By Ava Fineza

logline: Continued from season 1, The Boys hide away as they continue their fight against the corrupt mega corp Vought and their worst superheroes.

The Boys Season 2! They’re f*cking back, and the use of f*ck makes both this review and this show very much not for young children. That first asterisk was a warning. The second season however comes without warning, and right off the bat, you’ll see that the gore, violence, and profanity were packed on heavy this year. I’ve said in the past that I’m not a huge fan of violence in movies, but I feel like that’s changing. I would amount it to the Jason Bourne films, which have fights that are too impressive to not like, and The Boys, which contains scenes so outrageously gory it’s comical. The blood and guts are a lot more tolerable when the show is cushioned with great acting and storyline. Every character is fun to watch - even the shitty Supes - and the camaraderie and chemistry between the cast are apparent on and off-screen. All of the actors were great, and while I would’ve loved to see more of some of them I think the show balanced the large cast and multiple storylines very well. The Boys is funny as fuck (as always), and one of my favorite aspects of the show is the ability to switch the tone from comedic to tense so quick it can give you whiplash. There was also a healthy dosing of ~romance~ this season, which I’m really glad for because when The Boys aren’t happy they’re pretty much suffering - there is no in between. The plot this season was the right amount of complex, enough to keep me on the edge of my seat each week but not to the point where I couldn’t mindlessly enjoy it anymore. Don’t get me wrong, The Boys has some insightful commentary, but it’s also extremely raunchy and explicit and it knows this. Honestly it’s fine by me, because the show has done its job at being the best depiction of what superheroes would be like in the real world. Suffice it to say: fucking diabolical. Hey wait, Butcher doesn’t say that at all this season! Never mind, zero badges - I was robbed.

All right, fuck off. The review is over.

Fun Fact: In the season 2 premiere, Starlight sings “Never Truly Vanish” for Translucent’s funeral (he died last season). Erin Moriarty, Starlight’s actress, actually sang the song herself.

Grain of Salt: No movie is without sin! Oh wait, that’s Cinema Sins. Anyways, a little criticism for those who didn’t enjoy this show as much as I did:

Television Like The Boys Is Destroying You

Enjoy - or, I suppose, don’t enjoy.

My Favorite Characters:

Of The Boys: Laz Alonso as Mother’s Milk - MM took the cake for me this season as my favorite of The Boys. He served as a peacemaker and fixed conflict amongst the Boys multiple times throughout the season. MM seems to be like the only stable one out of the group, and as he builds the dollhouse for his daughter throughout the season your admiration for him will grow. Your pity as well, when you think about a certain scene in episode six… yeesh.

Of The Seven: Dominique McElligott as Queen Maeve - Out of The Seven my favorite has to be the Queen: Maeve. She goes on a new journey this season as she struggles to find a middle ground between two polar opposites of her life - Homelander and Elena. I always thought Maeve was a badass, but in this season we get to see more of her in action, as well as a sarcastic and cynical part of her that I didn’t see as much in the first season. Not to mention she dishes out one of my favorite lines of the season(spoilers). So yeah, she’s the best.

Rated TV-MA for sex & nudity, violence & gore, profanity, and alcohol, drugs & smoking. Whew.

Number of Seasons: 2, renewed for a third.

Where to Watch:

IMDb and Reddit!!

Honestly I suggest you DON’T watch this - it’s kinda spoiler-y in my ~humble~ opinion.