The Boys - Season 2

[Small Potatoes]

Just watched the first two episodes of this. It's pretty great so far - carries on the narrative momentum from last season, Homelander is still a hilariously colossal cunt (one moment in particular made me laugh out loud at just how shitty he is). Plenty of gore and horrible injuries, if that's your bag, and a very unexpected voice cameo from a well-known American comedian in the second ep.

[Sin Agog]

Not sure if this series has a solid enough MacGuffin just yet, but loved everything from that

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whale

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scene onwards.  Called

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Stormfront

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as the new Superterrorist the moment I heard

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her name

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.  (Dunno if the words

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her name

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warrant a Spoiler tag, but don't want to fuck anything up for anybody).

Must admit, I spent much of the first episode disentangling my memories of this series' first season with those of The Tick.  Reminds me of when I took Spanish and French at the same time and fucked up both.

[Wentworth Smith]

Really enjoyed the first three episodes only to discover those are the only ones currently available with one a week going forwards. What is this half arsed nonsense? Either all at once or one a week, not some useless middle ground.

[SteveDave]

Really enjoyed the first three episodes only to discover those are the only ones currently available with one a week going forwards. What is this half arsed nonsense? Either all at once or one a week, not some useless middle ground.

That was exactly my reaction when, at the end of episode 3, instead of counting down to play episode 4, it counted down to play Unsolved Mysteries (with Robert Stack). WHAT IS THIS BULLSHIT? Luckily, I'm off on Friday so I will watch it in the morning with some champagne and beans on toast.

[SteveDave]

Just watched the first two episodes of this. It's pretty great so far - carries on the narrative momentum from last season, Homelander is still a hilariously colossal cunt (one moment in particular made me laugh out loud at just how shitty he is).

Was that when

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he pushed his son off the roof of his house?

[close]

I do hope they've got an end in mind. I see it's been renewed for series 3 but I presume the comics had an ending? I know they had the whole thing with

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Billy's wife

[close]

differently so who knows what they're going to do.

[AsparagusTrevor]

Really enjoyed the first three episodes only to discover those are the only ones currently available with one a week going forwards. What is this half arsed nonsense? Either all at once or one a week, not some useless middle ground.

I'd previously read that Amazon were going for the weekly releases like it's 1992 or something, so I was determined to wait until the season was over so I could binge it. Didn't work, I watched the three released episodes one after the other.

[Small Potatoes]

Was that when

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he pushed his son off the roof of his house?

[close]

Nope, although that was also a hoot. Was thinking more of how he deals with the

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Daredevil-analogue who is proposed as a new member of The Seven.

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[BeardFaceMan]

Homeland is such a colossal prick, he's the perfect monster. Amazing piece of casting too, the guy playing him is so good.

[SteveDave]

Homeland is such a colossal prick, he's the perfect monster. Amazing piece of casting too, the guy playing him is so good.

The smiling with dead eyes he does is quite something.

In a way, I'm glad they're putting these out one a week. It's something to look forward to innit?

[BeardFaceMan]

The smiling with dead eyes he does is quite something.

Yeah he's so fucking good at doing that, he's easily the best thing about the show so far.

[Dex Sawash]

I laughed at the faked news clip of Billy Butcher saying wronged Austalianisms.

[Small Man Big Horse]

I wish I could like this, and maybe I would if I hadn't read the comics, but I find Hughie such an unbearably entitled selfish prick that I'm really struggling with it. Not that impressed with The Deep's subplot either, and I find myself only really enjoying the bits with Homeland and Stormfront right now.

[bgmnts]

I'm only on volume five of the comics, should I watch this season before carrying on with them? Been on hiatus with the comics for like a year.

[wooders1978]

I wish I could like this, and maybe I would if I hadn't read the comics, but I find Hughie such an unbearably entitled selfish prick that I'm really struggling with it. Not that impressed with The Deep's subplot either, and I find myself only really enjoying the bits with Homeland and Stormfront right now.

I'm with you at the moment and only really enjoying the homelander segments - not keen on any of butchers gang as characters

[chveik]

stupid cunts could have at least cast a french actor. his accent is ridiculous

[BeardFaceMan]

I wish I could like this, and maybe I would if I hadn't read the comics, but I find Hughie such an unbearably entitled selfish prick that I'm really struggling with it. Not that impressed with The Deep's subplot either, and I find myself only really enjoying the bits with Homeland and Stormfront right now.

Yeah pretty much hit the nail on the head there, Hughie is becoming unbearable in this. And I loved the gag about The Deep never taking his helmet off so I was sad we have this version instead. But as I've said, the comic version of Homelander could have been based on the guy who plays him on tv, they got that so right I'm giving them a pass on a lot of stuff I shouldn't.

I'm only on volume five of the comics, should I watch this season before carrying on with them? Been on hiatus with the comics for like a year.

No, finish the comics first, they're far superior, you don't want to put yourself off the comics by watching the inferior tv show first. I'm not sure it would matter though as we're only on the 2nd season of the show and there's been so much deviation and changes, other than some character names the show is already pretty unrecognizable from the comic and the way that story went.

[Chollis]

same here, finding Hughie and his gang of cunts more annoying recently but enjoying anything with Homelander/Stormfront/Vought

[Mister Six]

I do hope they've got an end in mind. I see it's been renewed for series 3 but I presume the comics had an ending? I know they had the whole thing with

Spoiler alert

Billy's wife

[close]

differently so who knows what they're going to do.

The comics had a storming ending (actually a few storming endings, because of the multiple threads), but it looks like at least one of those just isn't going to happen now because of changes to some characters, the deaths of others and the removal of yet more. Which is a shame, because it was one of my favourite twists of recent years. But hey ho.

I'm with you at the moment and only really enjoying the homelander segments - not keen on any of butchers gang as characters

I'm happy with MM - who's probably the closest to the original comic version of the main five - and Frenchie and The Female (both of whom were basically just one-note cartoon characters in the comic but have been fleshed out well here), although I'm finding Frenchie's moping and creeping on The Female a bit tedious. But Hughie is a total pain in the arse in the show, and every time Starlight shows any interest in him, Mrs Six groans in annoyance. As people have said, he's annoyingly entitled, but he's also irritatingly stupid and keeps putting everyone at risk for no reason.

in the comic, Hughie is a quiet, nerdy Scottish stoner whose main trait is that he's compassionate and empathetic, unlike pretty much everyone except MM (who's enough of a soldier to not let it get in the way of the mission). One of the points of the comic is that the kind of violent hyper-masculinity that Butcher embodies isn't actually a good thing, and that it's better to be a soft "beta male" type, because even though it's a world run by bastards, if you try to match them then you're just another bastard contributing to the problem. I get the feeling that the US producers didn't think they could have their main audience identification character be so passive, and so they've gone for a guy who's a little bit more forceful - but that's mostly just made him seem like a bit of a self-centred prick. I dunno, we'll see. Hopefully this is just part of his arc and he'll learn to stop being such a twat.

Butcher, though, is totally fucked in both writing and acting. In the comic he's this terrifying malevolent figure who's your best friend one minute and clubbing off your head with a crowbar the next. He's supposed to be hyper prepared and constantly calculating, moving people around like pawns, always on the knife edge between cold control and enraged killing spree. In the show he's just a loudmouth arsehole who tears around with no plan, causes chaos and ought to inspire no respect nor loyalty, yet somehow does. Other than his connection to Mallory - which MM could have anyway - I don't really understand why they need or want him.

The other thing is that the comic starts with The Boys fully active as a team and on a mission. They're sanctioned by the CIA[nb]Which isn't supposed to operate on American soil, so I guess that's why it was changed to the FBI in the show.[/nb] and have a specific remit: scare the living shit out of the supes that push things too far and outright kill the ones that go rogue. Within that remit, Billy is also trying to accumulate any intel he can to give him the edge on Homelander. Hugie comes in as the new guy after Mallory quits following the murder of his[nb]Yes, he's a bloke in the comic, as are Stillwell and Stormfront.[/nb] grandkids, but then they're off to the races. Oh, and they all take a modified form of Compound V that gives them increased strength, durability and healing abilities but no proper superpowers, so they can actually go toe-to-toe with the less powerful superheroes (I'm guessing they'll get this upgrade at the end of season two).

Meanwhile, the show has had them as a band of fractious underdogs who all have internal conflicts and are constantly bouncing from one disaster to another. Which is all right for a bit, but it means they're difficult to focus on because it's not really clear what they're trying to achieve beyond saving their own skins from one minute to the next. Billy wanted to kill Homelander but now he wants to win his wife back? Hughie and MM just want to get their lives back. Frenchie... I guess he wants to go back to selling guns while also banging The Female? And she wants to avenge her brother.

The show badly needs to unite The Boys behind a cause and get them out of this hole they're in. In the comic Homelander had a wider scheme beyond the Vought stuff that made him an even bigger threat than the corporation... if they could bring that in, that could work... but I get the feeling that if they do pursue that path it'll only be in the last seasons.

I don't want them to kill off everyone's relatives and lovers, but I sort of think it's going to take something on that level to actually get them all together on a warpath against The Seven. At the very least, they need to give some indication of a wider plot and threat that must be quelled, because right now it's just two lots of people all bitching among one another without any clear long-term goal.

[Mister Six]

Fucking hell, sorry about that. Many thanks to whoever has the patience to read that whole thing!

[Small Man Big Horse]

I thought it made for a great read and I agree with you on all counts.

[Mister Six]

Aw, thanks SMBH. I wasn't fishing for compliments, honest.

[Mobius]

Yeah Homelander is the best character by miles. Anthony Starr is an excellent actor.

"The Boys" are all boring and mopey. I hate Frenchie's stupid voice, Mothers Milk is just boring. Compared to the superheroes they're all just dull.

[Mister Six]

If you like Anthony Starr and ultraviolence, I heartily recommend Banshee (although the first season is a bit ropey, the rest are great).

[notjosh]

The other thing is that the comic starts with The Boys fully active as a team and on a mission. They're sanctioned by the CIA and have a specific remit

Someone told me this recently and it put me off the idea of reading the comics a bit. As someone who enjoys the show mainly for its cynical take on American capitalism, I like the fact that it's just a bunch of ordinary schmos facing impossible odds against a rigged system and people with inherited powers.

I will read the comics, but I'm still enjoying the TV version enough that I think I'll wait to finish it first.

[jobotic]

Are they sanctioned by the CIA or by someone in it working rogue?

Can't remember, long time since I read them. Haven't started Season 2 of this yet, can't wait.

[BeardFaceMan]

Someone told me this recently and it put me off the idea of reading the comics a bit. As someone who enjoys the show mainly for its cynical take on American capitalism, I like the fact that it's just a bunch of ordinary schmos facing impossible odds against a rigged system and people with inherited powers.

I will read the comics, but I'm still enjoying the TV version enough that I think I'll wait to finish it first.

Then you'll really like the comics, you've basically described them there. It's not like they're a highly trained government unit, just a bunch of normal people (mostly) who have undergone pain and suffering at the hands of superheros/Vought and want to do something about it. I think it was Butcher and MM who had previous military experience which is why they're both in charge, the connection to the government is minimal

Spoiler alert

(other Butcher and the CIA director hate-fucking each other)

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.

[Mister Six]

Someone told me this recently and it put me off the idea of reading the comics a bit. As someone who enjoys the show mainly for its cynical take on American capitalism, I like the fact that it's just a bunch of ordinary schmos facing impossible odds against a rigged system and people with inherited powers.

I will read the comics, but I'm still enjoying the TV version enough that I think I'll wait to finish it first.

The comic is blisteringly anti-capitalist (or certainly anti-corporation and anti-military-industrial-complex), so you should enjoy it on that level. But as I said, the first year or so is terrible.

The Boys also don't really have proper superpowers, just increased strength, durability and a healing factor. Homelander could waste them all easily if he were motivated to do so, and that's without even considering all of the other almost-as-powerful supes.

Are they sanctioned by the CIA or by someone in it working rogue?

Can't remember, long time since I read them. Haven't started Season 2 of this yet, can't wait.

Been ages since I read it too, but they're well-funded and have access to Compound V despite it being absurdly expensive. They might be a deniable black ops team, I can't recall, but they're a recognised part of the superhero environment, to the point that the Seven hand over Lamplighter to be killed by Billy after he burns Mallory's grandkids to death (I know the grandkids/dead Lamplighter stuff is in the show, but I can't remember whether they said if the team were responsible and whether it was done with the Seven's knowledge... probably not, given how Homelander is in this version, and how he seemed to be only dimly aware of Billy).

[Povidone]

Im definitely finding season 2 a bit of a drag and I'm not sure why, all the elements are there and there's lots of great stuff but these first 4 episodes feel just like wheels spinning. Im not sire it's entirely down to the release schedule either, though I did beast through season 1 in a day it was compelling enough to lead me in to the next one. Didnt really get that feeling from the first three episodes.

The Boys storyline hasn't really gone anywhere and as mentioned above Hughie is acting like a tit, I really liked the character in the first season, more than I thought I would initially. Homelander is great but again im not really sure what they're doing with him, it feels like there is loads of set up that hopefully will have an interesting conclusion in the next 4 episodes but my enthusiasm has been damepened a bit.

PS Im never watching another trailer for anything. Amazon were really previewing the fuck out of that whale scene to the point I'd already seen it several times by the time it came on and wasn't as much fun in the episode.

PPS out of two australians putting on accents Anthony Starr is absolutely shitting all over Karl Urban.

[Dr Rock]

I am enjoying it very much, as much as season one.

[Obel]

Im definitely finding season 2 a bit of a drag and I'm not sure why, all the elements are there and there's lots of great stuff but these first 4 episodes feel just like wheels spinning. Im not sire it's entirely down to the release schedule either, though I did beast through season 1 in a day it was compelling enough to lead me in to the next one. Didnt really get that feeling from the first three episodes.

The Boys storyline hasn't really gone anywhere and as mentioned above Hughie is acting like a tit, I really liked the character in the first season, more than I thought I would initially. Homelander is great but again im not really sure what they're doing with him, it feels like there is loads of set up that hopefully will have an interesting conclusion in the next 4 episodes but my enthusiasm has been damepened a bit.

PS Im never watching another trailer for anything. Amazon were really previewing the fuck out of that whale scene to the point I'd already seen it several times by the time it came on and wasn't as much fun in the episode.

PPS out of two australians putting on accents Anthony Starr is absolutely shitting all over Karl Urban.

*Kiwi's

I would agree up until episode 4, I really loved that episode. I do feel like the boys themselves are pretty aimless at the moment though. It's annoying that we're half way through the season and they don't really seem to have much of a goal right now.