Summary: Homelander shoves Ryan off a roof to help him awaken his powers. He is successful, but Ryan is angry with him and tells him to go away. The Boys are on a yacht 3 miles offshore as per Butcher's deal with Mallory. At a meeting with a writer, Ashley learns that Compound V has leaked online and she speaks with Edgar. Starlight did it and A-Train confronts her about it, but Starlight keeps him quiet, blackmailing him again. A police helicopter finds The Boys, but Kimiko's brother gets free and crashes it. Word about Kimiko's brother on the yacht reaches The Seven, who all go out to kill him. The yacht is attacked by Deep and The Boys leave on a speedboat. Deep blocks them with a whale but Butcher rams into the whale, killing it and knocking out Deep. The Boys escape into a sewer drain. The Seven arrive and hunt for them. Starlight finds Hughie and Homelander tells her to kill him. Butcher saves him by distracting Homelander and Kimiko's brother buries him. Kimiko and her brother escape but are found by Stormfront. Stormfront kills dozens of civilians while hunting them before killing Kimiko's brother. Edgar holds a press conference where he states he was unaware of Compound V and blames it on Maddy while Stormfront gets all the credit for killing the terrorist, annoying Homelander.
The Good: It looks like we are slowly rebuilding the relationship between Hughie and Butcher, and amongst all the carnage in this episode, we took some compelling steps to get them on the same page again. Tensions continue to boil early in the episode with Hughie punching Butcher after he fails to apologize for anything beyond punching him at the end of the last episode. Then we have Butcher giving him laughably little credit for his role in leaking Compound V to the public, and you can tell that things are bad. When Hughie realizes that they are caught in a storm and likely to die, he loses all resolve and is left as an empty shell. Butcher wants to leave him behind, but M.M. brings up Hughie's value as a moral compass, and while Butcher doesn't show it, you can tell that he does appreciate what Hughie does for him. With Butcher, it's his actions rather than his words that give away his emotions. Butcher could have sacrificed Hughie, but instead he musters up the courage to face Homelander once more, risking everything to save Hughie. It's a nice change to see some humanity in Butcher for once, and it's an effective way to continue to develop the complicated relationship these two have had since season 1. Outside of the Butcher/Hughie dynamic, this episode had a hell of a lot going on and was consistently entertaining. The fact that the Compound V reveal happened off-screen and early in the episode was a big surprise, and it immediately made things feel suspenseful. Seeing every supe react to the realization that they were made into supes by a drug was fantastic. I was consistently interested to see how Edgar would handle the situation considering all that had happened. Deflecting the headlines to a "terrorist attack" was very smart. Homelander's brief parenting arc came to an abrupt end in hilarious fashion. Watching him ignore both Becca's and Ryan's wishes to throw his kid off of the roof was remarkably dangerous, and remarkably hilarious. Even better was watching Ryan faceplant and lie motionless on the ground while Homelander looks only mildly disappointed was a fantastic comedic choice. In the end Homelander was right, and Ryan got to awaken some of his powers, but he completely missed the point of connecting emotionally with his family, and so despite the fact that he did a "good" thing, he pays the price dearly and finds himself not wanted by anyone. This was great storytelling, and I like that it led to Homelander trying to reconnect with Maeve so that he could maybe have just one person in his life who genuinely loves him. Then we get to The Boys on the yacht which was the episode's standout storyline, intense and exciting. Once they get made by a police helicopter (which Kimiko's brother promptly annihilates), the episode ratchets up the tension as literally every important supe starts making their way to that boat. The mission is up in flames (as it always seems to be in this show), and the episode's final stretch is a dramatic sequence of the protagonists running away from the powerful antagonists. All of this content is done well, minus a few conveniences (see: The Bad). We start with Deep, who makes a most triumphant return, only to fall apart in the most hilarious fashion (see: Best Moment). The entire whale sequence is probably the most horrific thing I've watched in the show and simultaneously the hardest I've laughed in the show. Maybe I'm just a sick bastard, but that was uproariously unexpected and entertaining. Following this, The Seven arrive, and after some amusing interaction sequences with Deep, they move in to capture The Boys. The stand-off with Starlight and Homelander against Hughie was very intense, and Butcher and Homelander coming face to face once more was very exciting. The episode capped off with a very nicely choreographed action sequence as Kimiko and her brother take on Stormfront. The action is exciting, but what made this so good was the reveal of Stormfront's true colours. I was expecting her to be shady due to her being sent in by Edgar, but even that mindset did not prepare me for her horrific nature as she murders civilian after civilian and finally kills Kimiko's brother in the most vile and vicious manner. Out of nowhere, Homelander suddenly has company at the top of the list for the most depraved and diabolical characters in this show. The twist was executed superbly, and I'm sure that it was a huge shock especially for the people who hadn't suspected that she was hiding something. Great stuff. There are some good comedy scenes throughout the episode, but the highlight has to be the movie pitch scene near the start. The conversations here are exceptional, and I couldn't help but laugh at the guy's reductive view on women, which was countered by the guy saying "I have two sisters". Hilarious. Better yet is how out of touch the movie is, especially since they have the wrong Seven in the film (Translucent and Lamplighter are still there). I also got a chuckle out of Black Noir, who has fallen asleep in his chair, clearly bored out of his mind. I like how this show has been characterizing him in the occasional short scene. I hope we see more of him soon. The Bad: The action scenes towards the end were fun, but there were a number of logic leaps that didn't make sense. The biggest one comes from how ill-defined Homelander's powers are. If The Boys are in the sewers, can't Homelander use his vision to see where they are immediately? It is odd that he doesn't use his powers more often, even if he is arrogant enough to feel like he doesn't need them. More annoyingly, I'm baffled at the fact that Homelander isn't more angry at Starlight, who did nothing to stop The Boys after Homelander was buried by Kimiko's brother. Surely Homelander is watching everything from under the rocks, so how does he not see that Starlight simply let them go without a fight? Stormfront fighting Kimiko and her brother had a poor ending. We see the brother jump off of a roof, leaving Kimiko alone with Stormfront, but in the very next scene he is magically back on top of the building. How did he do that? Even worse is that once Stormfront kills Kimiko's brother, she is perfectly content to let Kimiko go. I get that The Seven don't care about her, but she's a loose thread that is quite literally right next to them. It's idiotic for them to let her go, and if anything, these two would absolutely be petty and evil enough to kill her, even if it was unnecessary. In the end, there were too many plot conveniences in this climactic sequence to prevent certain events from happening. Frenchie was really silly to leave a tin can in the same room as a man with telekinetic powers. That bit of writing felt a bit contrived. I'm also still unamused by the fact that The Boys still left Kimiko's brother with only duct tape on his hands. Surely they could have done more to restrain him. Maybe add on some rope, some chains, or any other stronger material to ensure that he doesn't free himself. The Unknown: Who is Liberty? Why was she brought up by Mallory? Will A-Train's heart problems be a recurring problem for him? Will this eventually lead to him being kicked out of The Seven? He was struggling badly throughout the episode. How does Edgar plan to navigate the revelation of Compound V? Will he scapegoat Maddy and stand firmly behind that? Does he have any other tricks up his sleeve? Is Stormfront a mole for Edgar? She was psychotic by murdering such a large group of civilians, but it played up the story of the supe terrorists' threat overshadowing the Compound V. Was this all planned by Edgar? Is Stormfront's entire "rebellious girl" attitude just an act? Is she really just as psychotic as Homelander? Deep's incompetence has been hilarious to watch. But it begs the question, how did he get into The Seven to begin with? Best Moment: Deep's triumphant return was so satisfying for him. You can tell he really loved the moment of having a cool hero scene where he blocks the bad guys on his whale. But then you look beneath the surface and realize how hilariously stupid his plan was: Deep was so focused on making a "cool" intro that he beached a whale and removed its ability to escape, failed to adequately block the storm drain that The Boys were clearly headed towards, and failed to account for the likely possibility that The Boys would not surrender upon seeing him. Watching the realization hit Deep as Butcher accelerated towards him was hysterical, and the sheer butchery (pun intended) of the whale was horrifyingly funny. Once again Deep's best intentions have led to the death of a sea animal, and I can't help but laugh at the fact that this is the third straight time that Deep has failed like this. It's Butcher who puts the cherry on top of this fantastic scene with a fitting and fantastically delivered "f*ucking diabolical" as he and The Boys emerge from inside the body of a barely-alive whale. If there's one thing this show does well, it's entertaining us by doing something so outrageously ridiculous and over-the-top that you can't help but laugh and be amazed. Character of the Episode: Homelander. Conclusion: This episode was a wild ride. Packed with big developments, twists, and intense sequences, this episode blasted season 2 into action in the most dramatic way imaginable. This isn't a perfect episode, but it does enough that it is extremely easy to be invested and entertained. A great return to form after a mediocre episode. Score: 73
0 Comments
Summary: After Butcher sees Becca, he passes out and wakes up in a parking lot. He is determined t get back to her. After reuniting with The Boys, they work together to find the supe terrorist. Butcher convinces Mallory to give him a lead and they check it out, intent on capturing him. However, the supe terrorist is Kimiko's brother. Butcher tries to kill him anyways, so he and Kimiko escape. Hughie and Butcher argue and Butcher reveals Becca is still alive. Kimiko and her brother have a nice reunion, but Kimiko learns her brother has committed to the Shining Light Liberation Army. They fight and he is captured. Starlight works with the other women on Ashley's attempt at feminism-related publicity. Stormfront speaks out against it and Starlight is drawn to her. A-Train wakes up from his coma. Starlight gets the Compound V from Gecko and A-Train finds it. He threatens to tell someone but Starlight blackmails him to keep him quiet. Deep goes through therapy and is forced to come to terms with his appearance.
The Good: The best stuff here comes from the reunion between Butcher and Hughie. They did not part on good terms, and I'm glad to see that reflected in their interactions. The Boys are back together, but they do not feel strong as a unit. Hughie can't stand Butcher and refuses to trust him, while Butcher is still bitter towards Hughie and abuses him physically and verbally whenever he gets a chance. Their dynamic remains fun to watch, especially since M.M. and Frenchie are now loyal to Hughie who has shown more kindness to them than Butcher ever did. I quite liked the scene where Butcher tells everyone that Becca's still alive, which was motivated by his accusations of everyone else being motivated by "pussy". Realizing that he is the same, he decided to come clean and tell everyone. I would like to think that he did this because he felt that he could no longer feel like his goals were more noble, but I'm quite sure that he actually did it because he realized that his motivation is now sympathetic to them and they would side with him if he revealed it. That's very good character writing. The remaining storylines had good moments, but nothing too special. Kimiko connecting with her brother was nice, and it was quite sad when she realized that he had become a terrorist in heart, unlike her. Her acting sold the scene and their ensuing fight for me. Ashley's fixation on "progressive" marketing is consistently funny to watch, especially when Stormfront, Maeve, and Starlight act out. I enjoyed Stormfront's behaviour, and I'm intrigued to find out if she is being genuine or if this is another marketing act targeted at those who speak out against Vought. Homelander continues to be the show's most frightening and engaging character. Seeing him threaten Becca and attempt to awaken his son's powers is intimidating and you just know that it is going to end badly. A-Train waking up was a cool reveal and will hopefully lead to more interesting moments. The Bad: The stories here aren't very interesting, mainly because not much actually happens and what does happen is somewhat weakly executed. Kimiko's relationship with her brother didn't feel as fleshed out as it needed to be. Kimiko is silent, so it's very tough to get us to understand her and care about her, especially since she doesn't have much screentime. As such, I didn't feel much emotion when she finally reunited with her brother, and I felt less when she realized that she had to fight him. The acting was good, but there wasn't enough heft to the scene for it to feel important. It was also quite sloppy that The Boys only restrained his hands with duct tape. His power is telekinesis! It's a real gamble to assume that he needs his hands to use that power just based on what they have seen. What's to say that he won't be able to use a finger to unwrap the duct tape? Or use his mind to attack them without hand motions? I wish that the writing spent more time on how they restrained him. A-Train and Starlight's story was almost bafflingly bad in its execution. Repeatedly, A-Train shows up after Starlight does something and acts like he was watching her the whole time. What? A-Train is not Homelander, he can't watch her from a distance. He just moves fast, and we know when he is around because there is a loud shockwave every time he shows up. So how does he always seem to know what's happening and show up at the most convenient times? I could forgive this if the story went somewhere interesting but it didn't. A-Train threatens to reveal the truth to somebody, but he inexplicably does not tell anyone. Starlight says that it's because he's afraid that she will tell somebody important about A-Train killing Popclaw. But this is such a weak moment because there is absolutely zero solid proof that A-Train is connected to this crime, so he should not be afraid of it. Furthermore, if A-Train tells Vought that Starlight is involved with Compound V, they will have no choice but to eliminate her to keep their secret, which I'm certain is what they would do. If that happens, then Starlight won't have a chance to contact someone like Sports Illustrated anyways! Her threat is nowhere near strong enough to stop A-Train, and it feels like a poorly written plot device to explain why A-Train does not tell the truth to anyone. It sticks out like a sore thumb since almost everything else in this show is so well written compared to this. Deep's story isn't that interesting to me. I had a similar problem in season 1, but the show made up for it by making his storyline incredibly funny. When that humour disappears, we are left with a subpar story. Deep is in an arc where he has to come to terms with his own body, but I'm not invested in this at all, especially considering how disconnected he has been from the main storyline for several straight episodes now. I didn't get much out of his drug trip where he talked to his gills. The squelching sounds were disgusting, and the conversation was so on-the-nose that it disconnected me from his character arc. I was also annoyed that we did not get a resolution to his drug trip in this episode. The Unknown: How long will it take to awaken Ryan's powers? Will Homelander be successful? What happens if he is? What happened to Elena? Maeve telling her such crucial information on Homelander feels like a huge mistake. What will she do with her knowledge? Will she tell someone? Who is Dr. Park and what deal did he make with Becca? Does Becca still love Butcher? How does Homelander feel about this? How far does Homelander's super-hearing go? I was surprised that he was able to hear exactly what Becca was saying to Mr. Park. Is Stormfront genuine in her approach? Does she actually feel like Vought is problematic and wants to raise awareness? I struggle to believe that it's real since Edgar himself appointed her. I suspect that her behaviour is a marketing act to keep the Vought naysayers in check and focused on the wrong things. Because of this, it's a pretty bad idea for Starlight to open up to her. What will happen to Starlight if she does? Best Moment: Butcher coming clean and deciding to tell everyone that Becca is still alive. Character of the Episode: Butcher. Conclusion: This was a surprisingly off-colour episode of "The Boys". Not much of note happened, there aren't many standout scenes, and some developments feel sloppy and poorly thought out. I expect more from this series. Score: 55 Summary: A-Train is in a coma so Starlight continues to work with The Seven. The Boys have gone into hiding. Hughie calls Starlight and asks her to get some Compound V for him. She blackmails an old friend, Gecko, and gets the Compound V. After a super terrorist is smuggled into the country, The Boys go to Raynor to report the information. Her head suddenly explodes and they run back terrified. Starlight calls Hughie, who tells her to be careful and doesn't reveal what happened to Raynor. Frenchie calls Butcher, who returns to join The Boys. Black Noir kills Naqib. Deep is contacted by Eagle, who offers him a way back into The Seven. Translucent's funeral is held. Homelander has taken control of Vought, appointing Ashley in Maddy's old position and ensuring she is loyal to him. However, Edgar appoints Stormfront into The Seven without consulting Homelander. Homelander meets with him and tries to intimidate him, but Edgar isn't fazed. Homelander is angry and leaves to see his son.
The Good: I enjoyed catching up with all the characters and seeing what had changed. It was interesting to see what happened with Starlight/A-Train, how The Boys are laying low, how Vought moved on from Maddy's death, and where Butcher has been this entire time. The gradual resolution of these mysteries was fun to watch throughout the episode. Hughie continues to develop nicely. This quiet life does nothing for him because he has lost everything and no longer has anything that he's working towards, unlike M.M. who is trying to get back to his family. All he has left is to do good in the world and to try to get with Starlight, and he's fighting hard for that to happen. And poor unlucky M.M. keeps getting dragged into situations that always blow up in his face unexpectedly; this time literally with what happened to Raynor. Raynor's death was a huge shock at the episode's climax, but it's a great moment to raise the stakes and set the story for season 2 into action. Starlight's role in the episode is also engaging. It feels like she is operating on borrowed time. She has gotten better with media work, but in exchange she is actively working against The Seven more often than before. She's actively helping Hughie whenever she can, opting to blackmail an old friend to get Compound V for The Boys. And with eyes from Vought watching everything, the risk of Starlight working against them in enormous. It feels like things can be over for her any second. Furthermore, if A-Train wakes up he will have one hell of a story to tell about Starlight. Pretty soon she's going to be busted, and she needs to be as far away from Vought as possible when it happens. Homelander continues to be one of the best parts of this show. With Maddy dead, Homelander sees this as his chance to take over Vought. He plants Ashley as someone loyal to him, and immediately intimidates her when she dares to think that she would have autonomy in the role. Homelander's brutal destruction of Blindspot, and his callous dismissal of bringing a cripple into The Seven is fantastic to watch. He doesn't care about marketing or the way of the world and simply wants to do whatever he wants. It's telling when a focus group is used to figure out some branding ideas, and Homelander completely ignores them. Hilarious. But of course Homelander's dream is not fully realized. He thought he was going to be the man in charge, but his dreams come crashing down after a superb scene with Edgar (see: Best Moment). I enjoy this show's sense of humour a lot. I feel like I laugh in every single scene at least once, and I enjoy this show's style of comedy. I appreciate how many different types of comedy are present here as well. I've noticed dark humour, referential humour, satire, and even slapstick. All four styles are executed brilliantly and I find myself laughing frequently. It's important that a show with such crushing brutality can make me laugh so that I don't end up feeling too bummed out to enjoy watching. The Bad: Did we need the gross scene of Homelander drinking Maddy's milk? This show still has a habit of grossing me out unnecessarily. The Unknown: I saw on a newspaper that Shockwave broke A-Train's speed record. Will he be heading into The Seven soon? Where has Butcher been this entire time? What has he been doing? How has he evaded the law? Who is Starlight dating now? Will Hughie be able to get back together with her, or has that ship sailed? Who smuggled in the super terrorist? Why? What is the goal with him? How do Eagle and Carol plan to get Deep back into The Seven? Why are they helping him? Who is Stormfront? Why was she allowed to stream everything behind the scenes? Why did Edgar let her in? What does she have to offer? Who killed Susan? How? Why? What did she discover? Best Moment: The conversation between Homelander and Edgar was tense and awesome. Two powerhouse actors going up against each other, both commanding the room; I loved it. Homelander thought he had the advantage going in, but Edgar proved why he's higher ranked than Maddy and why he can't be bested. For the first time, Homelander has found someone who isn't afraid of him. Edgar knows that Homelander isn't his best asset, and he knows that Homelander can't kill him or everything falls apart. The way Edgar turned the situation around with such confidence was impressive, and it shows that he is a far more formidable adversary to contend with. Homelander came in feeling confident, and he left feeling frustrated and helpless. Brilliant writing and brilliant acting made this scene. Character of the Episode: Edgar. I already love this new character. Conclusion: An engaging and entertaining season premier. With how much changed between seasons, this almost felt like a second pilot episode with how many new story elements had to be introduced. I enjoyed this, and it did its job of getting me hooked for season 2. Score: 67 Summary: Homelander kills a group of terrorists in Syria and obtains Compound V from them. Susan tells Billy that they decided to keep Compound V secret and that The Boys are still fugitives, angering him. Billy and Hughie go to Mallory for help, she tells them about Homelander's relationship with Maddy. Meanwhile, M.M., Frenchie, and Kimiko are caught. Billy realizes this when he returns and leaves. He argues with Hughie who storms off after realizing Billy only cares about himself and his revenge. Starlight confronts her mother about Compound V and storms out. She goes to church where Hughie finds her to ask for help Starlight is furious, but Hughie's words reach her. Hughie gets caught intentionally and breaks out Frenchie, M.M. and Kimiko with his retainer. They are overrun, but Starlight arrives and saves them. A-Train shows up to stop them, but he has a heart attack from the Compound V. Starlight and Hughie attempt to resuscitate him. Maddy is facing a promotion for her success when Homelander meets with her and reveals that the secret supervillains was his idea. He and Maddy have sex and Homelander realizes that her story about his lost child did not align with Vogelbaum's. Maddy goes home and finds Billy waiting for her. He ties her up with explosives and Homelander arrives. However, Homelander is furious about the lie and has learned from Vogelbaum that his child is alive. He kills Maddy. Billy blows everything up anyways but Homelander saves his life and takes him to see his son, who is being raised by Becca.
The Good: This episode closed out the supes in the military storyline nicely. We see the immediate effects with Homelander annihilating a group of terrorists on his own and obtaining the Compound V to keep it all secret. At first it feels like a victory for Vought, but in reality it's a victory for Homelander specifically. The huge reveal when he tells Maddy his plan is fantastic. This whole time I was certain that it was a company plan, but it makes so much more sense that this ill-fated "supervillain" idea was all because of a crazy, rogue Homelander who just wants to prove that he's more than the failure people treat him as. This implications of this reveal are marvelous. Compound V was a tightly kept secret, and the only thing that caused it to leak and for The Boys to find out about it was Homelander's actions. He was the one who sent A-Train on the mission where he killed Robin, and Kimiko was one of his experiments that went wrong. The only reason Vought was in a pickle to begin with was because of Homelander's actions. Maddy would easily have sealed the deal with supes in the military on her own, but it was Homelander's actions with Compound V and the supe terrorists that led to the plan almost falling apart. As for our main protagonists, they are going through some huge things right now. Starlight has found out the truth about her superpowers, and has had her faith in god utterly shattered. She's horrified that she was raised the way she was under a total lie, and she's appalled at how her mother groomed and manipulated her to make sure that she would do this job and only this job. It's horrifying, and it's no surprise that Starlight is angry about this. With all of this anger behind her, Starlight's conversation with Hughie is perfect. She's angry and unsure of what to do, but Hughie points out the one thing she wants and this is where she finds her resolve: she wants to be a hero. This leads into a lovely conversation with Maeve that pushes her over the line into becoming a rebel. Maeve is the only member of The Seven who seems to understand Starlight, having been like her at one point before giving up. Maeve encourages Starlight to make a better choice than she did, and the result is Starlight finding newfound resolve in being a superhero and helping Hughie. As for Hughie, we finally see him reach his breaking point with Billy. Hughie has continuously been pushed further and further into this mess against his will because Billy has guilted him into doing it. As the season has gone on, Hughie has slowly realized who Billy really is, and he finally calls it out in this episode. The fight between them is an outstanding scene as Billy continues to manipulate, and Hughie finally realizes how bad this man is for him and severs ties permanently. The show has built up to this for a long time, and when the moment finally comes it is one of the finest scenes in this episode. Following this, Billy moves on in his selfish hunt for vengeance, while Hughie does the right thing and goes back to help his friends. It's amusing to see how they treat Hughie when he arrives to break them out (the punching the retainer out scene was hilarious), but it's clear that Hughie's actions meant something to them, and that's more than what they can say about Billy. This takes us to the episode's climax where everything comes together. We get a thrilling escape scene where every character has great moments. Hughie has completed his transformation into a badass as he uses his resourcefulness but is also okay with taking over some shooting to help his friends out. M.M. and Frenchie have finally made peace with each other as M.M. risks his life to save Kimiko. And of course, Starlight makes her choice as she arrives in the nick of time to kill the assailants and let Hughie and his gang go, doing her duty as a superhero. These are all great character pay-offs and they make for a satisfying finale. In the end, we're left with a fateful confrontation with Hughie and Starlight facing A-Train. This is the first case of supe-on-supe violence in the entire show and it is quite the spectacle. I appreciate that the show didn't get bogged down by action scenes and always focused on the characters ahead of spectacle. Even in this action scene, the memorable part comes after with A-Train's heart attack after he went to the Compound V well a few too many times. It's a great way to end the season, and I'm curious to see what happens next. Then we come to the episode's ending with Homelander, Billy, and Maddy. Maddy has been interesting to follow all season. She's a wily company woman who does what she has to do for business, and it seems like what she has to do is also placate Homelander by playing into his fantasies. But this became a real problem because she never had control over him and was always scared of what he would do. Now she faces the consequences of that because Homelander learns she has lied to him and can't be trusted. With Billy out to get both of them, Maddy's only hope lies in a now disillusioned Homelander, and it is remarkable to see the fear in her eyes when she realizes that Homelander will not save her because of what she has done. The exchange between the two is fantastic (see: Best Moment), and Homelander killing her feels like the conclusion of a story. Billy is left with no options, and it's satisfying to see him blow the place up anyways, knowing the game is done. But Homelander doesn't let Billy go so easily, and in a great ending twist, we see Homelander take Billy to the house where Becca is raising his son. It's an enormous shock for Billy, and you get the sense that this is Homelander getting some revenge by showing Billy that all he has done has been over a lie. This will no doubt change Billy in a significant way, and the way the season ends with so many potential avenues for season 2 makes for a highly satisfying conclusion that more than pays off of a whole season worth of storytelling. The Bad: Nothing I can call outright bad. That scene with A-Train being racially profiled feels a bit out of place and unnecessary, but it is still a good scene to reveal more about A-Train's instability. The Unknown: Why is Mallory exiled away? What exactly happened that led to this? Why is Kimiko finding joy in prettying herself up? Is it simply a good feeling for her to do something "ladylike" for once in her life? If so, that's quite sad. Who is Mallory's spy? Is there someone in particular that will come up again or is the spy just there to get Billy to attack Maddy? Who was it that captured M.M., Frenchie, Kimiko, and Hughie? Was it Vought? Will we see more from Lamplighter? He has been mentioned a lot. Was it intentional to have Mr. Edgar reference taking a trip to Belize? There's a clear "Breaking Bad" joke in that, surely it was intentional. Regardless, I found it hilarious, another example of this show's subtle reference humour. What will Starlight do now? Will she openly leave The Seven and join The Boys? Or is there another direction for her? What happens to A-Train? Will he die? Become comatose? Or will he recover? Did Homelander kill Vogelbaum? What does he plan to do now that he's found his son? What will Billy do when he speaks with Becca again? What is Becca's story? Did she willingly raise Homelander's child or was she forced into it? Best Moment: Homelander threatening and killing Maddy was a fantastic scene. Antony Starr kills it once more as his unhinged behaviour is genuinely terrifying to contend with. The way he brutally melts her eyes is horrific and you get the sense that he enjoyed killing her, having separated any emotional attachment to her once he realized that he can't trust her. As for Maddy, she knew she messed up and it was uncomfortable to see her pleading to Homelander and admitting that their relationship only exists because she is terrified of him. Character of the Episode: Homelander. Conclusion: This was a terrific season finale that ended the first season on a high note. The genius of this finale is that it changes so much fundamentally about the show and left me completely unsure as to what comes next. That's how you know this was a significant episode, and it has me feeling wholly satisfied and excited for season 2. This first season of "The Boys" was great. After being so oversaturated by superhero shows, I slept on this show for a long time. But this is exactly what the genre needed. A fresh look on superheroes that cares more about realism, compelling conflict, creative storytelling, and unique themes instead of a cheap thrill ride that feels the same as everything that came before. This show was a breath of fresh air for me, and it managed to do that while telling a compelling story with very well-written and complicated characters. There was little in this season that ended up being must-watch or something downright incredible, but what we got was a layered and interesting story that has hopefully set up for even better things as the show goes on. This finale was the first time I felt that the show was genuinely great as it paid off several storylines that had been building since the start of the show. I hope that this is a sign of even better things to come. I'm very excited to move on to season 2. Score: 72 Summary: A flashback shows Billy and Becca meeting with Homelander at a party. In the present, Hughie has sex with Starlight in a hotel. Later, Homelander meets with The Seven and accuses Starlight of being a traitor, showing the faces of The Boys. Maeve defends Starlight so Homelander lets her be, but Starlight is upset with Hughie. The Boys realize that they are burnt when A-Train calls Hughie, threatening his father. Hughie and Kimiko team up to take out A-Train, breaking his leg, and saving his father. M.M. convinces his family to go to a safe location. M.M. convinces Billy to take the deal with the CIA so that they can protect their loved ones. Billy gives Susan the Compound V and she meets with Maddy, threatening Vogue to comply with their demands. However, their plans go awry when a supe terrorist named "Naqib" suddenly emerges. Homelander meets with Maddy and Vogelbaum, learning that Becca became pregnant with his child, but that they both died during childbirth. Hughie convinces Starlight to meet and he tries to explain himself. The encounter goes badly and Billy shoots Starlight so that they can both escape. Deep is sent to Sandusky where he is ordered to lay low while the controversy goes away.
The Good: I'm quite surprised by how quickly the plot moved in this episode. Mere minutes into the episode, Homelander has already briefed everyone on Mesmer's findings, The Boys have all been burnt, the conflict between Hughie and Billy bubbled up, and Starlight finally found out the truth about Hughie. This was all very exciting and it was compelling television to watch. I expected Homelander to take immediate action, but I didn't think that he would involve The Seven with his plan. Seeing him intimidate Starlight was cruel and engaging, and you got the sense that Hughie's actions were about to result in massive consequences for her. But it seems like that has been put off (for now). Starlight was heartbroken to learn the truth about him, and the episode builds up to their eventual meeting very well. It's sad to see them fall apart when they started the episode closer than ever. Billy has another very strong character episode. We open on a good flashback where Billy meets Homelander for the first time and we see how he always seemed to have an interest in poor Becca. Billy's pain from what happened is again reflected nicely by his conflict with Hughie, where he refuses to accept Hughie's decision and tries to shame him and guilt him into giving up on Starlight at every turn. It's so interesting that one of the main protagonists of the series is such a villainous character. This is again reflected in Billy taking his vengeance on Mesmer. He could have killed him quietly, hell he could have even let him live and used him to help them out. But Billy takes the extreme option. He relishes in letting Mesmer know that he's here to kill him, and he murders him as brutally as you can imagine in the bathroom. There's a fine line between heroes and villains, and Billy's actions clearly plant him on the wrong side of that line, there's no doubt about it. On the other side, he does comply with M.M.'s wish to get the CIA involved afterwards, but it's telling that he does so only when he has no other choice. Again, I respect that this show is bold enough to make Billy the second most heinous character in the entire show behind only Homelander. Speaking of Homelander, he has an interesting story in this episode when he investigates what happened to Becca. Intriguingly, he seems to have been unaware of what happened to her and asks both Maddy and Dr. Vogelbaum about her. Maddy doesn't tell him much (I don't buy her story), and Vogelbaum tells him a horrifying truth about what happened (I feel like he may be hiding something though). Watching Homelander search for answers is more interesting than I expected, and it was especially nice to see him speak with his "creator", who labels him as an enormous failure. We spend such little time with Vogelbaum, but I loved the idea of a man despising retirement because he is guilt-ridden by the mistakes he made during the creation of the supes. Hughie and A-Train finally have a moment of reckoning. Hughie feels like he's at A-Train's mercy, but he uses his wit and some assistance from Kimiko to defeat him in a moment that was hugely satisfying. We also get to see how deluded A-Train has become as he lashes out at Hughie and condemns him, completely ignoring his own role in Robin and Popclaw's deaths. A-Train seems crazy in these moments, and Hughie is able to exploit that perfectly by manipulating him with Compound V. It has been satisfying to see Hughie get better at this line of work, and this moment where he controls a situation by himself is the pinnacle of his growth. Some other parts of the episode amused me a lot. Deep failing to save another sea creature was fantastically funny. With him being a celebrity, it makes sense that he may not realize that the lobsters are killed before being given out at grocery stores, and his reaction when he sees the lobster killed is fantastic. This show is really good with using pop culture references in subtle ways so that people who notice them can laugh and those who don't won't be affected at all. I've noticed it a few times in previous episodes, but the most striking moment happened where as Hughie answers Annie's phone call with "Annie, are you okay?", an amusing reference to Michael Jackson and a fun way to remind us that Hughie is a "smooth criminal". The Bad: That gills scene was horrific to watch. It went too far in terms of being disgusting and was self-indulgent in how long we were forced to watch it. If there is a good reason, I'm fine with television disgusting me and horrifying me. But a throwaway scene like this? I don't see why it was necessary for the show to gross me out like this. The scene almost derailed my investment in the episode. The Unknown: What can Deep get up to in Sandusky? What happened with Mallory in the past? How did Billy's first attempt to fight the supes go wrong? What will Starlight do now? Is she going to stay loyal to The Seven or will she join up with The Boys? Will Maeve face consequences for sticking up for Starlight if she turns on The Seven? Was Becca really killed by Homelander's baby? Is there more to this story? Maddy clearly wasn't telling him the truth about what happened to Becca, so I wonder if there is even more that she hasn't told him. Who is Naqib? How many more terrorist supes are there? Could he possibly be Kimiko's brother? How will the CIA handle the threat of Naqib? Will they be forced to put supes in the military after this? What will Starlight do now that she knows about Compound V? Seriously, who is Mr. Edgar? Best Moment: Homelander briefing everyone on the situation was fantastic, especially when he started threatening Starlight directly. The guy is so unhinged that it felt like anything could happen, and I connected with Starlight's fear. Purely terrifying stuff. Character of the Episode: Billy. Conclusion: This was an exciting episode that kicked things into gear while setting up for the finale. There aren't any incredible stand-out moments in the episode, but it's good storytelling all around, with the notable exception of the nasty gill scene. Score: 68 Summary: Hughie is pulled aside by Billy who tells him the story of Becca, she was raped by Homelander and then either committed suicide or was killed by him. He warns Hughie against getting feelings for Starlight. However, Hughie continues to date her, frustrating Billy who interrupts one of their dates to remind him. Starlight meets with Maddy and refuses to do her bidding, threatening to go public with Deep's sexual assault. Maddy is frustrated and ends up getting Deep to issue a public apology, using the whole situation to promote an upcoming film for Starlight, who is upset that the company turned things around on her. Frenchie convinces M.M. to take the supe lady to Mesmer to learn more about her. M.M. relents and Mesmer finds out she was kidnapped as a child and indoctrinated into a terrorist camp. She's since been captured by Vought and injected with Compound V to turn her into a supervillain that can be defeated by The Seven. Her name is Kimiko. Billy gets this proof and goes to the CIA, but when they can't promise that Homelander will face justice, he relents and leaves, aiming to do the work with only The Boys. Mesmer contacts Homelander and tells him about The Boys, hopeful for getting a position in Vought again.
The Good: This was Billy Butcher's episode through and through. After building up the mystery behind his motivations for several episodes, we finally see him bare it all to Hughie and it is fascinating. It starts with Billy going to a survivors meeting that offers a safe space for people who have been harmed by supes to speak. Billy hilariously uses this as an example to dissuade Billy from dating Starlight, and he's incredibly vicious and awful to the people in the meeting, looking down at them for not selling their souls for vengeance like he has. He unleashes a tremendous rant that is easily one of the episode's highlights. Following this, he takes a more mellowed out approach, telling Hughie the story about Becca: she was raped by Homelander and then she either killed herself or he killed her. Karl Urban is fantastic here in conveying how tough it is for Billy to reveal all this, while also making it clear that he's only telling Hughie this so that he can keep manipulating him. When Hughie hears the story and still continues to see Starlight, Billy feels betrayed and angry, and that's telling of his motivations for opening up with Hughie. Despite being one of the "good" guys, it's blatantly clear that Billy is self-motivated and doesn't care about others beyond the use that they serve him in the moment. Hughie is seeing this from Billy firsthand since he is now consciously motivated to do something that Billy doesn't want. This seems to be setting them both up for a big conflict likely at the end of this season. Starlight's story is also developing well. It was very satisfying to see her spin the speech at Believe Expo in her favour by threatening to reveal who assaulted her to Maddy, ensuring that she could do whatever she wanted. It was a very temporary victory, but it felt good to see Starlight standing up for herself against a company that doesn't care about her wishes at all. Naturally, Maddy makes it her immediate priority to remove Starlight's leverage by having Deep come out and apologize, restoring her control over Starlight. This was a nice examination of how corporations like Vought put in extra effort to keep their control over society, compared to the minimal effort that is put into actually doing good in the world. The Mesmer storyline is solid too. It's good to finally learn Kimiko's backstory (and to finally get a name for her so I can stop saying "the lady" or "the supe lady" in every review). Frenchie has shown her tons of kindness and it's lovely to see it paying off. I was also pleased to see M.M. come around and help him as they seem to be overcoming their past difficulties and developing some respect for one another. It's satisfying to watch. I like how M.M. used Mesmer's humanity to ensure he would stay quiet, but unfortunately it didn't work and Mesmer has sold his soul to the devil yet again by betraying The Boys. I suspect he will face dire consequences for this, and Billy will likely have an unfortunate "I told you so" moment that will only further support his brutal and vengeful approach. I was amused by the propaganda videos, especially the intro one showing the supes doing incredibly mundane things among the community. This idea of making them relatable only to show that they are anything but is quite funny. The best example of this comes from Deep picking up trash on a beach, only for the producers to request that all the trash be put back on the beach so that they can film another take. The Bad: This episode feels like an in-between episode. It fills in some gaps and sets up storylines for the final two episodes, but it rarely feels like it is doing more than that. As such, this episode falls short of the quality of the last few. I'm starting to grow weary of the show constantly presenting corporations doing awful, selfish things with such shock value. It's starting to feel predictable and is losing its lustre rapidly since every single episode spends a lot of time showing us how corrupt this society is. I hope the show has more to say about this idea. The Unknown: What was Homelander's upbringing like? Was he raised entirely in a lab? Is this why he hates that blanket so much? Because it's a reminder of his traumatic upbringing? Was Hughie's friend Anthony an important character? It felt like his arrival was there to set up Billy showing up later, but I wonder if he will serve a greater role in the show. What is Starlight's future? Surely Maddy will want to get rid of her after she threatened the company in the way she did. I imagine that Starlight will have to fight hard to stay in The Seven. So Kimiko was indoctrinated into a terrorist organization, captured by Vought, and injected with Compound V to become a supervillain for the supes to defeat. Is this all correct? Where is her brother? Is he still alive? Will Kimiko try to find him? What's Billy's next move now that he has refused help from the CIA? How does he plan to take Homelander and Vought down by himself? Mesmer leaking information to Homelander was a surprise. Is he going to be killed? Will Billy kill him as vengeance, or will Homelander kill him? What will Homelander do with this new information? Does he remember Billy from the A-Train/Shockwave race? Best Moment: Billy steals the show in this episode. His standout moment to me is him opening up to Hughie about what happened to Becca. Karl Urban acts this scene perfectly, showing us how hard it is for Billy to be telling this to somebody. You can tell that Billy sees himself in Hughie and views them as one and the same, so he shares his most personal story with him in hopes that it will let them see eye to eye. A fantastic moment that answers the question of Billy's backstory in a tragic fashion. Character of the Episode: Billy. Conclusion: This episode felt transitional in terms of plot, but it did a good job of diving deeper into its characters, especially Billy Butcher. Score: 66 Summary: A-Train gets Popclaw to admit that she told someone about Compound V and he kills her. Later he is watching a tape of them having sex and finds a recording of her killing her landlord. He sees Frenchie's face on film and Vought tries to track him down. Hughie and Starlight go to Hughie's Believe Expo. Billy tells Hughie he needs to get Starlight to get him to meet Ezekiel so they can blackmail him. She agrees. Starlight grows uncomfortable with lying at the expo to maintain her image. Homelander gives a speech but veers off script to appeal to the Christians, upsetting Maddy. Hughie is baptized by Homelander and blackmails Ezekiel. He's forced to improvise when his phone is killed by the water, but it still works. Ezekiel reveals the location of the shipment. M.M. and Billy go to investigate and they find that supes are being grown in a lab through injections of Compound V. They are found, but Billy uses a supe baby to kill their attackers. Starlight gives a speech but sticks with her gut instead of spouting things she doesn't believe. The crowd is stunned but Hughie is happy. They talk afterwards with Starlight being upset at him for using her, but Hughie tells her about Robin and they make up. Frenchie is on the run and decides to let the supe lady out instead of leaving her to be found. Frenchie is found by Black Noir. The lady saves him, but she is killed by Black Noir. However, she regenerates and all of her wounds heal.
The Good: This episode is built strongly around religious themes, which was an unexpected surprise. It doesn't go too far in exploring them, but I still greatly enjoyed what the show had to say, and I'm glad that a show about superheroes touched on the role of religion in this fictional world. Very few TV shows do this, and I greatly appreciate that "The Boys" took the effort to do it. The religious themes are limited to simple discussion, but I do admit to finding it quite funny every time the show pokes fun at the hypocritical nature of religion and how flawed religious extremism is. The dark comedy/satire aspect of this show has been really good from the start. Easily the funniest and most crude moment has to come from Billy commenting his thoughts on religion (which are exactly what you would expect) to a random old man at a stall, a laughably cruel condemnation of god to a devout Christian. The scene is played out perfectly. But the best part about the religious theme is how it affected the characters. This Believe Expo is used to have two contrasting speeches that perfectly show us the difference between two characters: Homelander and Starlight. Homelander is as phony as they come and his speech tells people exactly what they want to hear. So as you expect, he's cheered through the roof and everyone loves him. Well, everyone except for Maeve because she is the only one who knows him well enough to see how awful he really is. The plane crash from the last episode still ways heavily on her (I'm very pleased to see continuity from such a cataclysmic event), and seeing Homelander so flippant about it only alienates her more. Then there's Starlight who refuses to read out her script and openly says what she feels. She's honest, real, and empathetic and yet she leaves the stage to sheer silence. Everyone hated it and she is most likely going to have something of a PR crisis next episode. But the one person who loved it is Hughie, who is able to see the good in her and celebrate it. These speeches were terrific character exploration, and they nicely explain why Starlight, who is a good person, likely won't be celebrated by the public while Homelander, perhaps the worst person in this show, is so well loved. Hughie's arc as he becomes increasingly amoral continues to be compelling. This episode is a big step up as he is forced to blackmail Ezekiel and has to develop his skills on the fly. The phone video was supposed to do the job for him, but since his phone stopped working, he had to do all the work himself and he stepped up brilliantly. Despite being so hesitant to do it, Hughie is clearly quite good at blackmail and is an expert manipulator. Tragically, he uses this new skill on Starlight at the end of the episode too. Starlight is frustrated at him for using her, but Hughie is cunning enough to bring up Robin's death in this moment to save their relationship and lie about his intentions for meeting Ezekiel. It's possible that Starlight's speech did connect with him and help him move forward, but it's just as possible that he made all of that up just to stay close with her, both because he likes her and because he needs to use her more in the future. The other storylines had several good moments as well. I'm always fascinated to learn more about Billy, and the additional details on his past were interesting. I especially chuckled at the scene of him openly defiling Rebecca's grave. Clearly he isn't ready to move on yet, just like Hughie. The Compound V reveal is pretty big and I wasn't expecting to learn more about it so soon. The scene in the neonatal ward was huge for the show, and also hugely entertaining. Watching Billy use a baby to kill his assailants was fantastic. Popclaw's death was a shocking moment to start the episode. A-Train is awful as he uses his connection with Popclaw to exploit her for information and ultimately kill her. The scene is deeply sad and uncomfortable to watch, especially since A-Train did seem to genuinely care about her. Frenchie being burned is a major development, and he can't ever go out publicly again without risking his life, which is an enormous obstacle. I continue to enjoy his connection with the lady, and he seems to have finally made some headway as she risks her life to save him. Lastly, we have The Deep who is becoming a comedic highlight in the show. Watching him fidget and panic during Starlight's speech was a delight. The Bad: So Starlight's cover was notably blown a few episodes back, which should be a huge PR problem. Yet we have seen no follow-up on this as Starlight has been going around normally ever since without any interference or instructions. Hell, she's started dating someone and going to public places, but still she hasn't been informed about anything. I'm very confused why Vought is allowing this to happen without at least talking to her. A couple little things bothered me. There was clearly air in the IV tubes going to the baby, so that baby should be dead. Also, I don't understand how Black Noir let Frenchie escape, especially since Frenchie didn't actually go anywhere and is still with the supe lady. The Unknown: Is A-Train really going to sop using Compound V? I doubt it. Will the company say something about Starlight publicly being with Hughie? Especially since her cover was blown a few episodes back. We learn that Billy's wife Rebecca went missing 8 years ago. What happened to her? Is she dead? Is what happened to her the reason why Billy is so hellbent on killing supes? How important will Elena be? She seems like an old relationship for Maeve. Did Maeve's drinking habits drive her off, or was it something else? How does Billy get all of the fake IDs and keycards he is always using? So Compound V is used to create supes in a lab. Are all supes made in a lab like this? What are the risks of doing this? How does Vought choose which babies to inject with Compound V? What is the relationship between Homelander and Maddy? How is the lady able to regenerate? Is this her special ability? Or does it have something to do with the Compound V that was being injected in her? Where is Frenchie going to go? Best Moment: Starlight's decision to stray from expectations and her ensuing speech is great. Character of the Episode: Starlight. Conclusion: Another very strong effort from "The Boys". The show hasn't hit that next level yet, but it's doing almost everything right in building up the story and its characters. I'm sure that if the story continues to be told this competently, we will get some fantastic television soon. Score: 67 Summary: A flashback shows Billy with his wife. In the present, The Boys watch a noodle shop where A-Train gets the Compound V from. They go in and Frenchie frees a trapped girl, but she is a supe and kills all of the workers there before leaving. A-Train goes after her but The Boys try to find her first. Frenchie finds her in a tech store at Penn Station and tries to talk to her, empathizing with her story. But she escapes. Later, The Boys catch up with her again and when she attacks Frenchie, Billy knocks her out with gas. Hughie goes on a date with Starlight and hacks into her phone. Maddy sees a hijacked plane over the ocean and sends Homelander and Maeve to resolve the situation to help get supes into the military. Homelander ends up crashing the plane instead and refuses to save anyone to prevent witnesses. He appears on TV claiming that the plane crashed before he could get there and that supes need to be in the military so that he could respond faster and prevent this tragedy. Maeve is horrified by Homelander's actions. Deep tries to raise awareness on dolphin mistreatment at Oceanland by stealing a dolphin. However, he is stopped by the police and the dolphin dies after being run over by a truck.
The Good: The central story involving an escaped supe who is out for blood is very chaotic and entertaining. This was not at all where I thought the investigation into the noodle shop would go, and I'm curious to learn more about this lady and what was being done with her. We had some great action sequences, particularly when she was released and when A-Train found her, to give us some exciting action and suspense to make this more interesting. However, the highlight of the story was the focus on Frenchie. Frenchie was a bit of a gimmicky character in the first three episodes, but this gave him a tremendous amount of depth. We have a better idea of why Frenchie and M.M. dislike each other (M.M. is all about following orders while Frenchie is more emotionally driven), and we learn a great deal about Frenchie's terrible upbringing, which no doubt played a role into why he ended up in this line of work. It's fascinating to see Frenchie see a kindred spirit in this lady, and his continuous attempts to get her to trust him so he can help her are very well done. Hughie has a great character-based story as he goes on a date with Starlight. There is no action whatsoever in this story, but we get some well written scenes as Hughie and Starlight get to know each other better while Hughie has a crisis of his beliefs. We can tell that he recognizes Starlight as a good person, and that makes him extremely hesitant to hack her phone and use her to bring down supes - he knows she doesn't deserve it. It's further compounded by Billy's black and white approach of "all supes must die", which horrifies Hughie (and us by extension), blurring the lines between which side is good and which side is bad. As such, Hughie is tempted to let Starlight go because he doesn't want to punish her and take advantage of her. But as he goes on this date, he finds himself getting attached to her and is wracked by guilt through hallucinations of Robin staring at him. With her loss so recent, Hughie feels guilty to be dating Starlight and he forces himself to stick to his mission to hide from this guilt. Even though his moral compass is stopping him from hurting Starlight, his guilt leads to him doing despicable things anyways. That's a really complex and compelling scenario to explore. The plane hijacking scene is the biggest setpiece of the episode and it works so well (see: Best Moment). It's been interesting to watch the development of this supes in the military story, and we get a comprehensive reason why they should be nowhere near national security with what happens here. Homelander hits a new level of awfulness with what he does on that plane (again, see: Best Moment), and I am thoroughly disgusted that the whole tragedy was still spun by him to support supes in the military anyways. Maeve's sheer horror at what transpired makes perfect sense and it helps make her more relatable even though she hasn't really been explored as a character yet. Deep is not in this episode very much, but what we get from him is fantastic. He wants to do good by helping the dolphins, and when he doesn't get permission from Maddy to pursue this, he goes rogue, kidnaps a dolphin, and witnesses its death in the most gloriously over-the-top and brutal fashion. It's so obscenely dramatic in its directing, and horrific in terms of what happens that it becomes easily the funniest scene in the whole show (so far). I loved it. A-Train and Popclaw continue to have an interesting relationship. There is a lot of tension between them right now, but they also seem to genuinely care about each other despite the bad scenario that they are in. The acting has been good, and I'm interested to see this relationship develop. The Bad: I am starting to grow weary with how strongly the show is pushing the idea that supes are bad for society. It has felt like the same idea has been hammered repeatedly into our heads for these first four episodes. I hope we start to explore other themes as well, or at least explore the supes in different ways, maybe highlighting their positive impact or exploring different ways that they affect society. I was disappointed to get such little of Billy's backstory. The flashback at the episode's start got me excited to dive into the character, but it ended up being just a tease. I wish we had gotten a little bit more because the scene feels out of place since it was just a one-off. The Unknown: Who is the girl? Why was she being injected with so much Compound V? Was she a test subject? Why was she selected? What is her story? Why did she kill specific people? Is there more to Frenchie's story? Why did he end up choosing this line of work after his traumatic upbringing? Is Ezekiel providing the Compound V? Or is his place just a front? Where is the Compound V coming from? Will there be evidence within the plane of what Homelander did when it went down? What will happen to Deep after his failed rescue attempt? What are The Boys going to do with the girl? Do they have a plan for her? Best Moment: Homelander on the plane was a stunning moment. He easily had the power to use his vision to see where the terrorists were in advance so that he could take them out efficiently. Instead, he chooses to pander to the crowd and soak in the applause, not even caring about what could be happening in the cockpit. And then it's his own rash actions that destroy the plane controls and cause it to crash and sink. The sequence is phenomenal with outstanding acting, and Maeve's horror at Homelander's despicable nature is shared by us as we watch. It's disgusting to see him give hope to people he knows are going to die, refuse to save them at any cost, and just be an overall prick. The sad truth is that these people would have been better off with the terrorists than with Homelander. Character of the Episode: Homelander. What a performance we are getting from Antony Starr. Conclusion: This was a great episode. Good storylines all around supported by a couple standout scenes. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Score: 68 Summary: Billy disposes of Translucent's remains. He meets with M.M. and recruits him to help the team on their next objective: investigating Popclaw. Hughie is able to get access to her cameras and they listen to her speaking with A-Train about Compound V, which they deduce is a steroid for supes. They learn that A-Train was using it when he killed Robin. A-Train is racing against Shockwave so The Boys go to the race to try to find Compound V, but A-Train already injected it all. A-Train wins the race and Hughie meets Annie again, this time learning she is Starlight and getting her number. Popclaw injects Compound V after being angry with A-Train for not going public about their relationship. She plans to have sex with her landlord to get back at him, but the Compound V causes her to accidentally kill him. Billy and Frenchie meet with her after to get more information. Homelander and Maeve used to be dating and Homelander wants to get back with her. Starlight is given a new superhero outfit that she doesn't like, but she's forced to wear it anyways. The Deep finds Translucent's remains in a box with a threat written inside.
The Good: This is more solid stuff. I continue to enjoy Starlight's story as she continues to get jaded by her new job. The reveal of her new costume was outright funny, especially with the men describing it as "feminist". The political bullshit in this scene was amusing to watch, and it was fair for Starlight to feel frustrated. It paid off in a big (though unsubtle) way later in the episode when Starlight interacts with the young girl in her old costume. Starlight's frustrations also make her a prime target for The Boys, and it looks like Hughie has unwittingly made her a target by merely trying to offer her a safe space to vent her frustrations. It's easy to see why Starlight would want to be with someone who treats her normally, but it's heartbreaking for Hughie who would want to help but knows that any interaction with him only puts her in more danger. It's telling that Hughie turned off his mic before continuing his conversation with her. I'm interested to see where this dynamic goes in the future. Hughie has a good episode overall. He gets to show his smarts in a clever way when he gets access to Popclaw's cameras, and shows his emotional side in a great moment with A-Train (see: Best Moment). It's nice to see him admit that he's willing to pay any price to keep chasing down supes to get justice for Robin, only to realize that paying any price could mean becoming a terrible person himself. The episode's climax is well done. The scene between A-Train and Popclaw established their relationship perfectly, provided the necessary context for everything that went down after the race. We also got some key reveals on Compound V and Robin's death, which were welcome. A-Train's race was a big event, and it felt important since I was unsure if A-Train would win or not, and if the Compound V would work or if it would cause another horrific accident. But it was all a red herring for Popclaw to cause the real drama. Heartbroken by A-Train refusing to go public on their relationship, Popclaw drugs up and tries to get back at him by sleeping with her landlord, only to accidentally kill him and provide an opportunity for The Boys to capitalize. This climax was well done, offering a great twist by the end that should make next episode quite interesting. Homelander continues to be a frightening character. His advances on Maeve are very creepy and disturbing. I was also amused by how lackadaisical Homelander and Maeve were in defusing the shooter situation, being more concerned about their conversation than about saving lives. M.M. got a fun introduction. He seems like a genuinely badass character, which made it quite funny that he was so sweet and cute with his wife. The phone call with her was a legitimately funny moment, played up by some good directing. The Bad: This show doesn't shy away from graphic content for better or worse. Sometimes, it feels like a refreshing look at reality as the show doesn't shy away from things that most TV shows avoid. But other times, it just feels over-the-top for the sake of being over-the-top. I feel like the toe-sucking scene was completely unnecessary and is the perfect example of graphic content just for the sake of grossing out the viewers. I don't get anything out of that, and I would rather just enjoy the story. Having some outrageous scenes thrown in my face does nothing but annoy and disgust me needlessly. I find most of the characters to be pretty unlikeable so far. Hughie and Annie are the most sympathetic characters, but they aren't as fun to watch as others like Billy and Homelander. But Billy and Homelander are not good people, so it becomes difficult to fully engage with the story in these early points where the characters aren't yet fully fleshed out and are still tough to like. This issue can iron itself out in a few episodes with some good writing, but it is detracting from these early episodes. A few minor things bothered me. It was disappointing that Starlight's problem from the last episode was immediately resolved without any fanfare. It felt like such an anticlimax to just say that everything worked out in the end and not address what happened for the rest of the episode. It felt very silly that The Boys went to A-Train's race specifically to steal the Compound V when it should be clear to them that A-Train was using it before the race. M.M. should absolutely have suggested to stay on Popclaw instead, especially seeing that he had already identified a fix kit in her house. Billy staring down Homelander felt unnecessarily risky, shouldn't he be minimizing any sort of interaction with him in case he runs into him later on? Why hasn't Vought done anything to better train Starlight for her new job? Especially after her latest incident, they should be on top of her to make sure she understands what is and is not acceptable to them. The Unknown: Did Vought fake the woman coming forward to confirm Starlight's story? I strongly doubt that the woman actually came forward to help the situation. Who are Becca and Mallory? How were they involved in whatever Billy and M.M. did in the past? Why does M.M. hate Frenchie? What happened to Mallory and her grandchildren? Who is Mr. Edgar? Why was he so invested in A-Train's race? What happened in Homelander and Maeve's past? Clearly Maeve can't stand him anymore, what did he do to her? How will Vought address the threat that The Boys sent them? Will they reveal Translucent's fate? Will they set traps? How will they prepare for what's coming? Is Hughie fine with letting other innocents die for the cause of getting revenge on the supes? Or will this cause friction between him and the others? I can see a situation arising where the others are compelled to manipulate or harm Starlight for their cause. Will Hughie allow this? Will he be able to sit by and go through with it? Best Moment: Hughie running into A-Train was a terrific scene. It's clear that Hughie is terrified because A-Train will recognize him and the plan will be busted. But A-Train doesn't even recall his face, and that actually makes it worse for Hughie who feels insulted that A-Train can't even remember a man who he hurt so badly. The fury on Hughie's face is phenomenal, and his delivery of "haven't we met before" is so venomous. He went from being terrified of jeopardizing the mission to risking it all just out of his sheer disgust towards A-Train. A terrific scene that subtly tells its story with some fantastic acting and writing. Character of the Episode: Hughie. Conclusion: Another solid episode with several fun moments, although I had a couple of gripes this time around. Still, this has been a strong first three episodes and I am excited to watch more. Score: 65 Summary: Billy goes to his acquaintance Frenchie to figure out how to kill Translucent before they are found. Hughie panics about his situation. Maddy scolds Homelander for impulsively killing Steve, which she learned from The Deep. Homelander intimidates The Deep to make sure he doesn't report anything against him again. Starlight works a case with The Deep, but it is exploited for PR. Later, Starlight bets up some drunk guys attempting to rape a girl, but it is caught on camera without evidence of rape, getting Starlight in trouble. Maddy negotiates with a senator to get her Supes approved for national defense. Homelander goes to find Translucent himself when the security team can't locate him. Billy checks in with Susan, his CIA contact, but she doesn't help him. Frenchie figures out that they can kill Translucent from the inside and he stuffs a bomb up his butt. Homelander arrives to investigate, but Frenchie and Billy trigger an explosion elsewhere to distract him. Hughie blows up Translucent when he tries to escape.
The Good: This was a fun story to follow. Following the events of the last episode, Billy and Hughie are scrambling to dispose of Translucent, made worse when they realize that he survived and now they need a way to kill him. Billy and Frenchie's urgency in the situation coupled with Hughie's sheer panic makes this a tense storyline to follow. It feels like a hopeless situation, and I was engaged watching the trio come up with a solution to take out Translucent. The episode builds up nicely to the ending with Frenchie finally thinking outside of the box and killing Translucent from the inside, but not before a superbly tense sequence. The story is written wonderfully with sensible plot beats. The bullet ricocheting and destroying the Faraday cage around Translucent is smart writing, and it's sensible that nobody would notice since they are too preoccupied with needing a way to kill Translucent. Homelander himself coming down to search works because of how well the episode established him as something of a loose cannon earlier. This led to a magnificently tense scene when Homelander interrogates Frenchie and starts investigating the van with Billy hiding nearby. This was terrific, and with Hughie on the verge of detonating Translucent and getting Homelander's attention, I was at the edge of my seat to see what happens next. It's always a good sign when a show has you so invested in just the second episode. Homelander has a standout episode overall. Last episode suggested that Homelander was much more intelligent and sinister than he initially seemed, but it's clear that this isn't the case. Instead, he's protected intensely by Vought, but is a total loose cannon. Homelander is frightening, intimidating, and believes he can do whatever he wants because of his position of power. He's a threat not only to his enemies, but also to his allies with how dangerously he operates, and you can tell from Antony Starr's terrific acting that Homelander is not all there mentally. I didn't expect Homelander to steal the show like this, and I'm excited to see more from the character now. His near-breakdown with Maddy was compelling as you could tell he was forcing himself to keep his calm, and his terrifying intimidation tactics with The Deep and Anika were compelling to watch. I enjoy this show's twisted brand of humour. For a show that tackles such a dark subject matter, it's forced to maintain a darker tone of comedy. This is nailed in the episode with the best example being the darkly hysterical scene between A-Train and the cancer patient who was disappointed not to get his wish. The dialogue in this scene was fantastically awkward and funny, and while I felt terribly for the kid, I couldn't help but laugh at how poorly A-Train handled the situation. I'm also enjoying the political aspects of the show, even if they aren't quite fully-formed yet. Starlight is rapidly becoming jaded by her career when she realizes how much of it is political and PR instead of actually doing good in the world. This arc has been engaging to watch so far. Maddy's story hasn't fully engaged me yet, but I'm interested to learn more about Vought and the company's goals. The Bad: Maddy claiming that the photos of the senator are legitimate can still be countered by claims of doctoring, so they aren't as powerful as the show wants you to think they are. Also, what's stopping the senator from coming up with other claims to discredit the pictures? I find it very hard to believe that Starlight wasn't immediately given PR training upon joining The Seven. Did Vought really just gamble by not ensuring that the new Supe is aware of expectations? This is not consistent with a company that is so concerned with public image. The Unknown: Will the Seven learn that Translucent was killed? How will they react to this? Will Homelander connect Translucent's death to Frenchie being in the van? If so, Frenchie iwill be wanted now. Will that be a problem for him? Why did Homelander act on his own to kill Steve? Will he continue doing this? Will there be consequences? How did Steve find out about Compound V? Is somebody from within leaking information? Why doesn't Black Noir speak? What is Susan and Billy's past? I noticed Starlight's camera feed started late. Is somebody trying to frame her by catching her attacking people? What consequences will she face for what she did? What will Popclaw know about what A-Train has been up to? Best Moment: The ending sequence with Homelander interrogating Frenchie combined with Translucent's attempted escape had me at the edge of my seat. Character of the Episode: Homelander. Conclusion: A really strong follow-up episode that follows the classic format of 1) we kill someone and 2) we dispose of the body. It's not the most original, but the concept is executed well and this is a good episode of television. Score: 66 Summary: Hughie is horrified when his girlfriend Robin is accidentally killed by A-Train, a superhero, right in front of him. Hughie wants to sue but is discouraged by his father. After he rejects a settlement, he is approached by Billy Butcher who offers him a chance to fight back at the heroes. Though he's reluctant at first, Hughie joins in and is assigned with planting a bug in the headquarters of "The Seven", a group of the world's best heroes. Hughie plants the bug but attracts the attention of Translucent, who follows him to work and tries to kill him. Billy saves Hughie and fights Translucent, but right when he is about to be beaten, Hughie steps in and kills Translucent with electricity. Meanwhile, Annie, who goes by her superhero name Starlight, is accepted into the Seven but is horrified when she is forced to blow another superhero The Deep, who threatens to ruin her career if she doesn't comply. Annie thinks about leaving, but runs into Hughie who empowers her to keep fighting. A man, Steve, threatens to leak information about something called Compound V used by Vought, the company behind The Seven. Steve is killed in an airplane by Homelander, the leader of The Seven.
The Good: This episode doesn't take long to hook you and get you invested in the storyline. Robin's gory death comes right out of nowhere and is an indication of the type of show that we are watching. After an opening sequence that comedically highlights the superheroes' powers and justice, we are immediately shown the consequences of having such powerful individuals in the world. Robin's death feels completely unfair, but it is very realistic that innocent bystanders will be caught in the chaos of whatever superheroes do. From the get-go, "The Boys" has promised to explore superheroes in a way that most other TV shows do not, and that's a great hook to watch this show, especially for those like myself who are jaded by the sheer quantity of generic superhero films and TV shows in today's day and age. And for those people who cry out for the mass civilian casualties that go ignored in superhero films like "Man of Steel", this show promises to be something far more satisfying. I'm enjoying that this show appears to have a political side to it, exploring how superheroes effect the functioning of our society. Vought appears to have dominated the world with superhero marketing and branding being all over the cities, and this first episode promises to explore this idea in unique ways. I was engaged by Steve negotiating with Vought, and seeing him be eliminated because he revealed knowledge of some shady business perfectly demonstrates the corporate ruthlessness of Vought. I also appreciate that The Seven are not even close to being an idyllic group of people, as Starlight discovers to her horror once she meets The Deep, who hilariously wastes absolutely no time in taking his pants off. Characters like The Deep and Translucent are comically awful people, but they are awful in a way that is still entertaining to watch. The real scene-stealer has to be Karl Urban's Billy Butcher. He comes into the life of the depressed and angry Hughie like a force of nature, offering him a chance at revenge in the most crass way imaginable. Billy is so fantastic to watch because of his natural charisma, his profuse swearing, and his straightforward way of doing things. He's a blast to watch and I greatly enjoyed his interactions with Hughie. The highlight scene has to be him visually instructing Hughie during his phone call. The encounter between these two characters leads to a couple of great sequences at the end of the episode. The first is Hughie planting the bug in the headquarters of The Seven. Hughie's anxiety is gripping to watch, almost as satisfying as his ecstasy in the car after he pulls it off, and the entire sequence in the building is wrought with tension. The second terrific sequence comes at the end of the episode as Hughie is confronted by Translucent, who ends up in a brutal and well-directed fight against Billy, ending with his death. One more scene I want to highlight is Hughie's talk with Annie (Starlight). I thought that this scene was very well done, combining the episode's two central characters for a scene that was thematically quite strong, connecting both characters' tough decisions. I would like to see more of them together, and the episode did well to make me root for them meeting up again and possibly allying with each other in the future. Lastly, I enjoy this show's sense of humour. Despite covering some dark subject matter, this show is consistently funny and I laughed at a couple points throughout the hour. The Bad: Some moments in the show go too far and could use some subtlety. For example, the store filled with constant A-Train references feels like a step too far in showing the influence of the superheroes in the world. It's hard to imagine a store with this much brand marketing geared towards a single individual. If it is an A-Train store specifically, why did Hughie go in there to buy something? While The Deep was amusing in his sheer awfulness, it felt very blunt to have just about all of The Seven be irredeemably awful people in this episode. This episode swung too far towards villifying them, and I hope we get more balanced characterization going forwards so this can become legitimately thought-provoking television. Robin's death at the start was fantastic, but it makes me nervous that this show could become over-indulgent on graphic content like nudity and violence. I hope that the show remains focused on telling a story and doesn't get lost in trying to provide shock value. So far the show is going strong, but the signs are there that the show could potentially get lost in providing cheap thrills. I won't penalize this first episode since it hasn't fallen for these trappings, but I am still lightly cautious going forwards. The Unknown: What's going on with A-Train? What was he taking in that bag? What business is he keeping secret? Who else is involved? Why did A-Train say he couldn't stop? Does he mean that literally? How many of The Seven are as awful as The Deep, A-Train, and Translucent? Will Starlight find anyone who is genuinely good, or are they all corrupt? What is Homelander's role in all of this? The ending scene suggests that he's much more sinister than he seems. How involved is he with the politics of The Seven? How is it that Billy hasn't found any dirt on him yet? What is Compound V? What does this do? Is it connected with whatever is going on with A-Train? I wonder what will come out of Hughie empowering Annie to go back to The Seven. Will this decision benefit him (maybe with an inside agent), or will he come to regret it? Who is Billy? What happened to him that led to him seeking revenge against The Seven? Does he have any other allies? How did he acquire fake FBI identification? How will Billy and Hughie dispose of Translucent's body? I guess it won't be too hard to get rid of an invisible body, but the show has a chance to do something very creative with this. What will be the fallout from Translucent's death? Best Moment: It's difficult to top Robin's gruesome death at the episode's start, which comes out of nowhere and is a propelling force for the story throughout the episode. I have to applaud the special effects department for making it look as brutal and shocking as possible. Character of the Episode: Billy. Conclusion: It's not hard to see why this show has become so popular. The premise introduced in this pilot episode is tantalizing, and the hour of television flies by with several memorable moments, twists, and insightful scenes. This show promises to be more than just another superhero show, and I'm curious to see if it can live up to the potential of treating the world's superheroes as villains. Score: 69 Summary: BoJack has no memory of what he has done while the Philbert crew try to clean up the mess. Princess Carolyn talks to him and gets him to do an interview with Gina so that things can continue normally. However, Henry Fondle is ousted as a sexual predator and is forced to resign in shame. Todd kills him and leaves his position. This results in Philbert being cancelled anyways. Princess Carolyn is called by Sadie, who wants to give up her baby again and Princess Carolyn immediately goes to her after Philbert's cancellation, finally becoming a mother. Mr. Peanutbutter is conflicted by his feelings for Diane and they have sex again. He wants to get back together but Diane says she doesn't want to and that he should tell Pickles what happened. However, he's unable to and asks her to marry him instead. BoJack goes to Diane and wants to be held accountable for what he's done but Diane tells him that it won't help anyone. Instead, she takes him to a rehab centre so that he can truly recover.
The Good: The fallout from BoJack strangling Gina was beautifully told. BoJack didn't even remember what he did, but everyone went in complete damage control mode, an indicator of how justice is often pushed aside to protect the bigger picture; it wouldn't do for the company to have controversy surrounding Philbert so they would rather hide it away instead of doing something about it. The most heartbreaking aspect is that Gina is also complicit with it since she doesn't want to see her newfound career go up in flames because of what BoJack did. In the end, BoJack gets a free pass despite doing something absolutely awful, and it's horrifying and sad to see that there is no way for him to atone or be punished because it would just make things worse for the victim. Wanting help with the situation, BoJack goes to Diane because he knows her as someone moral enough to let him be punished. But even Diane is jaded enough by society to understand that BoJack being ousted will not help anyone. But Diane is still able to do some good, and she is able to capitalize on BoJack's shame to get him to go into rehab and put his trust in someone else to guide his recovery. Their final scene together as BoJack heads to rehab is brilliant, an exploration of their friendship which BoJack knows he does not deserve, but Diane finds herself incapable of letting go of. The animators do a great job showing Diane in this scene and they are able to portray her complex emotions towards BoJack in a compelling way. Speaking of Diane, her story with Mr. Peanutbutter is also very well done. I'm glad that she is still firm on not getting back together with him, but the complexity of her emotions leads to her making repeated bad decisions as they hook up multiple times. Mr. Peanutbutter knows he wants to get back together because he still has feeling for her, but Diane's situation is more complicated and her inability to deal with her negative emotions puts her back with Mr. Peanutbutter repeatedly. But she is firm about not wanting to be with him, leaving Mr. Peanutbutter with a real problem now that he has cheated on his current girlfriend. The fall of Henry Fondle has its problems (see: The Bad), but it does offer some good entertainment. After repeated sexual comments, it is amusing that it's a "low battery" warning that gets him in trouble. I was entertained by how Fondle's fall parallels the MeToo movement, and Todd's interview about him is pretty amusing. I got a good laugh out of the line "this is a great day for the women of this company, many of whom will be laid off". I liked the little things as well. Henry Fondle's death being an homage to Of Mice and Men was a clever reference. Tracy and Stuart have to be the most annoyingly incompetent characters in this show, and seeing them be too incompetent to realize that they are each other's long lost twin is a fantastic payoff. There are a few nice animal jokes in here, like a couch with a bed bug hiding in it, and Mr. Peanutbutter referring to the "humany style" sex position. We also get more amusing headlines with my favourite being "US military solves refugee crisis by bombing all refugees". Lastly, I like how Flip's story concluded with him getting lost in the themes of his own show ("I was Princess Carolyn the whole time"), which is also a nice reference to "Mr. Robot" with Rami Malek voicing Flip. The Bad: Henry Fondle was certainly funny, but I think the show went too far with it by making Fondle such a significant plot point in this season finale. It was tough enough to stomach Fondle becoming the CEO to begin with, but now we have people finally feeling offended by him, leading to a forced resignation, the fall of What Time Is It Right Now, and the cancellation of Philbert. Considering how serious the show has treated BoJack strangling Gina and how realistic the fallout from it has been, it is a slap in the face to have the Philbert storyline ended by something so absurd and stupid. It's a step too far in suspending my disbelief, and I'm not happy with the decision to have Henry Fondle be the reason that the Philbert storyline ends. This episode drives home how underutilized Todd and Princess Carolyn were in this season. Todd had a huge new role in What Time Is It Right Now, but he never did anything meaningful or substantial with his new role, barring a few jokes. But now Todd has lost his position and has reverted to the exact same place he was in at the start of the season, making the whole ordeal feel pointless. I wish that Todd had more to do in season 5 so that this did not feel like such a waste of the character. Princess Carolyn's story was similarly underwhelming. She doesn't undergo any significant growth after "The Amelia Earhart Story", but she's rewarded with a baby anyways, which feels like an anticlimax to her adoption story arc. Much like with Todd, I wish this season had done more with her. Because she was so underutilized, the ending of her season 5 story falls flat. The Unknown: Will rehab be able to help BoJack? Is it still possible for him to change and become a better person? How will Princess Carolyn handle being a single mother? What's next for Todd now that he's quit his new position? He can pretty much do whatever he wants. Will Mr. Peanutbutter tell Pickles the truth, or is he going to continue to string her along? Best Moment: The ending scene with Diane sending BoJack away to rehab is heartfelt and beautiful. Character of the Episode: Diane. Conclusion: Barring some disappointing conclusions for Todd and Princess Carolyn, I thought that this episode had some of the strongest storytelling we have seen in a "BoJack Horseman" season finale, especially when it came to the stuff with BoJack and Diane. In the end, season 5 was another great season of "BoJack Horseman". The season's biggest strength came from its creativity with there being a large number of unique gimmick episodes, all of which are the best episodes of the season ("Free Churro", "The Showstopper", "The Dog Days Are Over", "INT. Sub", etc.). This resulted in a number of great standalone episodes that I will remember for a long time. I also have to praise this season's story of relapsing, which was told with realistic depth and subtlety, and becomes a more complete story by the end of the season with BoJack finally deciding to go to rehab. However, I don't enjoy season 5 as much as I enjoyed seasons 3 and 4, and that's likely because of how poorly the season utilized its side characters. Mr. Peanutbutter and Diane had good stuff, but Princess Carolyn and Todd had forgettable stories. The minor characters also felt like a step back as Gina, Flip, and Pickles weren't nearly as interesting or funny as other characters like Hollyhock, Sarah Lynn, Ralph, and Kelsey from previous seasons. Despite this problem, I still found season 5 to be an entertaining and compelling watch, and another strong addition to the show. Score: 70 Summary: BoJack's reality gets confused as he takes more and more drugs and struggles to separate his personal life from his job. He begins to believe that there is a conspiracy against him and Gina and he takes measures to discover who is coming after him, confronting Diane and Todd, and also calling Kyle. Eventually Gina discovers his drugs and leaves him. Later, BoJack and Gina act out a scene where the characters fight, but BoJack goes too far and strangles Gina in real life.
The Good: The biggest strength of this episode is how brilliantly it captures BoJack's fraying mental state through unexpected cuts, hallucinogenic experiences, and repeated confusion of whether BoJack is at home or on set. These aspects of the episode show us how BoJack is growing increasingly manic and dissociated from reality, building up tension and suspense as the episode goes on. Further tension comes when we see little things eating at him, like his obsession with Flip's "popsicle guys" (a nice reference to last episode's storyline), and the sense that somebody is coming after him. I got a chuckle out of seeing his insane board of connections between people, but it was also sad to see BoJack becoming so delusional as he believes everyone is out to get him. The episode goes the expected route with BoJack's fall, and it maintains tension through the mounting feeling that something is going to go horribly wrong. It all comes to a head when BoJack argues with Gina and she abandons him after realizing that he's a junkie who is endangering her newfound career. It's tragic that BoJack spent the entire episode trying to protect her, not realizing that he was the bigger threat to her the entire time. Unfortunately, this also means that Gina's departure has left him with resentment, especially after he hyperfixates on Gina being afraid for her career instead of being afraid for him. This leads to the episode's shocking climax when BoJack strangles Gina on set, letting his emotions get the better of him in a horrifying and deeply uncomfortable way (also, it's a remarkably ironic callback to BoJack saying "obviously choking women is bad" back in "BoJack the Feminist"). It's a perfect place for the season's f-bomb, and the culmination of BoJack's fall from grace in this season. While it may feel repetitive for BoJack to do something awful in the penultimate episode again after all of his recovery, I feel that it was necessary and helps to tell a more realistic story of recovery. Nobody gets it right on their first try, and this season has been explicit in showing us that BoJack is not strong enough to change on his own. He has spent the season mostly isolated from his friends, refusing to get any extra help from places like rehab or therapy. His stubborn refusal to do this is what leads to him relapsing and once more doing something terrible. Nobody has the strength to change on their own, and the message that this season is telling us is that we have to be open to outside help or we will never be able to achieve true permanent change. BoJack, being stubborn and short-sighted, is somebody who needs to learn this the hard way, and now by reflecting on the awful things he has done in this season, he realizes that he is not strong enough to change on his own. Season 5 has told this story of relapse superbly and subtly (I didn't start connecting the dots of this story until "Ancient History"), and I think that it is a remarkable exploration of how and why people can relapse in spite of all they have accomplished. I also found this episode to use symbolism in a superb way. The episode consistently shows visuals of BoJack seeing the giant balloon version of himself floating around, and a heavenly staircase appearing in backgrounds. By the episode's end, BoJack ascends these stairs only to find the balloon staring down at him from above. This is a memorable and evocative image, made better by the fact that we have to interpret what this means on our own. To me, the staircase symbolizes truth, and BoJack finally climbing it is him finally seeing reality after he spent the entire episode distracting himself with drugs and false conspiracies. But all that awaits him is the balloon, a symbol of his own true nature and the terrible things that he does to those around him. The balloon is crucially dressed up in the Philbert costume, highlighting that when he truly looks at himself, BoJack can only ever be the worst aspects of Philbert that are explored in the show he is making. It's a crushing realization for BoJack to make, and it makes us wonder if true change is really possible in a world where BoJack refuses to get help and repeatedly has his actions glorified by the red carpet of Hollywood. As always, there are plenty of little things I enjoyed. the Philbert intro sequence is an inspired choice, and I love how well it parodied real life TV show intros. The cheesy dialogue in Philbert is always entertaining, and provides some chuckles throughout the episode. I thoroughly enjoyed the "ad break" as Todd practically begs everyone to give him money so he can sponsor them. I was amused by BoJack's "let's find out!" reference, which he seemed to do unconsciously. BoJack's call to Kyle and his terrible telemarketer accent was really funny, easily the comedic highlight of the episode. Lastly, Mr. Peanutbutter's obvious guilt over having sex with Diane is pretty funny and a clever way to confirm our suspicions about what happened between them after the previous episode. The Bad: I understand people who criticize this episode for being too similar to seasons 2 and 3 with BoJack once more doing a terrible thing as the climax of the season. Though as I outlined above, it doesn't bother me and I think this was the logical next step for the show to explore relapsing. The Unknown: What's next for BoJack? Is this the end of his career? Is this the end for Philbert? Best Moment: The don't stop dancing musical performance is creepy, unsettling, and a fantastic exploration of the trauma that BoJack has buried deep inside of him. The song is well performed, but the visuals clearly reference multiple images from BoJack's past, like the dead Sarah Lynn, his dead mother dancing into a coffin, and the Old Sugarman Place where he stayed for so long. The sequence is masterful, and a memorable exploration of the fear and trauma that BoJack carries deep within him. The abstract nature of the sequence only makes it more captivating and more interesting to rewatch. Character of the Episode: BoJack. Conclusion: A magnificent episode that captures BoJack's dissociative episode beautifully. It's heartbreaking to see BoJack fall in this season after coming so close to recovery, and this episode serves as a somber, painful reminder of the nature of this character. Score: 81 |
Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
Categories
All
|