With the slow fatigue of superhero movies and shows slowly crawling into the mainstream, it was only a matter of time before something that essentially parodied this entire structure would come out at some point or the other. This is exactly what The Boys has become in modern culture — an antithesis of superhero culture and why worshipping them might not be the best idea.
Season 1 was easily one of the strongest opening seasons for any TV show ever, featuring a gut-wrenching pilot that led into an intriguing plotline that was certainly quite satisfying to watch. So, it was only a given that people would be eagerly anticipating Season 2 to witness how Hughie, Butcher, Homelander, and the rest of the cast’s story evolves over time. Now, with Season 2 finally ending a few weeks back, it’s time to take a look back at The Boys and see the things about this season that were certainly quite odd indeed.
The Manner In Which The Episodes Were Released Was Strange
The biggest gripe that most people have with Season 2 of The Boys is the needlessly convoluted manner in which it was released. Instead of releasing all in one go like Season 1, Season 2’s release schedule felt needlessly stretched out.
One of the biggest draws of streaming services is the fact that people can watch an entire season of a show at their behest. This made waiting for each episode of The Boys even more annoying and made the structure feel more disjointed in comparison.
Lamplighter Offing Himself Certainly Came Out Of Nowhere
Lamplighter’s character was certainly one of the more intriguing inclusions in Season 2, and people couldn’t wait to see where this character was headed.
Unfortunately, it seems that the character’s entire purpose was solely shock value, and nothing more. Perhaps he might’ve thought that immolating himself in front of The Seven’s statue would’ve been poetic… but it just ended up being completely unnecessary instead.
The Relationship Between Hughie And Starlight Is Needlessly Complicated
Speaking of unnecessary elements, it seems that Season 2 was full to the brim with useless plot points that did nothing to further the overall quality or narrative of the show. The biggest offender of this has to be Hughie and Starlight’s relationship, which witnesses a ridiculous number of ups and downs throughout the series for no reason whatsoever.
Honestly, watching Butcher and Hughie deepen their bond was more interesting than the meandering nature of Hughie and Starlight’s relationship.
Starlight’s Awfully Protective Of Someone Who Signed Her Up For Experiments
Speaking of Starlight, one must bring up the point that her bond with her mother is also something that’s portrayed somewhat inconsistently.
It doesn’t help that her mother is an awful character, making Starlight’s behavior towards her mother feel either incredibly satisfying or immensely frustrating. There’s no middle ground here, which makes this dynamic even more irritating.
Kimiko’s Brother Could’ve Done More Against Stormfront
The Super-Terrorist Kenji Miyashiro certainly was an intriguing character, and his scenes with Kimiko were certainly an unexpected highlight of the series. So, to watch him fall against Stormfront was especially disappointing, given his total lack of effectiveness in the fight.
This man was able to incapacitate Homelander, which is no easy feat. Why couldn’t he do the same against someone who, while admittedly quite powerful in her own right, was certainly weaker than Homelander?
Frenchie Leaving A Metal Object Near A Guy With Telekinetic Powers Is Plain Stupid
Speaking of Kenji, it must be said that he was a part of some truly stupid scenes in The Boys, with perhaps the worst offender being the scene where Frenchie has the smart idea of leaving a metal can right next to a person with telekinetic powers.
Surely Frenchie should’ve realized that this can was a potential hazard next to a person with such a unique superpower?
Queen Maeve Comes In The Final Fight Out Of Nowhere
Queen Maeve’s character develops quite a lot in Season 2, although there are times where her inclusion in the key scenes of the series did feel somewhat forced.
The worst offender in this regard comes in the form of this superhero making a surprise appearance during the final confrontation when the girls beat the ever-living crap out of Stormfront in what is admittedly one of the most satisfying scenes in the entire show. It’s just too bad that the entire set-up felt slightly contrived from the get-go.
The Church Of The Collective Being Influential Enough To Govern The Seven’s Members Is Quite Suspect
The final scenes of the finale almost made us believe that the Church of the Collective and its head, Alastair Adana, had all the power in the world. However, this notion was completely shut down by Victoria Neuman, the person who turned out to be the perpetrator behind the exploding heads in the previous episode.
That being said, this does make it somewhat weird that the Church had the influence to get A-Train back into The Seven, given how their leader was just offed without a second thought the moment he said something that went against Vought’s wishes.
Neuman’s Eyes Milk Over When Using Her Power In The Finale, But Not Before That
Speaking of Alastair’s head exploding, it must be said that the manner in which Neuman’s body reacted after using her power didn’t exactly match her reaction when the same happened in the previous episode and that too on a much greater scale.
Her eyes should’ve clouded over at least once during this scene… and yet, rewatching this scene reveals that she’s just looking at people with a fabricated sense of horror, without her eyes showing anything otherwise.
Homelander’s Need To Be Adored By The Public Feels A Bit Inconsistent At Times
The final episode of Season 2 shows Homelander almost flying into a rage and killing everyone around him… before Maeve reveals the airplane video that would completely destroy his image and send his approval among the public spiraling down.
That being said, it’s not like Homelander has been shown to love the public all the time. If anything, there was that epic fakeout which clearly showed Homelander’s disdain towards his naysayers, with the dark thought of killing everyone in the crowd coming to his mind as well. And yet… the idea of losing the support of the people who he’s not even all that fond of is enough to make him back down and adhere to Maeve’s demands.
