Review: The Boys — Season 2 and the cult of personality

Based on the eponymous HQ by G, the first season of The Boys managed to stand out with one of the best productions of 2019 by Amazon Prime Video and won a large share of fans, after all, what could be better than evil superheroes, blood, guts and social criticism of large conglomerates, Hollywood and politics? It's simple: all this in double and with an even greater amount of violence.

a very difficult choice

And that's how the second season of The Boys aired on September 4, exclusively on Amazon Prime Video. The production decided to follow a different path from its first one a year, betting on a weekly sequence of episodes, making only the first 3 available at the beginning of the month and following the form of an individual chapter every Friday, totaling 8 parts from 40 minutes to 1 hour.

Just as the series is not ashamed to show its acid reviews, neither is this one who writes you. The choice of a weekly posting model did not please everyone, as expected. But decisions like these weren't made overnight, and the main reason for the change in that pace was to give the show more longevity. Similarly, just think of Stranger Things, Netflix. Of course, in a first week the series manages to keep up well in views and social networks, but it is quickly forgotten due to the subsequent maintenance of other content.

Amazon's expectation was to keep The Boys with constant approval and buzz on the social networks. Make it even more widespread to different audiences, and it would be wrong to say that it was not successful in this regard. In fact, the second season managed to attract a new kind of viewer and pique people's curiosity, but everything comes at a cost. While the showrunner Erik Krypke runs that risk, he exposes The Boys to a series of continuity slips and eventual holes in the script that might not happen or not be so noticeable in a continuous episodes format.

The second time is even better (but with caveats)

But how to start talking about the narrative of the second season of The Boys? In a more mysterious first year, the second part of the series takes place shortly after the surprising ending, in which Billy Butcher discovers that his then-deceased wife, Becca, is alive and with a child of the homeland captain. From here on, it's better not to go into additional details, as the series manages to deliver a plot — almost — tied together and very solid for the audience.

The consistency of the series is created from the initial three episodes, which are very well done and open the door to the weekly chapters, and right away some minor problems start. The main mistake of the second season of The Boys are continuity errors between its episodes. There seems to be no transition, often, between the end of one part and the beginning of another. Of course, this could not become a rule since certain events categorically do not need to be so well designed for those who watch.

On the other hand, there are important moments that are simply ignored, like a character who was in a hospital bed in a state of not so good health, and immediately in the next episode he was already on the scene, even with sequels. Or a given character who decides to escape from a super army armed with a simple switchblade from one moment to the next, without showing the development of this specific action, even though he has already contextualized the reason. Fatially it might be weird to say this, but if the pacing of episodes were different, I — probably — wouldn't be complaining about it. The big issue here is the fluidity of actions that are interrupted due to a distribution and marketing decision.

In addition, the unfolding of the plot shows occasional plot holes that do not make sense for that universe. There's not much point in a group of fugitives by the police and wanted by superheroes roaming the city in broad daylight without anyone recognizing them. These slip-ups don't make the second season of The Boys less interesting or worse, but they are there and can be annoying.

And maybe those are the only two problems with sophomore year. The Boys. Progressively, the episodes get better, more interesting and, with absolute certainty, more visceral. Amazon was right to keep the right amount of explosions, guts, dismemberment, nudity, blood and especially some moments of tension, which were a key to enjoying this season. Fortunately, we are not talking about violent scenes “just because”. Each punch is meticulously thought out by the screenwriter to hit the audience's stomach.

And I couldn't talk about these scenes without mentioning some directors who did a great job in The Boys. Philip Sgriccia, Liz Friedlander, Steve Boyum, Stefan Schwartz and Frederick Toye command the crème de la crème — in homage to Frenchie — of the series' episodes, bringing unbridled action, lots of deaths and great moments of relaxation, even because The Boys also have great emphasis on his sleazy, immoral and prejudiced humor a lot of the time.

If before the series mainly focused its criticism on issues related to the life of a celebrity, Hollywood, and the constant and unscrupulous American entertainment industry, the second season expands its horizons, but still maintains its roots, since Vought is permanently listed as an agency of famous superheroes.

Now the screenwriters and the showrunner found the bureaucratic and political side to migrate, using and abusing references and current events to characterize their characters. It is no longer exclusively about showing the rottenness of entertainment, but how the masses cling not only to ideas, but also to people; to personalities, creating an imagery of adoration and contemplation of public figures shaped to implant and disseminate their hate speech across a nation, and consequently to the world.

Themes such as terrorism, racism, Nazi-fascism and xenophobia are widely addressed and highlighted in the context of celebrities and men with titanic powers. And that's where a great new character in The Boys comes in: Storm. Played by actress Aya Cash, the character synthesizes the worst in the modern world, rescuing a terrifying past and masking it as a renewal and a symbol of hope in an attempt to make the United States into a country as it was before, endowed with good customs and civilized people.

charismatic psychopaths

Likewise, it is impossible to speak of The Boys not to mention the main gimmicks of this series. Karl Urban seems to have been born to interpret Billy Butcher, who is no longer just a bully, but a killing machine without scruples, shame and fear. Character development takes on deeper and deeper layers and introduces us to the different facets of a troubled, resentful adult who uses violence to resolve any situation.

On the other hand, the great villain of The Boys is not ironically the weakest character in the series. Again the actor Anthony Starr seems to have been born, specifically, to interpret the homeland captain. His charismatic posture in front of the cameras is constantly confronted with a huge ego and susceptible to manipulation. The symbol of a warped America craves approval from the media and the masses. Homelander is the product of entertainment itself, but it carries with it a series of self-acceptance issues and it makes up for it by tearing innocents in half in city alleys. Starr knows exactly how to bring such a well-built character to life with pinpoint facial expressions and an impeccable cynical sense.

The rest of the characters also need no introduction. Hughie (Jack Quaid)) to starlight (Erin Moriarty) evolve as an amusing couple, while Mom's Milk (Laz alonso), Frenchie (tomer capon) and mainly Kimiko (Karen fukuhara) develop an excellent arc for the understanding and background of these characters.

There is still the more than special participation of the actor Giancarlo Esposito as Stan Edgar, the big boss behind Vought. His appearances are very limited, but like Gus Fring in Breaking Bad, the actor shows that he has what it takes to face anyone without batting an eye. The series also has the participation of other actors, such as Shawn ashmore (X-Men), but it doesn't get to the depth with these characters.

Other characters that make up the seven also gain new layers, such as the queen maeve (Dominic McElligott), who develops his relationship with his girlfriend while being blackmailed by the homeland captain, and exploited by entertainment for being bisexual. After all, companies need representation or they will suffer retaliation from minority groups in society. The Boys shows in an extremely satirical way how the industry uses means to convince minorities through fake speeches and fake smiles on screens.

profundo (Chace crawford) to Bullet train (Jessie Usher) also gain more scope at the beginning of the second season of The Boys, but the series is unable to continue and that and loses the step, leaving everything with an air of resolution for the future and some conflicts open.

Other important merits must be directed to the makeup team, when creating scenes of gore and extremely realistic violence, along with the addition of special effects, which while not comparable to higher-budget series, makes for good CGI. The soundtrack has nothing original and clings to classics by Billy Joel and Aerosmith, but that guarantee a good degree of agitation and a satisfying result.

What was good just got better

More cruel, violent and daring, the second season of The Boys surpasses its first year with accurate reviews, humor, lots of blood and excellent performances. It's still not a perfect production, but it's good enough to keep viewers satisfied for a few more years. The Boys paves the way for season 2020 with a groundbreaking final episode and is definitely one of the best series of XNUMX.

The Boys can be assisted through Amazon Prime Video with a monthly subscription of R$9,90.