insanely good episode and the final sequence was a masterpiece. this season has absolutely shattered me so far
nobody going to see lucas play made me so sad
This first episode gave me more chills than a horror movie :neutral_face: I'm really looking forward to see the next episodes!
I feel like an extra 25 or 30 minutes would have been better to draw out the drama a little more. Still, pretty good and I can't wait for season 2!
Thank you for this miniseries. What a ride. Quality in every single aspect of this production, it made me emotional in the end tbh
This is certainly not The Boys' strongest season finale. The plots feel awkwardly resolved and the key plot points they've been developing just ended up as nothing. It feels really underwhelming. Of course there are some positive notes about this finale as well but bear with me, let's go through three most crucial problems for me.
First, Black Noir. What a disappointment. They've been building up Black Noir for at least four out of eight episodes in this season. They even showed him as a person, a real individual with emotion and vivid imagination this season after the previous two he had only been a mute killing machine. And he went down just like that. Sure the conversation between him and Homelander was tense - but that was it. Unfortunately, Black Noir's imaginative flashback, as I've suspected in the previous episodes, serve as nothing more than plot device to move the story forward.
Second, Soldier Boy. The hunt for the ultimate weapon to destroy Homelander ultimately just ended up in vain. Where did it go, the riled up spirit of The Boys in bringing Homelander down? They have the weakest excuses to portray this change of heart. With M.M.'s plot, well, I guess, okay, as he has his own personal vendetta against Soldier Boy, it's still understandable. This is to put aside that they went with the "Soldier Boy kills my family" plot too easily (we didn't get to ever see what actually happened and it's brushed off as nothing more than "racism", which is quite disappointing since there were plenty of rooms for flashback this season).
But then there's Butcher. He ended up beating down Soldier Boy because Soldier Boy hit his kid? I mean, sure it's his kid, but where's the man-with-a-mission-to-kill-Homelander-no-matter-what-it-takes that we've seen for all these three seasons? If Butcher was a little smarter - and he actually is with his cunning tactics and all! - he could've stopped Soldier Boy for a while, let Homelander pats Ryan's back, then when Ryan is out of sight just finish off Homelander by then. Soldier Boy doesn't even seem to hold anything against Ryan (especially after he knows Ryan is Butcher's son). The whole charade about beating up Soldier Boy is a really weak plot point just to let Homelander alive to be the ultimate big bad in next seasons.
Still here? We'll get to Homelander but let's talk about Maeve briefly. What's her end goal? At first she seems to be an ally ready to take down Homelander, but when it comes to actually facing Homelander she can't see the forest for the trees. Rather than staying true to her goal to kill Homelander, she was just absorbed with herself, punching Homelander around only to get herself beaten. Sure, Maeve isn't the most tactical ones, but she's been supplying Butcher with everything so far.
Last, Homelander. As soon as the fight ends, my biggest question is: what would be Homelander's yet another reason to NOT kill Butcher, Hughie, and co? Our Boys have been picking a fight with him since Season 1. It's clear our protagonists are pests to him, but he keeps giving them leeway. At this point isn't it easier to just get rid of them all when Ryan's not looking to prevent our Boys messing up with him again? There's a fan speculation that predicted Homelander is going to be depowered, then he's going to live the whole Season 4 under Vought's protection while our Boys track down the biggest big bad: Compound V. I think I like that better since it's going to show how Homelander will struggle with his weakness and humanity. But I guess the showrunners wanted to keep on getting Homelander more unhinged and even more unhinged and violent, as shown when he lasered a guy in a parade. With this direction, I'm expecting the show to end in a high note with chaos everywhere like perhaps in the comics. I just hope they don't prolong this much further - maybe Season 5 at most.
Then there's some plot devices like Tempo V, powering the army with V, etc that are left unexplored, which feels a bit like nothing more than filler to get the plot moves forward. And the fact that they kind of go with cliffhanger in this finale reminds me of Season 1's rather weak, cliffhanger-ish finale as well (perhaps that's their pattern: the real season finale is in the even-numbered seasons).
That said, this episode is still quite entertaining as it kept me guessing where the plot would go. It's not as frantic and riled up as Herogasm (Eps 6) and the direction is not quite satisfying, but it's fine. The theme of this season is "family", they stay true to that up to the finale. Soldier Boy's dialogue with Homelander is good. Talk about how toxic upbringing would make you become toxic as well, while thinking you can do better than your parents.
I like that they are planning to use the political plot with Neuman in Season 4 (I thought it was going to be wasted after the nice development in Season 2) as The Boys' forte is taking a jab at politics and corporatism. I do hope we will see what Stan Edgar envisioned as Vought "getting out of the supe business in the next five years."
I also like what they did with Ryan, coming together with Homelander, and the way Homelander is normalizing Ryan to violence. This is the consequence of Butcher's acting asshole-ish to everyone and sure hope our Boys will see the consequences of his action, especially with the sweet reunion with everyone at the table in the end (feels like the calm before the storm).
All in all, not a bad finale, but a bit too disappointing in the way they resolve the plots that have been built up all this season.
Not cool that everyone is trying to get Nancy and Steve back together. When Jonathan isn’t around.
I CAN'T BELIEVE THEY BUILT UP BLACK NOIR'S BACKSTORY THIS SEASON TO MAKE HIM DIE LIKE GARBAGE......... I KNOW THEY KNOW THAT THEY COULD'VE DONE MUCH BETTER.
It went amazingly fast. I did not see that hour go by. What a great episode!
The story of 001 was very well told. Amazing! I can't describe how much I liked this plot. :open_mouth:
The clicker scene was masterfully translated from video game to live action, the tension was insane! Incredible episode.
That scene with Luthen and the ship was awesome.
I can't even begin to put into words here but the prosthetic and makeup division is not only good, it is groundbreaking. The bodies on the later stages of radiation poisoning were absolutely terrifying, it literally gave me chills in the spine, when it shows the firefighter and the wife inside the plastic.
If you watch just one episode of "Mythic Quest," make it this one. You don't even need to watch the pilot to understand it as it's 100% standalone. Just keep in mind the rest of the show is in a very different tone.
This particular episode is a heartfelt meditation on the power of a creative vision and how time threatens it. It's also really well acted and written. Funny, bittersweet, and surprising.
I gotta wonder if maybe this is the show the creators wanted to make from the get-go but had to compromise their vision until it became "Mythic Quest"...
The end scene is a genuine rush of adrenaline, and those 3 men are true heroes!
The most insane eposide in the whole series!!
I'm running out of superlatives for this show. I continue to marvel at the historical accuracy of the events. I was waiting to see if they would recreate one of the most amazing facts about the accident...the clearing of the roof by the "biorobots". 90 seconds. 90 seconds on the roof to receive a lifetime dose of radiation. And going out on that roof wasn't voluntary. Nice government. Also, the scenes of young Pavel being forced to liquidate starving, deserted family pets was one of the saddest things I've ever watched.
The opening scene features an old woman milking a cow while being told by a soldier to leave her farm for her own safety. She tells him she's not leaving and recalls the history of her life under the iron boot of the communist system. The mention of the horrific Holodomor was shocking to me. It seems that kind of reflection on past evils (other than Hitler's Nazis) is never mentioned.
This series has pulled absolutely no punches showing the oppression and brutality of the Soviet government. I hope that support for such a system, no matter how well intended, never sees the light of day again.
That Luthen shake off scene was EPIC
Great start to the season. Loved the new characters and also the development of old ones. It’s so creepy though!! Like more graphic or something. Love Eddie. He seems very cool
Marc Spector, Steven Grant, and a hippopotamus walk into a mental hospital.
Immediately my favorite season of Star Wars television.
This is, perhaps, the best tv series episode ever created! The acting is extraordinary, the filmography is tremendous, the soundtrack is terrific! And that end, that end is majestic! This concludes the most and smallest epic TV series I have ever seen!
The first episode was.. perfectly splendid.
The Chernobyl disaster is something that has always been of interest to me. Even though this is a dramatization not a documentary, it seems to be striving for accuracy and realism in its depiction of the event. I watch a lot of Horror and I'm probably desensitized by that frequency. But this episode had my heart thumping as the plant workers and firefighters fought the disastrous explosion. It's scarier than any Horror film that I've seen in a long time.
This episode did a great job of recreating '80s Soviet Union Pripyat. The architecture and styles looked accurate. The most stunning recreation was the stifling bureaucracy and buck-passing that was no doubt present in the Soviet socialist state. So many layers of supervision. So many organizations and titles. This episode appears to accurately portray the dismal, incentive-sucking grind that citizens of a communist society experienced.
"And I would rather die trying to take them down, than giving them what they want."
Phenomenal episode, a great culmination of the prison system plot (MVP Andy Serkis), and topped off by Skarsgård killing his stirring sacrifice monologue. Dividing the season into four distinct storylines with their own build-up and climax is such a good choice; can't wait to see the last leg.
It was a nice touch having Ashley Johnson (the voice of Ellie in the games) playing her Mother.
Having past events pressure down on Homelander, to his increasingly strained psyche, makes for the strongest start of a season yet. Starr's terrifyingly cracked performance over the course of these two episodes is something else.
Weak episode and ending. Felt very rushed.
I'm glad they decided to keep "No Pun Intended: Vol Too" in this adaptation. Terrible jokes but its nice to see them laugh every now and then.