Directed by: Sarah Boyd, Nelson Cragg, Julian Holmes, Phil Sgricca
Distributed by: Amazon Studios
Written by Alexander Reams
96/100
The gap between Season 3 of Amazon Prime’s “The Boys” was much larger than between the previous seasons, they used that time to effectively build up the hype for Season 3, with an ominous but simple poster of Billy Butcher (a diabolical Karl Urban) with glowing orange eyes, that teased that he would gain powers during this season. “The Boys” continues to speed up its storylines to get as much in as it can in without feeling cramped. Scarcely 20 minutes into the first episode Frenchie (an insane, brilliant, sweet Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) are covered in guts after a C-List ‘Supe’ named Termite sneezes and explodes out from inside his partner, turning him into bits. This covered-in guts motif is constant in “The Boys.”
Kripke has assembled a stacked ensemble, along with Urban, Capone, and Fukuhara, we have Hugh “Hughie” Campbell (Jack Quaid) as another new member (Kimiko is the other) of “The Boys,” Marvin “Mother’s Milk”, or M.M. (Laz Alonso) another former member of “The Boys” and Butcher’s right-hand man. However, M.M., Frenchie, Kimiko, Hughie, and Butcher are never one note. Kripke constantly gives us quiet moments with these characters alone and amongst one another that provide solid character development and believable relationships.
Following the finale of Season 2, Stormfront is presumed dead, after her fight with Starlight, Kimiko, and Maeve that left her severely disfigured. Ryan accidentally killed Becca in an attempt to kill Homelander (Antony Starr) who is held on a leash by Maeve (Dominique McElligott) due to the flight incident video that she has. The Deep (Chace Crawford) has left The Church due to disagreements on bringing him back into The Seven. But remains married to his wife Cassandra (Katy Breier) and is angling to find a way back into The Seven, while A-Train’s health continues to deteriorate coming to a head towards the end of the season. For the majority of this season, Antony Starr’s Homelander takes center stage, and while he may not have the most screen time, he is the main thread, gaining more control as his ego continues to grow and his mental state continues to spiral.
Following their employment at the FBSA (Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs) and the killing of several supes, The Boys’ main goal this season is to find the rumored ‘super-killing’ weapon to finally finish the mission and kill Homelander. While tensions build between the team, Frenchie and Kimiko’s relationship continues to grow. Hughie, on the other hand, is getting stagnant in his relationship with Starlight, some might call it insecure, others that he wants to help. The weapon that can kill a Supe is revealed to be Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), the leader of the former superhero team “Payback”. He’s been in captivity at a Russian science facility for the past 40-something years and The Boys turn him loose. This leads to a few city blocks being leveled and a deal to (hopefully) kill Homelander.
Season 3 is the most packed season of “The Boys” yet. They manage to never make it feel heavy, and a major credit for that goes to the top-tier performances from Karl Urban and Antony Starr. Genre television is rarely recognized by awards, but you would be hard-pressed to find someone who doesn’t at least find the quality in their performances. As the show has gained popularity, it’s clear that the budget has increased, and the visual effects are some of the best on television. Kripke and the entire team brought their A-game this season, providing satisfying arcs that finished up storylines and teased new ones.
They also continued the tradition of playing with expectations, instead of the big fight being at the end of the show, it was during “Herogasm”. This episode was teased from the start of production on Season 3 and when it came, it conquered. Those 60 minutes were crafted to include as much information, action, emotion, and bodily fluids as one could cram into that time frame and it still never felt stuffed. Culminating in a fight that had been built up for the entire show. Homelander, Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie are each involved in the fray. With Butcher and Hughie on the new “Temp-V”, leveling the playing field for the first time.
“The Boys” is one of the most shocking, hilarious, and disturbing shows that has hit the small screen in some time. Kripke and co. managed to shock and anger their audience with the surprisingly quiet season finale, which brought the hammer down once again, with Homelander killing a protester in front of hundreds of people, his supporters quickly praising him, and the final shots of the show focusing on Homelander and his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), as the former begins to realize that he really can do anything and get praise for it, and Ryan finishing his season arc of turning more and more into his father, a moment that is terrifying and sets up the story to start with a bang in Season 4.
“The Boys” Season 3 Trailer
You can connect with Alexander on his social media profiles: Instagram, Letterboxd, and Twitter. Or see more of his work on his website.
