The Boys Season 3: With Great Power, Comes Great Mental Instability!

Season three of the hit Amazon Prime show The Boys, picks up a year after the events of season two, where Stormfront (Aya Cash) has been exposed as a white supremacist Nazi.  Homelander’s (Antony Starr) popularity with the public is way down due to his romantic involvement with Stormfront, and Starlight’s (Erin Moriarty) ratings are higher than anyone’s ever has been, which causes Vought Industries to make Annie / Starlight co-captain of the seven.  Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) is the father figure to Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) the son of Homelander and Butcher’s wife, Becca.  Hughie (Jack Quaid) is now officially dating Annie and works for the Bureau of Superhero Affairs under the guidance of Congresswoman Victoria Neuman, who has her own secrets. The Bureau uses “the Boys” to apprehend problematic Supes that are causing issues. Homelander has become extremely mentally unstable and everyone still seems to be terrified of him, but “the Boys” discover that there was a weapon used in the past that possibly has the power to kill Homelander and end his reign.  The race is on to track down the weapon before Homelander does anymore damage.

I must be honest.  I am conflicted on this series, but this is a personal feeling and does not reflect on the actual quality of the production.  First off, the series is very well written, the plots are intriguing and interesting and never boring.  The idea of Superheroes being controlled by corporations and ratings, makes is an interesting and terrifying thought. The cast is truly amazing and does a great job.  There is something magnetic about Karl Urban’s Butcher.  He is a ruthless killer who does what needs to be done, no matter the cost and no matter the consequences.  He is not a likeable person, but for some reason, you like him anyways.  Hughie and Annie are the true heroes of the series.  Both have their own troubled past and have done things they are not proud of, but they are good people trying to do things the right way, the problem is, the world they live in, doesn’t allow for that, and they are continually having to make the tough choices of doing things they regret.

I have a couple personal problems with the show.  The continual death and violence that is grotesquely displayed.  There isn’t an episode where the audience doesn’t see someone’s head explode or their intestines ripped out.  I know this is a draw to some people, but it just isn’t my style and beside the gore, just the shear amount of death in this series is nearly unbearable to me.  I am on edge every episode waiting for the one or two likeable characters to get killed, this could be a draw to some people, but I am tired of the senseless killing both in fictional worlds and in the real world.