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.
I guess they spent all the CGI budget for the season already. RIP Shiva, I cared more about your death then the 20 kingdom people that died too.
How can they release a crap like Obi Wan and then Andor which is damn amazing. This episode was a masterclass.
And here I thought the last episode was terrific. This was a near-flawless ribbon on the top of so many different arcs. And it's only the season's midway point.
Cotyar goes down a hero by destroying an infected Agatha King (taking "that asshole" Nguyen with him), Errinwright gets double-teamed by Sorrento and Anna and finally locked away, Mao is captured by Jim and forcibly knelt before Avasarala, Prax finally finds his daughter Mei, safe and sound, and Bobbie confronts a hybrid and finally gets over her PTSD of being defeated by one on Ganymede. Even Jim and Naomi made up and got back together after a risky tip of their hand to Fred Johnson paid off. And then a fucking jellyfish swam out of Venus' atmosphere... It's almost too much to process right away.
So much got packed into this hour yet it all flowed perfectly from one plot line to the other, interweaving where it made sense, and pushing the whole narrative forward in a believable way. This is how you make hard scifi.
The SyFy Channel is positively stupid for giving up on this exceptional piece of television. They really should be forced to change their network's name on account of it deliberately creating confusion for viewers.
Those windows won't hurt anybody now. Seriously wtf were they shooting at?
I dunno what they've put in the writer's waters these last few episodes...but long may it continue!
Is this episode written by 16 years old?
This episode wanted to be Seven Samurai but ended up as that terrible The Walking Dead episode where everyone gets slaughtered (they're not though in Mandalorian, since this is a Disney series).
There is no development and no build up at all in this episode. Like the previous episode, everything is self-contained. All are introduced and resolved in this same episode. A lot of things happened in this episode but nothing actually contributes to the plot - except for exposition dump.
The bandit raid is a terribly weak, villain of the week setup. They just show up as some evil nuisances - no motives, no goals at all. The Mando teams up with an ex-rebel, which debunks a tired cliche, but at this point this feels like a try-hard attempt to make The Mando as a morally righteous hero. There is a half-assed attempts at romance here, but it feels forced as it happens so sudden. Despite being self-contained (or maybe because it is) the episode lacks closure by the end, and the nifty little scene regarding one stray bounty hunter seems like something that appears just because they still have several episodes to go.
The dialogues are terrible: it's a tonne of exposition dumps. I don't have any idea why the writers think it makes sense for the characters to suddenly ask a stranger, "when was your last time you open your helmet?" and, in return, open up a heart-to-heart "hey I got a tragic story" past to a stranger. The banters with Gina Carano's character is okay, but it feels like they have to slip backstory every now and then. As if they're not having a real, human conversation. Every dialogue feels so forced and hurried as if they have to make it fit into this episode.
Also, it seems like they have no idea what an AT-ST is. It's a vehicle, not a droid.
I hope people watch this show and realize how bad Obi-Wan was, this show felt like I was watching the same story of Star Wars I watched so many times, but in a more realistic way, a more calm pace, I never saw myself so much involved with rebels and empire conflict such as in this episode, and also no jokes, amazing
The butthurt comments here are hilarious; it's an alternate history show, and if they're crying SJW here I'm surprised they weren't sobbing Commie Propaganda in the first episodes if one is that sensitive and fragile to any societal difference. If anything, it feels realistic that in the show people have to be shamed and embarrassed into this decision back then from not being a first historical milestone. Anyway, the first two episodes can feel too scattershot for setting up an alternate history scenario while also establishing the show's own characters and storylines, but the 3rd and 4th being so focused gives it some real momentum and drive that make the show so involving now.
Rick is like 'give me all your stuff so we can fight the bad guys that are forcing others to give up all their stuff'.
The beginning of the episode left me wishing we could've seen more of this side of Star Wars: regular stormtroopers doing their job, getting into action, and all the unseen dynamics rarely mentioned in the mainstream film trilogies. We did have something in that vein: Republic Commando explored the lives of elite Republic clone troopers; Jedi Academy had us follow the lives of youngling under tutelage of Luke's academy; the original Battlefront showed us the transitioning of a republic to an empire through the eyes of the soldiers.
It's the lives of the mundane, the less than extraordinary, yet still gripping and intriguing. They let us dive deeper to the world of Star Wars beyond the flashy buzzing of lightsabers and spectacles of the magical force.
The Mandalorian wished it could be one of those. Unfortunately, it failed terribly.
In episode 5, @ShrimpBoatSteve has said that the series has became too predictable, and I agree - the finale shows how predictable the whole season is. https://trakt.tv/comments/264475
After the long flashback which most parts we've already seen in previous episodes - seemingly making the scenes feels almost like a filler - The Mandalorian episode 8 seems reluctant to set their foot to the ground with its notable world-building as previously seen in Eps 7 and Eps 1 to 3. As I have previously said, after everyone gangs on The Mando (Eps 7), Baby Yoda/Little One's background (who Baby Yoda is, why is he wanted, what the Imperial remnants wanted to do with him, etc) remains unresolved. As the episode shows us Moff Gideon rising with a darksaber in hand, yet another reference moment: every substance the show can possibly offer will be dealt only in Season 2 (or, worse, more).
Stormtroopers in Star Wars have been infamous for their terribly inaccurate shots, but in this episode it feels like their incompetency is amplified to the point of parody and, of course, plot armors. Scout troopers - which is supposed to be snipers - can't shoot droid right in front of their eyes. Instead of coming in squads, troopers only come individually (incinerators burning the building, a few troopers slaughtered by the blacksmith, a few others guarding the tunnel, and the most stupid of all, Moff Gideon waiting for nightfall just for no reason) which makes for a convenient plot armors for our heroes to trek on their way.
Of course, there are casualties - what is a story without something seemingly at a stake? - but it is nothing more than devices to delay the heroes from their trek. Taking cues from Eowyn's "I am no man" of Lord of the Rings fame, in less than moment-defining fashion IG-11, which himself came as a sort of droid ex machina, said that it is no "living being" while resurrecting The Mando from fatal injuries, remedied every possible threat with its healing devices.
Antagonists can be dumb, but there is a limit to dumbness that can suspend audience's disbelief. This episode has antagonist almost feels like they are intentionally dumb and there is nothing really at a stake when everything can be easily remedied.
This episode is not the worst, certainly, as the action sequence is flashy and satisfying. The one near ending where The Mando utilizes a neat jet jump is clever and actually can show the extent Star Wars can be when the director wanted to think creatively beyond the force. Knights of the Old Republic and the aptly named Star Wars Bounty Hunter played with clever tricks similar to this once a while, and the trick doesn't feel cheap as they stand on a very good storytelling.
The Mandalorian's flashy action, regardless, seems to serve only as explicit fanservice - a style over substance.
There are plenty of action, which, by itself, is quite well-done. The consistently hardly imposing threats, unfortunately, dull down the possible thrill those scenes can offer - in a typical corny action heroes such as Gerard Butler's character in Has Fallen trilogy. The scene, for example, with The Blacksmith let us peek into the martial arts capability a Mandalorian can exhibit. But the rather plot armor of incompetent stormtroopers leave no stake at hand; the martial arts dexterity looks more like a cheap imitation of main trilogies of Jedi's acrobatic feats.
Redemption ultimately ends with nothing to be redeemed about, as the people in this show seems to be forever clumsy. From start to finish, everyone made questionable decisions. Nobody blasted the Mando's group with that large amount of stormtroopers. Nobody checked whether Moff Gideon is dead when the fighter was down (Gideon also miraculously survive the crash), with Carga, a supposedly veteran bounty hunter, lightheartedly saying they are already free of the Empire's grasp.
Everything people said in this episode, just like many episodes prior, are not crafted as if the actors were having human conversation. They were rushed by time - they seemingly appear to be set in motion by the plot's demands, to say X so Y happens; to say A when B moment happened.
This episode almost feels like a filler to conclude the dragging episodes this season has been. Screenwriting-wise, this whole season is nothing but bait-and-switch to justify next season(s).
There is much to be said about this kind of terrible business model, where series is written with nothing exactly in mind but to find reasons to continue producing the franchise - the same business model Disney has been using on their MCU franchise and Star Wars films/spinoffs - but the crowds of gladly willing moms awing for Baby Yoda and nerd dads geeking over Star Wars reference doesn't leave enough rooms for those commentaries.
I don't do drugs, but after watching this episode, I'm not so sure anymore.
"I just slid my dick down your throat, and you thanked me for it." I'm loving Jeffrey Dean Morgan as Negan and the quotes from the comic are better than I expected.
Well that escalated quickly! She went from "do you want some cookies" to "I'll tie you up to a tree and you will be eaten alive" jeez
After 2 weeks of world and character building we finally get to the heist and I was maybe just as nervous as those guys. Everything felt natural and logical so the events unfolding seemed very realistic for a bunch of motivated amateurs. We all knew it would be risky and although everything happened like I expected, I was still surprised how it happened. That's as close to a magic trick that a writer can come.
This actually is an overall decent finale. The tense in Camina's fleet is good. The Rocinante battle is good. Naomi's rescue is good. The reveal on the end was also good. However there's one reason that makes the episode feels like a jumble of choppily edited scenes: everything involving Alex's death.
I don't take issue with it being sudden and abrupt, as many deaths are. But everyone feels really disconnected from that one incident that should have affected at least all the main casts. Alex just died, but Holden and Naomi spent their time to listen to Naomi's supposed farewell (and spent minutes on it). Amos was more eager to bring Peaches instead of mourning his close friend; even worse he was only informed about Alex's death off screen. For a fellow Martian and somebody who has spent quite a time with Alex, Bobbie seems largely unaffected at all. And Alex, well... The only tribute they gave to this incident is a plaque, which makes for some emotional moment, but that's it. Heck, that part where Holden talked to Naomi to rekindle the events almost feels like Holden breaking the fourth wall to explain to viewers due to how abrupt it is handled.
It almost feels like the event is not supposed to happen, and the showrunners edited in last minutes.
This season has been nothing but a Naomi season that leads to a reunion of Rocinante crew. That incident stuck like a sore thumb, making the supposedly joyful event with all crews gathering feels really emotionally detached. Not to mention that, barring the reveal at the end, most events still happen off screen. Just like most things that happened this season. We don't get to see the impact of something big happening.
So despite being an overall decent episode, this finale closes the relatively most mediocre season The Expanse has produced. I'd even say that the quality is even lower than Season 4. The first four episodes were nice, but it went downhill and stagnated really fast.
Having not read the comics I was ready to hate King Ezekiel due to the over-the-top nature of the character. However his self-awareness makes him really interesting.
Where did all the production-value go?
The first two episodes dragged me into the world of Star Wars, but after that it‘s all down hill to me. Acting just meh, almost no good looking alien races anymore, heck even the droid from this episode was a pesky human in a bad costume. Just as bad as both of those Twi‘leks and the horned guy - bad actors in bad makeup. I really hope they fix this soon.
I found the story of Zima Blue a kind of catharsis of the concept of artificial intelligence, which at the same time scares us and excites us. A simple robot cleaner who initially evolves thanks to his master, emancipates himself from him to become a more than sentient being, an artist able to touch the highest peaks of creativity. A worlds explorer, who reaches a level of consciousness and knowledge of the whole universe comparable to Dr. Manhattan. Until the epilogue, which I personally find brilliant, the absolute sum of an intelligence...
I'm beginning to think the writing team only had three good episodes in them. Getting predictable and drawn out.
That Nauvoo launch sequence was beautiful. We need more space shows on TV right now.
Others might say that this is not as intense as previous episode, which might be true in terms of action and moving the plot forward. But I find this episode is still intense in a different way: more emotional investment.
"Family" and its unfortunately related cousin "abuse" seem to be the the theme that knits together different story arcs of the episode: the obvious Butcher flashback, Kimiko and Frenchie, MM with his family, Soldier Boy, and Homelander.
The episode kind of speeds up the pace in showing Soldier Boy's villainy through a recreation/imagination of Black Noir's flashback; although I'm not too comfortable that they present Noir's flashback at face value (instead of being an unreliable narrator), I think it still kinda works.
It is shown that Soldier Boy is an abusive, selfish bully with anger issues you would typically see among band leads or celebrity groups. While some have defended Soldier Boy's action by comparing him to Homelander ("at least Soldier Boy is not psychotic, emotionally unstable narcissist! He is a normal person not grown in lab!"), I think they missed the point of the show: the biggest issue here is exactly what would happen if people with power (influence) have additional power (literal superpower) while being protected by multi-billion dollar company. They possess all the impunity to wreak havoc. Like MM said, "no one should have the right to wield such power."
This theme of abuse is explicated with Butcher's flashback. No one is inherently "good" or "evil" - you are shaped by your upbringing. As the scenes between his memories, his reflection, and his projection in current time are cut seamlessly back and forth, Butcher slowly realizes that he mirrors the man he hated the most. Yet he fully accepts his succumbing to that darkness while bringing Hughie with him through his personal vendetta against the supes - not caring about the risk towards others who he claimed he loved. Even with parents, one may grow to be a contemptuous person if they live in an abusive family, and it's a cycle that is very difficult to break. Butcher's flashback is certainly the spotlight of the episode for me.
Even with Kimiko's story in the background (her saying that V only explicates what kind of person you are), considering that we've been shown how the character's social lives shaped them into what they are now - Kimiko with her abducted kid background, Hughie's insecurity with his zero to hero job, etc - the message stays strong, countering the superhero cliche of inherently morally good and evil person.
I'm hoping this dynamic could be further explored in the next episode (or season) with the Soldier Boy and Homelander encounter when it's revealed that Soldier Boy is Homelander's father, at least he feels so. An abusive father meets a narcissist kid-who'd-wanna-be-a-father. The ending of this episode becomes revealing when tied up to the earlier convesation between Homelander and Maeve: with Homelander echoing Soldier Boy's words that he "used to dream of having kids" with Maeve, it becomes apparent in this episode that the relationship between Homelander and Maeve (and Soldier Boy and Crimson Countess) it is not something exactly out of pure love.
"Having kids" is not a romantic statement: it's a purely masculine, self-centered ego of having someone of your blood - of your similarity - that you can be proud of. Who the partner is doesn't matter; they are only means to that end. And in that Soldier Boy shares something in common with Homelander as shown through his delight of accepting Homelander readily as his son, albeit lab-grown. He only wants to see a better version of him.
Last but not least, I love the jab at corporate this episode still throws. Ashley spinning breaking news about Starlight in a similar way Disney would spin stories about their abuse and mismanagement; and that A-Train being zombified, again, with the heart of Blue Hawk embedded in his body, serving only as Vought's puppet. I'm not sure if that's the most satisfying end to A-Train's arc, but seeing his disappointed, grim look, his lack of agency, I guess the character suffers a lot. I just hope this will be the last of his arc and the show doesn't squeeze him further.
That said, with the reveal at the ending, I am not sure I am 100% satisfied as I was expecting Soldier Boy bringing down Homelander, or rendering him powerless by the end of the season. Looks like Homelander will continue to be the main villain. I just hope they don't prolong the "mentally unstable" trope too much and find ways to keep the show interesting. Looking forward to the finale.
"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.
Compared to previous episodes, this episode is not bad, but still dumbly written.
As usual, a supposedly professional team of mercenaries turns out to be incompetent just-for-laugh bollocks, as shown by one person destroying a droid for fun in a ship they know are extremely guarded by, well, droid's connectivity. And no one seems to be troubled with that. Apparently recklessness and naivety are traits commonly shared by supposedly 'fighters' in this show - we've seen people ranging from bounty hunters, ex-rebel shock trooper, and even the Mando himself, who consistently failed to notice obvious traps (eps 5), wasted their time for overly convoluted plans (eps 4), or simply appeared to took the same marksmanship class as stormtroopers (eps 3 & 5).
Oddly, for a ship supposedly to be extremely secure, barely any droids patrol the ship. Even when the ship was on full emergency alert. The droids conveniently only appear as distraction as the plot needs it; for a heist/rescue episode, this leaves no stake on breaching the ship at all.
Speaking of stake, the characters also consistently make questionable decisions. Despite knowing they are limited on time, they just waste it for squabbling between themselves, hunting for each other down to the last of it, instead of focusing on running away from the ship.
But the worst offender is our titular character.
The Mando turns out to be a Disneyfied, Sunday morning, family-friendly bounty hunter, as he refuses to hurt people from New Republic but oddly has no qualms killing/hurting people who happen to be on the side of other factions (stormtroopers, bandits, fellow professionals, or even just a person who happens to have a huge debt - eps. 1).
It appears that the "hunting" in bounty hunting is only legitimate, as long as it doesn't involve one of the "good guys". Good guys according to who? No in-universe explanation is given except that according to Disney, New Republic must be the good guys. This show seems to be the opposite of Star Wars: The Old Republic (the online game, not the single player RPG): where the game aligns bounty hunter in the "evil" faction just because Boba Fett worked for the Empire, this show aligns bounty hunter in the "good" faction just because Mando is the protagonist.
The Mando also always consistently failed to realize that leaving Baby Yoda alone always means a bad thing. I mean, this is his damn third time doing that.
That being said, the action is quite well-done. The Twi'lek girl is choreographed nicely. The Mando has some cool action with his gears. The ending has some tense, though the last order from Ran feels a bit cheap. Unfortunately, those still can't save the episode from its below-average screen writing.
I'm speechless. This episode had everything: animation, black & white silent movie, awesome music, glasses from "They live", Dan Stevens in his original accent, horror, zombies, villain back from the dead, Kill Bill (kind of - in the coffin), Matrix (there is no spoon), bald father (in the anmation), Jules Vern, crazy maestro, I can keep going on, I can't handle it, this episode was an experience.
Gravity done right, the fire, tears, blood coagulation, etc. This is science fiction with actual science, amazing show.
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.
After the last season I was getting very concerned but I was wrong. This show is BACK and with a vengeance. The writing and dialog is strong again, pacing is on point, no dumb bs. It just feels like The Expanse again
(minus Naomi's plot.... but yeah)
I think this is the first episode this season that was good. The emotions felt real, Negan's monologue with Rick was good. Too often Negan speaks without saying anything. Jadis was really interesting tonight. Hopefully there's more from her now than the usual cookie monster dialogue.
I love the end - but it is not like it would be an accomplishment to the TV Show, they took it from the book and removed so much that it barely makes any sense.
All the political tension is basically removed and replaced with "why are we even discussing this". Not to mention the fact that they completly left out how Inaros fleet got destroyed.
That was really important, because the way they did it, the physics they used in the books (The rings make matter disappear when there is more than a certain amount in transit at the same time) was the reason Earth and Mars actually agreed that a trade union controlling passage through the rings was necessary.
It would have been hard enough to do this properly in 10 Episodes, doing it in 6 was impossible. Too much of the source material has been left out without patching the holes.
Its heartbreaking and not in a good way...
