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
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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