The Boys season 4 has a number of character fatalities, but the most significant occurs during the finale – and one of the episode’s closing scenes adds to the darkness.

In the most recent season of The Boys, Homelander and Sister Sage exploit Victoria Neuman to run for president. The CIA and The Boys rush to stop Neuman before she can become vice president, and she ultimately agrees to stand down. After her plot to murder President Robert Singer fails, Neuman seeks a compromise with The Boys. Unfortunately, things does not go well for her.

Neuman may have been a valuable asset to the squad, and The Boys season 4, episode 8 suggests that she is capable of redemption. Butcher murders her at the conclusion of The Boys season 4, so she never gets to display her best side. The manner he murders Neuman is brutal, and it fits neatly into Homelander’s scheme. It also hinders the team’s progress and places one character in a disastrous scenario. Neuman’s death becomes much more sinister when you understand this last truth, putting together what a tiny scene from the season 4 finale truly signifies.

Zoe Ending Up At Red River Makes Neuman’s The Boys Season 4 Death Sadder

It’s The Last Thing Victoria Neuman Would Want For Her Daughter

The ending of The Boys season 4 includes a brief shot of Zoe arriving at the Red River Institute, where her mother and Gen V’s Marie Moreau were raised. Red River is Vought’s facility for orphans, so this moment emphasizes the impact that Neuman’s death has on her daughter. With Stan Edgar hiding from the law and Neuman dead, Zoe has no one left. This makes The Boys season 4’s biggest death even more heartbreaking, and it really makes you feel for Zoe — a character we otherwise don’t know very well.

Knowing that Neuman and Marie were desperate to leave Red River makes Zoe’s fate in season 4 even darker.

Knowing that Neuman and Marie were desperate to leave Red River makes Zoe’s fate in season 4 even darker. As Neuman is aware of how terrible the orphanage can be, it’s the last place she would want her daughter to grow up. This glimpse of Zoe’s future drives home the tragedy of Neuman’s demise. She may have been a villain in The Boys season 4, but Butcher could have shown her mercy for her daughter’s sake.

Zoe’s The Boys Season 4 Fate Makes Butcher An Even Bigger Villain

He’s Becoming Almost As Bad As Homelander

Zoe’s tragic ending makes The Boys season 4’s biggest death much darker, and it also turns Butcher into an even bigger villain. Butcher has always had a dark side in The Boys, but his willingness to 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁 Neuman while she’s trying to atone is pretty ruthless, even for him. What’s worse is that he does it right in front of her daughter, and he likely knows the life he’s condemning Zoe to. But Butcher is on the brink of eliminating all Supes, so it’s unlikely he feels much sympathy for Neuman’s daughter in The Boys season 4.