The Boys fans spot “shocking” gag in Season 4 premiere, and they know who’s behind it
Prime VideoOnly three episodes in and The Boys Season 4 has been packed with Easter eggs — and one “shocking” gag has someone’s name written all over it.
You’d be forgiven for not knowing where to look first with The Boys Season 4, as its three-episode premiere has already been jam-packed with Easter eggs, missed references, and really gross scenes (IYKYK).
The latest to take social media by storm almost seems like a coincidence, but fans are convinced creator Eric Kripke’s hands have been all over it.
“Anyone else noticed the Starlight Foundation wall text spells out ASSFART?” one fan posted on Reddit about Season 4 Episode 1.
Sure enough, when Annie is seen passing the Starlight House sign that reads “A Safe Space for At-Risk Teens,” the first letters of each word do exactly what it says on the tin.
“I wonder if they did it on purpose,” another fan weighed in, with a third stating, “Peak Kripke. Gotta work in a d**k shot at least once every few episodes; gotta get as much adolescent sex humor in there as possible. And don’t even get me started on the ‘can we top the last one, make this one even more shocking AND disgusting’ supe sex scenes.”
“Don’t get me wrong — I love The Boys, and am a fan of Kripke — but watching this I also honestly sometimes feel like his ‘inner child’ is perpetually stuck in Jr. high school,” they continued.
Amazingly, ASSFART isn’t the crudest scene in The Boys Season 4 by a long stretch, with an homage to horror movie The Human Centipede seen halfway through Episode 2.
If that wasn’t enough, the show has also come under fire for a “wild” remark made by Homelander in Episode 1’s opening moments, commenting on Ryan and Zoe not coming back from a campaign event with anyone pregnant.
While many didn’t catch onto ASSFART, most can agree it was on purpose — though some fans argue that Kripke’s shock value humour does more than meets the eye.
“I feel like a boomer saying this, but I miss when the supe scenes weren’t just added for shock value,” one argued. “They actually contributed to the plot in some ways. Like remember the Popclaw scene from Season 1? Yeah it was brutal to watch, but it also helped them gain leverage over her, and is what ultimately led them to find out about Compound-V.”
“You think the show is excessive? You would have a hard time with the actual comic,” another slammed.
A third clarified, “If you watched the ‘behind The Boys’ bits, Kripke felt that he needed to keep it between the lines with Amazon Prime Video.”
If Kripke is only just starting to let rip, who knows what else The Boys Season 4 has in store. Although will it be able to top Herogasm?
For more, check out all The Boys Season 4 theories and all the new Supes in The Boys. You can also remind yourself of the Gen V cast to be prepared for any potential cameos.