Rent The Boys: Series 3 (2022)

The Boys: Series 3 review by Mark McPherson - Cinema Paradiso

The Boys continues to be the most relevant comic book TV series for its postmodern approach to the genre and the current political climate. With each season, reality seeps in more and more, making the satire that much sharper and insightful. While such a politically charged show may be too much to handle for some viewers seeking vapid escapism, the continuous pushing of the envelope in this season showcases how brilliant the show has become.

There have been a lot of developments since the chaotic season two. While the Nazi superhero Stormfront is out of action, her influence still lingers in the mind of the vicious Homelander, portrayed with pitch-perfect psychosis by Antony Starr. As Homelander tries to expand his reach within Vought, the anti-hero Boys start a more organized effort against the corrupt superhero idolization. Now, working with the Bureau of Superhero Affairs, one would think that the central figures of Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie (Jack Quaid) would be working in a more organized manner. But with the prospect of an ally in the unearthed hero Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) and a serum that grants temporary superpowers, the team of vigilantes against corporate superheroes becomes all the more messy.

While there’s so much going on in this season, including in a bizarre episode that mostly takes place at a superhero orgy, the big draw for the show remains the developing madness of Homelander. In previous seasons, the nationalistic superhero framed himself as a patriotic figure who masked his egotistical deeds with his media script. By the end of the second episode, he’s given up the double-speak in his public perceptions. He’s openly discriminatory and plays himself up hard to the far-right crowd. After all, if he was able to woo a literal Nazi-like Stormfront, he could easily whip up a base of angry Americans to accept his nationalistic rhetoric forced out nakedly into the public consciousness.

This season features an erosion of the Vought model of reframing Homelander as the good guy and a drop in allegorical relations. There’s no mistaking how Homelander’s political rise and favoring of cruel tactics is meant to represent the jingoism that Donald Trump had instilled in the American public. For the few who haven’t connected the dots yet, the relation is boldly outlined in this season more than in the previous two. Consider how A-Train confronts the racist superhero Blue Hawk, a vigilante who targets explicitly African-American communities. When convinced to make a public apology to this neighborhood, Blue Hawk falls back on all the same excuses that conservatives racists gravitate towards, crying, “I go where the crime is” and “All lives matter” as the crowds boo him. When Blue Hawk fights back against the crowd and handicaps one of A-Train's associates, his defense is that he was “attacked by Antifa.”

The satire is spread all around for this season. There’s the usual critique of performative capitalism under neo-liberalism, where all the pains are felt by A-Train being forced to perform for Vought’s racial points to increase. There’s the all-too-real progression of radicalization, as seen in MM’s ex-wife’s new husband becoming uncomfortably obsessed with Homelander’s words. Decay and addiction are addressed as Butcher learns of the horrifying effects of ingesting Compound V and does so well anyway to have a fighting chance against Homelander. There are continual developments in the family, such as Butcher struggling to wrestle away his superpowered son Ryan from the influence of the adopting Homelander.

There is so much compelling and relatable satire within The Boys that it’s impossible to be bored with such an enthusiastic show. Showrunner Eric Kripke has outdone himself by framing a comic book adaptation that feels so relevant, playing in the deep end where other comic adaptations are in the paddling pool of ethics and politics. Above all, however, the show is darkly comedic in all the best ways. The punches within the dialogue still hit as hard as the special-effects-heavy beatdowns as Homelander goes toe to toe with Soldier Boy, Starlight, and Butcher in this action-packed finale. From the season beginnings of a penis exploding to the series ending of eyes being ripped out, there’s a satisfying glow and a bluntness that modern TV so desperately needs. The Boys only improve each season, as season three proves as much.