Overall Combined Rating: 8.1/10
Season 1
“The Boys” is a series premiering and being distributed exclusively on Amazon. The first season of the show is a 8 episode collection jam-packed with action, comedy, and just the right amount of suspense. The production opens up very much like how a Marvel movie would open, displaying a collage of hundreds of heroes, transitioning viewers into the opening scene which places us square in the center of New York City. It’s in “The Big Apple” where we are introduced to 3 primary storylines. The first pertains to arguably the main character of the series, a shy, soft-spoken, mild mannered gentleman named Huey. Huey works at an electric hardware store making an adequate living with hopes of eventually moving out of his father’s place and finding an apartment with his girlfriend. However, the trajectory of his life changes when he loses his girlfriend literally “in the blink of an eye” to a fatal accident.
The second panel of the series comes from a small town girl with big time talent named Annie. Annie initially comes off as an average girl living in the middle of a prairie until she begins to pick up cars and punch holes through brick walls. It is only then it becomes obvious that clearly this isn’t your average girl, and once we are introduced to her mother it also becomes evident that her intentions are for Annie to become a part of one of the biggest superhero allegiances in the country, “The 7”, which brings us to our third storyline.
The “7” are in a way sort of an alternate version of “The Avengers” with each superhero possessing a unique ability that contributes to the group all while being micro-managed by their fearless and seemingly noble leader dressed in American Colors from head to toe. The unique part about the 7 however is that they aren’t the only superheroes on the planet. They just happen to be the most marketable according to their agency. Apparently in this particular dimension of Earth, there are hundreds of super heroes that are all collectively managed, protected and advised by an overseeing company titled “Vought”. Vought is a company which distributes heroes all over the country for the seemingly primary purpose of protecting the public. However when Huey’s girlfriend loses her life to a member of the 7, it causes a domino effect of trouble for the company forcing them to recruit other candidates such as Annie…and once all three storylines begin to meld with one another, it is then and only then that we begin to pull back the veil on what “VOUGHT” and the 7 truly are, what they stand for, and what they seek.
The Amazon prime original series is very much an intriguing one filled with laughs, typical episodes of adventure and unsuspecting twists. The production offers a generous amount of what comes off as satire but yet still manages to morph into a story that separates itself from any other narrative you’ve seen about a group of superheroes.
Overall Rating: 7.7 out of 10.
SEASON 2
(WARNING: SPOILER ALERT)
Season two picks up right where Huey and the Gang left off. At the end on the first season, one of Huey’s partners in crime, “The Butcher” appears to be on the precipice of solving the mystery of just exactly what Vought has been conspiring and plans to end it by threatening to kill one of Homelander’s (the leader of “the 7”) closest companions. The concluding episode closes with Butcher pressing the detonator in order to kill himself as well as Homelander. However the screen illuminates to white and eventually reveals Billy Butcher waking up in front of Homelander accompanied by a small child and Butcher’s wife, who was believed to be deceased prior to this episode, leaving their deaths implied but uncertain.
Season 2 builds off the prior season adding more intriguing wrinkles as well continuing to curate certain twists and turns all while continuing to push the main plot which begs the question: “Will Justice ever be served?” Episode 1 opens up with Huey & the gang in hiding as fugitives due to their identities being revealed to the world. However the mission still remains the same as collectively they attempt to secure a formula known as “Compound V” and transfer it over to authorities in order to have Vought prosecuted for their crimes, as it seems that heroes are not in fact born but have been genetically made through this “super serum”. Vought appears to be aware of this and in an effort to try and clear it up, reconstructs the chemistry of “the 7” by adding new members as well as using a few of them to check certain social justice boxes hoping it’ll help them gain approval from the media.
One of the newest members of “the 7” is a dark haired woman who goes by the name of Stormfront. Stormfront comes off as a blunt, obnoxious, and outspoken presence whose powers pretty much match her personality. She immediately takes a public stand against Vought protesting about how they micromanage the heroes abilities and won’t allow them to widen their reach of protection around the globe. Yet secretly underneath this campaign she holds an agenda to make supers the dominate species on Earth. She reveals her desires of mass genocide to Homelander and together they become more intimate than ever expected. Meanwhile as Starlight and the rest learn of this conspiracy, it becomes a primary mission of theirs to stop Stormfront as well as rescue the Butcher’s wife and her unexpected son who is not kin to Billy but actually offspring of Homelander himself.
Season 2 doesn’t bring the entire show to a fulfilling conclusion, but it does further advance the narrative and begins to pull back the curtain, revealing a little bit of who’s really pulling the strings to Vought…and it isn’t the superheroes.
Overall Rating: 8.5 out of 10.