Broke: With great power, comes great responsibility
Woke: With great power comes the absolute certainty that you'll turn into a right cunt
One of my favorite episodes of this show, no joke.
The musical number was great.
"Homelander fights cancel culture."
Wait, so he's an actual hero? Nah, that must be fake news.
The musical scene was an absolute delight! Such a candid, pure and fun moment in a show filled with blood, guts and corruption. Also, a Seth Rogen cameo with him jacking off seems about right.
Now, bring on some more yummy Soldier Boy!
Starlight's loneliness and isolation eats you up and up and up each episode more, it's like ticking.
Loved the musical scene (and the humanity Kimiko brings. It gives a wider balance to all the rest of blood and stuff, in the squad itself)
I like the parallel they showed between Soldier Boy/Crimson Countess and Homelander/Maeve. That said, I do hope we get to see Maeve again.
hell yeah a musical number scene
This episode slowed the pace of the season down a lot but I still liked it. Even if we didn't get a ton of action or crazy moments, the episode did a good job at focusing on the characters, especially moments between characters (Hughie and Starlight, Frenchie and Kimiko, Butcher and Mother's Milk). I wanted more Soldier Boy but I know it's coming. They did a lot of build up in this episode for what I think is going to be a crazy last few episodes to the season. Can't wait to see Soldier Boy and Homelander together.
After the amazing first episode of the season they are just padding the runtime to fit a certain number of episodes. Fit the episodes to the story you are telling, not the other way around. The A-Train story arc is so dated and annoying for a character that should have been killed of in the first season but The Deep, OMG what a stupid decision to keep him alive.
The best part about this season is seeing some people losing their marbles because they realised 4 years later how political this show is.
I see a lot of copium on Reddit about crime statistics
This is really one of the best and brutal series of the last years. They challenge everything from fakenews,racial tensions and WOKE culture but all with a lot of humor
[7.3/10] It’s rare that I’m more invested in the side stories than in the main stories for The Boys. At the show’s best, everything was a thread within a larger tapestry that would eventually come together in a meaningful way. But there were always some smaller points that weren’t as essential.
This is all to say that, man, I want things to work out for Kimiko and Frenchie. Despite everything, I still don’t really want them to be romantic. But I do want both of them to get out of the life, to go to Marseilles, for Kimiko to be able to speak, for Frenchie to escape his demons, etc. etc. etc. The dream sequence musical number is the most fun The Boys has been in ages. So while I get Russian mobster Nina trying to inveigle Frenchie back into service, I hope against hope it’s a temporary blip, like Kimiko’s apparent death was, and not more of the show teasing us with something wholesome before ripping our hearts out.
I’m also the most compelled by an A-Train storyline as I’ve ever been. Him pretending to be a black activist for the publicity, going through the motions of corporate glad-handing to make his brother happy, and then witnessing injustice firsthand when it affects his loved ones for once, is a hell of an arc. Bluehawk is a right piece of shit, and watching him turn an apology into another chance for deflecting blame and committing assault delivers the social commentary in outsized but still piercing terms. The notion of A-Train pretending to be something, only to become that for real, in some way shape or form, once it hurts his brother, drew me in as well.
But I’m a little meh on the main stories here. I have no idea how Solider Boy got from Russia to New York. Even excusing that, I don’t know. The main plot feels so much more scattered this year. The trajectory of the Boys springing Soldier Boy and then baiting him and then teaming up with him all plays as too contrived. I can appreciate what the show’s trying to do with Butcher becoming what he always hated and going too far, while Hughie treis not to feel powerless via Temp Compound V, but they both feel out of character in the process.
The romantic drama between Starlight and Hughie doesn’t work for me either because of that. Yes, Hughie is being a liar and a shit through all this, so Annie’s right to have issues with him. The problem is that it doesn’t feel like a natural move for the character. Generously, you can point to the truth about Neuman setting him off, and we get hints that Compound V legitimately makes you a worse person, and T.V. stories need new places for characters to go. This one just doesn’t click for whatever reason.
I also don’t know what the show’s doing with MM. He’s long been the moral voice of the show, and I appreciate that. But the Soldier Boy thing still feels tacked on as though it came out of nowhere. I’ll give the show some rope here, because I like the character and want to see what they do with him here -- does he get justice or vengeance or any kind of relief? And will he lose his daughter’s love in the process, a cycle repeating? But his arc seems more aimless this season.
For his part, Homelander gets more and more Trumpy as he goes on, firing any subordinate he thinks believes they’re smarter/stronger/better than him, talking up conspiracy theories, firing the competent folks and installing loyal dopes in their place. The show isn’t subtle about this, but apparently many of the fans still missed the point or were shocked to discover that Homelander’s supposed to be a bad guy, which, woof, is as big an indictment on where we are as a country as anything the show itself could muster.
But while the Maeve/Butcher hook-up seems unnecessary, I love the Maeve/Homelander scene, particularly the way it mirrors the Crimson Countess/Soldier Boy scene later in the episode. You get the idea that these headlining heroes turn to shit from the compound or the spotlight or both. The reveal that the people they thought loved them actually hated them speaks to a rot in their core, a deludedness wherein everyone must recognize their obvious greatness and magnanimousness, right? Things don’t end well for Crimson Countess, and probably won’t end up well for Maeve either, but the intensity and devastation with which both are able to unleash the truth is some consolation nonetheless.
Plot-wise, the most interesting reveal in the episode is that Soldier Boy’s radiation blasts seem to be able to rob Supes of their powers, if Kimiko is any indication. That’s a wonderful thing for someone like her, when she can finally rid herself of this curse. But I can also imagine no greater punishment for Homelander than forcing him to live as a normie. So even if the injection of Soldier Boy into the universe of the show still seems practically random, the narrative potential his new powers create has me raising an eyebrow.
Overall, I’m still more down on this episode, and on this season, than I have been on past ones, but the side stories give it a boost, even when the main plot scans as more jumbled and unsatisfying so far.
"Who the hell knows why talent does what they do? That's why they're talent."
Oddly enough, I enjoyed this episode more than the previous one, and it was, more or less, the same. And with more likelihood of less enjoyment because it was arguably more slow-paced than the previous episode and didn't have much action; more of a leading-up-to-episode. But somehow, it must've done something right.
It's odd, though. On my first watch, the episode felt enjoyable. But the highlight was Soldier Boy, especially at the end of the episode. And Jensen's voice stood out to me because it sounded like Jared Padalecki; they're both from Texas, so I guess that's why. The thing is, I don't remember their voices being so similar. I suppose that's because Jensen's voice in this show isn't his actual voice (?), whereas in Supernatural, it was (?). Interesting stuff.
Continuing the first three sentences of the previous paragraph, I still don't care about A-Train's plotline, even though Blue Hawk's outburst was impactful. I also don't care about whatever the writer(s) are doing with The Deep, which I understand is probably to showcase how good Cassandra is and how Deep is likely in the best position right now (or closing in on it) with supporting Homelander. I didn't care about the musical number, either. And this episode was the most stagnant this season's been so far; back to square one, going through the motions, slowly building up steam for other episodes, then repeat.
All those things were pretty much the whole episode. So, you'd think I'd consider this episode worse than the previous one. But that didn't seem to be the case. It's weird how stuff like that works; loads of factors probably play into it, your mood, etc.
I also want to mention that, in a "weird" way, Homelander's shorter-than-usual screen time in this episode was better. I enjoy his character (and Antony Starr's acting) as much as the next guy, so you'd think that would always be enough, but the lack of him was surprisingly "preferable." I guess too much of something, even if you enjoy it, will wear you down in the end; it's only a matter of time. He's getting old. But the constant cat-and-mouse, back-and-forth, jerking off writing is a significant factor.
And I noticed the parallel between Soldier Boy/Crimson Countess and Homelander/Maeve, and I find it interesting the difference between how Soldier Boy handled it and how Homelander handled it. You could look at it in different ways. Soldier Boy is more dangerous because his connection didn't hold him back from making that decision, although his case is more significant and personal than Homelander's. Or that Homelander is more dangerous, given that he held back, probably to use that against Butcher, but I doubt it'll work. There are other ways I can't be bothered to think of because my brain isn't working right now, but they probably exist.
On the plus-plus side, the acting in this episode by Erin Moriarty and Nick Wechsler was good; the way Nick delivered the word 'canceled' was hilarious and Blue Hawk's outburst was good: and Erin's acting, in a couple of scenes, was the best, especially when Starlight told Hughie that she doesn't need him to save her, but rather that she needs him. And the score at the end was impactful; also a little surprising, as that sort of score seems/sounds new for this show. It sounded like scores you'd hear in Avatar: The Last Airbender or The Legend of Korra.
I enjoyed this episode a lot. Probably the most of all so far. That's mostly because this was about characters and it wasn't all gory. You need a break from that every now and than. The musical scene was something you'd not expect which is why I think it was really cool. The humor was on point and the references to reality were well placed.
I also really liked we hadn't to many moments where we are shown how everyone is afraid of Homelander. We already know that, no need to emphasis this every episode.
This was probably the beginning for what will become the big showdown at the seasons finale. But I'm pretty sure Hughie is going to regret that decission. I get his reasoning but he's becoming Butcher II.
Frenchie should definitely be on Broadway
Would be an ok episode were it not for:
The musical number was fantastic, but it had me scared that one or both of them was about to die. (I might still be speaking too soon.)
Also, who else caught the "Prime Analytics" reference? Very smooth, Amazon.
5 episodes in
homelander = trump
cops = racists
crime stats = excuses
antifa = does not exist, an excuse
4chan = nazis
Did I get "the message" right?
Amazon is really proving the point about the media lol
We're leading up to a bloodbath unlike anything seen before.
Stay Tuned
Why did Soulja Boy take so long to get to the Crimson Countess when he had hours of head start on the boys?
omg THIS IS SOOOO INTEREsting so GOOD
Kimiko may actually be my favorite character. That musical number was refreshingly sweet.
Poor Annie. Hughie doesn't make it easy for her but then again I can understand how Hughie is so desperate and that they don't have another option (yet).
Kimiko loosing her powers wasn't a big surprise. I wonder if it'll be permanent though. I cannot believe that Frenchie was dumb enough to stay at the clinic though. He should've at least tried to escape with Kimiko (but then again it likely wouldn't've worked anyway).
Starlight and Mother's Milk are the only ones who are still trying to do things the "right" way (although that doesn't work currently).
Well don't be a bitch Annie...
Hughie: If a guy in the car next to me gives me a dirty look, I'm like fucking Dom Torreto taking off, trying to get away from him 'cause I'm quick and I'm all about family.
I have no idea who Dom Torreto is, but Jack Quaid's delivery was just perfect, and I'm still laughing about it writing this. (I just searched him. That might be even funnier.)
On a more serious note, Homelander finds himself out of his depth and responds incoherently with threats after getting his first real question at his first board meeting, unable to answer since he doesn't seem to know what an earnings call is, as the only thing that he cares about is approval polling. Unless I read that wrong. Later he does seem to be overcompensating by quoting off corporate financial lingo at Starlight.
He's like the anti Dale Carnegie: Rule by fear and make sure you have nothing but spineless peons around you who are in constant fear of making you angry, and you'll be sure to never be informed or properly prepared for anything! Get ready for a flaming palace of chaos and dysfunction, coming to a midterm election near you!
And that's just the first ten minutes.
I've been meaning to comment on how much more I like Maeve outside of her costume, in cloak and dagger mode. On that note, I noticed an "Intimacy Coordinator" right above "Choreographer" in the credits, which I'm not sure if I've seen before.
Ashley calling Lindsay Graham a "gooch licker" was fucking great. I'd love to see that loathsome cunt's reaction, preferably before being led off in steel bracelets to Rikers.
The first moment with Kimiko and Serge was more affecting than I had anticipated. It may have been the first time that something made me tear up with joy, only to almost immediately feel sadness, since, as it turned to full musical mode, I knew it wasn't real. In the end, I'm not actually sure what actually happened and what didn't. It's the second time this season where I'm not sure what actually happened and what didn't in a scene, the first being in the opening sequence of the season premiere.
The Paul Reiser cameo was a Paul Reiser cameo, that is to say that he stole the show while onscreen.
(waving hands) Big "L", big "B"... the other letters-- small.
-- "The Legend"
This episode has more of a feminine feel to it in a few segments, especially punctuated by the last scene, and it being played out by the melancholic piano-accompanied cellos. It sounds like they blended the score directly into an Apocalyptica song, but it's not in the credits anywhere.
that musical scene made me realize how colorless this whole show feels lol i love her singing :heart::heart:
A lot went on this episode yet I'm just completely thrown by having Maeve and Butcher hook up?
First of all she's been completely underutilised this season and then they have her sleep with a man? It makes zero sense.
The intentions were good, the results, not so much
I wish the writers would come up with some original out of the box materials. All the shit they been putting in this season is all the garbage we’ve had to deal with in real life over the past few years. That type of strategy has been done so many times & to be honest it’s just lazy and unimaginative. I’m didn’t come here to watch issues such as BLM, Cops, Nazi, Trump, Fake News Nonsense, Trump wanna be’s, and so on. Really disappointed in this season.
How does Nina have so much power. Makes no sense.
give kimiko scenes without frenchie all the time!
Lately this has been feeling rather uninspired
Copying and pasting what’s been in the US news for the past few years doesn’t make any kind of interesting commentary that hasn’t been done a thousand times already
It takes a bit more of imagination and moral digging to make something impactful other than having supes as an added synonym for privilege
Easily the best episode of the season so far
With great power, comes great responsibility
With great power comes the absolute certainty that you'll turn into a right cunt
Glorious. The musical number was superb in every way. It's amazing how different Vaught feels compared to earlier seasons.
this ep felt... fine. More of a connecting episode bridging the first part of the season to the last. it was enjoyable but a drop off from the last few
A fun musical scene and Seth Rogen's interesting cameo appearance. I'm not surprised anymore with the wild stuff from this show.
I feel like alot of the scenes could have been better: shot, acted or be written.
Musical with some filter or better transition would have fit better. Either make it realistic (that's why piano scene felt believable) or more fairytale like. Middle of the road tone didn't work.
Blue Hawk chew the scenery (which did worked for Gunpowder and Butcher) but not here. Perhaps, if it was done more sincerely and not just going through the motions, it would brought right response. I should have been pissed or cheering that A-Train finally saw the light. I felt nothing. But the Legend did worst somehow. I like the actor, but it was a miscast.
Dialogues that supposed to highlight different viewpoints were muddled and focused on the weirdest arguments. The Spice Girls all are murderers that's not what sets them apart from Homelander. Could have focused on danger of using Soldier Boy, the danger of him actually winning.
Is that the end of Crimson Countess already?
Shout by Pradipa PRBlockedParent2022-06-20T18:57:26Z
They've been drawing parallels between Payback and Seven every now and then, but this episode shows the clearest. The sad thing is, if Soldier Boy is Payback's Homelander, and the team both hated their lead and tried to redeem themselves like Maeve do. then what a writing to show that Butcher is not a main character you should sympathize with. He is pragmatic, calculative, cold-blooded murderer sacrificing the redeemed Crimson Countess and Gunpowder who never liked Soldier Boy.
I find it interesting that there are parallels with Season 1 here. Butcher is back to his cold-blooded self and the compromise they're making with Soldier Boy reminds me a bit of similar ones they made with Starlight when they first discovered her. However Hughie, besides his power, seem to have not progressed much as a character, as he resorted to his confused, worst decision maker habit like we've seen in Season 1.
Other than that, the episode feels a bit lighter compared to the first three, not as packed but still better paced than the previous episode. Only 3 episodes left. Curious where they will take us. Hope this pays off.