Episode 6 of season 4 has more shocking content than even your typical episode of The Boys. So much so that it seems fan-favorite Frenchie (Tomer Capone) was put on the back burner to give the episode more time.
While Frenchie is cooling his heels in jail after confessing to a slew of murders, the rest of the team gets to work on high-stakes subterfuge. Hughie (Jack Quaid) is still reeling from the sudden death of his father (Simon Pegg), and decides to go undercover to a black-tie far-right event at Tek Knight’s (Derek Wilson) grand estate. The Boys are horrified to discover that Homelander (Antony Starr) is there to pitch to government officials creating internment camps for supe detractors. Meanwhile, Hughie finds himself in the worst situation possible in Tek Knight’s sex dungeon.
The supe is a twist on Batman and in addition to massive amounts of money, Tek Knight also has a cave of sorts. But instead of high-tech gear, he has a kink sanctuary. Disguised as the addict supe Webweaver, Hughie attempts to play along to get information, even going so far as getting assaulted by Tek Knight and — interestingly enough — Ashley (Colby Minifie), who is an old friend of the supe. Webweaver was invited to the event as an audition of sorts to replace Tek Knight’s sidekick Laddio, who ultimately becomes Hughie and The Boys’ best hope to get out of a sticky situation.
Who is Laddio in The Boys?
Every Batman needs a Robin, and the same goes in The Boys universe. Tek Knight is a highly observant detective, just like the Caped Crusader. But while Bruce Wayne would adopt kids for altruistic reasons, Tek Knight is quite the opposite. His so-called sidekicks were actually for use in his sex cave. When Hughie first arrives, he is under the impression that this will be a normal interview. Instead, Tek Knight wants to replace his former protege, Laddio, because he “doesn’t like liars.”
Laddio doesn’t speak. The ball gag in his mouth makes that impossible. But it’s quite clear in what kind of ways he was helping Tek Knight. For most of the episode, Laddio is confined to a chain on the wall. Dressed in red pleather, it’s presumed that Laddio doesn’t exactly help Tek Knight with crime fighting. He watches helplessly from the corner as Tek Knight and Ashley have their way with Hughie. It is only when Annie (Erin Moriarty) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) arrive that they turn the tables on the villain.
Running into an issue where Tek Knight is a masochist, they struggle with how to get information from him. Laddio comes to their rescue by pulling free from his chains and showing them Tek Knight’s bank accounts. Laddio is the hero we never asked for and didn’t know we needed. Annie and Kimiko start donating millions of Tek Knight’s dollars to social programs which makes him crack. And that was all thanks to Laddio. He and Tek Knight’s butler Elijah (Tyrone Benskin) do what The Boys cannot, and rid the world of one of the most heinous supes.
And that’s saying something.