The Boys have toned down the craziness since the first three episodes of the second season. It was a high adrenaline rush, and now the big moments are more subtle.
Take, for instance, when Stormfront (Aya Cash) confronts Starlight (Erin Moriarty) about leaking the compound V. It wasn’t anything like Homelander (Antony Starr) chocking Annie when he suspected her of working with Hughie (Jack Quaid). Instead, it was an I know, and now I own you kind of vibe.
Stormfront seemed like a champion of women when we were first introduced to her, but now we know that she’s a lot like Homelander. Yes, she wants women to succeed, but probably only white women.
The ominous vibe is excellent. I’m anxious about Starlight, but I miss the high adrenaline of the first three episodes. I’m particularly a fan of the characters’ reactions to the crazy sh*t going on around them.
Crashing a boat into a whale was a step too far, but I did enjoy how Hughie froze, and MM (Laz Alonso) had to sit with him and tell him he wouldn’t leave if Hugh weren’t, to get him to go. The writers could have gotten that effect without hurting an animal. I know it’s fake, but it’s still hard to watch.
I love those moments between the boys when they are a team, and even better yet, a family at this point. Episode five, ‘We Gotta Go Now,” leaned into this.
Hughie knew something was wrong with Butcher (Karl Urban). And MM knew too when Hugh told him that Butcher was friendly to him. It’s unclear precisely what crazy thing Billy was about to do, but his friends came to his rescue and weren’t leaving without him.
Butcher had gone to his aunt’s to see his dog, an adorable bulldog that I hope we get to see more of.
And it should come to no surprise that Billy’s aunt is a dealer. She’s also very similar to Butcher. Though, she’s more open than he is. That’s how we found out Butcher had a little brother, Lenny, and Hugh is very similar to him.
It explains why Billy has taken a liking to him. He can be so mean, but there is a bond between them.
Something tragic happened to Lenny. I want to say this explains why Billy is so messed up, but as his aunt tells it, he was always that way, and Lenny was the one that was able to pull him back.
In the first season, I would never have guessed we would get sweet moments in this show. I loved the adrenaline and craziness. But, now that we know the characters more, we can really dive into them.
I still hope the adrenaline-fueled scenes come back for the end of the season. Not that there haven’t been exciting moments. Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) came after Billy, and the team had to rally together. Butcher still has crazy lines. Stormfront and Homelander having crazy, rough sex was something to see at the end. There’s nervousness around what Homelander’s plan is for Queen Maeve’s (Dominique McElligott) girlfriend, if there is one, or if he’s going just to torture Maeve to no end.
And there’s also an underlining worry about what Liberty (aka Stormfront) and Vought are up to. Why has her identity and name been changed several times? Stormfront is now more worrying than Homelander, especially since he’s trying to get his polling numbers up, so he has to do things that make him likable.
Let’s see where The Boys take us next.
What did you think of episode 5? Tweet me @MandyTTCarr or comment below.
