By Michael Bald
Entertainment Editor
Graphic by Michael Bald
For the past decade, the cinema has been plagued with superhero stories. It’s almost impossible to go into a theatre or even grocery store without seeing some product sponsoring something superhero related. That’s why the Amazon Prime original “The Boys” was such a refreshing take on the genre. It is not only a satire critiquing superheroes, but also of the entertainment industry, corporate conglomerates, political life and many other aspects of society.
“The Boys” season two takes place pretty much right after the events of season one. Hughie and the boys are on the run while Butcher just found out that his thought-to-be-dead wife is alive and with the main super villain, Homelander’s son. There are also many new characters and subplots introduced this season that at times, unfortunately, feel overwhelming and somehow sluggish at the same time.
The new season made the bold decision to release new episodes every week as opposed to releasing the entire season at once. While I personally love the idea of releasing series weekly, you definitely felt the episodes in the middle of the season had no idea what to do with the subplots created. It did allow for some good character interaction and development for some characters like M.M. but that’s about it. They pretty much just moseyed along until the last episodes where things finally started happening.
The two characters who shine the most this season are the same ones from last season: Homelander and Butcher. The two actors who play them are the best casting in a TV show right now, especially Karl Urban who plays Butcher. He has the most interesting arc this season. In the previous season, his whole quest was to get revenge on Homelander for killing his wife only to find out she’s alive and not wanting to be with him because of her son. It gave the character more depth since his whole mission in season one is now pointless. There is also a scene in the last episode where Urban had to show a lot of emotion just in his face, leaving with an Emmy-worthy performance.
Antony Starr is excellent again as Homelander. The way he acts in front of the public as a goody-two-shoes, proud to be an American guy into an emotionally unstable psychopath in private, really shows the range Starr can present for his character. His arc this season mostly revolves around his relationship with the new character Stormfront, who is a mixed bag of a character in a writing sense.
Somewhat spoilers here, so you’ve been warned.
Stormfront is relieved to be the first superhero ever created by Fedrick Vought, a German scientist from the 1930s. Get the picture of what she is? She takes the ideology from that time and uses it to her advantage in modern-day America when super terrorists are entering the country. The show makes clear parallels between her movement she starts and the Trump administration, right down to her even saying “Make America Safe Again.”
Now, I know “The Boys” has never been known as the show to make people comfortable. Like the show “South Park,” it seeks to offend everyone but with a purpose. The first season had a healthy balance of who they offend on both sides of the political aisle. With this season, they were pretty much handing what they were trying to say to us on a silver platter. It came across more preachy than critical.
Other problems I had with this season were there were a lot of conveniences to help the plot move forward. For example, there could be a fortress that’s said to be heavily guarded yet characters can go in and exit any time they want without any trouble. Characters who are worldwide known fugitives or celebrities can go on a cross country road trip and walk around cities without a care in the world.
I was hoping the show would pick up and it did most definitely with the last two episodes, leaving me with an overall satisfying feeling. It’s not without its faults though. If season one got a grade of an “A-,” season two is a “B+.” Still good with great moments, just not like the first season.