Antony Starr’s Explosive Reaction to ‘Bizarre’ Homelander & Firecracker Ending in ‘The Boys’ Season 4 Episode 6!
Antony Starr of The Boys reacts to Homelander and Firecracker’s “bizarre” scene from season 4, episode 6, “Dirty Business.” The Prime Video series delves more into Homelander (Starr) and his aggressive tendencies, as he goes beyond acquiring control of Vought International and collaborates with Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) to place Supes in the US government.
The Boys season 4 also showed that he was storing milk containers in his apartment, and during “Dirty Business,” Firecracker (Valorie Curry) unexpectedly shows her loyalty to Homelander by breastfeeding him.
In a recent interview with Collider, Starr discussed the sequence between Homelander and Firecracker in which his character is smacked in the face with breast milk. He said that it was a season 4 highlight, despite his initial reaction of, “What the f–k are we doing?” Starr also stated that filming the breastfeeding scene, in which Homelander lies on the couch with Firecracker, created some difficulties, describing the overall experience as “bizarre.” See his comments below:
From memory, I think it’s almond milk maybe mixed with a bit of water. I can’t remember specifically what that was. That’s one of my favorite scenes in the whole season. That’s the weirdest scene I think I’ve done. If you look back at the show, and you look at some of the things we’ve done, there are some pretty weird, very strange things that have been done. But for me, with that, it was the Oedipal thing and what ended up happening on the day, which is that I get hit with breast milk in the face. It doesn’t look like it’s going very well between Firecracker and Homelander. All of a sudden, there’s this reveal of what she’s done and the loyalty that she shows, and then it becomes basically a love scene.
It became this incredibly intimate, emotional moment. And I remember, at the end of the day going, “What the f–k are we doing? What are we doing? This is so bizarre.” I think it was the mix of, first of all, having breast milk shot in my face. That’s weird enough. But then, there was the apology around it, and then, emotionally, where it went, it was just so twisted. It was so bizarre. It was like a sketch from that show Little Britain , but that’s slapstick comedy, and we were playing it for keeps. We were playing a beautiful moment between these two really twisted people. It’s the layers that just made that so bizarre.
It’s very difficult. The suit looks beautiful, and LJ [Shannon] and her team do a great job of making it look amazing, but the ergonomics have never quite been figured out, given the range of activities that I get up to and what I physically have to do. It’s funny, something as simple as lying down to breastfeed on that couch – I can’t believe I’m saying this, what a bizarre job I have – is very complicated. It’s like playing Twister and Jenga, with the moving parts. You’re like, “Okay, that works. That works. That works. Where’s the camera going?” You have to really strategize every shot, so that we get what the camera needs.
Often, the position that I was in felt a little bizarre. It feels like your body is angled in a way that doesn’t feel natural, but the camera reads it. It’s much more technical. It wasn’t until afterwards that I was like, “What have we done today?” During it, there was a sense of, “This is very strange.” It wasn’t until after, walking back to my trailer, where I was going, “What did I do? How did I get here? What’s my life? What am I doing here? How did I become this person that goes to work and breastfeeds? This is bizarre.” If you asked me when I was 20, what I would be doing when I was in my 40s, I would not have answered that I’d be in Toronto breastfeeding on camera.
What That Ending Might Mean For Homelander & Firecracker’s Relationship
“The potential relationship between Homelander and Firecracker might pose greater problems for The Boys, considering they both have a history with Starlight (Erin Moriarty).”
Before joining The Seven, Firecracker backed Homelander’s struggle against the Starlighters and was drawn to what he represented. Despite Sister Sage’s (Susan Heyward) claims that Firecracker was a loyal team member and instructions on how to use her platform, Starr’s The Boys character was dismissive and did not take her seriously. It was clear that Firecracker aspired to be one of Vought’s most famous Supes, but she appeared upset when she was left out of Homelander and Neuman’s secret plans.
Will Firecracker’s Proof Of Loyalty Spell Trouble For The Rest Of The Seven?
Throughout the book, Homelander has grown irritated with The Seven and their lack of loyalty, particularly after 𝓀𝒾𝓁𝓁ing Black Noir and mistreating Queen Maeve for opposing him. Homelander, who has abandoned his values and sparked rallies around the country, may be the Supes’ most intimidating opponent.Firecracker has a grudge against Sage, and her comments may concern A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) about his role as an informant for The Boys.
Eric Kripke, showrunner of The Boys, revealed in “Dirty Business” that Firecracker can read people on a spiritual level. It would be fascinating to see if she uses this ability to manipulate other members of The Seven, unlike Sage. Despite her lack of powers (she can only make sparks by snapping her fingers), she may use her newfound intimacy with Homelander as protection, allowing him to handle bigger difficulties for her, especially among other Supes at Vought.
Having access to Homelander’s power might make Firecracker a more difficult target for The Seven, or even Starlight. Her devotion to Starr’s character and readiness to breastfeed him despite the consequences of the drug should concern other characters on The Boys, and if she is given control of the company, she may want to reform The Seven into a more conservative group.