It’s hard to catch your breath while watching the first three episodes of the second season of The Boys. It’s high adrenalin with one ‘oh shit’ moment after the next.
I started watching The Boys after I heard Jensen Ackles was going to be in the third season — I’ve been following him on Supernatural for 15 years, I can’t miss his next project. I didn’t necessarily need to watch now. That’s like a year away. But with the lack of TV content, I thought, why not. I can watch season one in time for the second season.
I wasn’t sure what I was getting myself into. It had been a year since I had seen any promos for it, and I didn’t watch one before starting. I just dove right in.
Hughie’s (Jack Quaid) girlfriend getting annihilated by the A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) clued me in to what I had just embarked on. It was going to be dark and brutal, and I had to get prepared.
After an entire season, I’m still not prepared for moments like that. There was one in the first episode of season two that had me shook. I did not see it coming. That’s what’s so great about this show. You never see it coming. The writers want you to be on your toes, and I certainly am.
Last season was all about revenge for Robin and Billy’s (Karl Urban) wife. This season is a little bit different. Now that we know Becca (Shantel VanSanten) is alive and raising Homeland’s son, it’s become more of a rescue mission than revenge for Billy. As for the rest of them, it’s part survival and part seeing it through to the end.
Vought is probably the most corrupt company in the world, and what’s worse, they’ve lost control of their top superhero, Homelander (Antony Starr). As you may remember from season one, he gave Compound V to a terrorist so the Senate would have to approve the bill to put them in the military. What the superhero neglected to share was that he gave it to several terrorists. Now the world is stuck because it needs these superheroes to survive, but Homelander is out of control, and you don’t know what he’s going to do next.
There’s a new girl on the Seven, Stormfront (Aya Cash). There are moments that I really like her. She’s powerful and all about female empowerment, but as you get to know her, you see she’s just a female version of Homelander. She wants the spotlight as much as he does, and you don’t want to piss him off, as Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) knows too well. We finally get to learn more about her and Homelander’s relationship, and it’s pretty scary.
Anyone that can stand their ground against Homelander is impressive, and we see many do it time and time again. Mostly the people who don’t have powers.
Homelander does not sway the president of Vought. Though, this could become a problem as Homelander wants to control the company. Becca fiercely protects her son, despite having no ability to do so. And even Billy, on occasion, will stand-up to him. But Billy is crazy.
While Homeland and Stormfront fight for the spotlight, Annie (Erin Moriarty) is stuck between being one of the Seven and doing what’s right. She plays the game in front of the camera, but behind them, she’s helping Hughie takedown Vought.
One of my favorite things about this season is that Hughie continues to prove his worth to the team. And he’s more a part of the team than he was last season. Billy was using him most of the first season, but when Hughie went back to save Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso). That’s when things started to change. He wasn’t just a kid that they had to protect because Billy brought him into this mess. He can be useful, and he’s one of them. Hughie, of course, still had to prove himself again, but he does prove to be a Harry Potter or a Katniss. Though I will say I always had faith in Katniss, no one probably expected her to be the one to save them all, though.
We’re only three episodes in, and I can’t wait until Friday for our next installment. Season two is shaping up to be crazier and scarier than the last. Get ready.
The first three episodes of The Boys is now streaming on Amazon Prime. New episodes will be released on Fridays.
Have you checked out the new season yet? If so, what do you think? What are you expecting from this season? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
