The Boys fans slam “disgusting” Season 4 Episode 6 for going “too far”

Fans of The Boys have blasted the show for a Hughie scene in Season 4 Episode 6 that goes “too far.”

Hughie hasn’t had an easy time in Season 4. The last few episodes involved him wrestling with his father’s illness amid the sudden return of his estranged mother.

By proxy, he’s also had to contend with the fallout from Firecracker exposing Annie’s medical history. The latest episode intensified the emotional rollercoaster.

Spoilers for The Boys Season 4 Episode 6 follow.

Episode 6 sees the gang infiltrate a meeting at Tek Knight’s mansion, where Homelander plans to announce his interest in invoking the 25th Amendment.

Their only way in is through Webweaver’s invitation to the gathering, which requires Hughie to disguise himself as the Spider-Man parody.

What transpires after “Webweaver” meets Tek Knight has greatly disturbed fans, many of whom believe the show has gone too far with Hughie in Season 4.

During the party, a masked Hughie is taken to the Tek Cave where the detective character hides his dungeon. Tek Knight and Ashley then violate the man they believe is the former’s potential future sidekick, Webweaver.

Reddit user Nulgarian condemned these scenes, especially as they follow the death of Hughie’s father and Episode 5’s emotional final moments. Worst still, the assault happens at the hands of his childhood hero – and continues after Hughie is unmasked.

The Redditor wrote, “Now even in a vacuum, this episode would be in terrible taste. Can you imagine for a second the outrage if we had the exact same series of events, but with a female character in place of Hughie?”

That the “disgusting” events were played for laughs exacerbates the frustrations of The Boys fans who feel torn on Hughie’s arc this season.

Several people in the thread agreed, arguing the Tek Cave scenes lasted too long and were “disturbing.”

“I think this is valid criticism. Out of all the shock value scenes, this was the one I struggled to watch the most. It should have ended at the cake scene tbfh,” one fan replied.

Someone else added, “My thoughts exactly! My sister and I were watching the scene and seeing Hughie being violated was so disturbing, especially when he was trying to guess the safe word.”

For now, fans hope the show will “tackle the fallout in the next episode,” which premieres on Thursday, July 11.