“The Boys” third season: without applying the brakes, the Prime Video series maintains its high level
Nothing is out of calculation for Eric Kripkeshowrunner of TheBoys. With the base material very well studied, the creator of the series knows how to play his chips so as not to lower the level of intensity, blood and black humor without losing creativity and freshness. In a third season, bigger than its previous editions, the series adds musical fragments, direct mockery of Marvel characters (until now the series focused on parodying DC comics heroes) with the new group presented and a wink direct to the superhero movie industry and streaming platforms in the real world. The first three chapters promise another journey of pure satisfaction.
Season 3 returns with Butcher (Karl Urban), Hughie (Jack Quaid), frenchies (Thomas Capone), MM (Laz Alonso) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) less than a year after the end of season 2. Things changed quite a bit as The Seven Y Vougth they were totally exposed by the reveal of Stormfront (Aya Cash) and her Nazi origins and ideology. With this new scenario, Butcher now works for Hughie, since he joined the Federal Office of Superhuman Affairs. A tense relationship as always, but now with another configuration since the one who gives the orders is the character of Jack Quaid. The rest of the team, Frenchi and Kimiko try to have a semi-romantic but normal relationship, while she begins to dream of being a great singer, something that will have quite fun and functional scenes to counteract the explicit violence of the series. On the MM side, he tried to recover his life, but there is still something that does not leave him alone and it will have to do with the new characters.
Again in Vought Internationalthings are more tense than ever. Homelander (Anthony Starr) was left in a rather delicate position due to his relationship with Stormfront. To that episode we must add Butcher’s threat to publish a video that would make him the number one enemy of society. On the other hand, Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito), owner of Vought, will have to move the chips to wash the company’s image: Homelander loses total protection and gives more power to Starlight (Erin Moriarty) as co-captain of The Seven. Among the best of these new chapters is the conflicted Homelander, an enormous work by Antony Starr, and all the problems that surround it, in addition to his confrontation with Edgar. Excellent handling of tension, dialogues and a subplot that can take more prominence in the rest of the season.
Perhaps the most important tidbit of the new chapters, the one that can change settings and move things faster, is the creation of Compound V 24 hours. (V-24) This new formula gives whoever receives it superhero powers for one day. Although it is still in the testing stage, Vought wants to sell it to the state, while a few doses find their way into Butcher’s team which puts him on an equal footing with any superhero. Meanwhile, the mission of the TheBoys is to find out how they beat Soldier Boythe great incorporation of Jensen Ackles to the series as a superhero who was supposedly dead because they managed to defeat him with a secret weapon. Butcher and company want to find out what that weapon is and where it is to put an end to Homelander.
There is a good surprise in the third season of TheBoyswhich repeats the formula, adds more elements, but instead of exhausting it with a dark tone, black humor and gore as main weapons, it improves or, in the worst case, maintains the level of its previous seasons. Something very difficult to achieve for such a popular series.
Eric Kripke knows how to move and rearrange its elements. In this case, place the character of Giancarlo Esposito more in the center of the scene, with more intelligent dialogues and as a counterfigure to Homelander, different from what we saw before, one more non-physical power struggle. It does the same with the addition of the new superheroes and gives them strong arguments to join the story. It does not incorporate them all at once, but prepares the ground to give them presence one by one. First with the defender of the carrying of arms (very opportune politically and socially), Gunpowder (Sean Patrick Flanery) Y Crimson Countess (Laurie Holden), former partner of Soldier Boy. Both pave the way for what is to come with respect to this old formation that was losing prominence against The Seven.
TheBoys continues to build extremely crazy moments from the superhero who can become a miniature to the explosion of a carnival Homelander. In this third season, the tone of the fiction is completely assimilated by viewers, but it continues to cause surprise for those who are watching it. Creativity, the limit of the absurd, but very well embedded in the story. Other points to highlight is the relationship between Hughie and Starlight, who managed to establish themselves and show themselves as a couple, but the participant of the Vought reality show to get the new member of The Seven, becomes a nuisance between the couple, in addition to the new Hughie’s problems at work. Butcher still does not find the best state of his as a father and guardian, in addition to dealing with his greatest obsession: murdering every superhero that crosses his path.
Characters and performances to match. Anthony Starr Y Karl Urban in an acting duel every time they cross paths, it is still the best of the series. With the active incorporation of Giancarlo Espositothe progress of the characters only improves. Eric Kripke manages again, at least in these first three chapters, that he knows the base material, manipulates it at ease without losing the adrenaline and humor of his initial seasons. What’s coming promises to be a roller coaster of blood and emotion.
TheBoys debuted this Thursday with three episodes and every Friday (Thursday night actually) a premiere episode per Prime Video.
