The Boys Season 4: Did Ashley take Compound V?

Following the events of The Boys Season 4 Episode 5, you might be wondering: did Ashley take Compound V? Here’s everything you need to know about Vought’s spiritual CEO. 

Ashley Barrett has enjoyed quite the arc through The Boys seasons so far, having started out as a cog in Vought’s propaganda machine by (mis)handling Starlight’s introduction to The Seven. 

She’s continued to climb the ranks, but as the demands of CEO (and the scandals of the new supes) ballooned, it’s left Ashley pulling her hair out – quite literally. 

With Madelyn Stillwell dead, Stan Edgar in prison, and Homelander determined to Make America Super Again, things have gone from bad to worse for Ashley in The Boys Season 4. So, did she take Compound V to protect herself?

Did Ashley take Compound V?

Right now, it’s not been explicitly confirmed that Ashley has taken Compound V, but it’s heavily implied by A-Train in The Boys Season 4 Episode 5. 

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At Vought’s V52 Expo, A-Train tells Ashley that he’s the Vought leaker, saying he needs her help to get Sister Sage off his back. 

For the uninitiated, A-Train – who’s grown sick of the corruption at Vought – leaked security cam footage to Hughie and Annie, proving that the Starlighters who were wrongfully blamed for the murders of the Homelander supporters were innocent. 

Since then, Homelander and Sage have been on a tireless campaign to try and find the traitor – if he gets caught, he’s screwed. 

Needing a solution, A-Train confesses to Ashley that he’s the Vought leaker. She threatens to tell The Seven, but he reminds her that he’s got dirt on her too, and blackmails her into helping him.  

Up until now, we thought the only dirt he had on her was that she left a “floater” in Homelander’s toilet in Season 4 Episode 4. 

However, A-Train says, “You’ve done a lot more than just take a s**t, and we both know that.” Ashley looks terrified and surprised – whatever it is, it appears she’s only just finding out that he knows. 

It could very well be that Ashley nabbed a vial of Compound V from Homelander’s apartment, especially given that’s exactly what A-Train himself did. Maybe he spotted a dose was missing? 

Why would Ashley want V?

Ashley is in a rather precarious position at Vought, meaning she may want some Compound V to protect herself. 

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In Episode 3, after Sister Sage kicks off her master plan, Homelander gives Ashley’s position to the new supe as CEO of Vought. He keeps Ashley on as a mascot, like “Ronald McDonald.”

But that’s the least of her worries – Homelander and Sister Sage are raging towards a dystopian endgame, one in which humans are their servants and supes reign supreme. 

When Ashley sees Homelander laser Vought employee Anika to death without a second thought (and after promising not to), she realizes she could be next on the chopping block. 

If the plan continues to escalate and supes take over the White House and the US military, humans aren’t going to stand a chance. 

So, Ashley might think that the risks of taking Compound V as an adult are outweighed by the potential to obtain powers and stand a fighting chance in the supe war. 

Ashley supe fan theory explained

Even before A-Train’s line, a fan theory did the rounds suggesting Ashley took Compound V from Homelander’s room in The Boys Season 4 to turn herself into a supe. 

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Taking to Reddit, one fan wrote, “Tinfoil hat theory. What if Ashley wasn’t in Homelander’s room just for that ‘pity revenge’ but instead she took some Comp-V for herself as well and all that was just an excuse to cover it up?

“She seems really done with Vought, Homelander, and now she has to deal with Sage and even The Deep! She really wants out but she knows Homelander will never allow that.”

Although they finished the post with, “Just a wild thought I had,” many fans agreed with this The Boys theory.

“Honestly it’s the play I’d make if I were trapped working for that nut Homelander and Deep was gunning for me,” said another. “Level the playing field so if that douche tries something you can fry him.”

Rather than protect herself, some think she might give herself powers to regain her position at Vought. 

As said in another comment, “Maybe she might be aiming at getting some useful power like Sage so she would get on top of the chain again. Of course always behind Homelander.”

A fourth chimed in, “I’ve been patiently waiting for Super Ashley to show up. She has to realize at some point that it’s just too risky to be around these maniacs without having any superpowers to help her.”

No doubt we’ll find out if this is the case in future episodes of The Boys Season 4. Until then, Episodes 1-5 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video now. 

For more from The Boys, we’ve got guides on Mother’s Milk’s nickname, Black Noir’s return, and how the Gen V timeline fits into Season 4. You can also catch up on all the new TV shows heading to streaming this month.