The boys create an ongoing problem with character stakes

The Boys are known for their gruesome character deaths, but the show still lacks real stakes when it comes to the Butcher vs. Homelanders clash.

The boys' unpredictability is one of the best parts of the show, but after three seasons with Butcher's team facing Homeland and Vought, the boys clearly have a character issue. After Starlight and Maeve stopped Homelander with an incriminating video at the end of The Boys season 2, The Boys season 3 kicked off as if the "heroes" had finally won. However, similar to the situation at the beginning of season 2, this truce didn't last long. The return of the Soldier Boy and the arrival of Temporary-V sparked another conflict between Butcher and Homelander that, once again, didn't result in the deaths of any of the main characters.

For a show defined by gruesome superhero kills, the boys don't really kill off too many of the main characters -- especially when it comes to the good guys. The fact that a group of regulars regularly battles Homelander and other Vought supes means Butcher and his friends are constantly in danger of being killed, but "The Boys" has gone through three seasons without any casualties. The funniest thing about the boys is precisely how the non-superpowered characters stand up to DHS and Vought, but It doesn't quite work when the audience never feels like Hughie, Mother's Milk, Kimiko, and Frenchie are in real danger.

The Boys Has Avoided Killing The Good Guys

The Boys season 1 was marked by the grisly death of Robin and Translucent, who only had a few minutes of screen time before dying, plus A-Train's murder of Popclaw. Season 1 was also marked by the death of Madelyn Stillwell, which set the tone for Homeland's season 2 arc. The Boys season 2 will see Becca tragically killed by Ryan's heat vision. Now, The Boys season 3 has seen the deaths of Stormfront, Supersonic and Black Noir, the last of which is one of the most important deaths of the entire show. That said, none of these characters are part of Butcher's "hero" team.

Will Any Of “The Boys” Die In The Boys Season 4?

The only way the boys would really raise the stakes for future seasons is if any of the "boys" die in season 4. The problem, however, is that the way Kimiko, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie died in the boy manga just doesn't work in the show -- at least not yet. Billy Butcher himself kills his teammate in boy comic, a tragic It's a twisted conclusion for a character who's always made sure to point out that he's not the hero of the story. Still, while The Boys season 3 confirmed that Butcher is clearly not a hero, a comic book end for the character is premature.

If the boys wanted to be comically accurate with the deaths of Kimiko, Mother's Milk, and Frenchie, those characters would probably only die at the end of the episode. However, if the boys are going to kill off a major character in season four, the comic book ending will have to change. It's still possible that Butcher was somehow involved in the death of one of his teammates, but having Butcher murder any of his friends in The Boys season 4 would have been too much. Given how often the boys change up elements of the source material, it wouldn't be surprising if Kimiko, Mother's Milk, or Frenchie died in season 4 in a different way than in the manga.