EPISODIC REVIEW: "The Boys" Season 3 Continues To Be Outrageous and Explosive
10/12 ForReel Score | 4/5 Stars
The Boys continues to shock and stay relevant in the abundance of streamable superhero content. Season 3 carries on with its satirical depiction of a world beaming with superhumans and uses it to expose many ugly truths about the real world. Corporate greed, government delinquency, the growing political divide, and the manipulation of media is tearing apart society, and The Boys takes these prevalent evils, makes a joke of them, then reminds the audience to fight back against such injustices. Yet at times it feels hollow and overshadows certain storylines.
Picking up shortly after the takedown of neo-Nazi Stormfront (Aya Cash, You’re the Worst) and the reveal that congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit, Where'd You Go, Bernadette) is indeed the head exploader, Hughie (Jack Quaid, Logan Lucky) has joined Neuman at new Federal Bureau of Supherhuman Affairs. Together they hope to take down superheroes in a more civil, less violent manner. Meanwhile, still grieving the death of his wife, Butcher (Karl Urban, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) is struggling to tone down the violence. Deadset on killing Homelander (Anthony Starr, Outrageous Fortune), Butcher tests out a new temporary V, a serum that gives him superpowers for 24 hours, in his search for finding a celestial weapon.
The amount of blood and guts goes to new extremes this season. Showrunner Eric Kripke takes note of what interests his fanbase. Trending memes about the “what if” scenario involving Ant-Man crawling up Thanos’s butt and growing inside him seem to inspire a scene in season 3’s first episode titled “Payback” where Termite crawls into his lover’s penis and sneezes, unintentionally returning him to normal size at the most unideal time. It’s horrific, yet hilarious. The mix of practical and digital effects are seamless, making every explosion, mutilated body, and display of gore that much more stomach turning.
The show parodies even more cringeworthy twitter moments, such as Kylie Jenner’s Pepsi commercial, the Snyder Cut debate, and the celebrity Imagine video. All of these moments act as fan service as well as helping the audience relate even more so with the reality of the show. It also lays it on hard how the Vaught cooperation uses their influence to sway the government and the media away from any of their misfortunes, having major parallels with Fox News broadcast. Furthering the discussion on the “silent majority” and how easily they’ll eat up these swiss cheese theories as long as it favors the straight red, white, and blue Americans. This group grows an ever deepening attraction to Homelander as he stops policing himself and his views, mirroring Trump and his followers.
As the lead of The Seven, it makes sense to circle a majority of the storylines around Homelander, but season 3 leaves much to be desired for other supporting characters. Starlight (Erin Moriarty, Jessica Jones) and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott, Moon) are sidelined for a majority of the season. It hurts to witness McElligott’s lack of screen time, especially after becoming so attached to her as she powered through her toxic relationship with Homelander. Starlight is the new prize to be, but her engagement never feels as diresome and story progressive as Maeve’s. Another character that felt a need for further development is Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell, iZombie). The audience finally gets a bit of his history and a look into his debauched mind, yet it is not enough to satisfy.
Karen Fukuhara (Bullet Train) shines as Kimiko. Her struggle to be seen, understood, and to come to terms with her loss of innocence is so powerful enough to bring audiences invested in her story arc to tears. She makes Kimiko so lovable, even if she can mawl someone like an enraged grizzly bear. Another standout is newcomer Jensen Ackles (Supernatural) as Soldier Boy. Ackles plays an immoral Captain America type, who’s care for the glory and admiration outweighs any misdeeds, no matter the fall out. Soldier Boy is the portrait of menacing masculinity. Playing him with such accuracy, Ackles is frightful as this narcissistic douchebag.
At its core, The Boys continues to be a bleak reflection of today’s culture in America. It does well at bringing to light such heinous truths, without being too preachy. It speculates the idea that for many Americans, the preservation of an idyllic fantasy outweighs the current reality; that they may prefer a tyrannical overlord over someone who truly cares for the wellbeing of the people if the appearance satisfies preconceived narratives. The Boys stays true to today's culture and its style of superhero storytelling, making it a worthwhile watch.
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Acting and Casting - 2 | Visual Effects and Editing - 2 | Story and Message - 1 | Entertainment Value - 2 | Music Score and Soundtrack - 2 | Reviewer's Preference -1 | What does this mean?