Glad to see that you're reviewing this season, Alex!
For me, I'm looking for *new* stories from the show. It feels like they've been stuck in the same rut for too long - Butcher wants to kill Homelander, Homelander wants to rule over all the lesser humans, etc. The latter is especially concerning; Sage feels just like Stormfront right now, in terms of plot function. Are we rerunning S2? It's good that Butcher didn't betray Hughie for the tenth time, but all of this is feeling a little familiar, so I'd love to see them branch out.
The one exception is Frenchie's new love interest. Question, since it's been so long and I've forgotten: did we know Frenchie was into men? To me that felt like some welcome inclusion in a show that has been, for so long, very white and straight and male. (Yes, I know, Maeve, but our primary POV characters are Butcher, Hughie, and Homelander, let's be real.)
One thing that interested me was this episode's assumption that viewers have seen Gen V. I can imagine Butcher's mention of the supe virus from Gen V S1 being outta nowhere for viewers who hadn't seen that show, so its very offhand use here was interesting. I'll be curious how they treat that going forward. The danger, of course, is when shows expect you to watch every offshoot, which can get exhausting and start to feel like homework. I quite liked Gen V, except for Homelander's role at the end, so it worked fine for me, but I wonder about those who haven't seen it.
For me, this went a long way in explaining Kripke's insistence on announcing that season 5 would be the last season before they released s4, so people know this story is coming to an end. To me that was all about ensuring the audience doesn't think they'll be spinning their wheel with every season ending on a "Homelander/Butcher call a draw and go their separate ways due to extenuating circumstances."
And yes, I mention this in the Stray Observations of episode 3, but I haven't seen Gen V yet. I'll be watching it now just to acquaint myself with this material, even though I have a real issue with shows expecting you to watch other shows to know what's going on. The reference to the virus struck me as out of left field, but I didn't feel like I was expected to know anything about it, which is the least they can do for viewers.
I feel similarly to you, in terms of wanting The Boys to tackle *new* stories. I do think the overarching plot is there, but Butcher being the same awful friend has gotten tired. So it's wild that it took a brain-tumour-induced hallucination - from a tumour caused by his own hand - to cause Butcher to maybe do the right thing for once. Without digging deep into my very niche interest in a field called neuroethics, I find the question of 'Is Butcher doing this because he's changing, or is this tumour affecting his behaviour?' kind of compelling. I'm also probably even more compelled by the idea that Butcher facing his mortality - and not in his usual way of punching things in the face with a deathwish - might be forcing him to chang haha. So probably this is just normal (for The Boys) growth. Maybe?
I haven't seen this show at all, but I had a random question for those who do. Is the new Jeffrey Dean Morgan character just called Kessler in the show like he is in the comics? I'd heard some early reports that he was going to be called by the full name of Joe Kessler, which I'm not thrilled by for hopefully obvious reasons.
Fwiw, he's called "Joe Kessler" by Butcher in his intro scene, in that way a lot of characters' full names are used when they first show up, but the next scene we see with him in ep3, Butcher just calls him Joe the whole time.
Alas! Well, hopefully that doesn't become too much of a thing. (Weirdly, this same thing happened a few years ago to my dad -- he's got the same name as Midge Maisel's lawyer, Michael Kessler. And in his case, the same profession too.) Thanks for the confirmation.
I enjoy the show and the performances. Reminds me very much of Silicon Valley in the use of “gross out” humor. Though after 3 seasons, there is little shock value left.
The Trump of it all is the weakest part of it. The plot is a little too MSNBCy and isn’t making a point that hasn’t been articulated on the Op Ed pages over the last 8 years ad nauseam.
i thought this episode was sloppy but has earned our trust like you said. the "got hughie's files right here for ya" prank reminds me how outrageously funny this show can be.
Whew Boy(s), this show is back. I don't have the space or patience to write all of how I feel about it, but I'll just say I'm moderately excited the show is back, but also VERY glad they said season 5 will be the last one. Alex is correct in that each episode is very overstuffed to the point of exploding, and relies on grossout humor and dick jokes maybe too much.
Which is a shame, because this show really does do the quiet moments well. Everything with Hughie's dad/family, Butcher losing his grip, and heart-to-heart moments are really well written and acted. And then they go explode a penis or something because the show remembers that the source material is a comic book that loves its juvenile humor a bit too much. It's heavy-handed and obvious to a fault, any sense of subtlety or winking that it's close to our reality is pretty out the window. And this is a show that could really benefit from a 10-13 episode run instead of 8, because even with trying to cram in each plot point from the graphic novels, it STILL feels fast, even for an hour.
What do we think about the modified, not-quite-binge-release where 3 episodes go up, and then the rest are weekly? I think most everyone prefers weekly at this point, gives the series more time to breathe/remain in the cultural zeitgeist/discuss online, but Amazon and Netflix still seem to love the content dump.
I am covering my eyes and not reading this review yet because real life happenings means I can't keep up with The Boys week to week but I'm glad to see it covered and looking forward to coming back to read later!
Glad to see that you're reviewing this season, Alex!
For me, I'm looking for *new* stories from the show. It feels like they've been stuck in the same rut for too long - Butcher wants to kill Homelander, Homelander wants to rule over all the lesser humans, etc. The latter is especially concerning; Sage feels just like Stormfront right now, in terms of plot function. Are we rerunning S2? It's good that Butcher didn't betray Hughie for the tenth time, but all of this is feeling a little familiar, so I'd love to see them branch out.
The one exception is Frenchie's new love interest. Question, since it's been so long and I've forgotten: did we know Frenchie was into men? To me that felt like some welcome inclusion in a show that has been, for so long, very white and straight and male. (Yes, I know, Maeve, but our primary POV characters are Butcher, Hughie, and Homelander, let's be real.)
One thing that interested me was this episode's assumption that viewers have seen Gen V. I can imagine Butcher's mention of the supe virus from Gen V S1 being outta nowhere for viewers who hadn't seen that show, so its very offhand use here was interesting. I'll be curious how they treat that going forward. The danger, of course, is when shows expect you to watch every offshoot, which can get exhausting and start to feel like homework. I quite liked Gen V, except for Homelander's role at the end, so it worked fine for me, but I wonder about those who haven't seen it.
For me, this went a long way in explaining Kripke's insistence on announcing that season 5 would be the last season before they released s4, so people know this story is coming to an end. To me that was all about ensuring the audience doesn't think they'll be spinning their wheel with every season ending on a "Homelander/Butcher call a draw and go their separate ways due to extenuating circumstances."
And yes, I mention this in the Stray Observations of episode 3, but I haven't seen Gen V yet. I'll be watching it now just to acquaint myself with this material, even though I have a real issue with shows expecting you to watch other shows to know what's going on. The reference to the virus struck me as out of left field, but I didn't feel like I was expected to know anything about it, which is the least they can do for viewers.
I feel similarly to you, in terms of wanting The Boys to tackle *new* stories. I do think the overarching plot is there, but Butcher being the same awful friend has gotten tired. So it's wild that it took a brain-tumour-induced hallucination - from a tumour caused by his own hand - to cause Butcher to maybe do the right thing for once. Without digging deep into my very niche interest in a field called neuroethics, I find the question of 'Is Butcher doing this because he's changing, or is this tumour affecting his behaviour?' kind of compelling. I'm also probably even more compelled by the idea that Butcher facing his mortality - and not in his usual way of punching things in the face with a deathwish - might be forcing him to chang haha. So probably this is just normal (for The Boys) growth. Maybe?
I haven’t seen Gen V. It seemed out of left field.
I'm glad I just finished Gen V. I won't spoil anything, but this episode started to build on what happened there.
I haven't seen this show at all, but I had a random question for those who do. Is the new Jeffrey Dean Morgan character just called Kessler in the show like he is in the comics? I'd heard some early reports that he was going to be called by the full name of Joe Kessler, which I'm not thrilled by for hopefully obvious reasons.
My headcanon is that he's just playing an older Comedian.
Fwiw, he's called "Joe Kessler" by Butcher in his intro scene, in that way a lot of characters' full names are used when they first show up, but the next scene we see with him in ep3, Butcher just calls him Joe the whole time.
Alas! Well, hopefully that doesn't become too much of a thing. (Weirdly, this same thing happened a few years ago to my dad -- he's got the same name as Midge Maisel's lawyer, Michael Kessler. And in his case, the same profession too.) Thanks for the confirmation.
I enjoy the show and the performances. Reminds me very much of Silicon Valley in the use of “gross out” humor. Though after 3 seasons, there is little shock value left.
The Trump of it all is the weakest part of it. The plot is a little too MSNBCy and isn’t making a point that hasn’t been articulated on the Op Ed pages over the last 8 years ad nauseam.
i thought this episode was sloppy but has earned our trust like you said. the "got hughie's files right here for ya" prank reminds me how outrageously funny this show can be.
Whew Boy(s), this show is back. I don't have the space or patience to write all of how I feel about it, but I'll just say I'm moderately excited the show is back, but also VERY glad they said season 5 will be the last one. Alex is correct in that each episode is very overstuffed to the point of exploding, and relies on grossout humor and dick jokes maybe too much.
Which is a shame, because this show really does do the quiet moments well. Everything with Hughie's dad/family, Butcher losing his grip, and heart-to-heart moments are really well written and acted. And then they go explode a penis or something because the show remembers that the source material is a comic book that loves its juvenile humor a bit too much. It's heavy-handed and obvious to a fault, any sense of subtlety or winking that it's close to our reality is pretty out the window. And this is a show that could really benefit from a 10-13 episode run instead of 8, because even with trying to cram in each plot point from the graphic novels, it STILL feels fast, even for an hour.
What do we think about the modified, not-quite-binge-release where 3 episodes go up, and then the rest are weekly? I think most everyone prefers weekly at this point, gives the series more time to breathe/remain in the cultural zeitgeist/discuss online, but Amazon and Netflix still seem to love the content dump.
I am covering my eyes and not reading this review yet because real life happenings means I can't keep up with The Boys week to week but I'm glad to see it covered and looking forward to coming back to read later!
We'll be here waiting for you, Egwene. :)
dropping 3 episodes in a row keeps means?
outlandish and crazy, almost like real life politics with its government and corporate entanglements.