The latest episode of The Boys Season 4 takes things to a whole new level of gruesome, drawing inspiration from one of horror’s most infamous franchises: Saw.
Episode 7 delivers a scene that even the most hardened fans might find difficult to stomach. The episode features a moment that bears a striking resemblance to the iconic ending of the first Saw movie, blending superhero action with horror-inspired gore.
The scene in question involves Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) facing a life-threatening situation. Dr. Sameer Shah (Omid Abtahi), who’s been forced to work on the Supe virus, injects it into Kimiko’s ankle as part of his escape plan. After that, Frenchie (Tomer Capone) is forced to make a gut-wrenching decision. In a moment of desperation, he grabs a saw and amputates Kimiko’s foot to prevent the virus from spreading to the rest of her body as the camera zooms into her lacerated flesh, gushing blood everywhere.
The Boys nods at Saw in more than one way
The gory Episode 7 scene feels like a direct homage to the climax of the first Saw film, where Dr. Lawrence Gordon (Cary Elwes) is forced to saw off his own foot to escape Jigsaw’s (Tobin Bell) trap and save his family. The parallel between the two moments is striking. Both involve a desperate situation where amputation is seen as the only way out, and both use the visceral imagery of a saw cutting through human flesh to shock the audience.
However, while in Saw the character performs the amputation on himself, The Boys adds an extra layer of emotional complexity by having Frenchie perform the act on Kimiko, highlighting the intense bonds between the characters. Capone and Fukuhara are powerhouses when it comes to acting, and they pour their hearts into the bloody scene to show their mutual trust and the love they share.
Frenchie and Kimiko have been struggling to accept their feelings for each other, each ensnared by the sins of their past. However, when all hell breaks loose, Frenchie is willing to do whatever it takes to save Kimiko’s life. For her part, Kimiko doesn’t need to think twice before putting herself into Frenchie’s hands, even when the outcome is an amputation.
This reference to Saw is not just a throwaway moment, but a carefully crafted scene that serves multiple purposes within the narrative. It showcases the extreme lengths characters are willing to go to protect each other, underscores the brutal reality of the world they inhabit, and further blurs the line between superhero action and horror, a trademark of The Boys since its inception.
