The Boys

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

Complete fucking shit.

Temp v makes u as strong as lander. Lol.

Yea, let's buff everyone we want and nerf others. This butcher guy never gonna die. Derail too much....

Considering the effects of "normal" V are completely random...I don't see why Temp V would be any different. And Butcher isn't as strong as Homelander in any case.

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One thing that was kinda interesting this season are gore kills.
They looked more like dark comedy.

I mean, the show has always been something of a dark comedy.

[Rennadrel]

I finally got around to watching the first two episodes of the series last night and it's really fricking good.

[Ophenia]

Hughie on the other hand, I figure since he is the main character of the show, they won't want to kill him off because of plot armor.

He couldn't kill Hughie until this week's episode, as he wanted Starlight to remain "on his side" (well at least to the public, for attention purposes, e.g. #Homelight). Killing Hughie would have just accomplished the goal of having Starlight definitely going rogue against Vought.

[Lothaeryn]

Love the fight between the big dogs. Soldier Boy is coming off as a total bro, but guessing that's going to change eventually.

The biggest peeve in the episode though was the strangely illogical choices. Honestly, Discount-AOC's deal to Starlight seemed both genuine and really not that big of a deal in an attempt to help her daughter out, but Starlight decided that was a good time to freak out at her, continuing her trend of needlessly spitting in the faces of people who could kill her if they wanted to.

That scene is trying to showcase that Neuman is not to be trusted (the offer is a straight lie, it wasn't genuine). She's making a power play to take Stan Edgar's shoes in Vaught and retake the company for her "family". Getting Starlight to cooperate makes her an accomplice to conspiracy and removes her agency if she agreed (with the threat of death over her head from her "new boss" permanently to boot). She'd basically be a slave to Vaught indefinitely if she took the offer and would be trading one threat that can be defeated (Homelander) for another that would have an entire company's and government's might behind it(Neuman); basically being put squarely in the same position Maeve was in when Stan Edgar ran the show.

Starlight basically not giving a fuck after all the stress she went through was the smartest thing she did in that scene. She'd either be dead, and Neuman wouldnt have an asset to manipulate (which would be a dumb move on her part since she needs someone to kill Homelander), or shed be alive to do what she needs to to continue her fight, even if the threat of death looming over her head now comes from two fronts and not just one.

[eschatological]

There's also a larger leitmotif in that scene, which is Annie's breaking point. The whole season she's the one who has to "grin and play pretend" from the inside - and that's her choice, her strategy for making things better. She wants to make change from the inside in the "right way," through the institution itself, despite the institution's corruption. She accepts the co-captaincy of the Seven after expressly saying to Hughie, "maybe I can get good people in the Seven and actually change things" (I'm paraphrasing). This is a mindset lots of people who interact with large, corrupted systems deal with - I know I went into criminal justice law as a lawyer hoping to change the system from the inside. By the end of this latest episode, she's done. She's burned out, she's sick and tired of biting her tongue (similarly to Homelander, but on the opposite side of the spectrum).

This is the opposite of Butcher and Hughie, who've refused to "draw a line" that they won't cross. They'll do "whatever it takes", which is precisely what Annie is against. She outright says to Neumann, "Fuck this 'whatever it takes' bullshit." She's repudiating the tactics of people on her own side. And this all traces back to Machiavelli, who once wrote that the means justifies the ends - a philosophy most moral philosophers reject utterly, but which seems to be the tactic of most politicians since time immemorial.

Annie and Homelander are both now set up to "speak truth to power," and the ideal is that the actual truth defeats evil and lies - but this being The Boys, I wouldn't count on it. That's why Homelander's little spiel about being like MLK Jr. at his dinner with The Deep is so infuriating. Yes, he was being muzzled - but he was being muzzled for good reason, cause he's a sociopath. And now he's free to speak as he wants, because it leads to him being more popular and thus a more valuable commodity. Unlike MLK, he's not speaking truth, but authoritarianism. I'm interested to see how The Boys handles this. If it's true to life, once Annie starts speaking her truth, people will get tired of it, call her "woke" and an "SJW" and her power will actually be diluted for speaking up, while people flock to Homelander's authoritarianism. The Boys is just grim enough to go in this direction, setting up a next season "revolution"-esque season.

[Koriani]

I really thought the clash between the big boys would create a lot more havoc. Hell, just normal humans having a fight can bust up walls and such. These are the biggest of the big supes hitting each other, I expected everything in a mile radius to be busted all to hell! Was still cool, though.

Maybe they just blew their set-destroying budget on Soldier Boy's freak out.

Funny thing is that both Soldier Boy and Homelander probably count this as a loss. SB because Homelander did show to be stronger overall, and Homelander because he actually felt the need to flee from the three.

As much as I was hoping for more in that fight - I also understood/acknowledged that THIS fight was never going to be 'the big one' because this isn't a one-and-done fight. The show won't kill Homelander off THAT fast and so, ultimately, as fun as the fight was, I figured we are going to be in for a "long haul" back and forth between all these guys. Since Homelander is the 'main villian star' of the show, I see this going on through most, if not all, of next Season. Hell, Homelanders "death" (if real) may be the Series Finale episode.

If nothing else - I'm looking forward to more "awesome fights" back and forth until the ultimate showdown.

(watches them kill him next episode and is proven wrong...) *cackles*

I don't follow the comics so no idea on spoilers or where the comics took this. I'm not asking to be told either - I don't want to know!

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Annie and Homelander are both now set up to "speak truth to power," and the ideal is that the actual truth defeats evil and lies - but this being The Boys, I wouldn't count on it. That's why Homelander's little spiel about being like MLK Jr. at his dinner with The Deep is so infuriating. Yes, he was being muzzled - but he was being muzzled for good reason, cause he's a sociopath. And now he's free to speak as he wants, because it leads to him being more popular and thus a more valuable commodity. Unlike MLK, he's not speaking truth, but authoritarianism. I'm interested to see how The Boys handles this. If it's true to life, once Annie starts speaking her truth, people will get tired of it, call her "woke" and an "SJW" and her power will actually be diluted for speaking up, while people flock to Homelander's authoritarianism. The Boys is just grim enough to go in this direction, setting up a next season "revolution"-esque season.

(bolded my addition)

Not in an attempt to start an argument about "current world" things (and so I won't post any responses to those trying to take it this way)- but I also have to say:

The social commentary in The Boys is at once both 'in your face' overt and also subtle at the same time. Those who "get" the commentary immediately on the "current world parallels" might say its rather in your face and overt about it. But there's also tons of viewers (if not most) who are missing most of what that commentary is actually saying - and so its also "subtle", at least to many.

Just well done.

[eschatological]

The social commentary in The Boys is at once both 'in your face' overt and also subtle at the same time. Those who "get" the commentary immediately on the "current world parallels" might say its rather in your face and overt about it. But there's also tons of viewers (if not most) who are missing most of what that commentary is actually saying - and so its also "subtle", at least to many.

Just well done.

It still amazes me how many people don't realize that Homelander's speech at the plane crash site in s1 was almost verbatim what GWB said through a bullhorn on the wreckage of the WTC. Even though he's literally named after the propagandishly named Department of Homeland Security that was formed after 9/11, and a precursor to the Patriot Act and two very unpopular wars.

[Rennadrel]

As much as I was hoping for more in that fight - I also understood/acknowledged that THIS fight was never going to be 'the big one' because this isn't a one-and-done fight. The show won't kill Homelander off THAT fast and so, ultimately, as fun as the fight was, I figured we are going to be in for a "long haul" back and forth between all these guys. Since Homelander is the 'main villian star' of the show, I see this going on through most, if not all, of next Season. Hell, Homelanders "death" (if real) may be the Series Finale episode.

If nothing else - I'm looking forward to more "awesome fights" back and forth until the ultimate showdown.

(watches them kill him next episode and is proven wrong...) *cackles*

I don't follow the comics so no idea on spoilers or where the comics took this. I'm not asking to be told either - I don't want to know!

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(bolded my addition)

Not in an attempt to start an argument about "current world" things (and so I won't post any responses to those trying to take it this way)- but I also have to say:

The social commentary in The Boys is at once both 'in your face' overt and also subtle at the same time. Those who "get" the commentary immediately on the "current world parallels" might say its rather in your face and overt about it. But there's also tons of viewers (if not most) who are missing most of what that commentary is actually saying - and so its also "subtle", at least to many.

Just well done.

I've observed this as well. I'm only 6 episodes in to the first season and while a lot of the real life parallels are hilariously similar, most of them have legitimately made me laugh. I've quite enjoyed it actually, and I don't think the obvious social justice politics are overly done either, because they are presented in an even keel manner and also pokes fun at it as well.

[deenman]

I'm not sure which version of this episode you've watched, but Homelander had a clear advantage on each of them individually.

Also that temp v seems to have some nasty side effects,and its not like you can chose what power you end up,and from what we seen it cant be changed

there is like no advantage to having temp v vs a baby grown supe

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It's one of the basic conceits required for plots to function. Why does no Bond villain just shoot him in the head first chance? Why is there never an unseen, unnoticed sniper that ends the protagonist in two seconds flat from a mile away? Because then we have no story, and we WANT a story.

The problem is in the writing,the writers shouldnt put the characters in a position like that where the only thing protecting them is main character syndrome

[cubby]

As much as I was hoping for more in that fight - I also understood/acknowledged that THIS fight was never going to be 'the big one' because this isn't a one-and-done fight. The show won't kill Homelander off THAT fast and so, ultimately, as fun as the fight was, I figured we are going to be in for a "long haul" back and forth between all these guys. Since Homelander is the 'main villian star' of the show, I see this going on through most, if not all, of next Season. Hell, Homelanders "death" (if real) may be the Series Finale episode.

If nothing else - I'm looking forward to more "awesome fights" back and forth until the ultimate showdown.

I fully agree. I think that was some terrific big boy fighting along with great character development (Homelander's talking to his split personality is fantastic, and that final silent scene at the end was very well done).

I agree that there was no way Homelander was going to fall in that scene. And I too look forward to more fights. I hope that they do them as well as they have before. It will be interesting to see how the final episodes deal with Temp V Billy vs Homelander.

I do hope that they don't carry this over to another full 4th season. Not without a major change in focus. That being said, I'm not sure how interesting it will be if/when Homelander is killed off.

[eschatological]

It's already renewed for a fourth season.

[enigma77]

It's already renewed for a fourth season.

Yeah it's my favorite show right now, it's great.

The last 2 episodes are going to be insane, I'm sure.

[Ghost of Cow]

I don't even know if the show really NEEDS Homelander at this point - or if it has for a while, honestly. Butcher has been as much the antagonist as anyone for a long time now.

[Berndorf]

I don't even know if the show really NEEDS Homelander at this point - or if it has for a while, honestly. Butcher has been as much the antagonist as anyone for a long time now.

I would say it does need HL to a large degree. I do expect some sort of plot twist leading into S4 that will shake things up. At the rate things are currently going I wouldn't want the show to go past a 4th season. Probably be for the best to try and tie everything together next season and end it.

[Ophenia]

Also that temp v seems to have some nasty side effects,and its not like you can chose what power you end up,and from what we seen it cant be changed

there is like no advantage to having temp v vs a baby grown supe

I think the Temp V "advantage" is exactly what Vought (was it Stillwell ? don't remember) described about the V and the Kimiko situation. When you give the V to babies, you don't know what kind of psychopath they'll grow into. Administrating it to adults makes it a lot more controllable, and this is where the Temp V has its advantages.

The Temp V gives powers related to the person's personality. Hughie is a coward so teleportation powers makes total sense. Butcher's burning hatred for Homelander made him have Homelander's powers (except the flight - so far).
If Marvin ever takes the Temp V (pretty sure he'll have to at one point), he'll have healing-related powers. Frenchie I don't know, could be anything related to alchemy-like powers.

[molliewoof]

I think the Temp V "advantage" is exactly what Vought (was it Stillwell ? don't remember) described about the V and the Kimiko situation. When you give the V to babies, you don't know what kind of psychopath they'll grow into. Administrating it to adults makes it a lot more controllable, and this is where the Temp V has its advantages.

The Temp V gives powers related to the person's personality. Hughie is a coward so teleportation powers makes total sense. Butcher's burning hatred for Homelander made him have Homelander's powers (except the flight - so far).
If Marvin ever takes the Temp V (pretty sure he'll have to at one point), he'll have healing-related powers. Frenchie I don't know, could be anything related to alchemy-like powers.

Never thought of that, they all die to homelander, Marvin loses it takes v straight up resurrects them all would be amazing. Have we seen healer supes yet?

[Nerraw]

Never thought of that, they all die to homelander, Marvin loses it takes v straight up resurrects them all would be amazing. Have we seen healer supes yet?

Kimiko could heal herself, but I don't think we've seen any beyond that.

[Evil Midnight Bomber]

I think the Temp V "advantage" is exactly what Vought (was it Stillwell ? don't remember) described about the V and the Kimiko situation. When you give the V to babies, you don't know what kind of psychopath they'll grow into. Administrating it to adults makes it a lot more controllable, and this is where the Temp V has its advantages.
.

The main advantage, for Vought, is the very fact that it is only temporary...so the military has to keep buying it.

[Snuke]

The new episode is pretty nuts. This season has been great.

[eschatological]

The new episode is pretty nuts. This season has been great.

Thursday at 9 pm EST and episode 7 is up. Amazon really needs to figure out when they drop episodes.

Time to watch, and then go to sleep - a new one for me, with this series, which usually drops in the middle of the night for me.