The Boys Season 2 Review - the boy season 3 update

 The Boys Season 2 Review - the boy season 3 update

This Amazon series is set in a world where there are superheroes; they aren't typical superheroes though; they work for the powerful Vought Corporation and consider ratings and profit to be more important than saving lives. They are also arrogant, disillusioned or generally unpleasant. The worst of these are 'The Seven', the most senior heroes who are heavily marketed by Vought. Working to expose them is a group known as 'The Boys'; led by Billy Butcher who is convinced that leader of the heroes, Homelander, is responsible for the disappearance of his wife. We are introduced to each group via new members; Hughie Campbell joins The Boys after ultrafast hero A-Train ran through his girlfriend; and Annie January an idealistic young heroine known as Starlight who joins The Seven. Hughie and Annie become friends before learning what the other is doing.

When I first heard of this I thought it was just a case of Amazon jumping on the superhero bandwagon but then heard a radio review which made it sound like a series I might like... it most certainly is! If you like your heroes to be heroic and good rather than self-centred egomaniacs you might not like this but if you like to see conventions turned on their head this is great. Another major difference between this and more typical stories featuring superheroes is that this is definitely not family friendly; there is a lot of strong violence, some sex and nudity and possibly the most swearing I've heard in a TV show. The story develops well over the two seasons that are currently available with some good twists and plenty of interesting character development. The characters on both sides are interesting and the cast does a great job portraying them. While the story can be a bit dark at times it is lightened by its humour; often being genuinely hilarious as we see events that wouldn't seem the most obvious source of laughs. Overall I'd definitely recommend this to older superhero fans who are looking for something different. I can't wait for season three.In a world where the identities of prominent superheroes are known to the public, with their own marketing teams and PR representatives, behind the scenes many are not as scrupulous and heroic as they portray themselves to be. Homelander (Antony Starr) tries to portray himself as a virtuous Captain America type, but is arrogant and immoral behind the scenes, with more than a few dark skeletons in his closet. The brash A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) is reckless and ends up killing the girlfriend of young Hughie Campbell (Jack Quaid) right after he proposes to her. This sets him on a course for revenge, when he teams up with the gruff Australian Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) who has his own score to settle. Meanwhile, the young, beautiful Annie January/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) becomes disillusioned at the murky world the people she looked up to inhabit.

The superhero craze, which began in the early 00s and shows no signs of letting up, has morphed from something aimed at the pre-teen crowd, to something grown adults have come to have a subversive fondness for, intent on exploring the deep, dark inner turmoil of the tortured heroes, or what they serve as some kind of subliminal metaphor for, blah blah blah...And so we have this part light hearted, part dark and brooding Amazon Prime series, that takes a wildly counter cultural approach to the genre.

Regarding the aforementioned grown adult superhero love in, of all those blamed for this trend, British actor Simon Pegg is one of those whose name most frequently pops up to get the blame, so it's fitting here that he has a supporting role as the unfortunate Hughie's dad. But he's largely forgotten in the background, leaving us with the lead stars to really carry the thing. Starr has charisma and presence as Homelander, matched by Urban's dark, brooding turn as the man who's eventually revealed as his nemesis. Usher is really the token black role as the immoral A-Train, while Moriarty is a quiet revelation as the innocent, unassuming Annie/Starlight, with an alluring beauty that does her no problems.

It's an original and clever idea, that's biggest problem is that it is just never as engaging, effective or funny as it could be. But it's certainly got buckets of potential, and if this series doesn't really blow your socks off, there's loads of hope for Season Two.