Beware the Jabberwock, My Son

"Beware the Jabberwock, My Son" is the fifth episode of the fourth season of The Boys. It was released on June 27, 2024 on Amazon Prime Video. It is the twenty-ninth episode overall.
==Summary==
Attention #superfans! This year at #V52 see A-Train live and in person, as he presents an exclusive sneak peek at his powerful, true-life story: TRAINING A-TRAIN! V52: Powered by fans, for fans!
==Plot==
The episode starts at Vought's Fan Festival, V52. The Deep and Cameron Coleman are presenting Phase 7-19 of the VCU (Vought Cinematic Universe). As Homelander watches from backstage, he has flashes back to the previous episode and his traumatizing childhood, then he thinks of Ryan. This is when he is approached by Sister Sage. She proceeds to ask him about his visit back to "Home", but gets no response from Homelander, who is having slight twitches on his face.
Meanwhile, Hughie is at the hospital with his parents, Hugh Sr. and Daphne, asking his father how he feels after Hugh Sr. was injected with Compound V in the last episode. Hugh Sr. appears to be in good health, and is unsure if he actually had a stroke as bad as the doctors said since he claims "then he shouldn't be alive." Hughie then goes to talk with his mother in private, asking her if she injected Compound V into Hugh Sr.'s bloodstream. She says the Compound V fell out of Hughie's coat and she assumed that's what he wanted to do. She says Hughie grew up without one parent and she couldn't bear the thought of him losing another one.
The episode cuts to Firecracker, on Vought News Network, badmouthing Starlight. Starlight is shown watching, in clear distress. She goes to take a look around the now vandalized Starlight House, horrific messages are seen all over the place.
Meanwhile, The Boys regroup at their headquarters, and they make a new plan. Butcher announces that a Supe Virus was being created at Godolkin University that could kill Supes- however, Victoria Neuman managed to get it, so they need to track her down. To do that, Butcher and M.M. go to jail where Stan Edgar, Victoria's adoptive father, is locked up. They offer him release from jail in exchange for helping them secure the Supe Virus. He agrees and takes them to his old farm, sure that if Victoria were to hide anything it might be there. He's right as they discover a lab and a bunch of Suped-up animals. Blood is everywhere and no one is to be found. However, Victoria promptly shows up and finds them there.
The group walk around the farm, looking for clues and for Sameer, Zoe's father, and they encounter super-strength and violent chickens as well as flying murderous sheep. They try to escape by hiding in a barn, where they find Samir who explains that a leak infected the water supply which made all of the animals go violent. He also explained that the virus he was developing is gone except for one dose. The team, apart from Butcher, insist that they use this final dose to infect a dead person to throw out to the animals to feed on. This way, they will get infected with the virus and die. The plan works and the animals start falling from the sky. However, amidst the chaos, Samir goes missing and all that is found is part of his leg. M.M. and Butcher send Stan Edgar back to jail because he didn't help them get the virus, however Victoria kills the driver bringing him back to help him escape.
It's later revealed that Butcher cut off Sameer's leg and held him captive, with the intention of handing him over to Joe Kessler so that Sameer could create more of the virus to take down Homelander. Joe is pleased with Butcher's work.
Back at the hospital, Hughie's father starts to forget things and discovers he is able to teleport and walk through walls. However, he kills several innocent people in the process. Hugh Sr. even turns on Daphne, forgetting their recent amicable friendship and focusing more on her leaving him. He threatens to kill her, but Hughie intervenes and eventually realizes he needs to kill his father to save him and others. Hugh Sr. seems to agree an lets Hughie inject him with something so that he passes away quickly and peacefully.
At the V52 Expo, several movie trailers about The Seven air, including "Training A-Train" and a new movie featuring Firecracker. Backstage, A-Train confides in Ashley that he was the one who leaked the footage, thereby making her an accomplice. Homelander asks Ryan what he wants, and Ryan says to help people. Homelander suggests they help with a young P.A. Bonnie who keeps getting hit on by Adam Bourke. Ryan suggests Adam apologize and when he doesn't believe it's sincere, he suggests she slap him over and over again. Ryan and Homelander watch on, laughing.
Later that evening, at Vought Tower, the leak is revealed to be Cameron Coleman. Ashley framed him, after he ruthlessly dumped her earlier on, and he gets killed by The Seven. Homelander announces to The Seven that they won't just be celebrities anymore but rather wrathful gods. He even brings in Sam and Cate from Godolkin University, who promise to support Homelander when they are called to.
Torn up by guilt, Frenchie goes to the police station to confess to several murders.
==Cast==
===Starring===
*Karl Urban as Billy Butcher
*Jack Quaid as Hughie Campbell
*Antony Starr as Homelander
*Erin Moriarty as Starlight
*Jessie T. Usher as A-Train
*Laz Alonso as Mother's Milk
*Chace Crawford as The Deep
*Tomer Capone as Frenchie
*Karen Fukuhara as Kimiko Miyashiro
*Nathan Mitchell as Black Noir II
*Colby Minifie as Ashley Barrett 
*Claudia Doumit as Victoria Neuman
*Cameron Crovetti as Ryan Butcher
*Susan Heyward as Sister Sage
*Valorie Curry as Firecracker
*Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Joe Kessler
===Special Guest Star===
*Will Ferrell as Himself as Coach Brink
*Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar
*Simon Pegg as Hugh Campbell Sr.
*Rosemarie Dewitt as Daphne Campbell
===Guest Starring===
*P.J. Byrne as Adam Bourke
*Derek Wilson as Tek Knight
*Maddie Phillips as Cate Dunlap
*Asa Germann as Sam Riordan
*Omid Abtahi as Dr. Sameer Shah
*Frances Turner as Monique Milk
*Matthew Edison as Cameron Coleman
===Co-Starring===
*Liyou Abere as Janine Milk
*Conni Miu as P.A. Bonnie
*Austin Jones as Big Chief Apache
*Ray Francis as Dr. Dorian Boone
*Olivia Viggiani as Nurse 1
*Alexa Hazael as Nurse 2
*Roderick McNeil as Wall Street Bro
*Lorenzo Damiani as Hospital Security Guard
*Nicole Moller as Secret Service Agent 1
*Edmund Stapleton as Secret Service Agent 2
*Daniel Staseff as Dead Lab Assistant
*Amber Cull as FBSA Agent
*Katherine Gauthier as Desk Sergeant
==Quotes==
== Appearances ==
=== Locations ===
* New York City, New York
** Flatiron Building
** Vought Tower
* Godolkin University (mentioned)
* (mentioned)
=== Items===
*The Curse of Fu Manchu (poster)
*Crimson (poster)
*This Means Noir (poster)
*Whiskey Sunrise (poster)
*Red Thunder 2 (poster)
*Y2KOS (poster)
*Queen Maeve: Her Majesty (poster)
*Rising Tide
*Translucent: Invisible Force 2 (poster)
*Dawn of the Seven (poster)
*American Hero (logo)
*G-Men: World War (mentioned)
*G-Men: World War III (logo)
*Training A-Train
*Homelander: Land of the Free, Home of the Saved (logo)
*The Seven Reborn (logo)
*Super School (logo)
*Firecracker: Lord's Soldier
*The Deep: Secrets of Atlantis (logo)
*The Tek Knight (logo)
*The Deep: Lifeguard Summer (logo)
*The Seven Returns (logo)
*The Tek Knight: Knight Light (logo)
*G-Men: World War II (logo)
*Homelander vs. Soldier Boy: Annihilation (logo)
*A-Train: Off the Tracks (logo)
*Firecracker: Heaven's Miracle (logo)
*Teenage Kix: Home for Kwanzaa 2 (logo)
*Double Standard (logo)
*The Deep: Gods & Dolphins (logo)
*A-Train: Into the Multiverse (logo)
*Firecracker: God Help Me (logo)
*Teenage Kix: Ditch Day (logo)
*Homelander: Justice Served (logo)
*Black Noir 3: Back to Hanoi (logo)
*The Seven Forever (logo)
*A Dark And Stormy Knight (logo)
*Silent Vengeance 3: Vengeance Reloaded (logo)
*The Guardians of Godolkin: Flipped (logo)
*Speedwalkers 2: Mall Race! (logo)
*Firecracker's A Christmas Wish (logo)
*Let There Be Knight (logo)
*Teenage Kix: Sex-Ed (logo)
*G-Men: Days Past from the Future (logo)
=== Organizations ===
*Vought International
**Vought Studios
**Vought Soul
**Vought Faith
**VTV
**Vought+
**Voughtemundo
**Vought News Network
***Seven on 7 with Cameron Coleman
*The Seven
*Payback (mentioned)
*G-Men (mentioned)
*Teenage Kix (mentioned)
*Starlight House
===Mentioned===
*Bombsight 
*Liberty (poster) 
*Crimson Countess (poster) 
*Groundhawk (poster) 
*Black Noir (poster) 
*Lamplighter (poster) 
*Queen Maeve (poster) 
*Translucent (poster) 
*Soldier Boy 
*Ezekiel (picture)
*Colin Hauser 
* 
* 
* (poster) 
* 
==Trivia==
*The episode is named after issue 3 of The Boys: Highland Laddie, a mini-series regarding Hughie Campbell.
**It is also named after a line from 's famous nonsense poem .
***The poem is about a little child who is advised to beware of a creature known as the Jabberwock. The boy disregards the warning and goes in search of the Jabberwock. When he discovers the beast, he defeats it and returns home triumphantly.
*According to the promotion for Vought's V52 Expo, one of Vought's early superhero films debuted in 1953 with The Curse of Fu Manchu starring Bombsight. was created by English author and is credited with pioneering the archetype of the evil criminal mastermind, influencing numerous villain tropes. However, Fu Manchu has faced criticism in recent years for perpetuating racist stereotypes against Asians. originally based 's on Fu Manchu, but when Marvel lost the rights to the character, they downplayed this connection in later editions by renaming him Zheng Zu. The inclusion of the racially controversial Fu Manchu character into the show's in-history serves as an acknowledgment of the racism that Marvel has hidden from its history.
*In 1970, Vought-American released an anti-littering advertisement featuring Big Chief Apache, an original character for the show who was mentioned by The Legend back in Season Three, who says, "Don't litter, Kemosabe." This ad, starring a white man wearing a Native American headdress, is a clear parody of the famous 1971 public service announcement. The original PSA featured , a Sicilian actor who built his career playing Native American characters. 
*At the V52 Expo, Vought announced a slew of new movies and shows, divided into multiple phases, clearly mocking the for flooding the market with mass-appeal, repetitive, and increasingly poorly-received content. The Deep even mentioned projects spanning from Phase 7 to 19, referencing the MCU's plan to extend the franchise until 2028. When this episode aired on June 27, 2024, had only one major project, , slated for theatrical release due to the delaying other MCU productions. This is downplayed a little by the absurdity of the announcement, as it would take Marvel literally decades to reach Phase 19 at the current pace they are going, so it's possible this was more of a joke where the concept of phases is taken to the absolute extreme rather than simply a shot at the studio. 
*Firecracker's series of upcoming faith-based films with Vought Faith serve as a jab at evangelical production companies like , which are known for producing uninspired, poorly-written Christian-themed imitations of whatever movie genre is currently trendy. 
*Hugh Campbell Sr. mentions that Hughie once owned a pet cat named Jar Jar, presumably after . This is particularly amusing given that Simon Pegg, who plays Hugh Sr., is well-known for his dislike of the character. 
*The rabbit that Billy Butcher frees, and later mercy kills, is named Mr. Fuzzy Buzzy, sharing its name with Vic the Veep's pet dog from Issue 60 of the comics. 
*A-Train mentions that his upcoming new series on Vought+, Double Standard, has just completed reshooting its reshoots, making it the most expensive TV show ever, which he suggests signifies its greatness. This remark is a jab at movies with troubled productions that endured extensive delays and reshoots, often resulting in box office disappointments, such as and . 
*Tek Knight announces that since it's been a year since his last movie, it's already time for a reboot. This is a clear jab at the recent trend of rebooting franchises to re-spur interest in them, even if they're doing just fine. Secondly, the font and the addition of "the" obviously brings to mind the 2022 film , which is a particular jab at the sheer amount of overexposure the public has seen in the 2000s. He even mentions how the movie will have an entire soundtrack provided by , a reference to the band's hit, "" being featured in The Batman, and a 12-minute action sequence that's entirely pitch black, another reference to the film's take on the neo-noir genre. 
*Hugh Campbell Sr. calling Hughie "Wee Hughie" is a nod to Hughie's nickname in the comics. 
==Media==
===Photos===
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===Videos===
Category:Episodes
Category:Season Four