The Boys is one of the most hyped shows in recent years and amazon's attempt at the superhero genre with capital “R” rating. It’s set in a world where most (if not all) superheroes work for a multinational company and can get away with almost anything, and it tries to recapture some of the “supe gone gray” scenarios that have already existed in various comics (DC’s Injustice for example).
The story follows Hughie who, after losing his girlfriend to an out-of-control speedster, decides to take justice into his own hands and get revenge on the killer. With him are Billy Butcher, the leader of the gang and another one who is also seeking revenge, Franchie and Mother’s Milk, who are skilled in various fields, from pick-locking to first aid.
Overall, I quite enjoyed the show, even if at times I flinched at some of the more gore-y scenes, which have never been something I enjoyed watching. The special effects were also good and did not feel like cheap edits and the acting was also very good all round. That said, the main focus of the series was on the characters and their evolution, which I’m glad to say was its strongest point.
Due to its gray, drug and sex and violence approach to superheroes, the characters stem from a “anyone can and probably will do shitty stuff when they can get away with it” which is one of the models of human morality I find more interesting. This applied to most of the characters, who committed a lot of immoral and illegal acts, from murder to sexual blackmail to deceit and fraud. Personally, my favorite characters were Mother’s Milk and Franchie (with The Deep and Queen Maeve not far behind). These are not the best people but do have a lot of inner conflict and depth that I found really interesting. Other characters like Hughie, Starlight or Butcher were either too good, too evil or just not to my personal liking. Finally, Homelander and Madelyn Stillwell creeped the hell out of me and always made me uncomfortable whenever they appeared on screen (and especially if they were together).
The plot in a mixture of character drama (character arcs) and mini-heist scenarios (in which the characters need to find something or achieve a certain goal to further build their plans). Because the season was only eight episodes long there was not enough time to really get tired of it, but I do hope they change it in some way for the following season.
Overall, this was a great season of television and due to its focus on character drama, it is easy to get invested in it. Moreover, there is more to the story than just the main group of characters and you can see some of the lesser, secondary ones, slowly evolve, which was one of my favorite parts. So, if you are at all interested in a darker study of the supe genre, I’d really recommend you give this a watch and, if you aren’t, then also consider doing so, even if it is just for the characters.
Spoiler Commentary:
I found Franchie and Kamiko’s developing bond to be very endearing and made them much more likeable, as did Maeve’s personal issues. Deep’s character is another one I really sympathized with, despite the sexual abuse incident he had with Annie in the first episode. The way he was just cast aside, how the sea creatures he cared about got killed and his progressive fall from grace were executed in a very real and believable way that made me care for him despite his appalling start (even though he is among the few characters who went through the first season without killing or leaving anyone to die).
On the other hand, some of the criticisms I have of the show are:
- The fact that Mother’s Milk does not have a clear motivation for wanting to help Butcher, especially when he knows he may put his wife and daughter at risk.
- Starlight’s ultimately too goody-goody personality that just feels out of place and artificial in a world where everyone is screwing everyone else. Moreover, her forgiving Hughie for having lied to her throughout their entire relationship and having killed a person in cold blood (more or less) is something that I feel like nobody would do in real life.
- Finally, Homelander’s relationship with Madelyn Stillwell made me really, really uncomfortable, as it went from romantic to (something resembling) mother-son within moments. Also, their sex scene at the end was very disturbing and made me all the more uneasy about Homelander’s character and his sanity moving forward.
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