The Boys Season 4 Becomes Lowest Rated of the Series

Season four of The Boys premieres on Prime Video tomorrow, and the early reviews have taken a significant dip from the last two seasons.

While there's a noticeable gap in opinion, critics have given the new season an 81% certified fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes, calling it " as outrageous as ever " and " bigger, badder, and bloodier ".

However, it has become the lowest-rated season so far, with season one scoring at 85%, season two at 97% and season three at 98%.

Belen Edwards at Mashable describes season four as "A dour eight episodes that suck most of the fun out of the show", with Ed Power at the Daily Telegraph saying, "the multitude of storylines fail to cohere in a satisfying way."

Opinions may be mixed, but there's a positive throughline running through most reviews, which suggests that fans of previous seasons can still expect to enjoy what's on offer in season four.

It has also been revealed that season five — which begins filming in November — will be the final season, as per The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, who told Variety he knew this information "near the beginning of writing Season 3".

"I'm glad to just finally get it out there," Kripke said. "I can feel more relaxed, everyone understands and they can go into Season 4 understanding the bigger shape of the huge five-season story."

So it seems that season four is priming audiences for a big finale.

The Boys Season Four Review Roundup

• Slashfilm: After the brilliant heights of season 3 it's hard not to feel like this season is a bit of a letdown — but it's setting the stage for a potentially perfect fifth season.

• TheWrap: The Boys has an iron grip on its point of view... But as the stakes rise and franchise expansion continues, The Boys has a less steady handle on these newer aspects of its growing mission.

• indieWire: It's mostly impressive how deftly The Boys' dramatic side balances its many arcs, while the black comedy’s demented inventiveness helps distract from any lingering deficiencies.

• RogerEbert.com: While the writing is as sharp as ever, this season takes a slower approach than all its predecessors, and it’s all the better for it.

• Empire Magazine: There is a question of how long The Boys can keep its main players on the board without things becoming tiresome or worse, unfeasible. But for now, with storytelling this balanced and considered, it’s a pleasure to watch it all play out.