"Alone we're nothing, BUT! Together we're the spice girls" an analogy put forth by the character Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) roughly around episode 4 or 5 and honestly it's got some merit to apply it wider to the series as a whole. It's a brilliant season of TV but has some pretty major flaws as a whole which slightly ruin the product. As a premise it's flawless and is exactly what I enjoy seeing, lathered in irony and a sense of satire that really is something which usually meets my "needs" so to speak but as mentioned with that early analogy it's a bit misguided. Annoyingly characters are badly handled, Billy the semi lead for example is as charming as you could want from the protagonist but is pretty shallow until what's practically the final 10 minutes of the series and has no depth due to the shows structure, something I'll get to briefly. Additionally others, in particular the 'Seven' are oddly positioned, we have our in with Starlight who's struggling to adjust to life as a hero but the others who frankly have greater importance to the wider narrative fail to impact all too often. The Deep, sacrificed to push Starlight's arc onwards and is later used as comic relief, Black Noir seen one screen for no longer than 10 minutes through all 8 hours (roughly), Maeve the maternal guide to starlight once again drifts in and out to serve the needs of that arc. That leaves A-Train, a man introduced in shocking fashion but fails to be a compelling villain and is hastily dropped in this finale and the head of the group Homelander, the only I can say serves being a villain. His lack of action regarding the plane crash and disregard for others he works and is close too forms a truly detestable figure and one you really enjoy hating, the sign of a great performance and solid writing only to be undercut by the reveal he's a father to a child birthed via Billy's "missing wife". A reveal which seems odd, it opens potential for spin offs and future series as this child is a natural "Supe" and so there could be others which make an X-Men like force in years to come but it's cheap, leaving a question mark over Billy's future arc and his entire motivation and slightly undercutting the villainy of Homelander who was an even darker figure when it was implied this relationship was non-consensual and as dark as something like that is it's brave to follow up on so was slightly disappointing.
Now to structure, something I referenced earlier, it's another slightly jarring layout with a lot of the plot for this season held back until it's too late to get a satisfying conclusion, essentially baiting for future seasons for a deferred payoff. Additionally it does seem to take a little while to establish this worlds rules and structure though it is thoroughly created eventually it's made in hindsight, with a focus on answering later which is fine but does equate to there being little substance for this season as all narrative threads are practically unanswered.
Now, gripes out the way I can finally begin to wax lyrical about what might genuinely be one of the best things currently around on TV, the humour and it's rather knowing, almost sarcastic atmosphere is always rife and provides some hilarious moments of comedy gold, see for example the Dolphin liberation scene. It masterfully balances genres and has some high quality drama aspects with the whole political undercurrent and the dealings of Vought which nicely unravel also leaving a sense there's more to come still so it'll be interesting to see how that unfolds later on. Characters are two side of the same coin, for as much as there is wrong with some there are vivid and detailed figures also, Starlight's moral struggle against herself and the seven creates a magnificently deep character whilst Billy and Hugh, the sharers I'd most screen time have a fantastic chemistry, Billy's outsider perspective often gearing on others to have some sort of comedic effect and Hugh's naive approach to the world he's thrown into really help the audience in A) Settling into what the series holds and B) Enjoying everything on offer. The supporting cast are also high quality, Stillwell and her drive to be something more than a handler is a good subplot and there's even a cameo from Hayley Joel Osment as a washed up child star "Mesmer" who serves narrative purpose and entertainment perhaps at a cost of one of the regular featuring heroes who don't have much of the limelight. It's soundtrack is amazing and there's some genuinely genius sequences of action throughout the 8 episodes. Performances across the board from a cast of relatively anonymous people are exceptional and as mentioned earlier it's absolutely hilarious
Fast become one of the greatest things currently on TV, particularly in a post Game of Thrones run 'The Boys' has promise to become a cornerstone of what TV is capable of and certainly has many directions in which season 2 and beyond could go, if you can get your hands on it then give it a watch
Now to structure, something I referenced earlier, it's another slightly jarring layout with a lot of the plot for this season held back until it's too late to get a satisfying conclusion, essentially baiting for future seasons for a deferred payoff. Additionally it does seem to take a little while to establish this worlds rules and structure though it is thoroughly created eventually it's made in hindsight, with a focus on answering later which is fine but does equate to there being little substance for this season as all narrative threads are practically unanswered.
Now, gripes out the way I can finally begin to wax lyrical about what might genuinely be one of the best things currently around on TV, the humour and it's rather knowing, almost sarcastic atmosphere is always rife and provides some hilarious moments of comedy gold, see for example the Dolphin liberation scene. It masterfully balances genres and has some high quality drama aspects with the whole political undercurrent and the dealings of Vought which nicely unravel also leaving a sense there's more to come still so it'll be interesting to see how that unfolds later on. Characters are two side of the same coin, for as much as there is wrong with some there are vivid and detailed figures also, Starlight's moral struggle against herself and the seven creates a magnificently deep character whilst Billy and Hugh, the sharers I'd most screen time have a fantastic chemistry, Billy's outsider perspective often gearing on others to have some sort of comedic effect and Hugh's naive approach to the world he's thrown into really help the audience in A) Settling into what the series holds and B) Enjoying everything on offer. The supporting cast are also high quality, Stillwell and her drive to be something more than a handler is a good subplot and there's even a cameo from Hayley Joel Osment as a washed up child star "Mesmer" who serves narrative purpose and entertainment perhaps at a cost of one of the regular featuring heroes who don't have much of the limelight. It's soundtrack is amazing and there's some genuinely genius sequences of action throughout the 8 episodes. Performances across the board from a cast of relatively anonymous people are exceptional and as mentioned earlier it's absolutely hilarious
Fast become one of the greatest things currently on TV, particularly in a post Game of Thrones run 'The Boys' has promise to become a cornerstone of what TV is capable of and certainly has many directions in which season 2 and beyond could go, if you can get your hands on it then give it a watch