The Boys are back in town for a second season of the surprise hit show based on the brutal comic book series of the same name. The Boys reunite as they are now on the run from law enforcement and the Seven, following the events of the previous season. They are faced with new challenges, from new superheroes to super terrorists, as they desperately try to find a way to survive and fight back.
After such an amazing first season with its stellar writing, excellent performances, fun brutal action and compelling themes, there was no denying that I was absolutely excited to see this new season and see what kind of direction it would go. And I’m happy to say that not only was this new season fantastic across the board, but perhaps even better than the first.
(Minor spoilers for one character below.)
From the very first few episodes the season goes full out with what it wants to do, while also giving great development to the characters we know from last season, as well as introducing new ones. The series takes many unexpected turns and juggles many themes that are once again relevant to current events and even the nature of the superhero culture. I loved the writing in this season because of how it goes further with its messages and expands on them, while still staying focused on the main story.
The cast once again is incredible, with the usual stand outs Karl Urban and Antony Starr reprising their roles and gaining a lot more depth and exploration this season. Butcher has been dealing with a great many revelations and yet retains this wild rage that we saw in the first season, but coming out in a different way. He is a bit more explored this season, revealing a bit of his past and what crafted him into the person he is today through interactions with other characters.
And Homelander, while still a very threatening presence, is stripped down even more this season, showing his extremely childish nature that becomes ever more present as more things go against him. You get to really see that he truly only cares about himself, and when given opportunities that benefit him he will take them, regardless of the human life that will be lost in the process.
However, despite their individual developments, it was really interesting to see how both characters were actually more alike than we could admit. While we do know who to truly root for it’s still interesting how the show makes us really question the characters in terms of what lines they are willing to cross, and how their pasts have created the violent men they are.
And while these two do stand out I feel all the other actors and their characters had much more of a time to shine here, especially Hughie, MM, Frenchie, Starlight, A-Train, Kimiko and others. They really had much more going on for them this season that I absolutely loved and felt engaged with the whole way through. They bring the emotion, the humor and the individual drama they are all enduring together or on their own.
However, a lot of the new characters brought in this season also stood out on their own with their performances and impact on the narrative. The new member of the Seven, Storm Front (played by Aya Cash), is perhaps one of the most dangerous and demented villains that rivals even Homelander. Minor spoiler, but she is revealed to be a white supremacist that hides in plain sight, and she commits increasingly horrific acts that she manages to get away with easily, as well as setting up her own goals with her status as a Vought superhero, goals which are much more layered than upon first glance.
It’s terrifying how relevant and realistic her character is since we are in a time where people abuse the power and authority to commit such horrendous acts (including ones that stem from racism). I wasn’t sure how they were going to tackle this character but by god did they tackle it perfectly, and released it at the best time possible.
Another new addition was Butcher’s wife Becca (played by Shantel VanSanten) who at the end of season 1 was revealed to be alive and has been raising a son who was the product of a rape by Homelander. She isn’t just a damsel in distress for Butcher to save but an actual person who was a victim of a horrible act that is now dealing with multiple struggles. She had a seriously major part to play and I’m thankful the character was explored. Cameron Crovetti as her son was really great in the series too, and definitely has an interesting impact on the narrative.
And then we have Giancarlo Esposito baby, who plays as Stan Edgar, the new head of Vought. What more can I say about perhaps one of greatest actors of our time who manages to play a character who is no pushover to any of the supes, including Homelander. He takes no bullshit from anyone and is very smart in being able to salvage the situations that Vought has been stuck in as result of the Boys actions, as well as their own heroes. He doesn’t need superpowers to get what he wants, he just does, and they couldn’t have made a better choice.
Black Noir has a lot more to do this season than the previous and he really stole the show a few times.
And then there is appearance of Lamp Lighter, played by Shawm Ashmore. While he only appears later in the season he was actually a very interesting character who really surprised me this series. His story intertwines with Frenchie, setting up a rivalry similiar to Butcher and Homelander, but in this case both of them made horrible mistakes that have cost them a lot. And the way Shawn displays the pain and torment the character feels really left an unexpected impact.
Also I love Terror, he is the best boy and such an excellent addition to the show.
The narrative really goes all out while also giving a lot of depth to the characters and building relationships between them. Every episode continuously gets better and better and never drags. There is even more action this season, ranging from extremely brutal to over the top hilarious, yet with exciting thrills that are both on par and better than the first season. Of course it also doesn’t shy away from having absolutely shocking scenes that completely catch you off guard and really make an impact on the viewer. It’s all so unique and most importantly fun, while also maintaining the show’s tone. It isn’t afraid to go into major themes that are relevant to today, and of course throw in some major twists as well.
The cinematography is incredible once again, and the effects are great too, they feel improved compared to last season, allowing for much larger scale action scenes with very, very bloody results. It’s incredible even seeing how much more practical work even went into this show despite looking like CGI upon first glance. The soundtrack is kickass once again, making me want to have the entire album of songs used because man, did they pick the best ones.
I won’t get into any spoilers but the finale of this season was absolutely shocking yet fucking perfect. I had my jaw dropped the entire time as they really went full out on making this finale even bigger than the first seasons finale. It was so satisfying to watch, it paid off a lot subtle set ups and it is probably my favorite episode of the whole season. Season 3 is going to be very interesting indeed and I seriously can’t wait for it because I have no idea what to expect.
I will admit that when the show decided to hugely deviate from the comics by the end of the first season I was worried about how this season was going to proceed, but honestly I’m really glad they went the route they chose because it gave them the freedom to do so much this season without being held back by the restrictions of the source material. It gave them the chance to develop characters more, further explore previous themes the show established as well as pursue whole new ones and go full out with the R-rating in so many ways that impact the viewer. This completely topped the first season and I absolutely cannot wait for season 3 whenever it comes out. And this is by far one of my favorite shows of all time. I’m going to give The Boys Season 2 an A+.
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