the writers, with their bullcrap political and social propaganda they inject into the show, this is a freaking awesome and entertaining show. I have been looking forward to season 4, hoping that they would reach the climax of the main story arch soon so they could stop using the show as a medium to blatantly and shamelessly spread lies about the American Republican party (specifically Trump supporters). But alas, my hope was soon demolished during the first episode of season 4.

    I have no problem with the gay community. Most people, even republicans, don't. But I think I speak for most of us when I say we're tired of it being shoved in our faces by the entertainment media. It feels like every show and movie that is heavily produced, is obligated to make at least one character gay, in order to wave their vain false flag of how accepting they are.

    So viewers of this episode can probably understand why (I'm not betting a lot will agree though) I'm frustrated with this show because of this episode. WHY DO YOU HAVE TO MAKE A CHARACTER BEING GAY AS A PATHETIC ATTEMPT OF A PLOT TWIST?!?!?? They ruined an emotional, potential and growing subplot of the relationship between two characters by suddenly making one of them gay. I have no problem with a gay character, but they way they do it, is so obnoxiously OBVIOUS that they're merely pandering to the gay community in an effort to show "how APPROVING they are."

    It's become a joke, this show. I can only come to the conclusion that intolerant bigots would give this show a 10/10.
    8aalltefalrajhi

    Good

    It was pretty good, but Homelander totally carried the whole episode. His scenes were the highlight, and he's just so intense and magnetic. You'll see what I mean when you watch it.

    But honestly, there wasn't a whole lot of stuff happening in this episode, which was kind of a letdown. I had high hopes after the crazy ending of Gen V. That finale was explosive and set the bar really high for what's next. I was expecting The Boys to pick up right where Gen V left off, with lots of action and excitement. Instead, this episode felt more like a setup, laying the groundwork for what's to come. It was a bit slower than I wanted.

    Don't get me wrong, setting things up is important, but after Gen V's intense ending, I was hoping for more right out of the gate. It's like they're gearing up for something big, but the opener didn't really pack the punch I was hoping for. I wanted more action and craziness that The Boys usually brings.

    If you're into Homelander, you'll love his scenes because he's as terrifying and compelling as ever. But overall, I was expecting a stronger start to the season. Maybe it's just building up to something huge, and the next episodes will be wild. Let's see where it goes! Watch the episode and see if you feel the same way.
    6dasuke-23952

    Not the best pilot

    The start was disappointingly slow and monotonous. It dragged on with repetitive scenes, lacking any real excitement or engagement. The same dull scenarios kept unfolding, making it a chore to watch. The pacing felt lethargic, with little variation or development to keep things interesting. Overall, it was a tedious beginning that failed to capture my attention or provide any substantial reason to keep watching. A faster pace and more dynamic elements could have improved the experience significantly. Surely not the real TheBoys episode we all know, CGI of the Gore looks a bit meh, like it's all gelly.
    8lassegalsgaard

    Department of Dirty Tricks

    A lot of things were getting me prepared for quite the divisive season with this outing of "The Boys." Not only were they building up for this to be a very political season of the beloved superhero-satire, but it generally feels like the viewers have started to catch onto what the show is trying to do as the world has descended into its more and more obscure qualities. However, with this first episode now in the bag, it feels like this is still the sharp and biting show that originally captivated audiences, just with a few more literal real-world points that challenges the satirical aspects.

    For the people who are loyal supporters of populist and fascist leaders around the world, there is a chance that this episode may hit a little too close to home. However, "The Boys" has always been clear in what audience it's aiming at, and if people are not coming out and saying that the show has gone too liberal, then they've never fully understood the show. This opener may be a bit more on-the-nose than the others, but that's only because of the current political climate, which is way more unbelievable than anything you could ever watch on television, which is why this feels way more geared towards real-life issues and not the heightened versions that they've gone with before. However, even with that, this episode does work perfectly in setting up the real-world tension and face the fact that this is not a world that is fully in attack mode. Homelander is continuing to go down a dark path, and he is opening his closet to everyone, growing even darker and more toxic as his mind descends further and further. He is very familiar to the toxic celebrities that we know, and it adds to the show's overarching theme of how the entertainment industry changes people and turns them into these larger-than-life, horrible personalities. With all of that, though, the episode does have a pacing issue, often taking a little too long with some of its storylines, especially with Butcher who has little-to-nothing to actually do in this episode, except the odd comedic/emotionally-impactful moment.

    "Department of Dirty Tricks" pushes the envelope far, but not so far that it becomes a fundamentally different show; it's just more openly itself now. The characters continue to grow in interesting ways, especially Homelander's dark descent, but there are definitely certain pacing issues that should be taken care of as the show goes along.

    Related interests

    Bruce Willis in Die Hard (1988)
    Action
    Will Ferrell in Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004)
    Comedy
    James Gandolfini, Edie Falco, Sharon Angela, Max Casella, Dan Grimaldi, Joe Perrino, Donna Pescow, Jamie-Lynn Sigler, Tony Sirico, and Michael Drayer in The Sopranos (1999)
    Crime
    Mahershala Ali and Alex R. Hibbert in Moonlight (2016)
    Drama
    James Earl Jones and David Prowse in Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
    Sci-Fi

    Storyline

    Edit

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      When Hughie goes to see his father in the hospital the PA in the background is paging Dr. Voight-Kampf to call the pharmacy. Voight-Kampf was the name of the test used to differentiate Replicants from Humans in Blade Runner (1982) and Blade Runner 2049 (2017).
    • Goofs
      Frenchie says "Ça va? "Non ça va?" to mean "All good? Not all good?" But "Non ça va" is not grammatically correct French, the proper way to say it would be "Ça va pas?"
    • Quotes

      Black Noir II: Yo, what the fuck? That was so fucked up, you guys.

    • Soundtracks
      God Save the Queen
      Written by Glen Matlock, John Lydon, Paul Cook and Steve Jones

      Performed by Sex Pistols

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    Details

    Edit
    • Release date
      • June 13, 2024 (United States)
    • Country of origin
      • United States
    • Languages
      • English
      • Sign Languages
      • French
    • Production companies
      • Sony Pictures Television
      • Amazon MGM Studios
      • Kripke Enterprises
    • See more company credits at IMDbPro

    Tech specs

    Edit
    • Runtime
      • 1h 2m(62 min)
    • Color
      • Color
    • Sound mix
      • Dolby Digital
    • Aspect ratio
      • 2.39 : 1

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