The Boys: A Definite Hit

Throughout the first season of The Boys, we watch the group of regular guys collectively known as “The Boys” as they try to dismantle the operation that runs The Seven, a group of immoral superheroes that have become corrupt and extremely self-absorbed from having too much fame and power.

One star of this show is the production value itself. Aside from the great cast, the special effects are amazing. Amazon definitely went all in and made each episode look more like a big budget movie you’d see in the theaters.

The antagonists of the show, if that concept can even be clearly defined in a show as complex as this, are the superheroes. These superheroes have killed. Whether on purpose of by accident from just not caring enough to be careful, we see both scenarios this season, they literally get away with murder. Anything these “heroes” do wrong gets swept under the rug by the Vought American corporation who sponsors them. Led by Elizabeth Shue’s character, Vought covers up everything, no matter how vile, so that the company can keep their image clean. Shue pushes the entire season for her goal of adding the Seven to America’s military might, meaning the US would be the only super powered country.

Vought’s big secret, though, is that there are no natural superheroes. No one is born super. Instead, the company has engineered the heroes from birth, unbeknownst to even the heroes in most cases.

That’s where the Boys come in. Exposing that dirty secret as well as the use of super-powered performance enhancing drugs by members of the Seven would be more than enough to tarnish the Seven’s image and destroy Vought’s chances of joining up with the US government.

The story focuses on Billy, played by Karl Urban, and Hughie, played by Jack Quaid. Both had loved ones disappear or killed by members of the Seven. Both want revenge. On the Seven’s side, Antony Starr plays the group’s Superman-like leader, Homelander. Think the kid from Brightburn but all grown up. Homelander seethes with creepiness, distrust, and rage.

Since many of the Boys have lost loved ones because of the actions of the Seven, most of them don’t want to stop at just sullying the Seven’s image. They want them dead.

The results of this setup is a sinister game of cat and mouse with regular humans on one side and a Superman-level antagonist on the other. As the momentum builds, you feel like any of the good guys could die at any second. Needless to say, there are many edge of your seat moments.

No character feels safe on this show, though. The good guys or the bad guys. With the character who dies in a surprising season finale, I think the show confirmed just that. Anyone can go.

The line between good and bad itself often becomes unclear with these characters. Both sides have muddied morals. The villains are apathetic and uncaring. Some of the good guys are so focused on the goal of taking the bad guys down that they do some horrendous things. By season’s end, it was sometimes hard to decide who you considered good and who you considered bad. Some of the Seven, especially newly added Starlight played by Erin Moriarty, are actually good people trying to be bonafide superheroes. Similarly, the leader of the Boys, Billy Butcher, is so lost in his plans of revenge that he seems capable of anything if it gets him to his goal.

The result of the powder keg situation is not everyone walks away unscathed. Some are hurt physically, some mentally. Some won’t be back!