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
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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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