Briefly recall the content of the previous season. In the world of the series, there is a squad of superheroes called “Seven”. The headquarters of the detachment is located in the powerful corporation Vought, whose specialists are looking for assignments for superheroes, receive money for the services of the “Seven” and are engaged in their advertising.
But these superheroes are not positive characters through and through, at least not all of them. Among them there are narcissists, greedy people, depraved people and rapists.
Well, it’s no surprise that superheroes have their enemies. This is a squad that calls itself “The Boys”. They are not superheroes, but nevertheless they are able to create a lot of trouble for both the “Seven” and the Vought Corporation itself. The detachment is led by former intelligence officer William Butcher, who has his own scores with the head of the “Seven” Patriot (Homelander). It also includes a boy named Huey, whose fiancée is accidentally killed by one of the superheroes, the fighting Frenchman, Butcher’s old friend EM, and the superheroine Kimiko, who was rescued by the “Boys” in her time.
The first season ends on how Butcher finds out that his wife Becca, whom he considered dead, did not die: she gave birth to a son from the Patriot who raped her and the corporation hides Becca and her son in some wilderness.
The continuation of the second season begins at about the same moment.
As you know, the ranks of the “Seven” thinned out – Transparent was killed by the “Boys”, Submarine and Train-A somehow went crazy, and they were kicked out of the squad, so the Patriot (Anthony Starr) is concerned about which of the new superheroes to include in the squad. Madeleine Stilwell, who led the detachment, left this world in the first season not without the friendly help of the Patriot, who was tired of his dependence on Madeline, the Patriot took a certain Ashley (Colby Minifi) to the role of a PR officer for the detachment: she looks into the Patriot’s mouth and completely obeys him.
However, the Patriot did not manage to take someone into the squad in accordance with his own preferences. The superheroine Thunderstorm (Aya Cash) suddenly appeared in the squad, whose origin is very unclear and who was sent personally by the head of Vought, Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). The patriot tried to make a scandal to Stan Edgar, but he quickly reassured him, saying that Vought is primarily a pharmaceutical company and if the Seven creates problems for it, it will simply cover the squad, that’s all.
Meanwhile, the Boys, although Butcher (Karl Urban) is out of the game, continue their fight. But it is very difficult for them without a leader, because Huey (Jack Quaid), of course, does not pull on the leader of the detachment in any way. However, Butcher will soon join them, so the fight will continue.
***
I was really looking forward to the second season, I really liked the first one. Moreover, the creators finished the first season very effectively, having made a good start for the next season, and it was interesting how it would all develop. Otherwise, there is always a danger that a good series, having raised a high bar in the first season, already in the second season slips into some kind of incoherence – there were so many such examples.
Here, fortunately, this did not happen: the second season was also quite successful, and although in the final they somehow quite easily sorted out a specific impasse into which the Boys squad was brought, nevertheless I watched with great pleasure, and touched for the third season (it is unlikely to be earlier than in a year and a half) is left quite interesting.
What’s good here? The “Seven” clearly demanded fresh blood, and it was poured into the squad – in the form of a completely gorgeous Storm (Stormfront), which, obviously, not only is not afraid of the discontent of the Patriot, but is not afraid of the Patriot himself, and everyone in the squad is afraid of him. But behind the Thunderstorm is the great and mighty Stan Edgar, and besides, she herself is unmeasuredly cool.
However, Thunderstorm just does not pretend to seize leadership in the detachment, although she is quite capable of it. She clearly wants to manipulate the Patriot for her own purposes, and she’s quite good at it.
An excellent role for Ai Cash, the character is extremely bright and charismatic: in my opinion, this is the most interesting hero of the second season, although the hero is definitely negative. But here with goodies – more tension than the series is just valuable.
Giancarlo Esposito of Vought President played clearly in the style of Mr. Fring from Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul, but here, in fact, nothing else was required: Stan is domineering, self-confident, perfectly able to bend people to his will and he has no no one will spoil, even the Patriot.
The “Boys” detachment has not been replenished with any new characters (well, except for obvious extras), but Butcher himself is still very interesting there, who, among other things, solves an important psychological problem for himself – he wants to return his wife, who gave birth to a child from Patriot , he also continues to fight with the entire “Seven” and with the corporation.
Hugh in the second season does not play such a prominent role as in the first, but he is still sweet and smart, he also listens to Billy Joel, which personally we only welcome the cat Bublik, continues his romantic relationship with Starlight, but this relationship in the series is not particularly concentrate – and do it right.
The most colorful Frenchman (Tomer Capon), as in the first season, is very interesting, like his relationship with Kimiko, and he still bickers with MM, who keeps threatening to leave the squad, in the same funny way.
In the second season, a completely new character was added – Alastar Adana (Goran Visnich), the head of the “Collective Church”, which is a totalitarian sect with a charismatic and very influential leader (Stan himself, the head of Vought, comes to negotiate with him), fanatics and followers. A completely pigged Underwater falls into the network of this church: they bring him to his senses and Alastair clearly plans to use the Underwater for some of his own purposes.
Some critics wrote that it was completely incomprehensible to them why this church was introduced into the plot of the second season, but as for me, it is very understandable. The series is brightly satirical, and such churches are an integral part of modern American society, and not only American. And the groundwork for the third season has clearly been made with it: I think that this church will still play its role.
In general, the second season did not disappoint in any way, I watched it with great pleasure, which is what I wish you, especially since now the entire season has already been posted in its entirety (I watched one episode a week, on the day of release). Let’s wait for the third season.
PS By the way, one of the scenes in the finale, where the Patriot against the background of the Moon, standing on a skyscraper, self-satisfies himself, looking at the city, – as far as I read, it was filmed for the first season, but then they did not dare to show it. In the second, they took a chance – and they did it right: she adds certain features to understand the character of the character. And the musical accompaniment there is also significant – for sure someone will remember where it was.
Boys. Second season / The Boys. Season 2 series review
Director: Eric Kripke Cast: Karl Urban, Anthony Starr, Dominic McElligot, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Jesse Asher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capon, Karen Fukuhara, Aya Cash, Giancarlo Esposito, Goran Visnjic, Colby Minifi
Series, USA, 2019, 60 min. 8 episodes