The Boys adds warning and renames season 4 finale after Trump's assassination attempt

The Amazon Prime adaptation of The Boys has never shied away from reflecting topical issues of our time. However, the airing of the season 4 finale occurred in a particularly tense moment, given the July 13 alleged assassination attempt on US Presidential candidate Donald Trump.

The Boys season 4 finale was originally titled "Assassination Run," and the episode's main plot centers on a political assassination attempt on President Bobby Singer, orchestrated by Sage and Homelander.

Following the attack on Donald Trump, Amazon retitled the season 4 finale episode to the generic "Season Four Finale." They also released an official statement that condemned political violence and clarified that the alleged Trump assassination attempt did not inspire the episode.

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The Boys season 4 finale has a content warning

The Boys season 4 finale begins with a content warning about the potentially disturbing episode, advising viewer discretion. According to the statement released by the producers, the season 4 plotline was finalized in 2023, making its parallels to current events entirely coincidental.

“The season finale of The Boys contains scenes of fictional political violence, which some viewers may find disturbing, especially in light of the injuries and tragic loss of life sustained during the assassination attempt on former President Trump,” Amazon said.

Political violence has been a central theme of season 4. While the show has President Bobby Singer and Vice President Victoria Neuman posing publicly as allies, behind the scenes, they are viciously opposed to each other.

Bobby Singer is a genuine idealist aware of the threat Vought and their leading superheroes, such as the Seven, pose. Meanwhile, Victoria Neuman, despite publicly sharing the same positions, has been secretly undermining efforts to truly hold Vought accountable for their corruption.

This was shown in graphic detail in the season 2 episode "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker," where she mass murdered Vought whistleblowers who were about to testify against the company.

The Boys season 4 has United States President Bobby Singer get targeted for assassination. (Image via Prime Video)

After ousting Stan Edgar from Vought in season 3, Homelander turned his attention to Victoria Neuman as his pawn on the political chessboard. Throughout season 4, Homelander and Sister Sage plotted to ingratiate themselves into Bobby Singer's administration through Victoria. They wanted to assassinate Singer so Victoria could take over and unleash a new political era where the Supes get what they want.

Meanwhile, the Boys grew increasingly aware of the Seven's political machinations, causing Billy Butcher to plot the deaths of both Homelander and Victoria Neuman to stop the superhero takeover of America in its tracks.

To that end, Billy captured Victoria's fiancee, Sameer, to force him into developing a virus lethal enough to even kill a Supe as powerful as Homelander. His plan ran into complications after Sameer claimed the viral strain would become airborne and target every Supe on the planet, including allies of the Boys themselves.

While Billy was horrified at the idea of genocide, the V-enhanced tumor within him encouraged him to embrace this eventuality, given that it fed off Billy's darkest impulses.

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Given how central the theme of political violence would be to the season 4 finale, it's no surprise that recent events would color the perception of the episode.