Review: The Boys Season 2 Episode 1, “The Big Ride”

The Boys are back for another season of social commentary mixed with superhero parody mixed with crazy amounts of gore. Things get off to a good start in the premiere:

The Boys are back to fight against the Supers, and it’s grittier and more fun than ever. It’s up to Hughie (Jack Quaid) and the rest of the Boys to avenge the innocent lives lost as a result of the actions of the immoral titans who dare to call themselves “superheroes.”

With Butcher (Karl Urban) missing and presumed dead, Hughie, Fenchie (Tomer Capon), Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) must find a way to fight back now that they are fugitives. They spend the majority of the premiere wondering whether to run or fight, but once they discover a new threat from a superpowered terrorist within their city, they opt to continue fighting the good fight despite the looming danger.

They meet with Butcher’s contact within the CIA for assistance, but just as she seems able to help them, her head literally explodes, which is exactly the kind of absurdly gruesome twist we expect from this show. Hughie screams like a child as they all scamper back to their van and drive off.  It’s violent stuff, but it’s played for laughs and succeeds.

Hughie and Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) meet in secret and plan their own way of exposing Compound V, the source of the Supers’ powers. The public believes the heroes are born with their powers, so exposing it could sway public opinion.

Their plans involves doing things they never thought they would do. Annie blackmails an old friend for leverage and Hughie cuts ties with his family to protect them. Both characters were written really well throughout the first season and it carries over here. The romantic tension is still in evidence but never feels overwritten, and both performances are on point. It’s impossible not to root for these two.

Speaking of performances, Anthony Starr makes Homelander the best character on this show by far. He’s “Superman” with a terrifying, homicidal dark side. But man, you just can’t take your eyes off him when he’s on screen. He’s charismatic, charming, devilishly handsome, and plays the public like a fiddle. It’s easy to forget he’s the main antagonist and out to kill any who stand in his way. You almost want to root for him.

But there’s a villain behind the villain, played by the man everyone calls when they need a cunning antagonist: Giancarlo Esposito. He plays Stan Edgar, the new head of Vought Companies, it seems like the role is written just for him. He’s intelligent, commanding, confident, and of course, power hungry. In the space of five minutes, he puts Homelander in his place, outsmarting the “hero” in a way he never saw coming. I can’t wait to see more of the conflict between these two bad guys.

The Boys got buzz in its first season for mixing social commentary with gleefully over-the-top gore, and that continues here. I expect it to keep going for what should be a ridiculous second season.

Grade: A-

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