The Boys – SPOILER discussion

Topic

Season two starts today, so here’s a place to discuss it.

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I’ve only watched the first episode so far, but it feels like the show is back without missing a beat.

Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty are as wonderful as ever and really make the show. Plus having Giancarlo Esposito bumped up to what I presume is a regular role is great.

This season promises to be interesting.

I binged the first 3 episodes… I really hate that we need to wait… but hey, we’ll see if it works and it generates more chatter this way.

Something’s feeling a bit off for me this season, I don’t know what… the show feels “meaner” somehow?

But other than that feeling, it’s good… Man, those guys really act the shit out of it. One thing I REALLY didn’t like is they disposed of CIA lady so quickly, and again, it just felt mean.

There are A LOT of tense moments in episode 3 as well, which is where things start ramping up I suppose… first of all, Stormfront is utterly terrifying, and not in that Homelander charming way, although he ain’t so charming this time around either… I don’t really know where they’re heading with this Vought thing either.

I was kinda hoping Homelander would laser Edgar, but I’m guessing he’s the “villain”, or at least the one that gets to antagonise Homelander until he loses his marbles. Hey, I’ll give him this… he’s got a case of the big balls, and I really enjoyed that dynamic of him putting homelander in his place, then HL putting Edgar in his place.

One thing I’m hoping is that we’ll see more of Maeve, cause so far she just there, again, only reacting to stuff around her, and with the inclusion of Stormfront I’m not sure that’s gonna change. Oh and it’d be nice to see if they do something with Noir as well… I guess everyone’s wondering if they’ll stick with the CB or not… I’m assuming no ’cause it wouldn’t really fit the show’s narrative, but who knows…

At any case, it was a bit of a slow start, so I hope it picks up from now on, I’m not sure how many episodes we get, so they better get the ball going.

I just watched the first 3 episodes and enjoyed them.
i think Erin Moriarty did a great job of showing off the new Starlight,
we got some clarity on Maeve’s situation,
they showed the scene that might haunt Antony Starr for the rest of his career(and he claims that it was actually Elisabeth Shue’s breast milk)
Starlight and A-Train start to play chicken
Homelander and the new boss of Voight start power games
Hughie starts cracking up and listening to Billy Joel and I like the use of Joel’s music in the show
Karl Urban shows off his boat driving skills.

I also liked the aftershow for each episode which is done in a similar fashion to the show. I learned new things like Antony Starr’s claim about the milk. They have a new segment called Thoughts and Prayers which seems to be a direct shot at a certain type of person.

The show does seem meaner but i feel that might turn around in later episodes.

The Boys are back together! pic.twitter.com/WNrqt9Skk1

— Raf Grassetti 👾✍🏻 (@rafagrassetti) September 6, 2020

I don’t know about meaner, but it definitely feels a bit more serious this time around. The stakes are higher and the show seems to have less room for big gags and funny moments.

It works, though. There’s a real feeling of things ramping up by episode three, so if they can sustain that for another five episodes then it should be a great season. And I like the new characters, particularly Stormfront who is disturbingly likeable despite being completely unlikeable.

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lorcan_nagle

Is the season only 8 episodes?? Bummer, I was hoping for more, considering the success of the show… u_u

Just finished episode 1 and I enjoyed it, I felt there was a lot of good humour in there – most notably the fake Butcher on the TV and the Deep being groomed by what’s obviously a cult.  There definitely is a harder edge to the story at the same time, though.

Having kicked off episode 2, I wonder if the show is being designed to run the 3 series they have commissioned, given they’re already pushing the whole rift between Hughie and Butcher already

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Ben, Dave

lorcan_nagle wrote:

the fake Butcher on the TV

I laughed every time this came up.

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lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

lorcan_nagle wrote:

the fake Butcher on the TV

I laughed every time this came up.

I’m absolutely going to start working “I’ll bollocks you” into my regular threats

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Rocket, Todd, Dave

Homelander is still fantastic too – as he gets to be more layered and complicated a character, the performance is stepping up to match. His scenes with Giancarlo Esposito are wonderful.

I also really like the fact that the show moves fast. Some shows would take an entire season to get to the various points we get to by the end of episode three, many of which are season-finale-worthy, but this show doesn’t seem interested in padding. Three seasons would probably be perfect if that’s what we get in total.

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Will_C, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Yeah, I just finished episode 3 and damn, they stuffed a lot of plot in there, especially into the last ep, and it was a really good idea to put these three out as a distinct unit and then switch to weekly for the rest of the series – they made for a fairly self-contained arc that resolved the cliffhangers from series 1 and set up the rest of series 2.

It reminds me a lot of Agents of SHIELD in that there’s no way to know where the rest of the series is going to go from here.

Also, there’s a lot of the relationship between the Vought execs and the Seven that reminds me so much of the last two Expanse novels and I can’t really talk about that here until the show gets renewed another 2-3 times… argh

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Todd, Dave

I just tried the first episode of the aftershow thing (which Amazon Prime makes surprisingly hard to find) and having never watched anything like this before… are they all this naff? It feels like a five-minute DVD extra stretched out to half an hour.

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lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

I just tried the first episode of the aftershow thing (which Amazon Prime makes surprisingly hard to find) and having never watched anything like this before… are they all this naff? It feels like a five-minute DVD extra stretched out to half an hour.

It is just glorified advertisement. Watching shit like that to gain insight into the world of show business is like watching Top Model to understand fashion.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

I didn’t expect to gain any insights into the world of showbusiness, but I thought it might be a fun chat about the show. It was just a bit flat and forced and all the actors looked a bit embarrassed to be there.

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lorcan_nagle

“The Boys” Season 2, premiering today on Amazon, is full of songs by the Piano Man including “We Didn’t Start The Fire” featured in the Season 2 trailer. Check it out! https://t.co/HKO5vzjsnX pic.twitter.com/gnx0kEGHSU

— Billy Joel (@billyjoel) September 4, 2020

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Dave

I hope the pisstakes of Dawn Of Justice continue throughout this season too. The pitch meeting was an amusing scene.

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Uncle Retrospective, Rocket, Todd, lorcan_nagle

[Rocket]

I saw an preview where Starlight talks to the director on what looks like a movie set so it looks like the movie plot gets furthered. As far as the aftershow is concerned, it did provide this meme able bit

https://twitter.com/i/status/1302254330616127488 nsfw

• This reply was modified 4 years, 3 months ago by Rocket.

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Andy

Watched episode four tonight and enjoyed it, although it’s definitely a quieter and more character-oriented episode after the pyrotechnics of episode three.

Some very good scenes and interesting developments, although I could feel the length of this one at over an hour.

It was a nice breather but it was still tense as fuck… I keep expecting Homelander to show up at any moment and kill someone…

Speaking of Homelander, man, someone needs to give Anthony Starr an oscar or something… I think he might be THE most terrifying on-screen villain ever… he really sells the shit out of that role.

I’m not sure how many seasons they’re planning on doing, but this show might just be the next GoT if they play their cards right.

Other than that, I wonder what they’re gonna do with Black Noir… I have a general understanding of who he is in the CB, but I don’t think they’re planning on doing that… I mean, I guess they still could, but it’d feel a bit wrong in the show.

I was a bit disappointed that they revealed that Homelander did indeed rape Beca, and specially in such a casual unimportant way, because somehow I don’t see Homelander as the raping type, first of all, I mean, yeah he’s a full-on psycho, but he’s supposed to be the one who doesn’t partake in all the debauchery, and that fits his character… plus it would’ve been a MUCH more interesting developement if Beca had just had a fangirl moment. But oh well…

Jon wrote:

I was a bit disappointed that they revealed that Homelander did indeed rape Beca, and specially in such a casual unimportant way, because somehow I don’t see Homelander as the raping type, first of all, I mean, yeah he’s a full-on psycho, but he’s supposed to be the one who doesn’t partake in all the debauchery, and that fits his character… plus it would’ve been a MUCH more interesting developement if Beca had just had a fangirl moment. But oh well…

I was surprised they confirmed this so casually too, given how they had built up some ambiguity around it previously.

I guess there’s still room for a reveal that Beca was lying, but at this point it feels a lot less likely.

Watched the first two episodes. They’ve been a lot of fun.

Detail I loved: Patton Oswalt very recognisably being the voice of The Deep’s gills.

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Andrew, Uncle Retrospective

Dave wrote:

Some very good scenes and interesting developments, although I could feel the length of this one at over an hour.

It was really oddly paced. There was lots of stuff that felt like padding – Starlight and Marvin swapping trivial childhood tales in the restaurant (was that meant to be Tarantino-esque??) – and I thought maybe they were having trouble filling an hour of TV. But then it was a 70 minute episode!?!

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Dave

I felt as though the stories from MM were building up to a revelation that he’d been spinning lies all along, but that never came.

The whole roadtrip thread felt quite contrived and (mostly) inconsequential, although I did enjoy the singalong.

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Will_C, Uncle Retrospective, Rocket, Ben, Todd, JRCarter, lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

I felt as though the stories from MM were building up to a revelation that he’d been spinning lies all along, but that never came.

The whole roadtrip thread felt quite contrived and (mostly) inconsequential, although I did enjoy the singalong.

A lot of the show is centred on humanising the Supes in a way the comic never did, and while we see The Deep’s descent to his lowest point and how he’s being manipulated by Not Scientology, we Swear; or Maeve’s concern for her girlfriend; or even The Homelander’s fucked-upedness being a result of… well.. everything, the Boys don’t see that, so while the roadtrip might not have been moving the plot forward structurally that much, it’s all about showing MM that Annie’s a normal person, and also furthering the repair of her and Hughie’s relationship.  And starting the reveals on Stormfront’s history.

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Will_C, Uncle Retrospective, Dave

That’s fair. I hadn’t really considered that.

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lorcan_nagle

I am enjoying the season so far but I really wish Amazon had dropped the entire series at once. I really want to see the rest of the season now. Here’s hoping Season 3 goes back to the dump model.

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lorcan_nagle

I quite like this model. Episodes 1-3 felt like a complete experience and I’m enjoying watching the rest at a slower pace. But then I don’t often binge-watch anyway.

If you want to enjoy the show in the ‘dump’ model, just wait to watch it until October and pretend Amazon has just released them all at once.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Or they could go back to dumping the entire season at once and you can watch one episode per week. ;)

Seriously though, when an entire season is dropped at once, it’s rare that I watch every episode in one sitting. (If it’s a short series, I may do so.) I’ll watch chunks at a time. I prefer the freedom of choosing to watch a series at my own pace.

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lorcan_nagle

Is Billy Joel cool in the USA or something? Or is the point that Hughie is still really boring?

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lorcan_nagle

Dan wrote:

Is Billy Joel cool in the USA or something? Or is the point that Hughie is still really boring?

Is Billy Joel not cool everywhere?

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Andrew, Dave

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Is Billy Joel not cool everywhere?

I had forgotten he existed.

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lorcan_nagle

[Rocket]

Dan wrote:

Is Billy Joel cool in the USA or something?

The singer has played one show per month at the venue(Madison Square Garden) for the past six years, selling over one million tickets.

but it is an older crowd so the second part of your question might be true too.

as far as the release schedule goes

I liked the “getting some” episode. Everyone from Hughie and Annie to Frenchie and that chick from early in Season 1. Poor MM was the only Boy who didn’t.  I agree with Starr getting an Emmy but is Homelander too unlikeable? the scene in Elisabeth Shue’s nightgown was amazing.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Rocket.

The Boys’ Antony Starr on Homelander and Stormfront’s Shocking [Spoiler] Scene: ‘It’s Just So Bonkers’

TVLINE | At the end of Episode 5, Homelander’s clash with Stormfront turns into a very different kind of clash.
That’s probably one of the more interesting romantic things I’ve ever done. Let me put it this way: Whenever I’ve done a love scene in the past, I’ve never had to talk to the stunts team and get body armor put on and elbow and knee pads. I can say that was a whopping great first.

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Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

It was a fun scene in a good episode. There was lots I liked this week, especially building up the wider world of the show. The movie-set scenes had me laughing a lot.

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Uncle Retrospective, Todd, lorcan_nagle

I was laughing my head off at all the movie stuff, the PR flacks’ plan for Maeve and Elena, and all the Scientology stuff, it’s a really good way to take Ennis’ satire about comic book Superheroes and apply it to a Hollywood Superhero template.

The political elements are spot-on as well, I’m impressed at how on the ball the writers are at grabbing onto stories that are more mainstream now but would have been more the realm of fringe journalism at the time the show would have been in pre-production.  Stormfront’s really good at doing the subtle racism, and I liked that A-Train picked up on it immediately, and her using meme farms to alter public opinion on Facebook is basically one of this week’s real-world scandals, so well-timed, guys.

Also, Terror!  He was always one of the sillier aspects of the comic, so I’m glad they got him into the show and didn’t kill him.

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Will_C, Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, Todd, Dave

Homelander attacking the crowd was a great holy-shit moment too. It’s a credit to the show’s willingness to make big bold moves that you couldn’t be 100% sure how it was going to play out.

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Andrew, Uncle Retrospective, lorcan_nagle

Has Terror fucked a shitzu yet?

Ben wrote:

Has Terror fucked a shitzu yet?

Just a cuddly pig and a squeaky Homelander toy so far.

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Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, Todd

It was good… but fairly slow, and considering there’s only 3 episodes left, I gotta wonder what the end-goal is for this season which so far seems a bit slower and somehow less grandiose than S1 (which is weird since they got a bigger budget).

So I’m thinking this is somehow gonna end with Homelander & Stormfront taking over the seven and some defections happening, which will lead to a big team-up next season to take them down (& Vought I suppose)… I reckon Maeve, A-train & Deep will defect and join forces with the Boys (which should make for an interesting dynamic), and Starlight should flat-out join them soon enough…

The whole Black Noir/Edgar/Boys thing was a bit silly though… there’s no reason why Edgar would just let them leave because of “some photos”… I mean, at this point the Boys are considered terrorists, so they’d be able to sweep anything under the rug just by saying it’s a terrorist plot and it’s lies… so unless Edgar has an ulterior motive, that was lazy writing.

Oh and lastly, that sex scene reminded me of Marshal Law… I kinda wish they’d gone with full nudity though, if only to see Homelander out of that fuckin suit for once… I mean, he was pantless, so I guess there’s that…

 

Edit: Oh shit, I forgot, the best part of the epsido was the dig at Whedon… xD

And speakinf of the show being very current… yeah that whole A-Train thing, plus the Whedon thing… very much mirrors what’s going on with Ray Fisher right now…

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Also, Terror!  He was always one of the sillier aspects of the comic, so I’m glad they got him into the show and didn’t kill him.

I love the cast so I seek out all the bts stuff and interviews. One of the interviews talked about before they shot the scenes with Terror and his fuckpig, Jack Quaid is playing with the pig treating it like a normal plush(rubbing it on his head, kissing it,…) and then somebody tells him that it is the bulldog’s real fucktoy, he reacts and the rest of the people on set start laughing at him.

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Uncle Retrospective

Rocket wrote:

I love the cast so I seek out all the bts stuff and interviews. One of the interviews talked about before they shot the scenes with Terror and his fuckpig, Jack Quaid is playing with the pig treating it like a normal plush(rubbing it on his head, kissing it,…) and then somebody tells him that it is the bulldog’s real fucktoy, he reacts and the rest of the people on set start laughing at him.

It’s a facehugger moment!

lorcan_nagle wrote:

It’s a facehugger moment!

when you say things like that I can’t help to think of a very scarring moment from the OG MW involving Markicon.

 

and, please god, I hope that picture is lost to ruins of time.

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Todd

Rocket wrote:

lorcan_nagle wrote:

It’s a facehugger moment!

when you say things like that I can’t help to think of a very scarring moment from the OG MW involving Markicon.

 

and, please god, I hope that picture is lost to ruins of time.

Why do you think that wasn’t exactly what I was referring to? And that I don’t know where that photo is?

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Rocket

‘The Boys’ Spinoff Put On Fast-Track Development At Amazon Following Mothership’s Record Season 2 Launch

Amazon’s superhero series The Boys is getting a spinoff set in superhero college.

The project, written by The Boys executive producer Craig Rosenberg, had been in the works for awhile. It is being fast-tracked in light of the success of the original series’ second season which marked the most-watched global launch of an Amazon Original series ever. The Boys’ first season already had set a high viewership mark for Amazon when it debuted in summer 2019. In its first two weeks, Season 2 has nearly doubled the Season 1 worldwide audience (+89%), drawing millions of new viewers each week.

Set at America’s only college exclusively for young adult superheroes (and run by Vought International), the Untitled Boys Spinoff is described as an irreverent, R-rated series that explores the lives of hormonal, competitive Supes as they put their physical, sexual, and moral boundaries to the test, competing for the best contracts in the best cities. Part college show, part Hunger Games — with all the heart, satire and raunch of The Boys.

The spinoff is from the entities behind the original series — Amazon Studios and Sony Pictures Television in association with Point Grey Pictures, Kripke Enterprises and Original Film.

Rosenberg is writing the pilot and will serve as executive producer/showrunner on the spinoff under his overall deal with Sony Pictures TV. The Boys developer/executive producer Eric Kripke and fellow The Boys EPs, Point Grey Pictures’ Seth Rogen, Evan Goldberg, and James Weaver; and Original Film’s Neal H. Moritz and Pavun Shetty, also executive produce.

Based on The New York Times best-selling comic by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys is a fun and irreverent take on what happens when superheroes – who are as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians and as revered as gods – abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the super-powerful as the Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about The Seven, and Vought – the multibillion-dollar conglomerate that manages these superheroes and covers up all of their dirty secrets.

The series’ Season Two finale is slated for Oct. 9 on Prime Video.

Just watched the new episode of The Boys and it’s maybe the most Garth Ennis-y episode so far. Some fun shocks and outrageous moments but also some real heart too.

 

Oh, and a gigantic prehensile penis.

That was basically the show’s version of Love Sausage, wasn’t it?  Beard, the silhouette against his trouser leg, it matches.

Yeah, MM refers to the guy’s “love sausage” when they first spot him on the security cam.

Did anyone find Butcher and Annie’s bonding over Hughie a little weird?

I originally thought Lamp Lighter was going to be more of a GL(like the Tangent GL) but i guess it works because then he isn’t overpowering.

Is there anyone left that still would prefer a Male Stormfront? Her backstory was great.

Speaking of Love Sausage I loved the scene as it retracts and I hope Frenchie continues to torture MM

Rocket wrote:

I originally thought Lamp Lighter was going to be more of a GL(like the Tangent GL) but i guess it works because then he isn’t overpowering.

I actually thought he’d have powers more similar to Starlight… since that’s who she replaced and all…

Another good episode, but it still leaves me with that feeling that this wasn’t made for a weekly release schedule… I didn’t see coming the reveal that Lamplighter’s not a complete asshole, and for some reason I thought he was dead… but now I remember he “retired”…

Also, damn, they’re really milking the shit out of that “particule explosion” effect they created (or bought) for this season… everyone keeps getting squished/exploded this season =P

And yea, I can see the massive cliffhanger coming from a mile away… that’s gonna suck. =/

Also, I’m sure it’s no coincidence, but still kinda funny how they turned Iceman into Pyro… they should have a cameo by Pyro with ice powers next… =P

Jon wrote:

Also, I’m sure it’s no coincidence, but still kinda funny how they turned Iceman into Pyro… they should have a cameo by Pyro with ice powers next… =P

Yeah, this occurred to me too.

Jon wrote:

And yea, I can see the massive cliffhanger coming from a mile away… that’s gonna suck. =/

What do you think is going to happen?

Well they can’t have Homelander lose his shit right now, so for now I’m guessing we’ll see 3 different factions forming up and getting ready to “go to war” as a cliffhanger. We might get one “big tussle” to wrap up the season (there haven’t been a lot of action-heavy scenes)… right now I’m afraid Maeve will confront Homelander and that they’ll kill her off the show… if they do, it better be spectacular, ’cause she hasn’t gotten much to do this season either.

I mean, at this point it’s pretty clear that out of the main seven only the “trinity” will stay on Voght’s side (that’s Homelander, SF and Noir) while the rest of them are leaving, either to the scientology church or with the Boys… but I don’t see Maeve joining either group or staying in the seven, so my guess is she’ll go bye bye, although I hope not… they’re kinda priming her to be killed, tbh.

[Al-x]

SF is going to go…

On a side note: Superman vs. Daredevil

We didn’t start the fire

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Al-x.

Today’s episode is amazing. Probably the best yet. Brilliant and horrible all at the same time.

Loved the intro sequence, and some of the scenes throughout were very hard to watch. The stuff with Lamplighter was funny and sad all at the same time. And that ending… amazing.

It’s The Boys version of the Red Wedding.

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Sean Robinson, lorcan_nagle, Rocket, Uncle Retrospective

I’m telling you, it’s like they bought a special FX suite for exploding  particles or something… it’s been exploding heads all season long… xD

The stuff with Butcher’s dad was kind of useless though, I didn’t really like that, although I always enjoy watching John Noble, so at least it was him.

Oh and it seems Black Noir is actually black… so they’re not gonna go the CB route with him… in fact, it seems he’s basically just a silent Deadpool. It’s okay I suppose, since in the show Homelander is basically unhinged like Noir was in the CB, so it’d be redundant.

And lastly: well, so much for the “oh Homelander’s kid is gonna help the boys take on Homelander”, which never really made sense, I mean, in 10 years, sure he might, but he’s just a kid right now.

I really wasn’t expecting a TV version of The Boys to have the best take on the radicalisation of the Far Right. 2020 is a weird year.

 

This show is pretty damn great.

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Bruce, Will_C, lorcan_nagle, Rocket, Al-x, garjones, Dan, Todd, Dave

Was that Cindy at the hearing? or is there another supe that can pop heads like that? I don’t want to know the name of the other supe though.  My guess on Black Noir was wrong(I thought he was going to be a robot built by Vought).  Moms took a beating this ep. Becca loses out to SF, Donna(SL’s mom) sets up Starlight to be caught by Vought and Butcher’s Mom watches her son try to kill her husband. I also think that Shawn Ashmore did a good job with a very difficult script.

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lorcan_nagle

Rocket wrote:

I also think that Shawn Ashmore did a good job with a very difficult script.

The Boys Boss Reflects on [Spoiler]’s ‘Tragic’ Arc and Why He Regrets It

Even though Lamplighter’s story came to a tragically poetic conclusion, as intended, the showrunner wouldn’t mind a do-over. “We wrote all that before we cast Shawn, and once we cast Shawn and we saw how good he was and how soulful and weary and, in a weird way, sympathetic he made Lamplighter, I really regretted that we were killing him,” Kripke admits with a laugh. “If I could go back and do it again, knowing that I had Shawn and what he did with that character, I would have kept him alive for longer. But that was what that character was arced for from the beginning.”

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lorcan_nagle, Dave

Rocket wrote:

or is there another supe that can pop heads like that?

I guess we’re not meant to know yet.

Feels like Gus Fring has been shuffled off-screen in these last few episodes so I wouldn’t be surprised if he comes back in next week’s finale and is revealed to have had a hand in it.

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lorcan_nagle

Todd wrote:

Rocket wrote:

I also think that Shawn Ashmore did a good job with a very difficult script.

The Boys Boss Reflects on [Spoiler]’s ‘Tragic’ Arc and Why He Regrets It

Even though Lamplighter’s story came to a tragically poetic conclusion, as intended, the showrunner wouldn’t mind a do-over. “We wrote all that before we cast Shawn, and once we cast Shawn and we saw how good he was and how soulful and weary and, in a weird way, sympathetic he made Lamplighter, I really regretted that we were killing him,” Kripke admits with a laugh. “If I could go back and do it again, knowing that I had Shawn and what he did with that character, I would have kept him alive for longer. But that was what that character was arced for from the beginning.”

Yeah Shawn Ashmore was great. Wish he had stayed around for longer.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

“do you wanna be the cuck or do you wanna be the guy who… fucks the wife?” was an amazing line.

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Rocket, Todd, Dave

lorcan_nagle wrote:

“do you wanna be the cuck or do you wanna be the guy who… fucks the wife?” was an amazing line.

The follow up line about the cuck-fluffer had me laughing.

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Rocket, Uncle Retrospective, Todd, lorcan_nagle

There’s a theory doing the rounds that Black Noir might be either a clone of Edgar or (more likely) Edgar’s son… would make sense considering he seems to be Edgar’s personal cleaner. Also, I like the dude, but I’m kinda over him being the villain in every show these days… =/

I’m surprised Maeve stayed there… didn’t expect her to join the Boys, but I’m not sure how she’s gonna be able to stay once BN recovers and rats on her… so yeah, I’m still expecting Mave to go bye bye next episode, although I hope she doesn’t.

Almond Joys got nuts
Mounds don’t

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Todd

I imagine some stuff will come to ahead next episode, though with its success, how many series are they likely to be looking for?
(Does amazon follow the same rules as Netflix? )

It seems well signalled who can take down Stormfront, but is Season 2 her arc? It feels like there is more to be told, unless they are aiming for 3 seasons and out.

 

Dan wrote:

I imagine some stuff will come to ahead next episode, though with its success, how many series are they likely to be looking for?
(Does amazon follow the same rules as Netflix? )

It seems well signalled who can take down Stormfront, but is Season 2 her arc? It feels like there is more to be told, unless they are aiming for 3 seasons and out.

 

Amazon seem to be more upfront about renewing shows for multiple series up front – The Expanse got 2 when they picked it up, the Boys got 2 when it was renewed after series 1, and it’d make sense for The Boys to plan for 2 years and out.  Though with a spin-off getting greenlit already they might want to keep it around.  It does seem to be Amazon’s first big viral hit on a scale of House of Cards or Orange is the New Black.

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Uncle Retrospective, Dave, Sean Robinson, Todd

I’m seeing that the spin off will be based on the X Mansion stuff in the book. Which was enough for me to stop reading, here’s hope they can do as well with the spin off as the main story.

Dan wrote:

(Does amazon follow the same rules as Netflix? )

As Lorcan says, not really. They have a slightly different business model to Netflix as Prime is really a suite of services with TV as one part of it. They may look more to retention, maybe people signed up at Christmas to get free shipping and the other element persuade them to keep it going all year round.

 

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

Let's go rogue! We shot full porn scenes for Ep 7 & I wanna post 'em on https://t.co/vL8TSZK7uO. But @SPTV, @PrimeVideo & @AmazonStudios are skittish to get into the porn biz? Reply to them & DEMAND Supe Porn! #TheBoys #TheBoysTV @TheBoys @Sethrogen @evandgoldberg @antonystarr pic.twitter.com/RtxOO8fgLM

— Eric Kripke (@therealKripke) October 3, 2020

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Sean Robinson, Todd, Uncle Retrospective

One of us should make sure that Jim O’Hara is watching The Boys

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Todd

Rocket wrote:

Was that Cindy at the hearing? or is there another supe that can pop heads like that?

There could easily be. I hope Cindy is still on the run, but either way I also hope she comes back. Those were great Akira-esque scenes. And I just looked up the actress, apparently she’s a performance artist and contortionist, so there’s a lot more she could do phyiscally…

Rocket wrote:

Did anyone find Butcher and Annie’s bonding over Hughie a little weird?

I did. That whole part of the plot felt a little hammered in, like you could see the thought process of “How do we get those two to bond? Ah, hey, let’s get Hughie into a life-threatening situation!”.

About the last episodes, I particularly loved Frenchie’s story and Lamplighter’s. And the asylum scenes, those were just awesome.

Didn’t love Starlight being stupid enough to meet up with her mom of all people and not making sure she wasn’t followed. After talking about her and Hughie being so careful all season, that just doesn’t make any sense.

Also, the stuff with Homelander’s kid happened too quickly; that could have used another episode and more storytime to be developed. But hey, small gripes when everything is just such great fun to watch.

The Boys Boss Talks Black Noir’s Weakness and Casting John Noble, Teases ‘Really Dangerous’ Finale

TVLINE | Where did the idea for the Almond Joy takedown come from?
The actors and I were at Comic-Con promoting Season 1, and that was where I learned that Nathan Mitchell, the actor who plays Black Noir, has a super severe nut allergy. Like one of those people who can’t be in the same room with nuts, like a vampire with garlic. Karl [Urban] turns to me, laughing, and he says, “You know, we should give that weakness to Black Noir,” and I just thought that was brilliant. When you think of superhero kryptonite, you think of things like kryptonite. Like it takes a space rock, something very, very exotic. I was just tickled by the idea that someone as strong and powerful as Noir could be taken out by something so simple and something that so many people suffer from. It’s a very common kryptonite, tree nuts. So it was fun. If you look at Episode 4 — just because I love that we are always planting in these little Easter eggs that make more sense on a second viewing — he goes down into crime analytics and Anika, the computer tech, is eating an Almond Joy, and his very first move is to hold out that garbage can like, “You throw that sh-t away.” So I love that we set it up as early as Episode 4.

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Will_C, Dave, lorcan_nagle

Debated whether to post this here or in the Marvel Movies and TV thread:

Aya Cash Wants To Join MCU’s X-Men As Rogue, Jean Grey Or Beast

She would’ve made for a pretty nice Jean Grey… buuuuut she’s almost 40. They’re probably gonna go with a younger cast…

Alright, so give me a sec while I eat myself some yummy crow…

Daaamn, hats off… I got it completely and a 100% wrong… xD

Starlight’s back in the Seven, Maeve is still well and alive, Stormfront is dead (I assume?) and there was no gigantic cliffhanger… oh and to top it off, they legit surprised me with the head-popper reveal… did NOT see that one coming, but an interesting twist for sure. Shit, the only thing I got right was A-Train helping them, and even then he did the bare minimum =P

Anyways, good episode, good season finale too… BUT I do have a couple of gripes with the episode… first of all, Maeve magically popping in wherever the plot needed her was a bit shit… As far as I know she can’t fly or run fast, soooo… yeah how the fuck did she get to the fight and then to Homelander and how the fuck did she sneak on all of them… that’s the kind of thing that really bothers me because it’s SUPER lazy writing.

The second thing that was a bit shit was the girl fight… I mean, it was good and all, nice to see Maeve do something… but holy shit it was sooo badly filmed and edited. That’s one of the worst action sequences I’ve seen in a while… and it’s a shame, considering how much quality this show is.

Other than that, good season, great show… glasd it already got a 3rd season green-lit, although this could’ve easily been a series finale… I do wonder where they’ll go next because I don’t recall the CB all that much, but it seems they’ve departed quite a bit from the CB, so I legit have no clue what they’re gonna do next time around.

 

Edit: wait, there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense though… why did the congress woman kill the CIA lady??

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garjones

Just watched the season finale and loved it – very satisfying and surprisingly emotional, they packed a lot into this episode and made some bold twists that worked for me. Great stuff.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

I’ve just started the banquet, you bunch of bastards.

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lorcan_nagle, Dave

[Al-x]

I just saw the episode and pretty much could tell that she had to go and therefore wasn’t going to make it. Seeing the three beat her down … Prodigal “WW” who shows up at the right time…

As for the head explosion and who was behind it, that surprised me.

https://www.gamesradar.com/the-boys-season-2-ending-explained/?fbclid=IwAR3vnRXhq8IXxQPchG3oh8CaMV4z_CvHTGecMxdMfFKra0RHD5pqf3IuQxo

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Al-x.

I didn’t like season one aside from Homelander and a few other bits and pieces but a couple friends are watching it so I figured I’d give it another shot so we can talk about it, and boy I glad I did.

Homelander is great still, one of the all time great villains for sure, but the rest of the characters stepped up too. Frenchie really appeals to me, like me he has found the glory of the Golden Girls gospel. (The theme song closing out Frenchie’s episode is one of my favorite TV needle drops ever.) MM works for me too, I believe him more this season as the glue of the team than I did last season. Kimiko can show a world of emotion with just a slight change in her facial expression. Butcher’s less of a goofball this season and thus more of the Garth Ennis hard bastard (with obligatory SAS training) he should be. And Stormfront is as timely a villain as you could ask for in a show released in 2020.

There’s one thing this show does a lot though that I really hope it moves past next season. Every time there’s downtime, two characters get together and have a heart to heart that inevitably leads to a meaningful story from their childhoods. It’s a fine device when used sparingly but shows a lack of imagination in how to reveal character when it’s over used. Breaking Bad/Better Call Saul have memorable moments like this but they have weight since, like most people, its characters aren’t constantly looking to discuss their childhoods and their parents and siblings with people they barely know.

But otherwise, I had a lot of fun with this show and am really glad I revisited it.

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lorcan_nagle, Dave, Al-x

Loved the season.

Quick bits about the finale

Deep is still the primo schmuck of this show.

Hughie will be still be covered in blood during season 3

Kimiko and Frenchie get to go dancing

Ryan’s step dad gave him some good advice

Homelander can do anything he wants

The Girls get it done.

Stormfront is not dead but defeated

 

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lorcan_nagle

Yeah, Stormfront’s definitely coming back sooner or later. They didn’t show her die and Edgar said she was being held in a secure facility (or something to that effect).

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lorcan_nagle

I love the fact that Kripke got his Homelander masturbation scene in. He talked about wanting to do it in Season 1 but thought that might be going too far. I think the scene works better in S2 considering everything he’s gone through.

I really enjoyed the finale and the season. Can’t wait for Season 3!

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Rocket, lorcan_nagle, Will_C

Will_C wrote:

Frenchie really appeals to me

My wife loves Frenchie in particular – he somehow feels like one of the most rounded, real characters in the show.

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Will_C, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Will_C wrote:

Yeah, Stormfront’s definitely coming back sooner or later. They didn’t show her die and Edgar said she was being held in a secure facility (or something to that effect).

Hundo p she’s either in the asylum they found a few weeks ago or a similar facility. I also wouldn’t be surprised if her limbs are regrowing.

Rocket wrote:

The Girls get it done.

As much as I loved that scene as a reflection and refutation of the fake feminism of Vought’s marketing bullshit earlier on, Frenchie saying “I guess the girls really do get it done” was one of those moments that almost ruined a great scene. It was like the writers either didn’t trust the viewers to make the connection without a little bit of extra reinforcement, or were so in love with that line they wanted to bring it back, and it ended up hurting the moment.

Rocket wrote:

Kimiko and Frenchie get to go dancing

Their discussion of raves in Algiers and dancing was one of my favourite moments in the episode. I definitely agree with Frenchie’s philosophy there.

Rocket wrote:

Deep is still the primo schmuck of this show.

I wonder if his happy ending is taking over NotScientology not that NotDavid NotMiscavige is dead?

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Will_C, Todd, Dave

All the Scientology stuff was particularly funny this week. Loved the eventual flip on the racism stuff with A-Train. Like the final twist reveal of the head-popper, it shows a willingness for the show to be cynical on all sides in a way that feels crushingly accurate.

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Will_C, Todd, lorcan_nagle

Dave wrote:

All the Scientology stuff was particularly funny this week. Loved the eventual flip on the racism stuff with A-Train. Like the final twist reveal of the head-popper, it shows a willingness for the show to be cynical on all sides in a way that feels crushingly accurate.

The show is cynical, but because it’s reflecting the cynicism that permeates the halls of power in the real world as opposed to being cynical about the world, I think. The emotional core of the show is Hughie and Annie retaining their inherent desire to do good despite being exposed to true horror, and Butcher taking the high road when he was prepared to wallow in that cynicism – like when he decided to triple-cross Stan Edgar and keep Becca and Ryan together, even if it dodn’t work out exactly like he planned.

A-Train getting back into the Seven is shown as something he’s happy about, but the show has spent two years hammering home that he’s expendable and is often seen as a joke by the rest of The Seven, he was under incredible social pressure to perform even as his power faded and that’s not going away just because he’s back in. He’s trying to wallow in the cynical world he thinks he loves but the show has been saying that it’s not a good life even if you might think it is. I won’t be surprised if series 3 has him coming to realise he’s just been handed a poisoned chalice.

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Will_C, Todd, Rocket, Dave

lorcan_nagle wrote:

The show is cynical, but because it’s reflecting the cynicism that permeates the halls of power in the real world as opposed to being cynical about the world, I think.

Absolutely. There’s a real heart at the centre of it that’s all about rejecting that cynicism I think. Butcher’s journey in this single episode from ‘dining with the devil’ to rejecting his own ruthlessness is a good example like you say.

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Will_C, Todd, Rocket, lorcan_nagle

Jon wrote:

Edit: wait, there’s one thing that doesn’t make sense though… why did the congress woman kill the CIA lady??

Okay, so yeah… one of the problems with the weekly schedule is I forgot things from earlier episodes and didn’t connect the dots… I thought head popper was a 3rd party vying for power, trying to put Vought out of business so she could move in herself… buuut nope, apparently she’s Edgar’s plant basically, which explains why she offed CIA lady (who was somewhat aware of THAT plan) and scientology dude…

So that makes Edgar one very smart cookie, and that gives us an idea of where S3 is heading with Hugie jumping out of the frying pan into the fire… though I think it would’ve been interesting if the congresswoman was indeed a 3rd party too.

[Rocket]

lorcan_nagle wrote:

Frenchie saying “I guess the girls really do get it done” was one of those moments that almost ruined a great scene.

I agree. I was just trying to be as quick as possible and as un-spoiler-y as possible. Someone else said they did not like Maeve showing up as quick as she did. I think as soon as she saw the Nazi stuff she located Stormfront(probably through Vought tracking her) and took off(possibly using an unseen car) so she could show up when she did. But I really liked that she did show up. She was the Seven #2 til SF showed up so not only did SF take her place in the Seven, but SF always made her (and the whole Seven) look bad.

I also liked the scene between SF and Becca because Becca had something SF wanted and it was something SF couldn’t have: A child. Becca got to be a mother and despite her attempt to steal Ryan and use Homie as a surrogate, SF could never be a mother because of the experiments performed on her. This is probably going way too deep but I bet SF might have considered all the new Compound V users as her “children” as well because her husband created it. That’s why she hated Becca so badly.

• This reply was modified 4 years, 2 months ago by Rocket.

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Todd, lorcan_nagle

lorcan_nagle wrote:

I also wouldn’t be surprised if her limbs are regrowing

Yeah, if her cleavage could no reason why her arms and legs couldn’t.

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Todd, Rocket, lorcan_nagle

I know I liked season one, but this has been a great fucking ride.
Awesomely brutal, plus an emotional rollercoaster.
I’m yelling at the screen again, plus almost bawling when I thought (she) was dead (No!…)

I loved that Girl Power scene.
Yes, Frenchies line didn’t help. They only needed to show the men (The Boys) cowering in fear.
But a good call on the music – “The Boys Want to be Her”
And I wouldn’t bother questioning Maeve’s appearance. It was awesome she did.

Loved the kids call, and Butcher ‘waking up’
Before that, would he have tried to?… y’know. The look on his face.
I think that went a little too far (especially after the promise).
They only needed to show confusion, then make the right choice.

So when I time travel back I tell them;
– remove one line of dialogue
– change one facial expression
– make sure Shaun Ashmore has a way to return
– more SH cuck porn

I do believe Stormfront can be alive, maybe with a Borg implant.
She ages slowly. It’d be cruel to take centuries to die.
Just use her wisely. May I suggest a return in season 4?
Seriously, they’ve hit on something Gold now.
Behind the scenes pow-wows to map to the end need to be going on now.
Seasons 3, 4, and 5. Not too much to ask.

And I have to thank them for making the word ‘Cunt’ so enjoyable.
I’ve been looking for a new swear word, and started using it.
Over-used it the same night (after a few beers) and am no longer allowed (I’m looking over my shoulder to type it).
Fun while it lasted. I guess North Americans just don’t use it right at all.

Suck my big black balls.
Such beautiful use of the English language, but again, I should not use.

Okay. Thought I had more but my brain really is kind of fried right now.
I was serious about the emotional rollercoaster.
But I fucking loved it!

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Uncle Retrospective, Dave, Rocket, Will_C, Ben

The Butcher one-liner series review: “And that, my friends, is a fucking ride!”

Fantastic series.  So much better for blitzing across two days.  The running joke for us was the advisory panel at the start of each panel, spotting if the number of warnings increased or decreased with each episode.

But, while the shock factor was as present here as in the first series – all those exploding heads were well done – it has far more to it than just the shock factor.  This series built on the corporate critique established in the first one by bringing Giancarlo Esposito, who seems to be in everything right now, as the head honcho at Vought.  But it also shows another skill in how it adapts the source material, being true to the spirit of it without following it literally.  Case in point – the change with having Becca still be alive, Butcher’s relationship with his still living parents – both are a major departure from the comic, but each is very effective.  Butcher’s antipathy towards kids clearly stemming from his father and his desire, even if he won’t admit it, to not inflict that on another.

Butcher, in both comics and TV, is a broken man covering up just how badly wounded he is by playing up  being a macho bastard, but the nature of those wounds differ quite a bit in the two.  While it will likely play out in a way linked to the comics, the end of the second series suggests it’ll be quite distinct too, especially where the Supes are concerned.  One of the best relationships in the show is Frenchie and the Female, here it has its ups and downs, but resolves very effectively.

The most ingenious bit of reinvention is with Stormfront.  Revising her into a media-savvy, culturally manipulative Nazi is very, very smart.  Some might look at how it plays out and wonder how a Nazi could have the skills she has, but that’s no mystery once you recognise the Nazis were among the first to realise the potential of the mass media for political manipulation and were very good at exploiting it.  The idea that those skills would simply be transferred to new technology is easily made with this foundation.

I’ve no idea where they’ll go for series 3, I’m looking forward to it.

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Dave, Rocket, lorcan_nagle, Sean Robinson

Oh yeah, you reminded me.

Stormfront’s line “People like what I’m saying; they just don’t like the word ‘Nazi.’”

That worked very well. Blunt, and just spoke truth.
Whoa, no. Not promoting the message, but that bullshit is still out there.

The other thing I remembered:
Watching the sign language first, with that one little motion.
Then having it interpreted.

“She said the truth is, she’s going to kick you in your Nazi Kitty.”

Perfect

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Todd, Dave, Ben, lorcan_nagle

Rocket wrote:

I also liked the scene between SF and Becca because Becca had something SF wanted and it was something SF couldn’t have: A child. Becca got to be a mother and despite her attempt to steal Ryan and use Homie as a surrogate, SF could never be a mother because of the experiments performed on her. This is probably going way too deep but I bet SF might have considered all the new Compound V users as her “children” as well because her husband created it. That’s why she hated Becca so badly.

I can see that, and it works better here than, say Yennefer’s characterisation in the Witcher where she trades her fertility for beauty and then spends literal centuries regretting it. Partially because it’s one of Yen’s primary motivations and is text (or like soustext? can we get more explicit than text?), but in The Boys it’s subtextual, and while it can be seen as part of her motivation, the whole taking over the world with an army of Supes is the primary driver.

Rocket wrote:

I also liked the scene between SF and Becca because Becca had something SF wanted and it was something SF couldn’t have: A child. Becca got to be a mother and despite her attempt to steal Ryan and use Homie as a surrogate, SF could never be a mother because of the experiments performed on her. This is probably going way too deep but I bet SF might have considered all the new Compound V users as her “children” as well because her husband created it. That’s why she hated Becca so badly.

She did have a daughter once though, so I’m not sure about that… it seems she just REALLY wanted that true natural-born ubermensch for obvious purposes. As for seeing all of the supes as her children, yes, I think she even says exactly that to HL before they fuck.

Well it seems that the Boys is picking enough steam that we might be talking about the next GoT. Good for them, they’ve all done a terrific job. I’m kinda bummed that no one talks about Preacher, because while it started a bit slow, it’s more or less the same kind of wonderful madness.

The Boys Boss Talks Finale’s Explosive Twist, Stormfront’s Fate and Season 3

TVLINE | I have to ask, because until I see the body being buried or something, I never trust TV shows anymore: Is Stormfront dead?
No, she’s not dead! She’s Stumpfront! She’s a stumpy little Nazi. She’s actually not dead. What we thought was interesting is, if you remember, she ages very, very slowly. So the best poetic ending for that character is someone who so believed in some kind of pure race finds herself mutilated and having to live with it for potentially centuries felt like a fate worse than death for her. So no, Stumpfront is not dead. Hashtag Stumpfront lives!

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Rocket, lorcan_nagle, Ben, Dave, Sean Robinson, Will_C

Eric Kripke Shares Details on Jensen Ackles’ Role in The Boys Season 3

In the season finale, Homelander (Antony Starr) says that Stormfront is in a secure facility, but we all know that Homelander loves to lie at press conferences. Is it possible that we’ll see Stormfront return in Season 3?
Kripke: I’m not going to say one way or another, but I will confirm that she is not dead and that she is now officially Stumpfront. She’s just this kind of living torso. She cannot regenerate. The strength of Ryan’s lasers — which were surprisingly powerful — are way more powerful than even Homelander’s when Ryan gets angry enough. [The idea that] the woman who wanted the purity of a master race finds herself living for potentially centuries as a completely mutilated character — we thought was the appropriate poetic just desserts for that little Nazi!

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