The Boys has never been a series to watch for anyone who's a bit squeamish.
That's probably an understatement as it is as the Amazon Prime Video series has always revelled in its gory dark humor, from the first few minutes of its first season to the fourth season that's currently airing as we speak.
There's been an Ant-Man-esque superhero causing someone's penis to explode after being inside it, protagonist Hughie having his girlfriend obliterated into a mass of blood with her only remains being her two severed hands, another protagonist, Mother's Milk, being choked by a massive penis wielded by a supe called Love Sausage.
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Oh, and only very recently, another extremely x-rated scene which clearly had The Human Centipede in its crosshairs.
So you're probably wondering, having listed all those examples (which barely touch the sides by the way, we haven't even got onto The Deep's gills), what could possibly be so bad it's making people look away and complain it's too graphic?
Well, if you watched episode four of the latest season, which dropped on Thursday, you might know.
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It was a frontal lobotomy.
Yes, no six-foot-long penises or bloody entrails here. Hell, even in the same episode there's Kimiko (another protagonist, but this time with regenerative superpowers) being torn in two very graphically by a grenade launcher.
A frontal lobotomy has caused people to say enough is enough. And as crazy as that sounds, having watched the episode myself, I don't think it's actually an unfair assessment.
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Sure, it's far from the most graphic scene. It's not even in the Top 20.
But there's something so visceral about it that just makes you cringe and squirm. I guess for me, being blown apart by a grenade launcher would be a concern, but it's something that I'm fortunate enough to be quite far removed from.
Having something stuffed in my eye socket that chips away at my brain? Yeuch.
That doesn't take much imagination to muster up how that must feel; everyone knows what it's like when something goes in your eye. And that's not normally a lobotomy stick.
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Thousands of viewers have also flagged the scene as something they really struggled to get through in the episode.
Taking to Reddit, u/Izrezar said: "I'm good with watching Ant Man Thanos penis style and masturbating ass eating human centipedes but watching a brain lobotomy is where I draw the line."
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u/exonwarrior agreed, stating: "Kinda funny when I think about it - the only time I kinda covered my eyes during 3.5 seasons was the lobotomy scene."
While u/Laser-circus pointed out it only escalated once it got going: "I've never folded into myself harder on this show until now.
OH GOD NOT THE HAMMER."
So, I'm not alone in thinking it was a step too far in terms of viewer comfort. Watch the latest episode if you want to judge for yourself.
That being said, I don't think anyone is calling for the series to change course. Ignoring the review-bombing, The Boys season four seems to be off to a decent start in most fans' opinions and is showing no sign of losing its title as Amazon Prime Video's biggest show.
Still, wouldn't mind a bit less lobotomy action.
Topics: The Boys, Amazon, Amazon Prime, Film and TV