The Boys: The Big Ride Show Only
September 5, 2020 11:40 AM - Season 2, Episode 1 - Subscribe
With Butcher still missing, Hughie, Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko are now fugitives, and Homelander and Vought are more powerful than ever. But just as the Boys are about to leave the country, they are pulled back into the fray.
I was impressed, not least of which by how easily it sucked me back in; I was meaning to just watch the first episode, but shotgunned all three before I knew it. (Interesting strategy that Amazon is rolling out by releasing them a few at a time; just to keep their ratings up, or something else? Rick and Morty split seasons, and so have some other shows, I think.) I'll try to keep the episodes separate; there's a Fandom wiki for the show that will help.)
Anyway, yeah, "bizarre and problematic" to be sure, but also fun, grotesque, and grotesque fun. I think that Edgar is standing up to Homelander because of the implicit threat in bringing Stormfront into the group. Vought made Homelander, they can make someone else--or maybe several someone elses--in his league, and Homelander doesn't really seem to have many or any other coping skills besides being able to summon up the God-America-and-apple-pie bullshit in a heartbeat. Speaking of Homelander, since Butcher isn't around until the very end, it's mostly Homey's ep, and he's weirdly compelling in a bomb-with-a-broken-timer kind of way. The scene where he goes to the office of the woman that he murdered in last season's finale, and does what he does with what he finds there, is about the best summation of his character possible--he's to profoundly-disturbing attempts at being sentimental as Thanos was to population control. Likewise when he's spending time with his son; he shouldn't be around children, or any populated planet, for that matter, but there he is.
The rest of the crew (on both sides) get their turns, and they're mostly great too. The Boys in their bunker, trying not to go crazy; Annie stripping off the bits of her sexed-up Starlight persona until she can walk out of a building adorned by an oversized poster of herself and not be noticed; The Deep hitting rock bottom (his therapist is played by Jessica Hecht, who may be familiar to some as Gretchen Schwartz from Breaking Bad); Gecko, who's got the same power as The Old Guard or Wolverine, but who does about the complete polar opposite from them with it; and the funeral, which goes down about exactly the way that you'd think it would--the symbolism of everyone gathered around an empty coffin under the pretense that there's an invisible corpse in it is maybe a little anvilicious, but it still works.
What I didn't like? Mostly what happens to Raynor. Second episode in a row that the show gets rid of a powerful woman; that's not a good look. (They're bringing Stormfront in, of course--and the scene where she livestreams the PR commercial that the other two are making is brilliant--but that's not much of a substitution; I'm not sure how much to say about that, since even though the nature of the character was spoiled months ago, it doesn't enter into the show until a couple of episode from now, but come on, it's Stormfront.) A certain retired colonel had better watch her back.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:19 PM on September 5, 2020
Anyway, yeah, "bizarre and problematic" to be sure, but also fun, grotesque, and grotesque fun. I think that Edgar is standing up to Homelander because of the implicit threat in bringing Stormfront into the group. Vought made Homelander, they can make someone else--or maybe several someone elses--in his league, and Homelander doesn't really seem to have many or any other coping skills besides being able to summon up the God-America-and-apple-pie bullshit in a heartbeat. Speaking of Homelander, since Butcher isn't around until the very end, it's mostly Homey's ep, and he's weirdly compelling in a bomb-with-a-broken-timer kind of way. The scene where he goes to the office of the woman that he murdered in last season's finale, and does what he does with what he finds there, is about the best summation of his character possible--he's to profoundly-disturbing attempts at being sentimental as Thanos was to population control. Likewise when he's spending time with his son; he shouldn't be around children, or any populated planet, for that matter, but there he is.
The rest of the crew (on both sides) get their turns, and they're mostly great too. The Boys in their bunker, trying not to go crazy; Annie stripping off the bits of her sexed-up Starlight persona until she can walk out of a building adorned by an oversized poster of herself and not be noticed; The Deep hitting rock bottom (his therapist is played by Jessica Hecht, who may be familiar to some as Gretchen Schwartz from Breaking Bad); Gecko, who's got the same power as The Old Guard or Wolverine, but who does about the complete polar opposite from them with it; and the funeral, which goes down about exactly the way that you'd think it would--the symbolism of everyone gathered around an empty coffin under the pretense that there's an invisible corpse in it is maybe a little anvilicious, but it still works.
What I didn't like? Mostly what happens to Raynor. Second episode in a row that the show gets rid of a powerful woman; that's not a good look. (They're bringing Stormfront in, of course--and the scene where she livestreams the PR commercial that the other two are making is brilliant--but that's not much of a substitution; I'm not sure how much to say about that, since even though the nature of the character was spoiled months ago, it doesn't enter into the show until a couple of episode from now, but come on, it's Stormfront.) A certain retired colonel had better watch her back.
posted by Halloween Jack at 5:19 PM on September 5, 2020
I'm watching it but I'm really at the point where I hope half the characters kill off the other half, then the surviving half split and kill each other off, an so on until there are two left and they manage to off each other.
But it is entertaining.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 10:30 AM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
But it is entertaining.
posted by Tabitha Someday at 10:30 AM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
The boisterous laugh I let out at the sight of Translucent's empty glass coffin was much needed. I'm so glad this show is back.
posted by guiseroom at 1:42 PM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
posted by guiseroom at 1:42 PM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
So happy this show is back to fill the Doom Patrol shaped hole in my life.
I feel like the casting department for this show is pretty literal, though:
Eric Kripke: For Mr. Edgar, we need someone quiet but intimidating, with ice in his veins, like Gus Fring from Breaking Bad.
Casting Director: We could just get Giancarlo Esposito.
Eric Kripke: Great! Done! Now for Stormfront, we need a woman who gives no fucks at all, who is heinous but still charming, like Gretchen from You’re the Worst.
Casting Director: We could just get Aya Cash.
Eric Kripke: Great! Done! Let’s knock off early!
My one complaint is that we spend too much time with the Deep. His plot line is too disconnected from everything that’s going on, and I don’t care enough about him to revel in his misery or hope for his redemption. He has a couple of good bits in episodes 2 and 3, but I can only hope this is setting up something worthwhile.
posted by ejs at 1:45 PM on September 6, 2020 [3 favorites]
I feel like the casting department for this show is pretty literal, though:
Eric Kripke: For Mr. Edgar, we need someone quiet but intimidating, with ice in his veins, like Gus Fring from Breaking Bad.
Casting Director: We could just get Giancarlo Esposito.
Eric Kripke: Great! Done! Now for Stormfront, we need a woman who gives no fucks at all, who is heinous but still charming, like Gretchen from You’re the Worst.
Casting Director: We could just get Aya Cash.
Eric Kripke: Great! Done! Let’s knock off early!
My one complaint is that we spend too much time with the Deep. His plot line is too disconnected from everything that’s going on, and I don’t care enough about him to revel in his misery or hope for his redemption. He has a couple of good bits in episodes 2 and 3, but I can only hope this is setting up something worthwhile.
posted by ejs at 1:45 PM on September 6, 2020 [3 favorites]
Weekly episodes?
What is this, 1987? Are they going to want me to look up when the next episode airs in my TV Guide?
Guess I'll see you all for the "Full Season" thread sometime in October.
posted by madajb at 3:03 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
What is this, 1987? Are they going to want me to look up when the next episode airs in my TV Guide?
Guess I'll see you all for the "Full Season" thread sometime in October.
posted by madajb at 3:03 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
What is this, 1987? Are they going to want me to look up when the next episode airs in my TV Guide?
Eighties to be sure. It’s a unity of theme, along with the Fresca and the Billy Joel.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:20 PM on September 6, 2020
Eighties to be sure. It’s a unity of theme, along with the Fresca and the Billy Joel.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:20 PM on September 6, 2020
I love the fact that this show is even more nihilistic than our current reality. The constant re-spinning of civilian casualties to Vought's advantage, Homelander as the insecure sociopath beloved by the public at large, the creation of foreign enemies in order to scare the public, a white supremacist welcomed into the fold of the mainstream -- it's pretty much the current Republican playbook minus the coronavirus denial.
posted by benzenedream at 6:28 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by benzenedream at 6:28 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Weekly episodes?
Not quite. They dropped the first 3 episodes all at once, but will be weekly from here on it. I like that they're trying something slightly different, but was looking forward to binging this all labor day weekend.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:14 PM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Not quite. They dropped the first 3 episodes all at once, but will be weekly from here on it. I like that they're trying something slightly different, but was looking forward to binging this all labor day weekend.
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 7:14 PM on September 6, 2020 [2 favorites]
Weekly drops worked for The Mandalorian, and I don't mind the slow roll out.
posted by jazon at 9:03 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
posted by jazon at 9:03 PM on September 6, 2020 [1 favorite]
Or they didn't finish post-production on all the episodes on time, and in order not to delay season 2, they decided to give themselves more time to finish the remaining episodes.
posted by ShooBoo at 11:36 AM on September 7, 2020
posted by ShooBoo at 11:36 AM on September 7, 2020
Yeah under normal circumstances I'm fine with a weekly drop, but considering my situation thanks to covid, I really wanted to binge this season.
posted by miss-lapin at 4:48 PM on September 8, 2020
posted by miss-lapin at 4:48 PM on September 8, 2020
I had kind of forgotten how exactly nuts the first season ended on.
This is feeling like the callousness went up (even moreso) a notch, and no apologies are ever going to be made.
Keeping on the 'must watch' list.
Interesting speculation about releasing it to buy time to do post on the rest. But that feels like a not-bad strategy by streaming platforms; I usually give a promising show the "3 ep trial" - and I either get hooked or not.
With a single episode, I might forget about finding the 2nd and 3rd when they end up dropping, when the second ep (or third) might serve to hook.
I've come to shows from online ads (but typically only try them once they're on fanfare and there are some intriguing comments) or from interviews on the late night shows that I follow.
The 3, then once a week, feels effective
But shows might need to twig on this format, to exploit it.
Which is potentially not optimal.
posted by porpoise at 8:15 PM on September 8, 2020
This is feeling like the callousness went up (even moreso) a notch, and no apologies are ever going to be made.
Keeping on the 'must watch' list.
Interesting speculation about releasing it to buy time to do post on the rest. But that feels like a not-bad strategy by streaming platforms; I usually give a promising show the "3 ep trial" - and I either get hooked or not.
With a single episode, I might forget about finding the 2nd and 3rd when they end up dropping, when the second ep (or third) might serve to hook.
I've come to shows from online ads (but typically only try them once they're on fanfare and there are some intriguing comments) or from interviews on the late night shows that I follow.
The 3, then once a week, feels effective
But shows might need to twig on this format, to exploit it.
Which is potentially not optimal.
posted by porpoise at 8:15 PM on September 8, 2020
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Mr. Edgar either has powers or knows of Homelander's weakness. The great part is that Giancarlo Esposito is such a good actor it could go either way.
Stormfront? So problematic, but we can probably look forward to the character's very satisfying death at some point.
Odd Trivia:
The actor who plays Homelander is from New Zealand, but is nailing American smugness like he was born to it.
Queen Maeve is played by Dominique McElligott, who also played Lily Bell in Hell on Wheels. Amazing difference.
Well known fact:
Karl Urban is a treasure
posted by Brandon Blatcher at 11:50 AM on September 5, 2020 [4 favorites]