You're correct to highlight Jesse T. Usher for this season and last, Alex, as his character assignment is getting more and more interesting as the series goes on. The Will Farrell cameo was great, too.
Sure, a well-rounded episode with a climactic fight scene, some really good dialogue, and some really disgusting visuals. Sounds about The Boys to me. Loved the visual of Splinter peeling off of himself to create more copies; the less said about how excited the author of the series was when he discovered he can have a guy run a 5 man train on himself, the better.
Firecracker's speech was very well done. The character's completely correct that making every internet sad loser feel like they're fighting a grand culture war is information we feel like we already know about daily life, but spelled out in a very means-to-an-end way, pretty frightening. I still feel like she, or the new Noisy Noir, or Sage herself will just get lasered or head-popped by one antagonist or another at some point, probably for little reason.
And Sage....well, it can be tough having a character's power be just the smartest person ever. For this show, the smartest person is probably going to make some pretty dumb mistakes and plans, even if she manages to trap the team in this one. The fact that she doesn't stay as invisible and as quiet as possible as the smartest human makes me think that she isn't that at all, and her proximity to Homelander is probably having her thinking she can control him, when he can't even control himself.
Enjoying the reviews and the season so far! I think Talkative Black Noir treating his job as a serious theatrical role is the most amusing thread for me so far.
A couple references I caught this episode:
- Having recently watched the Wire, it's clear that A-Train's scene was an homage to D'Angelo's Barksdale courtyard couch hangout
- I don't remember any past mirror/alternate self scenes that Homelander had in previous seasons, but this one at least reminded me of Willem Dafoe's split personality and mirror scenes as Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002). One of the voices Antony Starr put on even sounded like Dafoe!
I enjoy a multitude of entertainment options? How does one not engage with media, journalism and entertainment of varying world viewpoints and opinions?
There's a firm difference between engaging with media of varying viewpoints and paying to consume it, as you do with Taibbi. And then there's Phetasy, who continually platforms the absolute dregs of society, the kinds of people who would sooner see me dead than see me exercise my rights. Honestly, she's a stars and bars bustier away from being Firecracker.
If those are the two political writers you've chosen to follow on this platform, one can only wonder what you get from tuning into The Boys each week, given that the viewpoint of both the comic and the show is that people like Taibbi and Phetasy, and people who give them credibility, are worthy only of contempt, pity, and being the butt of the joke.
I'm late to these threads since I'm only just watching season 4 now, but your view on Taibbi can only be that of someone who hasn't actually read any of his books. Griftopia is one of the most searing indictments of Wall Street and the financial crisis you'll ever read. The Divide is a damning expose of haves and have-nots in the criminal justice system. Insane Clown President is some Nostradamus-level shit, predicting Trump's 2016 victory without even realising it. (God, I wish I'd paid more attention before I put money on Hillary.)
In short, his politics are right up the alley of this show. He loathes the misuse of both corporate and government power and is a forceful advocate for the rights of the citizenry to not be manipulated.
Aaaaaand I'll end my derailment of this old thread there. I get very annoyed with summary dismissals of a journalist I've been reading for years and have a *lot* of respect for.
I'm in my late 30s. I came of age reading Taibbi's very good work in Rolling Stone and his books. I used to read him in the Boston Phoenix, which is something few can claim at this point. Griftopia is great. It was also written 15 years ago. Everything Taibbi has written since he left RS - the first time, generally, but the second time especially - has been extremely suspect. If you read his reporting on the Twitter Files and found him credible *or* insightful, your media literacy lapsed even before his skills as a journalist did.
The Twitter Files really does seem to be the break point for a lot of people who used to be readers of his. However I don't know how I can meaningfully engage with your criticism of his recent work when you just use catch-alls like "suspect". He seems to me like the same writer he's always been, it's just that he's turned his attention of late onto the failings of the modern Democrats and speech/censorship issues. I don't agree with his some of his takes on them; I particularly think that modern, public social media networks *do* have some obligation to moderate content that is broadcast to mass audiences.
I don't have to agree to find it thought-provoking, though, and I also find that his takes are usually a very refreshing antidote to a lot of the bullshit to be found in the corporate media.
But to steer this comment thread back to the topic of the politics of this TV show that we both enjoy watching, I really don't get where you're coming from you think an independent journalist like him is who it's going after. As Eric Kipke has said in interviews, the show is not subtle about its fascist targets.
You're correct to highlight Jesse T. Usher for this season and last, Alex, as his character assignment is getting more and more interesting as the series goes on. The Will Farrell cameo was great, too.
Sure, a well-rounded episode with a climactic fight scene, some really good dialogue, and some really disgusting visuals. Sounds about The Boys to me. Loved the visual of Splinter peeling off of himself to create more copies; the less said about how excited the author of the series was when he discovered he can have a guy run a 5 man train on himself, the better.
Firecracker's speech was very well done. The character's completely correct that making every internet sad loser feel like they're fighting a grand culture war is information we feel like we already know about daily life, but spelled out in a very means-to-an-end way, pretty frightening. I still feel like she, or the new Noisy Noir, or Sage herself will just get lasered or head-popped by one antagonist or another at some point, probably for little reason.
And Sage....well, it can be tough having a character's power be just the smartest person ever. For this show, the smartest person is probably going to make some pretty dumb mistakes and plans, even if she manages to trap the team in this one. The fact that she doesn't stay as invisible and as quiet as possible as the smartest human makes me think that she isn't that at all, and her proximity to Homelander is probably having her thinking she can control him, when he can't even control himself.
Enjoying the reviews and the season so far! I think Talkative Black Noir treating his job as a serious theatrical role is the most amusing thread for me so far.
A couple references I caught this episode:
- Having recently watched the Wire, it's clear that A-Train's scene was an homage to D'Angelo's Barksdale courtyard couch hangout
- I don't remember any past mirror/alternate self scenes that Homelander had in previous seasons, but this one at least reminded me of Willem Dafoe's split personality and mirror scenes as Green Goblin in Spider-Man (2002). One of the voices Antony Starr put on even sounded like Dafoe!
The Dems are the good guys? Both the Dems and Repubs are the villains acting as if they are the saviors from pure evil.
The Dems don’t have a messaging problem. Their problem is that their message is niche.
I agree on the overall review of the episode.
I'm curious why you, someone who apparently actively seeks out the slop that Matt Taibbi and Bridget Phetasy write, would watch a show like The Boys
I enjoy a multitude of entertainment options? How does one not engage with media, journalism and entertainment of varying world viewpoints and opinions?
There's a firm difference between engaging with media of varying viewpoints and paying to consume it, as you do with Taibbi. And then there's Phetasy, who continually platforms the absolute dregs of society, the kinds of people who would sooner see me dead than see me exercise my rights. Honestly, she's a stars and bars bustier away from being Firecracker.
If those are the two political writers you've chosen to follow on this platform, one can only wonder what you get from tuning into The Boys each week, given that the viewpoint of both the comic and the show is that people like Taibbi and Phetasy, and people who give them credibility, are worthy only of contempt, pity, and being the butt of the joke.
Yeah, Taibbi. So terrible!🙄I also engage with the NYT, WaPo, the Nation, Vox, the Atlantic.
Firecracker is closer to Tomi Lahren or a Rachel Maddow than a Phetasy.
Why do you care so much about why I enjoy the Boys? I enjoy its skewing of superheros, Disney, cable news, etc.
I'm late to these threads since I'm only just watching season 4 now, but your view on Taibbi can only be that of someone who hasn't actually read any of his books. Griftopia is one of the most searing indictments of Wall Street and the financial crisis you'll ever read. The Divide is a damning expose of haves and have-nots in the criminal justice system. Insane Clown President is some Nostradamus-level shit, predicting Trump's 2016 victory without even realising it. (God, I wish I'd paid more attention before I put money on Hillary.)
In short, his politics are right up the alley of this show. He loathes the misuse of both corporate and government power and is a forceful advocate for the rights of the citizenry to not be manipulated.
Aaaaaand I'll end my derailment of this old thread there. I get very annoyed with summary dismissals of a journalist I've been reading for years and have a *lot* of respect for.
I'm in my late 30s. I came of age reading Taibbi's very good work in Rolling Stone and his books. I used to read him in the Boston Phoenix, which is something few can claim at this point. Griftopia is great. It was also written 15 years ago. Everything Taibbi has written since he left RS - the first time, generally, but the second time especially - has been extremely suspect. If you read his reporting on the Twitter Files and found him credible *or* insightful, your media literacy lapsed even before his skills as a journalist did.
The Twitter Files really does seem to be the break point for a lot of people who used to be readers of his. However I don't know how I can meaningfully engage with your criticism of his recent work when you just use catch-alls like "suspect". He seems to me like the same writer he's always been, it's just that he's turned his attention of late onto the failings of the modern Democrats and speech/censorship issues. I don't agree with his some of his takes on them; I particularly think that modern, public social media networks *do* have some obligation to moderate content that is broadcast to mass audiences.
I don't have to agree to find it thought-provoking, though, and I also find that his takes are usually a very refreshing antidote to a lot of the bullshit to be found in the corporate media.
But to steer this comment thread back to the topic of the politics of this TV show that we both enjoy watching, I really don't get where you're coming from you think an independent journalist like him is who it's going after. As Eric Kipke has said in interviews, the show is not subtle about its fascist targets.