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The Expanse does its mid-season really well like it did in Season 2. It ties all the loose knot in a very coherent structure altogether, at the same time: Avasarala's hunt for Jules-Pierre Mao, Errinwright's conspiracy and Anna's involvement in the higher ups, Bobbie's post-traumatic experience, Prax's quest for his kid, and finally James/Naomi's strained relationship. Most story arcs that have developed for a while now (some even from early Season 2) all come to a closing to a very satisfying end.

Even Prax's story arc end in an unexpected conclusion, as he managed to save his kid - I was expecting it to end tragic, with the supposed foreboding (Prax's chat with Amos about taking care of him and all). Amos, despite not getting his major arc here, comes out the shiniest perhaps among all of the main Roci's crew. The contrast between him and Prax, and his words to Dr. Strickland, "I am that guy", makes his character stands out.

The story arcs cost interesting characters, but at least not before they are developed and has served their arc to its end though I still regret Admiral Souther's early and too cliched demise in previous episode. This episode 6 almost feels like Season 2's episode 5 where Miller bids us farewell with his sacrifice, even the end of the episode as something emerges out of Venus. There is also one unused story device: a protomolecule trace on Rocinante. I wonder how this will play out.

Most solid episode of the season so far. Nothing extraordinarily amazing, but it's just The Boys at its best like in the first half of Season 1.

What I like the most is that everything that happens leading to the climax in the Herogasm is just frantic, chaotic, a lot of stuff happening at once, unplanned, unpredictable, and consequently, tragic. Just a lot of things coming out together at the same time, including the tying up of loose ends of plot points (e.g. with A-Train's demise and his conflict with Hughie).

The episode keeps the comedy and jab at corporate speak intact, but does not overdo it so we get straight to the crux of the matter. From Homelander, Starlight, Kimiko/Frenchie, Hughie, A-Train, even Ashley - the plot revolving around those characters are about what makes them really them. They all have struggled with the question whether power (be it through V or executive position) made them into a terrible person they do not like, but it is all actually on them. Power only explicate their attitude. Like Butcher in the previous episode said, "With great power comes the absolute certainty, that you will turn into a right cunt."

It was interesting to see how each characters react: Hughie portrayed as an insecure man, A-Train tasting his own bitter medicine, Starlight getting tired of the play-pretend and politicking she has played all over the years, and of course, Homelander being Homelander. I find it especially best with Hughie and A-Train. Hughie, when in S1 he acted as our moral compass, here we see him as someone fragile, a man unable to keep up with the pace of the world he's living in and feeling defeated by his girlfriend for not being a breadwinner. A-Train, a great end to his arc, as he realizes that he has caused so many harms to others due to his toxicity, he realizes that he can only bring a little bit of justice for his own brother. He can't run away from his past like Frenchie said, I think it's very poetic.

Also it's refreshing to get a brief character development with Soldier Boy. Hoping that there is more to this character in the next seasons to come.

Last but not least, the fight with Homelander was intense. The unexpected Butcher x Hughie x Soldier Boy tag-team is great, especially with the confused, defeated look Homelander gave to them. I'm expecting this will drive Homelander even uncontrollable, especially now with his inner monologue and everyone either against him (Starlight, Maeve, if she is still there) or leaving him (Noir and possibly A-Train). The show seems to be planting the seed of conflict between our Boys in the future to come. Hopefully this will pay off.

If The Boys is usually chock full of superhero films parody, then this episode feels like a love letter to Logan (2017) and (the trailer version of) The New Mutants (2020). This is even more so with the casting of Shawn Ashmore, who played Iceman on X-Men, as Lamplighter.

It opens up with Homelander being sexually aroused by Stormfront while crushing the head of a thief in an alley. It recalls the scene back in Season 1 when Homelander casually rips through a gunman's chest for a show, but this time it's even more vulgar. As Homelander gets more aroused, his grip on the thief's head gets firmer, until it eventually crushes him into pieces. Then, fast forward to the end of the episode, we see Homelander confronting Stormfront, and her opening up to Homelander about her past, while she preaches of the importance of purity of their "race". They then continued to make out. There is something to be said here about indulgence in sexual and power fantasy.

This episode also starts to recenter the orientation. If in the first season we get to see the story progresses from the eyes of Hughie - the only seemingly sane person among the ragtag group of rebels - this episode shows how others see Hughie. Butcher, always an efficient, ruthless killer he is, is contrasted to Annie/Starlight who believes she retains her compassion even though she's a supe. Annie relentlessly tries to stop Butcher from senseless killing; though for Butcher she still inhibits the one thing he hate the most. "What you can't stand is in my blood, I'm a subhuman to you," Annie confronts Butcher. Yet when situation forced her to take extra measures, Annie sees herself doing something that only Butcher would do. "I'm not like you," she insists. However they then find what really makes them similar, but different at the same time: their attraction to Hughie.

Last, The Boys never stops to take a jab to corporatization of superhero. '"'A-Train' is a trademark. You're just another nobody from the South Side of Chicago" reminds me of the very early episodes in S1, when Homelander thought they were still bound by corporate rules (something that he seems to try to break free in this season).

I love how the show so far has put so much details in its science-fiction. Almost like they're putting back the science in science fiction. The coriolis gravity effect when pouring water was a nice touch in Eps 2. They have been fairly consistent the physics as well. The logics of air and gravity are used seamlessly in the storytelling, not as mere plot devices but actual environment that has to be considered by the characters.

The episode has shootout, and perhaps it's one among the better ones I've seen so far in TV series. Typically TV series just throw a crowd shooting at each other without taking cover like amateurs (even though they're supposed to have military training). From The Walking Dead to The Mandalorian, shootouts always look dumb and incompetent. But The Expanse manage to direct it to look as if the ones shooting were actual soldiers with military training. They take cover and aim their shot. They also don't waste too much screen time depicting the shootings, which makes the event effective and has a sense of decisiveness.

The plot takes twist and turn, and when it does twist, there is no holds barred. What happened to the characters are shocking and feel like out of nowhere, adding to the sense of danger and urgency the episode plays out. Unlike the previous episodes, this one is more focused on Holden's story, that helps exploring characterization and depth this promising TV series has.

Love comes and ends in the strangest place, and perhaps Miller's love story is one of those few that makes sense when one person's sacrifice saves millions others.

The episode concludes their arc beautifully. It starts with a weary, hardened life of a Belter in a routine job, got caught in webs of strings larger than themselves, then they got back right at where they started - the mystery, the bird, the girl, even though they might be a mere artificial replica of it. Their obsession and goal might seem strange to some, but having lost their job and purpose, it would make sense to cling on something that they have been pursuing all along. The scene where we thought they might find refugee in salvation in the Nauvoo evokes the disorientation they have been having, and the way this episode closes back to what led them to this in the first place is done right.

The last few minutes were mesmerizing and beautifully sad. Blue glimmering light shines upon the dark hallways of abandoned station. "There's alien life in the universe, and I'm riding it," said Miller, before they end up appreciating what waited for them in the end of the hallway. Strong performances by the actor has made them one of my favorite characters in The Expanse, and I will miss their wit, but this is a concluding episode well done.

So much development we get in one episode. We get to see more of Avasarala with her two "aides". We get to see how Errinwright turns out to be still an ambitious, "ends justify the means", just right after he looked vulnerable earlier. There is a lot of pressure between them and Mao as well. We get to see Holden acts as righteous, grudge-filled captain. This is one of these times when I wished Miller was still alive to kick some sense to Holden - he's a good counter-balance.

There is a slight contrast here between Naomi and Holden: the Belter right to the core and the Earther who ends up as Belter survivor. If Dawes and Johnson fought for how they handle power, Naomi and Holden "fought" for how differently they see values in human's life. Holden dreams big and loves to play hero, but Naomi, a Belter since birth, knows the value of life on the ground. The refugee crisis on Ganymede Station is both emotional and powerful, as the big guy Champa touched his chest, gesturing a Belter's loyalty. It might be idealized as the other commenter has said, but it is the other extremes of previous episodes where a Belter would space out Martians out of hatred.

"They're just people. But they snap their fingers and we jump."

Interesting episode showing the clutch of corporation in the lives of the superheroes. Heroes have to obey metrics--viewership, social media likes--they have to perform, to play the role of heroes to satisfy the demands of the markets.

The life threatening crime of robberies are made mundane, as shown when Homelander and Maeve have a casual chit-chat about their employers while performing cool action stunts of "saving the world". Which, in actuality, is a no-mercy beatdown of a guy who surrendered as soon as they appear. But they have to play their part: "the bad guy shot first", that's why it's legal to murder him. In the same vein, Starlight has to upgrade her costume, to show a "transformation" from a country girl to a metropolis supe. She doesn't like showing off her body, but once she signed the contract, her body is no longer hers--it's of the corporation. The supes may have physical power, but the billionaires have political and cultural power.

We have watched this mundanity before in the form of other entertainment--Marvel Cinematic Universe. Life-threatening actions were played out as jokes and mundane routines. And us the viewers enjoyed it, because it gives us "cozy feelings". But, like most performers, heroes hide secrets. And that's where the Compound V plot kicks in.

This episode attempts to show what sci-fi usually does: a commentary not of the future, but of the present. The subplots are knitted neatly to each other, marking a distinct theme. We tread carefully as plans and ploys unfold--and failed--but as they go, more possibilities were opened up. We watch our Hughie becoming more convinced of his place in The Boys. We see his conscience in opposition to the other veteran members of professional killers.

The great thing about this show so far is how everything is not portrayed as merely black and white. Superheroes may do bad, but they are all still humans who submit to corporate governance. While our boys may seem to have clear motives of taking down corrupt heroes, but they too are vested with their own interest. Hughie acts as our moral compass--the only ordinary guy, who happens to be trapped inside this clusterfuck.

The Boys does its job best when they jab at mockery of how the show biz operates. The first thing Vought does then they know that Queen Maeve is bi is to capitalize it: make her sexuality as a performance in their newest movie. But not only that; they need to make Maeve not just a bi, but a lesbian, and her partner - Elena - has to be made to wear men's fashion. Because "lesbian is a bit more easy to sell" and "Americans are more accepting of gay when they are in clear-cut gender role relationship". Companies like Vought, like its real-life counterpart (Disney), cares much more about how something sells than the nuance behind it. This parody is even funnier considering that they have a Jon Favreau look-a-like and a guy named Joss (Whedon?) who handle the Dawn of Seven movie production.

Aside from that, the episode continues the tense relationship between Starlight and Stormfront, and we start to see how Stormfront attempts to pull strings to maintain her position in The Seven.

Two things I notice though: the part where Homelander murdered a bunch of civilian in the public, that turns out to be an imagination feels a bit like cop-out, however it is interesting that it parallels Hughie's frustration when he lost Robin back in the first eps. of Season 1. The way Noir and Butcher confrontation is handled also feels a bit too easy, especially after the big build up about them being Vought most wanted in earlier episode.

This finale feels like not just a finale for Season 2, but Season 1 as well. It wraps up the plot that has been worked on since Season 1, and in some ways turning it to full circle, e.g. Butcher's quest for Becca, A-Train subplot, Hughie's self-discovery, and the rest of The Boys's relationship with each other.

As usual, The Boys does the best job when they take a jab on current corporatist-political climate.

“People love what I have to say. They believe in it," Stormfront confidently said. "They just don’t like the word Nazi." A racist superhero is Vought's darling - one that casually screams lingos like "white genocide" to young boys. Seemingly contradictory considering Stan Edgar, who would be target of racism, is Vought's CEO. But Edgar insisted that it is not about him. "I can’t lash out like some raging, entitled maniac," Stan Edgar responded as he smiled when confronted on what he did, "That’s a white man’s luxury." Anger drives demands for securitization. Demands for securitization drives demands for Compound V. Vought just "play with the cards we're dealt." Like Maeve's bisexuality that Vought plays, racism is just another card to eventually drive profit. Be it racism or empowerment, they are all smoke and mirrors.

But of course the thickest smoke and mirror is not a mere woke capitalism - something we can already obviously see. The thickest smoke is one that makes us think that within this war of attrition, another hero existed, and they would fight for our cause. We follow them as they march - our symbol of hope. This episode reveals something that has been foreshadowed very early in this season: "it's a fucking coup from the inside," said Raynor, before her head got blown into bits. Neuman, an obvious parody of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, raised into the spotlight as an opposition toward Vought and Homelander. But as it is revealed that it was her who was blowing people's head, and she has blown the church leader's head too as soon as she knew he has files on supes, it is revealed that she is actually a controlled opposition by Vought. Like the politicians who hail from Democratic Party, a part of ruling oligarchy, The Boys takes another jab that we should really never trust heroes, be it in the form of supe or another.

This reveal is also a very nice setup as it closes the arcs on Season 1 and 2, and prepares for another arc coming in Season 3. It gets interesting as I had myself asking, "can Homelander end up being our hope now?" This sort of dilemma is what piqued my interest in The Boys; we can't really easily label one as evil and another as good, as - like in real life - today's enemy can be tomorrow's ally, and vice versa.

That being said, I do not think this episode is a perfect ten. Butcher's quest for his wife, for example, was quite unsatisfying. Becca, despite having a lot of screen time, does not possess actual agency, and more like a side character who happens to be involved in Butcher's bigger story. Despite revolving around his infatuation with his supposedly long-dead wife, the way the subplot climaxes leaves much to be desired as Butcher seemingly sidesteps Becca's death. How would Butcher reconcile with such heavily emotional feeling, after years of losing her, finding her, and now he is losing her again? How would Ryan, her son, react to the loss of the only guardian he ever knew in all his life? Those questions remain unresolved. We get to see more time of Hughie and Starlight bonding - while it resolves the tension in their relationship, there is not much resolution or development going on in that aspect.

In addition to that, while watching girls trio beating up Nazi is fun to watch (though it seems to lean more on the cathartic side too much) - and especially funny since it is another parody at Marvel, the forced "girl power" scene in Endgame - Maeve's appearance seems a bit too convenient, deus ex machina that resolves not just the issue with Stormfront, but also Homelander. The Boys has been sort of weak in the last three episodes in employing deus ex machina, something I wish could be worked on more on the next season.

All in all though, this is a much better finale than Season 1's.

The most obvious best part in the episode is of course Stormfront. The show doesn't pull punches. Stormfront makes a really good portrayal of today libertarianism: social media savvy, all about women empowerment a la Sophia Amoruso's "Girlboss", but does not care with the have nots, and is extremely prejudiced towards marginalized groups (e.g. ethnic minorities). Casting a female Stormfront (instead of a male one like in the comics) is a good touch as it highlights the point that without class or racial sensitivities, you'd get people that talk of empowerment as long as it only benefits them.

However there is another part, a slightly minor scene in the big move that drives the plot forward. When it is revealed that Starlight successfully leaks Compound V to the media, A-Train confronts her. She justifies her action: "there is much more than having good cars, houses, etc" (the things possible when the supes rose into stardom). Disappointed, A-Train cut her short, "the only people who say that are the people who grew up with money."

This short conversation shows what The Boys can do best: nuance. A-Train might be a jerk, but he too is a victim of the system. Like the blacks Stormfront murdered later in the episode, A-Train came from lower class background. His supe power helped him to climb the socioeconomic ladder, being an athlete in place of his brother and of course being a part of The Seven. This is in contrast to Starlight, who was raised by relatively affluent mother - who was obsessed with getting her child into stardom herself - always in spotlight and sufficient wealth since a young age. Starlight yearns for a meaningful life; A-Train desires a luxurious life he never got before his rise to supehero status.

A-Train was introduced as a jerk, no-good drug abuser; but after the anticlimactic conclusion in S1, with limited screen time he's been having in S2, we are shown more layers to A-Train's perspective. The show does this sort of nuance well with Maeve too.

The only obviously antagonist in the last episode is Homelander - as he went into more a narcissitic, mentally unstable character that may explode at any given time. But I hope even with his unpredictable deranged action we can still see the way he handles conflicting expectations he will face in the following episodes, esp. with the appearance of Stormfront, like when we saw him juggling between his individuality and personal branding in S1.

We are used to the typical imagined repressive dystopia, where our movement is limited and our will is repressed. But what if what happened is the reverse--a world where we willingly surrender our will, because of, as Huxley aptly put it, our "infinite appetite of distraction"?

That's what this episode is. A very good satire on a media-saturated world, where we . A world where everything is consumed as pure entertainment, and what we worked hard through and through (the endless cycling) ultimately is to reach the goal of consumption. It is a world where distraction is structurally offered in every chance--a world full of copious amount of advertising, that we cannot resist or even reject, as rejecting makes it our loss (literally, as skipping commercial costs a dime here).

As it is a world of mass consumption, as its consequence, it is also a world restraining for women. As women is judged first by her look and second by her other qualities. Abi, a good singer on her own, nevertheless has to submit as a porn actress as she is deemed too pretty and too hot. Even the woman judge has to agree, though she must shed her tear in silence.

The ending strikes as powerful as it reinforces the whole theme of the episode. As Bing attempted to kill himself after pointing out all the fault in the world--the facade and the inauthenticity--then judge is then silenced. But only for a brief moment. They then continue to judge and value the amusement of Bing's speech as an entertainment--a "performance"--as the shocked audience then also greet Bing with a thunderous applause when the judge offered Bing his own show for a heart-breaking speech. Eventually, the supposedly revolutionary Bing agreed with the offer. Bing became Che Guevara of his world, but even more ironic is the fact that he commoditize himself--he ended up being as the very reason of the existence of the farce he criticized.