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Posted in: Amazon Studios, Review, streaming, TV | Tagged: amazon, Episode 4, prime video, Review, season 3, the boys
The Boys S03E04 Review: Sex Toys, Power Grabs & One Very Bad "Big Bad"
As much as I would like to kick off my review of Amazon & Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys by bestowing upon it a wave of profound & astute observations honoring the episode's overall excellence? I think the greatest compliment I can give "Glorious Five Year Plan" (directed by Julian Holmes and written by Meredith Glynn) is how it left me feeling. Righteously pissed. And worried. And heartbroken. And really in need of a glimmer of hope. But most of all? If someone offered me Compound V-24 the moment the credits hit, I would've taken it so I could laser my laptop in half or punch a hole through the screen like it was my job. Have you heard the expression, "It's always darkest before the dawn"? Well, here's hoping for some bright-n-shiny stuff during the second half of the season because things got really, really dark this week in all the right-wrong ways (that's a good thing). so with that in mind, we're throwing on the "MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!" sign and throwing down an image spoiler buffer before we do a deeper dive into S03E04 "Glorious Five Year Plan." See you on the other side!
Well, if we need any further proof that the nightmare that Hughie (Jack Quaid), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Serge (Tomer Capon), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Maeve (Dominique McElligott), and pretty much everyone else is living through right now is a result of a dick-measuring contest between Butcher (Karl Urban) and Homelander (Antony Starr), look no further than "Glorious Five Year Plan." But as both men look to shore up their powerbases, we're also presented with a key difference between the two. While Homelander sees himself as a "god" meant to be worshipped, loved & feared by his "lesser," Butcher's masochistic "death-by-supe" suicide run is driven by this need he has to be punished for his past and that his sins make him the best one to wallow in the mud to do what needs to be done (evident in this episode and in previous ones when Butcher tried to stop Hughie from going too far down the path that Butcher chose).
So let's take a look at what went down, what it might mean, and where things go from here. Buckle up, because we're about to let slip some Random Thoughts:
Symbolism Begging for Its Own Article Alert: Mother's Milk wearing an N.W.A. shirt while watching Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) perform a cover of Blondie's "Rapture" on an '80s episode of Solid Gold. If there was ever a scene that was begging of a larger discussion on cultural appropriation, it's that one.
Homelander is not only the vilest, piece-of-shit villain on any television or streaming series running right now, but the argument could be made that he's in the "Top 5" in the past ten years. And the best part? For a show that doesn't lack in serious action, Homelander's villainy comes from the way he psychologically manipulates everyone around him with just words. Just look at the raging Stockholm Syndrome in play with The Deep (Chace Crawford) and A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), and let's not forget Ashley (Colby Minifie) using Homelander's own abusive lines to her advantage. Though as we saw with Supersonic (Miles Gaston Villanueva), if he needs to make a point to Starlight then he's more than willing to put his words into action. If Starr's performance gets ignored during the next awards season, then we have to question why we even pretend to have objective awards show.
Maybe it's because Giancarlo Esposito brings a suave, chilling coolness to everyone he plays, but am I the only one who thinks Stan Edgar has a "failsafe" in place for not only Homelander but also all supes? Because this dude has a confidence that's unwavering even as he's being ousted from his own company and most likely going to jail. Even during that face-to-face with Homelander, Edgar still walked out the winner.
It's All a Power Grab: Serge & Kimiko decide to break from their pasts with Little Nina (Katia Winter), Shining Light & Butcher to take back their lives. Hughie takes V-24 in order to be able to stand up for himself and protect Starlight. Neuman (Claudia Doumit) turns on Edgar to side with Homelander to humble Vought (and get some Compound V for her daughter). Starlight enlists Supersonic to join the rebellion building against Homelander. A-Train running to Homelander to snitch about Starlight's plan. If fear is one of the main themes this season, then how folks react to that fear and look to solidify their power against it needs to be thrown into the mix.
Yup, that really was Hughie squaring up to Homelander during that tense one-on-two confrontation they had with Starlight. Of course, it would've lasted only as long as Homelander would've allowed it, but if Hughie's willing to go there with V-24? Imagine what's in store now that he's tried it… and likes it.
The scenes between A-Train, Ashley, and Also Ashley (Sabrina Saudin) discussing the supes brutality going on against Trenton's Black community by Blue Hawk (Nick Wechsler) and how that turned into an example of corporate co-opting of social movements were satirical punches-to-the-face that worked on so many levels. Who didn't feel dirty the moment when A-Train stopped a riot with… his energy drink.
How heartbreaking was it when Starlight learns that Queen Maeve has secretly been training for the moment when she, Butcher, and the others get their moment to take down Homelander once and for all? Maeve is a warrior going into a battle she knows she will most likely not walk away from. But also like a warrior, she's sworn to do as much damage as possible before she goes. As much as I need Starlight to have a huge "Fuck You!" moment (and here's hoping that close-up of her at the end was the beginning of that), I need one for Maeve, too.
That moment between Butcher & Mother's Milk where the former explains to the latter why he was chosen for the team and why he's the real leader of the team was one that was a long-time coming. Not only because it was a truth that Mother's Milk needed to hear but also because it made Mother's Milk's disappointment in Butcher & how far things have deteriorated with the team that much more heart-wrenching.
Are we surprised that The Seven have their own line of sex toys or that the show would find a way for Kimiko to turn them into weapons? No. Was I surprised by how ready, willing & able Ashley and Cameron Coleman (Matthew Edison) were to give the Homelander one a "test run"? Yeah, that one got me. But as much as my first instinct was to laugh, the show has me too wrapped up in Ashley's well-being and how she's using abusive sex to deal with her Homelander problem for me to feel anything but concerned.
The Hunt for Soldier Boy Ends… And Begins Again! Good news? Butcher and the crew found Soldier Boy and unfroze him back into our time. Even better news? We may have gotten a ten-ton clue as to what it is about Solider Boy that could prove a big threat to Homelander. Bad news? Soldier Boy escaped and now he's wandering around unchecked in a 2022 world. Even worse news? Before he left, he unleashed a power surge that appears to have stripped Kimiko of her powers, leaving her critically injured. And even worse than that? I can't get the horrific visual of a supe-hamster (are we sure it wasn't a gerbil?) burrowing into a man's eyesocket and setting up shop in his brain.
And on that note? We will see you next week as we take a look at Amazon's The Boys S03E05 "The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies" (with only one episode to go until "Herogasm").
The Boys Season 3 Episode 4 "Glorious Five Year Plan"
9/10
As much as I would like to kick off my review of Amazon & Showrunner Eric Kripke's The Boys by bestowing upon it a wave of profound & astute observations honoring the episode's overall excellence? I think the greatest compliment I can give "Glorious Five Year Plan" (directed by Julian Holmes and written by Meredith Glynn) is how it left me feeling. Righteously pissed. And worried. And heartbroken. And really in need of a glimmer of hope. But most of all? If someone offered me Compound V-24 the moment the credits hit, I would've taken it so I could laser my laptop in half or punch a hole through the screen like it was my job. Have you heard the expression, "It's always darkest before the dawn"? Well, here's hoping for some bright-n-shiny stuff during the second half of the season because things got really, really dark this week in all the right-wrong ways (that's a good thing).
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