The Boys Season 4 is almost in the bag, and the show keeps delivering twist after twist. In the penultimate episode, Karen Fukuhara’s Kimiko’s past was explored, and the reason for her muteness was finally explained in full. As the show heads towards its conclusion in Season 5, this was one mystery that seemed to have been previously solved, but, even now, the series continues to play with what fans know and expect.
The Boys had previously encountered Kimiko’s brother, Kenji (Abraham Lin), who had explained that Kimiko had been mute since she was forced to murder her parents. In last week’s episode, however, Kimiko reveals the truth: she lied to her brother, unable to tell him the truth. As it turns out, on the first night after she had been kidnapped by the Shining Light Liberation Army, Kimiko was forced into a knife fight with another kidnapped, young girl. Both Kimiko and the young girl were instructed to fight to the death; if either of them made a sound, they would be killed. Kimiko managed to kill the other girl without making a sound, and never spoke or made a noise again.
The Boys – Season 4
2.5/5
In season four of The Boys, Victoria Neuman is closer than ever to the Oval Office and under the control of Homelander. With only months to live, Billy Butcher must find a way to work with The Boys if they want to save the world.
- Release Date
- June 13, 2024
- Cast
- Antony Starr , Karl Urban , Jack Quaid , Erin Moriarty , Jessie T. Usher , Laz Alonso , Chace Crawford , Jeffrey Dean Morgan , Colby Minifie , Valorie Curry , Karen Fukuhara , Cameron Crovetti , claudia doumit , Susan Heyward
Fukuhara spoke about the character’s muteness in a new interview with The Wrap. Fukuhara explained that she and The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke wanted the character to have some ‘hope’ about learning to speak again. According to Fukuhara, this was the reason it was important to her that the character’s muteness by explained by psychological reasoning, not physiological damage:
“From initial conversations with [showrunner Eric] Kripke, we spoke about having Kimiko’s muteness not come from a physical attribute because if it was a physical attribute, it’s sometimes impossible to get your voice back after a physical trauma. So I said to [Kripke], I don’t think it can be a physical attribute if we want that tinge of hope, if we want to change the storyline or incorporate that in future seasons, and he was really receptive to that early on.
“I love it because this entire season is about even the heroic characters facing their demons, such as Annie’s past with Firecracker. She was never this cookie-cutter good person that we always expected her to be, and I love that entire storyline and backstory because it gives her a lot more humanity. I think the writers were able to do that with Kimiko. She’s always kind of viewed herself as a victim to Shining Light, a victim to Compound V. A victim to all the s–tty things that have come her way, but Season 4 ,she had to face her own own darkness and own up to all the wrongdoing she did to other people.”
Kimiko’s Tragic Past
Kimiko’s past has been a point-of-focus for The Boys during its entire run. Initially, the character appeared to be a foe — it wasn’t until Frenchie made a connection with her that she began to turn towards a more heroic path. Unfortunately for Kimiko, she’s had to answer for her villainous past throughout the show.
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As Fukuhara explained, the other members of the Boys have also been forced to face their pasts. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) faced her past in the form of Firecracker (Valorie Curry), who used to compete with Starlight on the pageant stage. At least, she did, until Starlight began a vicious rumor about her, ending her pageant days. Meanwhile, Frenchie (Tomer Capone) had been in a romantic relationship with a man named Colin (Elliot Knight) until Colin discovered that Frenchie was the one who murdered his family.
Kimiko is just the latest member of the Boys to have their dirty laundry aired out. After making the choice to regain her violent abilities last season, it looks like the show wants to remind viewers that Kimiko was once an assassin for a terrorist group. Yes, she’s thankfully changed, but The Boys asks: does that matter when Kimiko has left a trail of bodies behind her?