‘The Boys’ Season 4, Episode 7 and ‘The Acolyte’ Episode 7 Instant Reactions | The Midnight Boys

The Midnight Boys dive into the penultimate episode of Season 4 of ‘The Boys,’ discussing how Sister Sage loses Homelander's trust, why the show’s shock value has grown stale, and the overall quality of the season as we get closer to the finale (07:13). Later, the boys break down the penultimate episode of ‘The Acolyte.’ They dive into the overall success of Disney+ shows from the 'Star Wars' and Marvel universes and what this show has to say about police as it pertains to the Jedi (52:49).
Hosts: Charles Holmes, Van Lathan, Steve Ahlman, and Jomi Adeniran
Producers: Aleya Zenieris, Jonathan Kermah, and Steve Ahlman
Additional Production Support: Arjuna Ramgopal
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[@panckreous]

I am so fucking grateful for Van. Wisdom is one thing, his ability to calmly and clearly articulate it is next level.

[@lexis4490]

It’s goals.

[@matthewedwards4238]

I don’t watch the shows. I’m just here for the hang.

[@SimplisticGrace]

I’m so glad Qimir was nowhere near this episode. In fact, give him his own show and follow the Sith for once

[@JP47471]

Qimir will see the light of day

[@kaysnow5567]

Disagree with Van that we needed this episode of The Acolyte. We could have had 2 great dialogue driven scenes discussing what happened to the witches and Mai and Ocha's mother instead of doing 2 45 minute episodes showing the same thing, but with two different perspectives.

[@rl-cx6kf]

We need that 30K to get Steve doing BARS.

[@wjack89]

I think Van said it perfectly- this show doesn’t know if it wants to be serious or not. In the same episode in which all the Jedi die we have a CGI rabbit trying to be a detective. Absolutely terrible

[@EV21]

Exactly

[@Jerm408502]

This episode of the Boys was a masterpiece compared to the last 2. Wouldn't put it higher than any episodes from the earlier seasons, but for this season, it's great.

[@lexis4490]

I agree. There’s still so much drama and uncertainty in this show. I don’t know where they are going to end up.

[@gordowoopswag1]

Bruh Charles has the best take on The Boys. Frenchies side story was so lame and characters with no consequences gets boring

[@FdotStizzy]

They should’ve rewrote frenchies side story man

[@Kydabra]

When Home lander is like "you're smart, but I have wisdom" and Sage's subdued reaction was hilarious. She was like whatever you say, buddy.😅

[@SeanTanktop]

sounds like Van talking to Charles tbh

[@thomaskellyiv9406]

Re: the “good Jedi” conversation. Luke isn’t the only one. I think one reason why Rebels hits is because of Ezra & Kanan’s relationship. They are two of the best Jedi out there in terms of their character growth. It’s refreshing to see Jedi be able to make mistakes and still evolve and grow.

[@user-zl9sh9mz6h]

When "The Acolyte" was announced, we were told that it was about a young female Jedi who is torn between her Jedi Master and a Sith Master who wants to lure her to the Dark Side. That plot began in episode 6, was skipped over in episode 7, and has to be explored and then wrapped up in the final episode. Yikes!

[@TheBenperri]

EXACTLY

[@SeanTanktop]

Van saying the Ocotpus lover murder scene was just for laughs is like about as far of a emotional disconnect I've ever felt with him. That scene was horrifying and needlessly cruel and now all the interesting things we've done examining The Deep and abusers, what drives them, and if they're capable of rehabilitation - alllll of that nuance is wiped away and he's just a Red-pilled NPC for Homelander. Also, that they didn't peep the SA element of the Hughie for the 2nd episode in a row. This is like if in S8 of GoT Jaimie murdered Brienne before he went back to Cersei.

[@Tony_Pesta]

Agreed, it felt nasty. I felt like I was watching a legit case of domestic abuse/assault. Coming off the heels of the Hughie SA episode tells me the show has really lost the plot. The tone is way off

[@darktheg.o.d5541]

Random seantanktop, love to see it l!!!! and yeah my boy hughie can't catch a break like damn

[@jamesh1301]

When Van said he liked both episodes I burst out laughing. The Acolyte writers and director should apologize for that last episode. My god it was bad.

[@godfr012]

Sister Sage plan to use a shape shifter as the shooter is totally genius

[@nickfield1569]

The premise of the Rey New Jedi Order movie set for 2026 should be: "What if, just once, the Jedi were cool though?"

[@AndrewLaSane]

More than half of the episode isn't from Sol's perspective. He couldn't have seen inside Torbin's head, he wasn't in the hallway when the fire started, and he wasn't in the ship when the explosions started.

[@jackjbrewster7799]

Charles is starting to get on my nerves. Can yall just talk about the episode? People are here because they like the show. Not everything needs to be a 20 minute diatribe about stuff you don't like. It's okay to criticize once an awhile but it's almost a bit at this point. If you hate the show that much just don't talk about it. Let Van and Jomi and Steve talk.

[@kdot89]

Charles is like if Drake and Armond White had a baby. You just can't take this man seriously

[@MrNathansdad]

I was really hoping he'd listen to Van and up his criticism game, but apparently not.

[@m.a.p.5541]

@@kdot89 At least both of em still get there is an audience to entertain and dont think its great performing to complain that you watched bad tv (in his opimion) yesterday and thats a reason to ask yourself "what did i do with my life". Guy should listen to one episode of himself talking and do a review.

[@JP47471]

He's nothing like A. White imo. White is the worst. Contrarians bug the hell out of me.

[@meatykins]

I'm so glad I can see y'all now!

[@geoffnaggie961]

Sol out here stalking kids hiding in the trees lol FAN

[@m.a.p.5541]

@@geoffnaggie961 I was the same i laughed so hard, he legit did the scooby doo creepy follow tree by tree. XD

[@geoffnaggie961]

@@m.a.p.5541 rubbing his hand and licking his lips like the big back brotha in the yellow suit 😂😂

[@sebastianlarsson5633]

Possibly a stupid question, but how did Firecracker know about Homelanders fetich for milk (not the regular kind)?

[@feelred]

As much as i love the actual reviews for the penultimates eps, i kinda miss the jokes from the earlier eps. You guys rock when theres a mix of that, especially when the cowboy dude gets the topic off the rails😂

[@KofiOutlaw]

[Cracks Knuckles] Can't wait to see y'all do the Live Show dance!

[@dauntejohnson5025]

See I feel like the problem with Charles criticism of the show is a bit misguided. By his logic, just because we know a character is going to live or come out unscathed, somehow it makes it less exciting? It’s just like if your watching a Spider-Man movie, we all know Spider-Man is going to win at the end of the movie, but it doesn’t necessarily take away from the tension or the stakes that was built up prior. At the end of the day, the Boys is a superhero show and they have to build up/give the illusion of death to make things exciting. How do you enjoy anything with that type of critic mindset? Just sit back and enjoy the episode bruh lol

[@GaryIsabelle]

wait charles made a legit critique and Van hit him with "yeah but you wrong tho" lol

[@JP47471]

this scenario probably happens almost every week 😄

[@219piglet]

He is wrong. Charles is going to complain no matter what!!

[@SpideySensei72]

They introduced a new shape shifter who kidnapped and impersonated Starlight that NO ONE saw coming, but Charles has seen it before? If ya'll don't get this big water headed clown off this show. And thank God for Jomi being there to explain that Sage is being more of a tactician and putting certain pawns in place for this ultimate grand scheme. Charles is just too dense to see it.

[@219piglet]

Tell 'em!!

[@MrTinyParrot]

Charles is right, but you all need more time to be ready for the conversation.

[@cjordan919]

Not Ferguson on Brendok 💀

[@DevoExported]

Eating crunch berries in a flash onesie watching this take me back to the saturday morning vibes.

[@JP47471]

MAN Flash 2023 was a miss!

[@KDOGGBOI]

The Acolyte: ***Insert Joe Budden stinks meme***

[@user-zl9sh9mz6h]

"What do you want to see from Star Wars?" 1. Something that redeems Luke's characterization in "The Last Jedi". 2. Baylan Skoll's quest on Peridia. 3. The origin story of Darth Plagueis. 4. The origin story of the Prime Jedi. 5. A movie or series about Cal Kestis and Doctor Aphra exploring the history of the Zeffo. 6. A Knights of the Old Republic series. 7. A Darth Bane movie. 8. Something I've wanted since 1977: A movie that stars Chewie and Artoo. I could go on and on! 😊❤

[@TheBenperri]

5 and 7 REALLY intrigue me!!

[@thebrilliantdad]

First time iv agreed with Charles on Star Wars 😬

[@Tattooed_Gent]

Van had some good points, but I’m surprised I finally agreed with Charles’ takes.

[@glc0stanza]

The thing that I don't see people mention is that they are becoming more one noted. crescendos only work because there is a build from something softer. It just feels like this show is insecure to be naked to the plot......

[@joicooper5497]

1:01:42 it could have come sooner but it depends on if they are trying to tell a bigger story about this power they were looking for and what the twins can do

[@timothylangston3560]

It would be worth going to see them at the El Rey just to witness mass Charles Hate.

[@Natepeel2828]

43 minutes? it was like 35 after credits, previously on's and intros.

[@Redjack10]

Whatever Van thinks the show is referencing with the hyperspace disaster is not what he’s thinking. Unless he actually meant the stuff that happens at the beginning of The High Republic and said “Legends” on accident.

[@EJ_Crough]

Did he say the acolyte is a 10 episode season? I thought there was only one more episode left

[@JP47471]

it's an 8 episode season. But most shows are either 8 or 10 so it is a slight mix-up by him that should be easily forgiven.

[@EJ_Crough]

@@JP47471as mother is well aware of... I never forgive and never forget

[@velvetnightmares5849]

Honestly I enjoyed this episode of The Boys more than the majority of the other episodes this season. There has been a lot of wheel spinning this season, but this episode was not one of those. I do agree that they need to have a strong finale to really push the momentum forward though. The Acolyte on the other hand? Probably one of the worst SW shows I've seen. At this point the only SW property I'm excited for is Andor.

[@giancarlocolageomilea535]

1:31:00 maybe we should talk to regular Alderaanians about whether the Empire was that bad on screen or not

[@robotsex111]

Episode 7 for The Boys was awesome. I really enjoyed it. Great character moments and great action. I was very happy.

[@AndrewLaSane]

Van is right. And Sol is a fan he a fan he a fan

[@mylesmills3614]

I disliked the episode for rehashing episode 3, but I really appreciate Vans points and perspective.

[@kboogie617]

First time watching the pod on video and completely floored at the fact that Charles is black

[@Damian-Reeves]

Y’all got it all wrong, the Jedi weren’t the cops this episode, they were CPS… even more hated than the cops.

[@joicooper5497]

1:06:34 nah from the start it was groomie but I wish they would explain the connection better

[@EV21]

It’s not a “basic take” and it’s not an odd comment…I mean, the second show yall discuss in *this episode* killed of 3 major/main characters and will kill off a 4th in the finale. It’s not at all a basic take to say “the stakes you try to create for your character don’t feel real/weighty because we KNOW what the resolution must be for the story to continue”

[@CajunComrade]

The structure and rollout of this show is atrocious. That’s number 1. Number 2 is that I’m fully on Charles’ corner here for this episode. Hate it. They didn’t get it in this episode and (more and more) I’m disliking everything that isn’t Qimir in this show. Give me more Qimir

[@glc0stanza]

I never thought I'd agree with Charles. This season of the Boys has been disappointing. I still wanna hang in but it feels like they're smoking on their supply.

[@Bnavy207]

Season 4 of the boys is just a filler arc

[@julianstrayhornii6234]

Yep , I remember that feeling watching Naruto the original run of it felt like forever when they started Shippuden.

[@Bnavy207]

@@julianstrayhornii6234 when it took them forever to get compound V I knew this show was going be dragged out.

[@nerdlarge4691]

It’s setting up the end game for the series.

[@MrNathansdad]

Well, we got one episode without "let's be real". Sigh

[@jaredshelton6685]

Man, I'll listen to Charles say anything if it means I don't have to hear him say shawty again. It actually makes me cringe a bit lol

[@brandley4337]

Go to 38:29 in the video.

[@TheBluape]

@@jaredshelton6685😂 right

[@YourHomieBill]

We got the Sexual Vangent at the top!

[@AndrewClaudio]

ADD “THE BEAR” TO THE SPOILER WARNING IF YOURE GONNA TALK ABOUT IT

[@justjoy6537]

Don't know if you guys read comments, but... a few things. 1. I feel like you're suffering fatigue from how gratitious the show has always been. This definitely feels like a come down from Season 3 but it's tied in quality with season 1. 2. The way Charles talks about Sage and what he would do if he was smart 🙄 sounds like something A Train would say. Possibly because he's scared or underestimates a black woman. 3. The Last Jedi is the father of all these mediocre SW projects in which tone and plot waver between crowd pleasing and subversive. It's the potential and inconsistency that's irritating.

[@rexsmith9074]

Charles is right on The Boys. Van just be arguing to arguing. And you know it because Maatson on Succession is a horrible example. YES. We absolutely did care about what Maatson was doing. Absolutely. Both because Skarsgaard killed that role and because it mattered to the story. Even before we knew Maatson was end game, viewers were interested in everything Maatson did from very early on. He was weird, he was interesting, we cared. So pick another angle on that one. We cared about that character and that's before he got between Tom and Shiv and we knew he was end game for the company.

[@solesoul]

Right? Plus he hit him with the basic take and then sputtered for like 5 minutes before saying "nothing you said was wrong"? Had me laughing my ass off over how wrong he was for all of that. Just couldn't let my man be right

[@lexis4490]

It’s funny. I found Hot D boring until the end (seemed repetitive) and The Boys episode fantastic throughout. That being said, I am entertained by these two shows, and I think they are doing interesting stories. Not the Acolyte.

[@blackrippin]

CT is the same way on the all nude side

[@Tomus9]

The Chuck gaslighting has gotta stop. My guy has legit critiques and yall just wanna glaze everything.

[@MJ-bt6zx]

Nah. He's critiquing just for critiquing sake. All his antiques I have no issue with any of that. No issues with the puppet singing the antifa song, no issues with the octopus dying scene. No issues with main characters not dying. Were main characters dying left and right on his beloved one piece? Was he getting upset when they didn't die?

[@KarlSainte]

LucasFilm is too scared to really push Stars Wars forward. Andor had the freedom to really tell a new and interesting story. Make the shows 45-52 min long and let good story tellers make their show. Maybe get away from the Jedi for a bit because they’re too cautious when it comes to telling any stories about them. At least in live action. If you’re gonna make a show, have big worthwhile events happen. It seems like we’re getting these side stories that honestly could’ve all been done in animation.

[@deltadanz]

Acolyte sucks in so many ways. Only reason anyone is watching is cause the Star Wars brand. Take way the brand and this would BOMB on the CW. I have no idea where the 180 million went…There’s been one cool episode but that’s being generous. Much ❤

[@samuraijimmi]

Van sometimes is "youll eat your pig slop and youll like it" personified. His take on this episode of the Acolyte is insanity, we gotta have standards my man

[@djohnson1475]

Charles is a tv narcissist...yes everyone wants a show that outsmarts and surprises the viewer but just cuz the show does do that doesn't mean it has to be shitted on and classified as non-enjoyable...his expectations for the side characters are literally too deep for what the show is

[@cecilboyd1692]

Not gonna lie. Frenchie's storyline is trash. Him hooking up with a guy he orphaned was interesting. But it went absolutely nowhere. I'm surprised "mal" pulled some strings. The Cia knew who he was, I assumed he was pardoned to begin with before this. Just too much wheel spinning.

[@harmski8392]

New to this podcast . Van low key a shill ! This show is horrible

[@TheBenperri]

You can ENJOY the episode of #TheAcolyte, but still admit it was NOT a good TV episode. I feel #TheAcolyte would've been better if they told the story in chronological order... leaving the Qimir stuff for the end and exploring the dark side in season two.

[@derekhatton7799]

How much money does Disney give the Ringer?

[@hailbryceexperience3496]

This show is at the bottom of the list of all the Star Wars shows. The twins (who are supposed to be the main characters) are the least interesting part of the show. If this was someone's first introduction to Star Wars, why would anyone want to be a Jedi? The Jedi are idiots and made to look worse in every show. The most interesting part of the show is Qmir and has been in two episodes. It's basically Phantom Menace 2.0

[@Mre952]

Is sol the sith?

[@fourtime7]

Surprising ending for the boys, but still fill like they are stagnant.

[@larynOneka8080]

I like the show. At this point Star Wars fans are the like the boy that cried wolf. The hater element of the fandom has attacked every Star Wars live action project since the prequels. As quiet as it's kept they also attacked Episode 6 when it came out. Even if a Star Wars show does require some legitimate critique they've been trashing the franchise for so many decades that people have just automatically written them off as toxic. George Lucas didn't want to make anymore films because of the people. It's sad. At least they've stopped attacking Hayden Christensen but even that's only happened after the Disney films started getting released.

[@krisv1991]

I get what Charles is saying regarding The Boys.

[@rexsmith9074]

I get it and agree with it. Van sat there and legit tried to defend using characters merely as plot devices. He had to catch himself, but that's how you know Charles was onto something. Also claiming Alexander Skarsgard's role as Maatson was not a character people were at least interested in as a character in Succession, is a wild claim. It's like he didn't watch the last two seasons of Succession.

[@krisv1991]

@@rexsmith9074 yeah, he literally ended up saying the same thing that Charles was saying. Love Van but let that man have his perspective.

[@m.a.p.5541]

Not really sure how this constant complaining is supposed to be entertaining anymore. Especially with Charles who permanently confuses his lazy reddit take opinions and arbitrary expectations what a show has nad has not have with objective criticism or indeed any expertise or good taste. Sad, but i think ima check out and relisten some of the older eps where it wasnt 80% him bitching and telling other people what to think. Guess putting in some effort to produce an original thought or two and come in with something that is fun to talk about and not what he wants and what he thinks is too much of an ask. Huh. The irony. Anyway, love the rest of you lot. Jomie is the friend everybody wants and Van is the Cousin id love to fight. I know your a team and so on, but he needs a reality check. Its getting old and hes boring and plain unpleasant to listen to by now.

[@jpm1914]

It's so funny listening to people that "like" the show trying not to say anything negative about it.

[@The-Duke-of-Zill]

The Acolyte is Acoshyte

[@harmski8392]

The acolyte has been just fine ?!?! Nah these guys work for Disney

[@larynOneka8080]

Or they just have a different opinion from you.

[@pcs8416]

"Just fine but not good enough to justify being made" is EXACTLY my opinion of it. All the people saying it's the worth thing to ever happen to Star Wars are unbelievably overdramatic. Give me a break.

[@milestones140]

Charles is right for the boys

[@ArmandoMPR]

The Acolyte isn’t an ‘okay’ show, it plainly sucks. It’s mediocrity leaning into just bad.

[@SynthTerror]

Rogue One was pointless. We didn't need to see HOW the rebels got the death star plans, and we damn sure didn't need the "plot hole" explained. Sure it was slick looking and had a stupid ass fan service-y Vader-as-Michael-Myers scene at the end that made the fanboys bust outta their Jar-Jar jammies, but it was just as useless as the other 98% of D+ SW content.

[@thechicken7092]

M-count!!