'The Boys' Showrunner Explains Symbolism Behind Hughie Sr.'s Superpower, And Now That Hospital Scene Is Even More Upsetting

Spoiler alert! This contains major spoilers for "The Boys" Season 4 episode “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son,” which dropped June 27. You can stream it with an Amazon Prime subscription if you’re not caught up.

Hughie Sr. did indeed wake up on the most recent episode of "The Boys," but after the deadly and heartbreaking scene that ensued, I’m pretty sure it was in no one’s best interest. Don’t get me wrong, I’d never choose to kill a Simon Pegg character off of any project, but when that was the task his son Hughie (Jack Quaid) was faced with on “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son,” it really, really needed to be done. As devastating as the whole situation was, I’m even more upset after reading what showrunner Eric Kripke had to say about the symbolism behind the dad’s V-induced superpowers.

At the end of Episode 4, we found out that Hughie’s mom Daphne (Rosemarie DeWitt) had injected her dying estranged husband with stolen Compound-V, and those events played out in typically bloody fashion in Episode 5. Hughie Sr. had a few lucid moments before his superpowers showed themselves, but soon he was phasing through walls and unwittingly killing innocent bystanders. The father was scared and confused, and ultimately Hughie had to put him out of his misery. In discussing that scene, Eric Kripke explained to Variety why they chose to give Hughie Sr. the power to change phases, and it’s pretty dark.