There is now a completely different reason behind Kimiko’s selective mutism than what The Boys originally wanted us to believe. Image source: Amazon Studios
The Boys hat uns angemogelt! Because the alleged reason why Kimiko doesn’t speak turns out to be a big lie. Season 4 reveals the truth about Karen Fukuhura’s character in the series in the seventh episode.
Are you not up to date, From this point on, be warned of spoilers!
Why is Kimiko actually mute?
Kimiko suffers from selective mutism. According to Wikipedia It is an emotionally-based mental disorder in which verbal communication is severely restricted. In concrete terms, this means that affected people only speak to certain people or in certain situations.
In Kimiko’s case, this is so pronounced that we have never actually heard her speak. The only exceptions are, of course, the scenes in which Kimiko dreams of speaking or even singing.
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In episode 7 of season 4 it turns out: The reason for Kimiko’s selective mutism lies in her childhood. At that time, Kimiko’s parents were murdered by the terrorist organization Shining Light Liberation Army and she and her brother Kenji (Abraham Lim) were kidnapped and trained as child soldiers.
Kenji reveals in episode 3 of season 2 that Kimiko due to the death of both her parents had stopped speaking. But that is actually a lie – as fans are only now realizing.
The real reason for Kimiko’s selective mutism
Kimiko personally confides in Frenchie (Tomer Capone) that she never told her brother the truth about it. Because this one is a whole lot more cruel: During their training under Shining Light, Kimiko and many other children were forced to compete against each other in a ring.
The children were not allowed to make a single sound – otherwise they would have been killed. After Kimiko murdered a girl with a knife, she could no longer speak.
The Boys clearly implies that Kimiko didn’t just have to kill one child, but many, many more. The story arcs of Kimiko and Frenchie in season 4 are reflectedin which both try to learn to forgive themselves and overcome their own trauma.
Kimiko was supposed to be used as a weapon by Shining Light until Butcher and the Boys became aware of her. Image source: Amazon Studios
Karen Fukuhura on Kimiko’s selective mutism
In conversation with TheWrap Karen Fukuhura personally addresses Kimiko’s muteness. The 32-year-old actress reveals that she and showrunner Eric Kripke decided that her mutism is psychological and not physical:
In early conversations, I talked to Kripke about how Kimiko’s muteness should be psychological rather than physical. Because after a physical trauma, it’s sometimes impossible to be able to speak again. So I told him that if we want to have a little hope or take the storyline in a different direction at some point or pick it up again in later seasons, it can’t be physical. [Kripke] was open to this from the beginning.
It is currently unknown whether Kimiko will ever speak again during the course of The Boys. Theoretically, there is a possibility that Kimiko will manage to overcome her trauma and cope with her selective mutism.
Maybe the last episode of season 4 will be the end of itwhich would potentially fit with Kimiko’s character arc in the current season. But maybe The Boys is saving that for the fifth season, which will also be the grand finale of the series.
You can read more about what’s currently happening with The Boys and what’s happening with Gen V and other spin-offs under the links above.
How much do you like season 4 of The Boys so far? Are you happy that the series is coming to an end with season 5 or would you like to see more seasons? Let us know in the comments!
