SPOILER ALERT : This article contains details of the Season 4 finale of The Boys that was formerly titled “Assassination Run.” The episode, now called “Season Four Finale” after the real-life attempted assassination of Donald Trump on July 13, dropped earlier today on Amazon Prime Video.
“It’s quite the surreal moment, I would say first and foremost,” states The Boys star Claudia Doumit of the attempted assassination of Donald Trump and the warped mirror of the 2024 election that the Prime Video superhero satire series has become in its Season 4 finale.
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“I think the show has always served as a reflection of what’s currently happening in our world,” the actor who plays the scheming and secretly superable Vice President-elect Victoria Neuman on the Eric Kripke run Boys. “But, I mean, no one could really predict that this to happen with the timing.”
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That’s certainly a polite way of putting it by the seasoned Australian-born Doumit, as the Kripke-directed Season 4 ender pivots The Boys to its fifth and final season with political deaths and bedlam.
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As POTUS-elect Robert Singer’s “extreme anti-Supe agenda” polarizes the body politic, it’s January 6 and Congress is voting on certifying the Electoral College votes to put “Dakota Bob” and Victoria Neuman in the White House. Or, with terms like “internment camps” being tossed around, as Hughie (Jack Quaid) nicely puts it: “the whole country barreling towards 1984.”
Praised by alt-righter Firecracker (Valorie Curry) as a “secret dagger in the heart of the Deep State,” Veep-elect Neuman is revealed live on TV by a smug Homelander to be “superabled.” In a divided America, the news causes chaos and riots all over the nation. Neuman’s fury is tempered off-camera by Homelander promising to suspend the Constitution under a “new world, new rules.”
“You’ll have to arrest half your company, half the country – Neuman tells Homelander, who clearly hadn’t considered the implications of his actions.
At the same time, with the results already certified and the Supes planning to surround the Capitol and the White House, Singer goes on TV to ask for new elections. In words almost too timely for the real-life America in these days after Trump was wounded by a would-be killer, the President-elect warns the nation that if he is assassinated, it was by Neuman and the Supes.
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Let’s just say, it doesn’t all go to plan — at least Singer and The Boys’ plan.
On the path getting to fascism USA and The Boys last season, Neuman is ripped in half by a crazed Butcher (Karl Urban) and her supe-enhanced daughter knocked out just as the scheming politician is about to seal a deal with the Boys to get away.
Of course, victory is snatched from the bloodied hands of defeat, as the exiled Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) returns to inform a despondent Homelander that her grand plan has all come together. As Dakota Bob is arrested for the death of his running mate thanks to some hidden camera footage, the newly installed and very compliant President and former House Speaker Calhoun (David Andrews) declares martial law and lets Homelander take America over to “rout these traitors in our government, and on our streets.”
“America Will Be Safe Again,” the sociopathic hero exclaims in words you could literally hear at the real-life RNC in Milwaukee this week.
Scrambling to save themselves, the Boys and Starlight (Erin Moriarty) go on the run as Homelander’s rounding up and clampdown begins. A move that sees the team tossed into the back of black vans on the border and in the airports.
To that, Call of Duty alum Doumit spoke with me about the Season 4 finale, the end of The Boys, the proximity to the turbulent real-world America and the final appearance of Victoria Neuman.
DEADLINE: So, is Victoria Neuman really dead?
CLAUDIA DOUMIT: (laughs) That’s the first time I’ve been asked that question. But yes, sad to say she’s fully completely ripped in half dead.
DEADLINE: So, we will not see you showing up in Gen V again?
DOUMIT: I wouldn’t think so. I wouldn’t think so. Unless it’s half my body. I wouldn’t think so.
DEADLINE: There won’t be some sort of suped-up resurrection of your character in Season 5?
DOUMIT: I haven’t been told that. So, I think it’s pretty permanent. (laughs) I think it’s a pretty permanent death.
DEADLINE: Alright, just need to get that out of the way, because these dramatic deaths have a way of being a lost leader sometimes. With that, blood and guts and an overthrow of American democracy and. all, what’s your take on the almost VP and almost POTUS Victoria Neuman being killed off by Butcher at the end of the penultimate season?
DOUMIT: I kind of love that.
DEADLINE: Really?
DOUMIT: Yeah. I’ve had a fantastic time on this show. But it is time for Neuman’s story to be over. I fully believe that, because you have so many cool characters, that you have to wrap up their stories, and you only have one season left to do it. Actually, you only have eight episodes left to do it. You want to give them as much story time as those characters, like Butcher, Annie (Starlight) deserve. People have been watching those cool characters for four seasons now, so they should be the focus in the final season.
DEADLINE: Well, your death scene as Victoria tries to make one last deal, certainly deserves some focus. I mean, besides being typically gross and bloody in typical Boys fashion, what was filming that scene like for you knowing it was the end of a multi-season run for you?
DOUMIT: That was actually my last day of filming.
DEADLINE: You’re joking…
DOUMIT: Nope, the scene where I get ripped in half was my last day on set, and it was the last day of filming for the season. It was really funny because, for me, it was just another day on set. I know that sounds insane and maybe I was in complete denial, but it was just another day on set for me. I remember being so happy and walking around from department to department and giving everyone their wrap gifts and taking photos and having a really easy relaxing last day. I remember I just came in that moment at the end, and it was a really relaxing day sequence for me to shoot.
DEADLINE: That story alone is so The Boys…
DOUMIT: I know, right?
They put me up on these wires and lifted me midair. Then I wiggled around for a bit, and someone yelled “split” and I just I stopped moving. That was it. It was very peaceful actually. Then the very last thing I did was lie in a pool with my own fake blood. That’s just the norm on the show, honestly. The only difference was it was my fake blood this time.
DEADLINE: Can we jump back a bit, ‘cause I’m interested in how you learned it was the end for Neuman, who has always been part Kamala Harris, part AOC, and part something very different from anything else The Boys has had. I’ve spoken to people on shows like Walking Dead or Power where they’ve told me about getting a call, and they know it’s that call, if you know what I mean?
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DOUMIT: Oh yeah.
We will sit down with Eric at the beginning of the season and we talk about our rough arc that’s going to take place over the course of the season. And in that discussion, her death was brought up. It wasn’t brought up so specifically that I knew how she was going to die.
DEADLINE: What do you mean?
DOUMIT: Like, I didn’t know who was going to kill her. I didn’t know a lot of those details, but I knew that was the North Star. So, with that in mind, that’s really how I approach the season. That’s really how I dove into the season. It is also an interesting thing because you’d never want to play the ending. So, if you don’t carry with you, it is this delicate balance of being in the moment and being present with your character but also anticipating the journey.
I will say, even before that we’ve spoken about Neuman’s eventual end for a while. It had always kind of been a part of the conversation. Maybe not from Day One when I came onto the show, but there was a part of me that always thought Newman’s story would end in her eventual death. It was just a matter of when, because her downfall is really in a reckless pursuit of power. It blinds her, which I think is a beautifully sad thing. But from the moment I joined this show, I thought she was going to die.
DEADLINE: I mean, the comics are a good roadmap, but the show is so different. In the comics, the VP is Vic, a guy and obviously the shift in gender is but one of many differences for your Neuman…
DOUMIT: Yeah, but here’s the thing, nobody really hangs around long on The Boys and if they do, it’s a really hard road ahead.
So, if anything, I thought it would be sooner for Neuman, I did. I just felt lucky to play to get to play her for as long as I did. I came on Season 2 and, but I thought okay, I’ll have a couple of episodes here and they’ll kill me. And that didn’t happen. And then Season 3 rolled around. I had the same thought. I was like great, I’m gonna have some fun with her, and then they’ll kill me. And they didn’t.
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By the time I actually had the call with Eric, I knew immediately what the call was.
DEADLINE: How did it go down?
DOUMIT: I remember his assistant got in touch with me and he goes, do you think it’d be available in about an hour for a call with Eric?
DEADLINE: And?
DOUMIT: My immediate thought was Eric’s never available for a call in an hour So, I was like, ‘Oh, this is the call this is the call.’ So, I got it. Then he called me and I said, this is the call, and he goes, this is the call.
DEADLINE: In that, this finale, which you guys filmed up in Toronto last year, and having the term “assassination” in the title comes at a time when there was an attempted assassination of Trump just days ago. It seems the real-life craziness of America and its presidential race now outstrips the fiction, satire and threat of The Boys, don’t you think?
DOUMIT: It’s quite the surreal moment, I would say first and foremost.
I think the show has always served as a reflection of what’s currently happening in our world. But, I mean, no one could really predict that this to happen with the timing.
There’s social commentary throughout every season. I think it skews more political this season, because that’s the current landscape of the country. We’re in an election year, and so the show is delving into the atmosphere, and the tensions that exist within that space. But, it’s something that just cannot be anticipated.
DEADLINE: Like “Herogasm,” the political jockeying for power by the supes and the Vought Corporation is one of the core tenants of Garth Ennis’ comics. As an actor, how does that very heavy theme work in your process?
DOUMIT: Theme wise, I think trauma was the central theme this season.
DEADLINE: Interesting …
DOUMIT: Specifically, the effects of unhealed trauma, it is a huge thing this season. For Neuman, her trauma comes a lot from her powers. I think she has incredible shame and self-hatred for the power that she possesses …
DEADLINE: You mean the ability to blow up people’s heads?
DOUMIT: Yes, that, and I think Neuman, at her core, desires to be normal, to be human. I think she’s wanted that since she was old enough to realize what she did to her parents. So, this shame and hatred of self is something that’s deep rooted within her. It’s within her psyche, and it’s kind of shaped who she is, shaped her identity, all these masks that she wears. And that’s how that trauma has presented itself within her this season. But, to me, overall, that’s the underlying theme of this season.
DEADLINE: Now, the season is over, what’s next for you? More Call of Duty?
DOUMIT: (laughs) I have done some Call of Duty. It’s funny because all of the projects that I’m doing, there’s a lot I can’t really talk about.
DEADLINE: C’mon!
DOUMIT: I know! (laughs) I’ve had a wonderful directing opportunity recently, and that was fantastic. I’ve got a few writing projects that I’m working on. So, things on the other side of the camera, and a few other gaming projects that I actually can’t talk about just yet, but fun things fun things on the horizon.
DEADLINE: One of the things on the horizon is, of course, you’re going to be joining everybody down at Comic Con later this month.. There’s a lot of anticipation for hints of the next season, how it all is going to end. So, what are your expectations for that because everybody’s gonna want to know what’s really next for Neuman and The Boys.
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DOUMIT: I mean, she was ripped in half …
DEADLINE: Not saying worst things have happened, but c’mon, legs have been cut off and grown back on the show. Neuman’s a huge fan favorite now …
DOUMIT: (laughs) You’re right you’re right. I don’t know what I’m going to say at Comic Con or when people ask. It’s a really funny thing to have to convince people that you really died on a show, that’s going to be new terrain for me. I have no idea
DEADLINE: Okay, assuming Neuman is really dead, did it work for you?
DOUMIT: I kind of love it. Because to me, it’s the same rules as a party — you get in late, get out early.
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