Review: The Boys Season 2 Episode 4, “Nothing Like It in the World”

Hughie, Mother’s Milk and Annie take a road trip; Butcher risks everything to get to Becca; and Homelander loses it. It’s another solid episode of The Boys.

After a traumatic encounter with Homelander, Annie joins Hughie and Mother’s Milk as they take a trip to see another whose life was destroyed by Vought. The three haven’t spent much time together, which makes for some expectedly awkward moments. But there are also plenty of well-written conversations. It’s moments like these when the story slows down and the characters’ personalities start to show through that the real connection between the audience and the show happens.

Hughie and Annie’s romance subplot plays a big role here. There’s a lot of focus on the space between them, and they’re framed in the same shot whenever possible. The trip ends when the trio discovers that the former Super known as Liberty is the current StromFront, and they rush back to the city.

Once Butcher’s new inside source gives him the Becca’s approximate location, he wastes no time in finding a way to reach her unnoticed. The two are able to share a few nights together and try and figure a way to leave. But after Butcher reveals his true intentions for Ryan, Becca makes it clear that nothing will make her leave her son, reminding him that when she discovered her pregnancy, she went to Vought rather than him. It’s a stark reminder of the kind of man Butcher is, and how he’s grown worse with time. He’s silent as Becca warns him of coming guards and drives off.

This is a cool twist: Butcher technically saves the person he wanted to save, only to find they don’t want it. He’ll have to find a new purpose, as his only want in the world just drove away.

Meanwhile, Homelander is losing it. He’s more alone than ever before, and any person that doesn’t act as an echo chamber for him he either kills or ignores. In his frenzied state, he replaces some members of The Seven and use others to garner sympathy points amid the ongoing Compound V scandal. He outs Queen Maeve without consulting her, and can’t hide his obvious contempt for her when confronted about it. Things get weird when he visits a shapeshifter he’s imprisoned; he forces her to look like Madelyn Stillwell (Elizabeth Shue). The shapeshifter reassures him as he downs gallons of milk. It’s creepy and cringeworthy…and then he really snaps, decides he doesn’t need anybody in his life, and snaps the shapeshifter’s neck.

“Nothing Like It in the World” does a great job of balancing several different storylines at once. From the cinematography to the writing to the performances, each storyline compliments the others without getting in the way.

Grade: A

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