I had a strange sensation looking at the fourth episode. The pacing felt off, like in one way the episode was padding and filler, but at the same time, rushed. The episode felt like filler to me because it seems Homelander going home, and also exploring his abusive/traumatic childhood should've been something they explored more in-depth seasons ago. We've gotten bits of it before, but it felt like they were stopping the momentum to do it at this point in the series. I feel now is the time for full-on villainy, and not a story that humanizes or both sides Homelander. That said, the Homelander scenes-as they typically are-are the most chilling and gripping of the episode. I like a lot of the Firecracker scenes this episode as well, from her casual racism to her confessional. Bringing back the twisty pastor was also a nice touch. And I really liked The Deep/Firecracker duet.
I felt this episode also sped through a lot of subplots, without pushing the overall story forward enough. I was surprised that both Frenchie and Kimiko's storylines sped up so fast, and especially that Frenchie admitted his role in murdering Colin's family. I was expecting them to drag that out more. I imagine that we aren't done yet with either the Frenchie or Kimiko subplots, though I could also see them both being put on the backburner to get back to the main goal of taking down the supes or fall to the wayside as Hughie's subplot comes to the forefront.
I felt the episode rushed Starlight's story the most. I found it strange that she could just meet the president so easily, and I also found it strange that she didn't face any charges for beating up Firecracker. Firecracker is too vindictive to not entangle her in the legal system. I also found it unbelievable that Neuman would speak out against the president over Starlight, and this is even before they have been inaugurated. The series has become more like real life, but in this instance, it's back to fantasy in depicting the Neuman-Singer political relationship.
I'm iffy on the attempts thus far to complicate Starlight. I felt her spreading a nasty rumor about Firecracker out of character from how we were introduced to her, and I would rather they had made the culprit her mother, and her crime would've been one of silently going along with it instead. That said, I do like that they've made Firecracker a personal enemy, and this does make her face more unsavory aspects of her character and past. Younger Starlight blinding someone while I can see that making sense I guess, but just feels like it might have been something that would've come up sooner. Why didn't Vought or Homelander use it to blackmail her, or attempt to, already?
I'm not quite buying A-Train being so willing to help out Hughie by stealing V, because how is Homelander not going to realize a vial of V is gone? And why would Ashley leave a floater in his toilet, and not expect to be found out? Homelander knew from a bead of sweat that Hughie was eavesdropping on them, and Ashley would be leaving behind a lot more DNA than that.
