TV Review: "The Boys" Season 3



Superhero content is an ingrained part of entertainment culture today. From Marvel to DC films and television shows, there’s a serious oversaturation of content. Thankfully we have the more obscure shows like Prime Video’s “The Boys.” Entering its 3rd season, we return to follow “The Boys,” led by Karl Urban’s Billy Butcher. Pitted against a group of “heroes,” The Seven, both sides wage a war of evil versus evil. After the cataclysmic events of last season, Billy leads the hunt against Homelander (Antony Starr). This involves bringing new heroes like Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), who might be the only chance to stop Homelander. To say any more about this season's plot would spoil some gnarly surprises. What I can say is that if you’re tired of superhero content, this one might be for you. 

This is the most faithful season to its comic source material for better or worse. Its gore is brutal and unrelenting but has a lot to say about society's love of superheroes.  The manifestation of that idea is Starr as the monstrosity that is Homelander. Reconciling from the loss of his love, Stormfront (Aya Cash), last season is damaged. He still attends all the public appearances of a hero, but his eyes tell a different story. Starr has been absolutely spellbinding and terrifying as Homelander over Seasons One and Two. What makes Season Three a different story is how he makes the character vulnerable. He certainly isn’t “whimpering,” but you can tell that he’s broken. The same could be said for Butcher, who’s on a warpath after the loss of his love, Becca, last season.

Besides “The Boys” simply looking for ways to stop the Seven, this season flirts with a bigger overarching idea. All of these characters are forced to ask the question: “what does it mean to have power?” This idea permeates over the season, especially with the addition of Jensen Ackles. The best way to describe Soldier Boy is like the polar opposite of Captain America. Soldier Boy serves as the fly in the ointment this season, which is a huge benefit. He’s a new unknown entity that forces everyone to question their mortality. It’s a very mature idea for this over-the-top show to deal with in its 3rd season. That isn’t to say that if you’re just in the mood for action, it doesn’t deliver.

Taking inspiration from exploitation cinema, the gore is essentially a character in the story. It’s so gratuitous in places during season 3, that it might lose a large part of its audience. The gore and villainy are at their most extreme to a point that some may crave something more uplifting. If that’s where you stand, it’s totally understandable and we all have our preferences and things that get us excited. How much you may like these latest seasons depends on if you’re already a fan. The willingness you may have to get on the weird wavelength is what makes this season the best yet. You just have to know that even for this show, Season 3 sets a high bar for being wild and weird.

As someone who’s seen every superhero-related property out there, none are like “The Boys.” It’s a “middle-finger” to a popular genre and I wish there were more content out there like it. This third season throws some very interesting elements, without losing sight of the great core performances. Always having been a series of flirting with ideas of heroism, the questions of morality are what makes this season stand out. The way in which creator Eric Kripke turns the superhero genre on its head makes for unpredictable TV. It's these kinds of narrative choices in content that I hope we get more of in the future.

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