The Boys struggled last season, but they made up for it in the end

It’s hard to exist in a world that seems designed for a powerful and painfully boring few. They have been given what many of us dream of: the ability to effectively do whatever they like, independent of everyday concerns like money, housing, and health. But instead of living in peace and quiet, many choose to use their talents to set the world on fire, and then complain about the fire and our attempts to put it out. They loudly use their wealth on our screens, talk about ancient racism on newly created social media, clog the arteries of creativity by controlling the media, and wear the robes of legislators to avoid the rule of law. They are unable to be quiet, invisible, and anything other than extravagant, over-the-top… in other words, “perfect.”

This narcissism is exactly what every superhero character on Amazon Prime displays Boyswhich concluded its series finale this week. Despite its success in the final episode, the season as a whole felt unnecessarily long, with a meandering plot and often little payoff. But in the end, the satisfying conclusion brought the show back to its strengths.

Spoiler warning everyone Boysincluding the last episode.

The show starts out very strong, sticking to the original storyboards of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson. The titular group of supervillains have always had one goal: to destroy superhero supremacy. Superheroes wear multiple hats – real-life celebrities, real heroes who help people, and Dionysian selfish people who indulge in every sick whim and sexual vice – and their powers seem to prevent any human from intervening. This is where the boys come in, each of whom has suffered loss at the hands of superheroes. Led by the brash Billy Butcher (Karl Urban does his best Cockney accent), we primarily follow the journey of Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid), the most privileged man in the world, who is now locked in a battle against the privileged.

What makes the show compelling is that these ordinary humans are fighting what are essentially gods, so they must use their individual skills and collective ingenuity to defeat bulletproof, highly destructive people who move faster than lightning. (This central flaw doesn’t exist in the comics, where the boys also have permanent superpowers.)

The show dealt quite directly with contemporary themes rather than in the source material. BoysThe writers seem to emulate that South Park By taking a topic that is still fresh in the headlines and making it a point of contention. The final season is written before Donald Trump’s second term in office is marked by many events that we continue to see in American news stories, from the ascension of the atmosphere to the imprisonment of political dissidents in concentration camps to artificial intelligence taking over creative fields. Some scenes from Boys I feel it is indistinguishable from what we see discussed and reported today.

This season begins with Homelander (Anthony Starr doing his best) seizing control of the entire executive branch of the United States government. Some members of the Boys are imprisoned, while Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and her supporters do what they can to dismantle Homelander’s control. All their efforts come up short. Homelander controls the vast media and law enforcement agencies, while Starlight battles the most powerful enemy: Faith.

Homelander’s supporters worship him and his MAGA-lite regime, and talk nonsense about immigrants ruining the United States and dissidents who have sex with children. His followers and supporters use the word “woke” as a non-specific pejorative. Starlight herself experiences this when she meets her half-brother, who only consumes the manosphere podcasts and news networks controlled by Homelander. To the show’s credit, it has always been excellent at showing how propaganda is created and perpetuated.

But the entire season feels like it should have been a few episodes or one long movie, instead of eight episodes. This is due to the lack of upward mobility of Homelander’s evil. It is true that he is in control of the US administration, but now that he has already controlled Foote – the most powerful company that has effectively created startups – there is little difference in what he can now achieve. The show itself likes to blur the lines between corporations and government, without explicitly stating that the United States has always been a corporate government nation.

But the show dragged itself to the end. One episode pauses the entire season to show us a dog’s perspective on Homelander and the petty grievances between two rival superhero brothers. There are some notable deaths, but the presence of these characters has little impact on the overall plot of this season.

BoysThe writers tried to focus on the idea of ​​Homelander becoming immortal by taking a drug used by his father (Soldier Boy, played by Jensen Ackles), while our “good guys” tried to create a virus that would wipe out all superheroes. Both fail: Homelander’s immortality does not enhance his power or evil, and the virus merely becomes a focus of disagreements between the team. Despite the amount of time and energy spent on these themes, none of this ultimately plays into or helps bring Homelander to a close.

Instead, it’s up to Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), a character we’ve known from the beginning who is able to withstand harsh radiation treatment, giving her the ability to remove her superhero powers. All the boys had to do in the end was put her in the same room as Homelander. All this talk and talk about immortality and viruses was a waste of time.

Where the season succeeded was in showcasing Homelander. Throughout the show’s run, we’ve watched Homelander’s mental decline alongside his rise in power. Homelander is one of television’s greatest villains precisely because he’s so pathetic yet so powerful; The show hints that it is this breakup that has caused him to strive for “more” and long for adoration. But because he suffers from a poverty of character, his hunger for perfection ends up consuming everything, including the world. It’s refreshing to see the characters confront Homelander and point out that without his powers, he’s nothing more than a whiny kid.

I think this is the best lesson of the series: almost no one in a position of government or institutional power gets there through moral means. Thinking about many strong men in the real world, I realized they were like Homelander. They cannot live a life of peace and tranquility because they cannot escape themselves, their endless hunger, and their narcissism. And because they can’t escape, neither can we.

Homelander may have laser eyes and be able to fly, but when he’s finally stripped of them at the end, he can’t even throw a punch at Butcher. Homelander never had to learn fighting techniques because his powers made him immortal. The Butcher, a trained soldier, easily overpowers him.

When Homelander was finally easily beaten and killed, stripped of his powers, I felt elated. It was comforting to watch him turn into this whiny, filled-up sack of nothing – and that was especially true knowing that the same thing would happen in the real world. It seems the end has definitely happened Elon is upset.

The winding final season doesn’t negate what Boys As a whole he accomplished it. This bloody, bloody mess has a heart, and she’s justifiably angry and ready to hit you over the head with her messages.