"The Boys": America's darkest superhero satire continues to shock
"The Boys" is considered one of the most brutal and shocking recent years. Blood pours in gallons, and every few seconds, there's a scene so intense your eyes might pop out of their sockets. Does it still affect viewers?
Prime Video has a true gem in its catalogue. "The Boys" is an exaggerated story of depraved superheroes, genetically modified individuals who, instead of helping humanity, frequently murder people and earn millions by starring in cheap, often disgustingly racist films. The "Supes" work for a giant corporation that exploits them as much as possible. The most powerful is Homelander (brilliantly portrayed by Anthony Starr), who destroys everyone around him. He has often been pointed out as embodying many of Donald Trump's traits. The new season emphasizes this more than ever before.
In the previous season, the bloody hunt for the Supes ended with practically the entire Seven—Homelander's team—falling apart. A-Train (Jessie T-Usher) and Deep (Chace Crawford) are left completely broken, and in the first episode, they undergo a shocking test to see how far they'll go to please their leader. Homelander is on the edge. He has no one around him who would stand up to him. On top of that, he starts pulling out his first grey hair.
The mid-life crisis for a guy who has lasers in his eyes, loves brutality, bloodshed, and being the most powerful man in America can manifest in a well-known way in this series. Since Homelander is ageing and likely nearing the end, he wants to drag the whole of America into the abyss. And then potentially heroically pull it out of hell itself.
He finds new supporters. Or rather, female supporters. One of them is a new Supe–Sister Sage (Susan Heyword), whose power is being the most intelligent person in the world. How does this manifest? She can argue with Homelander and holds extremely nihilistic views. There's also Firecracker (Valorie Curry), the star of right-wing crazies. In her internet show, she talks about how the Holocaust never happened or about leftist activists brainwashing children with LGBT ideology. In such a team, Homelander aims to incite a great rebellion in society. To pit the supporters of Starlight (Erin Moriarty) against his own. Extreme left versus extreme right.
"The Boys" once again proves that they deliver the strangest caricature of American society and its politics. There are frequent references to Trump, right-wing Fox News, or other conservative politicians. The creators have even managed to fit nicely into current events. In the first episode, Homelander has to appear in court to hear a verdict regarding murder charges against him. He is acquitted of all charges.
It's hard not to draw parallels with Donald Trump's trial, even though the charges and the verdict were quite different. "The Boys" fantastically demonstrates how real situations from American reality can be exaggerated and presented in a truly brutal version that can sometimes be terrifying. It's like peering into an alternative history of America. A "what if?" scenario. What if everyone lost control and there were no limits?
"The Boys," even in its 4th season, still manages to surprise. The creators serve up excellent dialogues (like the one between Firecracker and one of her supporters, who, because of his extreme views, left his family and waited 4 years for them to come around), still have plenty of brilliant plot ideas, several production gems (slow-motion with a tiny regenerating hand or a massacre scene combined with giant rubber duckies floating in the air), and a lot of yet unseen moments that last on-screen maybe seconds but are meant to shock us (an orgy in a sauna).
Hurry up and love "The Boys" because the series is ending. As one of the creators, Eric Kripke, has stated, the story will conclude with the 5th season. What will Homelander and the Boys bring to America?
