The Boys S04E08: How Can Kimiko Speak in the Finale?

The Boys‘ Season 4 finale has come out. Fans who saw it were shocked when they saw Karen Fukuhara’s Kimiko get her voice back. This was after she had stayed mute for much of the series. Thus, fans are now wondering how Kimiko can speak and how her voice came back.

So how does Kimiko’s voice come back in The Boys Season 4 finale? Here is your question about Kimiko’s muteness answered.

How does Kimiko’s voice return in The Boys Season 4 finale?

Kimiko’s voice returned after she expressed fear at losing her loved one, Frenchie, with whom she became a couple. This was after he was entranced by Cate Dunlap and kidnapped by her and Sam Riordan. Frenchie’s kidnapping happening right in front of her snapped her out of her muteness.

Since Season 2, fans believed for a long time that Kimiko lost her voice after a childhood traumatic sight. She witnessed her parents’ murder by the Shining Light Liberation Army, who had abducted both her and her brother Kenji for training and to mold them into their soldiers. This account was shared by Kenji himself.

However, Kimiko eventually revealed the truth about how she lost her voice in Season 4 to Frenchie. She revealed the truth while both she and Frenchie were tending to Sameer, whom Billy Butcher kidnapped to recreate a Supe virus strong enough to kill Homelander. Kimiko and Frenchie had a conversation in which they both addressed the bad things they did and how they viewed forgiveness.

In the conversation, Kimiko revealed that Kenji’s story about how she lost her voice was false. She had, in fact, lied to him to protect him. As Kimiko revealed the actual truth, a flashback was shown. This flashback saw a young Kimiko, affiliated with the Shining Light Liberation Army, forced to fight another girl and kill her without making a single sound. When Kimiko was asked to speak again after killing the girl, she could not. This is because she was traumatized by what she did.

Thus, while Kenji’s account of how Kimiko lost her voice was false, he was right about childhood trauma playing a role in Kimiko’s apparent muteness.