Anyone else think Mr. Edgar is running this little sideshow to develope adult V for himself? That would be ****ing awesome if he became the new bad for season 3. I love Giancarlo.

Comic book speculation

Huh?

Have you watched all the episodes available yet?

I think it's been pretty lame as well.

Not this week's but all the other ones.

The last couple episodes were pretty good. Except for the politics. I hope the don’t **** around and go overboard with it, they’re right on the verge now.

What the hell are you talking about? Homelander is not politically correct. The total 180 degree opposite. What am I missing?

Black Noir theory

It's pretty obvious the overtones of this show are mirroring current US politics (Homelander and Stormfront are representing the GOP, holding rallies, the woman senator is AOC).

Yep. I'm not sure how they could make it any more obvious. Which detracts from the diversion aspect of the entertainment for me.

Homelander's egregious behavior portrayed as representative of conservative Americans as viewed through the lens of the social justice contingent.

If conservatives watching Homeland's behavior believe that the character's portrayal can in any way be interpreted as representative of them, regardless of the lens through which it's being presented, then maybe they need do some soul searching. Because that to me sounds an awful lot like the pangs of a guilty conscience.

I've seen Homeland's behavior the entire time, including this season, as being representative of who Superman would be, if, instead of a farm in Kansas (about as wholesomely conservative an environment as you can get...) he'd instead been raised in a lab by a scientist devoid of much human emotion or empathy (which tends to be how the 'highly educated' (read: communists) are portrayed). Resulting in a lonely, narcissist shell of a superbeing.

I mean, sure, on a surface level he's a spoiled brat who's never worked a day in his life, craves attention and adoration, and spends all his time on social media. Which, yeah, sounds like it may have been intended to be a caricature of a certain commander in chief. But I wouldn't say that's what every conservative is. At all.

Not Homelander's behavior per se but there were to tweaks in the latest episode that were pointedly partisan.

What did you think of Homelander and Stormfront saying 'Thoughts and Prayers' as purely a recited cliche with no thought behind it but optics?

And, if the opening sequence was about a random citizen being conditioned to be vigilant for threats and spurred to poorly thought out action, and he was keyed in on the clerk because the glancing sunlight made it appear that he 'sparked' superpowers, why did he have to be a meek innocent swarthy Muslim?

Should people who sincerely believe in the power of prayer and positive energy have a guilty conscience that maybe they're culpable for not being sincere enough?

Thanks for posting. I really didn't have much interest in taking time to watch the final three episodes because Season 2 has just been lame, IMO and this seals it.

I have zero interest in watching any scripted program that even remotely alludes to the current political climate in the US.

I'd rather watch Chiefs games from 2008 on NFL Game Pass than to subject myself to even more partisan programming.

The obtuseness, willful or otherwise, displayed in this post isn’t worth addressing.

Agree completely. If it were organic to the story that would be one thing. But it’s not. It’s lazy writing that resorts to the flavor of the month and brings the viewer out of the story. I can’t wait for this phase of society to blow over.

To be fair, they've gone in pretty hard on corporate performative wokeness, but its still pretty one sided. I liked the show better as a mirror of corporate shittiness and not trying to make a statement on American politics. I like the show a lot, but I cant see myself doing this every season.

Agreed. The Corp commentary fits the story even if it is comically biased.

The politics though. Most people like their entertainment as a break from day-to-day bullshit, not as an unnecessary continuation. Especially the unsubtle, hit you over the head with it variety.

Wow :shake: sorry man, I just don’t see the analogy or metaphor. Just seems to be an asshole Superman.

Seth Rogen is such a virtue signaling pillowbitergot. It was so bad this episode that it ruined what was easily the best of the season.

Uh, ok.

Stormfront literally said “Make America Safe Again”.

Hah, yeah, that one was pretty on the nose. Big Beau listed some others. Anyone who claims not to see the multiple examples of politics injected into the writing must be doing so by choice.

This wait is killing me. Come ooooooon thursday.

Meh. I don't let that shit bug me and I'm a firm Trump supporter. I think Stormfront mirrors the radical left more than anything. That's obviously unintentional but it's the fact. Either way, she's a great villain. I love Aya Cash. My avatar probably makes that pretty obvious.

For anyone who still claims not to see how The Boys is intentionally political with a message completely crafted against the Right, here are some details for you.

How The Boys Season 2 Critiques Far-Right Politics
The Boys season 2 has been a raucous affair touching on some serious issues, but now makes its boldest political statement yet against the far-right.

The latest episode of The Boys season 2 is the most politically charged yet, offering a scathing critique of the far-right. On the surface, Amazon's The Boys is a subversive, witty and shocking superhero series that mocks genre conventions, paints the heroes as the villains, and will wrap a massive penis around a man's neck in the name of gross-out humor. But The Boys has always hit on a deeper level too. Even in the original comic book series by Garth Ennis, The Boys tackled (albeit with mixed results) homophobia, capitalism, religion and political corruption, among other innocuous dinner table topics. Adapted by Eric Kripke, The Boys continues the comics' rebellious spirit, updating the subject matter for a modern audience.

The Boys season 1 took inspiration from the #MeToo movement in adapting Starlight's comic story. After being sexually assaulted by The Deep, Starlight speaks out against her attacker and the aquatic superhero is forced to publicly face the consequences of his actions. There was also plenty of commentary and subtext on commercial cynicism and corporate injustice, with Vought paying off Hughie after his girlfriend's death and taking a deeply unethical approach with their superhero marketing. Prior to the premiere of The Boys season 2, Kripke revealed that the new season would go after white supremacy, and he certainly wasn't exaggerating.

The Boys season 2 introduces Stormfront, a Nazi superhero who still holds the disturbing, racist values of her motherland. Despite presenting a friendly, modern figure to the public, Stormfront holds non-white races as inferior, and has killed innocents based purely on their skin color while Vought protect her image with cover stories. The more The Boys season 2 reveals about Stormfront, the more sinister her designs become, and the villain now has Homelander wrapped around her little finger too, using his innate America-first patriotism to tap into a even wider demographic. With "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker," however, The Boys brings its political stance to the fore, drawing parallels with the far-right that hit depressingly close to home.

"Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker" begins with a jarring cold open that reveals the effect of Stormfront's media blitz on a ground level. The sequence introduces a regular guy - a fan of Stormfront, with posters all over his bedroom. This lonely young man goes about his everyday life while TV and radio personalities speak of super-terrorists "invading America" and "illegal immigrants pouring into this country." The student kisses his mother goodbye, goes to class, visits the same store with the same clerk, and repeats the cycle ad nauseam until, one day, he starts to suspect the store worker is a supe terrorist. Driven by Stormfront's call to action, the young misfit visits his store and guns down the same friendly clerk who served him every morning, firmly in the belief that he was doing his country a service.

This introduction is a harrowing depiction of extremist indoctrination that shares important parallels with real life. One purpose of this scene is to highlight how the deluge of constant media messaging can have a major influence on a person's decision making. From the moment this unnamed character wakes up, he's absorbing Stormfront's barrage of memes and warnings. It's on the radio while he's getting ready for school, blaring from TVs both in his front room and at the store, and then he's scrolling through more posts in his spare time at home. As the online messaging becomes more direct, and takes up more of this man's time, he builds towards the eventual murder. This is obviously an extreme example, but the darker side of social media is a concerning reality, especially when it comes to spreading political ideas

It's coldly intentional that The Boys presents this character as a regular person. The public consciousness holds a certain image of what a shooter, a terrorist or a murderer might look like, but this culprit is an everyday geeky student, socially awkward and lonely perhaps, but showing none of the obvious red flags one might expect from a future killer. With this deliberate choice, The Boys sends a message that even the most normal of folk can be indoctrinated with this extremist barrage of racist political messaging, and that to dismiss agents of politically-motivated violence as one-off loose cannons willfully ignores the process of indoctrination playing out on social media.

It's impossible not to draw comparisons between the rally Stormfront and Homelander hold and the rallies of Donald Trump. The crowd signs are visually similar to those from the "Make America Great Again" campaign, and carry the same nationalist messaging with liberal use of the world "freedom." Stormfront begins by offering her "thoughts and prayers" to the family of the murdered store clerk, and this line grimly parodies the hollow condolences offered in the wake of public tragedies when no substantial action is forthcoming. Homelander follows up by asking where America went wrong, regaling the assembled fans with a tale of how America was once a "beautiful country" that lost its way. Once again, this nostalgic tactic mirrors the emphasis of the "Make America Great Again" message. Homelander goes on to invoke Christianity and the will of God to support his political beliefs - something far-right politicians across the world lean on heavily.

As with the introductory killing, Stormfront and Homelander's rally is a clear fictional take on racially-charged anti-immigration rhetoric in the real world, with Homelander using phrases such as "pouring across our borders" to conjure images of a threatening outsider force looking to invade and pillage our fair land. Continuing the tone of her interviews, Stormfront refers to a prominent liberal politician as a "social justice warrior," and much like the snowflake example previously, this term is traditionally leveled at those speaking out in support of equality in an attempt to dismiss their argument.

(continued)
https://screenrant.com/boys-season-2...ous-criticism/

That article is 10x as nausea inducing as anything in the show.

That article doesn't have the benefit of Starlight's sweet countenance to soften it up.

Thanks for saving three hours of my life watching that drivel

:thumb:

'Starlight' whomever that actress is, is in that weird valley of very attractive, very compelling, and skill very odd-looking. Can't place it, maybe the deep set of her eyes. [I'd mention what her brow/eye/cheek profile reminds me of, but it got Roseanne kicked off the air]

But what I do know is she's 10x as hot in a hoodie and ponytail than in that TehSeven getup with the 80s Glamour Shots hairdo.

I'm glad to take one for the team:D

I really enjoy this kind of series, why they need to muck it up with politics I just don't know.

We are in agreement here. She's a natural beauty. As my old buddy would say, she's hotter than a two dollar pistol.

This show is fortunate to have such a perfect casting and genrally terrific writing. Because when the politics is on, it's a god damn sledgehammer. I can forgive this show for it unlike recent Always Sunny in Philadelphia, where I feel a lot of the humor was far too topical and political for me to enjoy (plagued by the same stuff Law and Order SVU has going for it).

She is a reason all by herself to watch the show.

Also, I refuse to allow political BS to ruin the rest of the show which has gotten better as the season wears on.

With you on that subject. It amazes me that anyone can get worked up enough over politics to actually let it ruin something they enjoy.

In my case, I really didn't enjoy the first 5 episodes of Season 2 and have no reason to continue watching on that alone.

The last thing I want to watch at night after a long day is a show preaching to me about politics, so blowing off the final three episodes is a no-brainer.

When one feels like their own personal beliefs are being mocked and/or attacked it makes it kind of difficult to make a connection with the show.

“Do they even want my viewership or would they be perfectly content if I just went away?”

Sure, I totally get it from that point of view. If you weren't really enjoying it to begin with, then why continue.

I mean family/friends say things I don't agree with all the time. They're still my family/friends and I still am fine with engaging them on those topics. I guess I just don't take politics serious enough to let it drive me away from something.

Now, like Dane said, he wasn't enjoying the season enough to ignore the politics of it, which I can understand.

There is a huge difference between friends and family and entertainment.

There is also a huge difference between engaging individuals in any topic and doing so with a tv or movie screen.

As long as you pay your Amazon Prime dues, they probably don't care...

It is a shame that they are bringing politics into it; I just try to ignore that and be distracted from all of the fun that is everyday life.

More often than not, I watch streamers and binge programs that I may have missed in the past decade (due to kids) for research. That research generally involves the score but I also need to have a frame of reference for music in a specific scenes in order to match briefs that I receive on a weekly basis.

In this case, I just didn't feel like the score was important enough to continue watching a program that had completely lost my interest after 3 episodes, although I continued through episode 5. Hearing the political slant just gave me the third reason to discontinue watching, although if the show is renewed for Season 3 and has glowing ratings, I'll probably jump back in at some point.

But as of today, I feel the showrunner completely missed the mark with Season 2. Not only were the first 5 episodes dull and boring, IMO, they didn't really push the narrative forward. And his decision to release each episode weekly as opposed to dropping all eight episodes on Day One, was a serious miscalculation, especially during a pandemic.

I'm probably different than most people when it comes to their entertainment choices but when a showrunner insults the audience, I'm generally out and have no impetus to continue supporting him or her (or they or them or whomever).

The political stuff doesn’t ruin the show for me, but I did feel like it too heavy in the last episode which was otherwise the best of the season.

I still enjoy the show either way.

I do hope the reconsider the "one episode drop" for Season 3. I think part of what we all pay for with streaming services is the benefit of being able to watch them all at once, should we want to.

Admittedly, I started The Boys late and didn't start the series until a few weeks ago. So I flew through S1 and the first 5 episodes of S2 before being ground to a halt. As I said before, I enjoy it enough to not let the politics bother me, but if I was on the fringe, I'd probably bail on it.

Agree. Episode 7 was a bit over the top. Not enough to bother me, but they went a little too heavy. Especially considering that on actual tv and other media, we are now being bombarded with politics non stop.

Or watch her in You're the Worst, which was hilarious and not a left vs right thing.



<iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/-_sxdO7M69Q" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I've been wanting to see it. I'll probably buy the first season sometime this weekend and binge watch it after all the football games are over.

Aya is drop dead gorgeous I think, and she's charismatic as all ****. It's not very often you get both of those traits in one person. I would marry her, along with Karen Fukuhara. It's a shame they have to be enemies in The Boys.

I disagree entirely. Dumbshit politics put aside, this season has been far more intellectual and challenging than the first season. I'm too lazy right now to go into major specifics but take a gander at this discussion I started on The Boys subreddit if you have time:

https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/com...ront_will_die/

And that mostly involves the dynamic between two characters; Stan Edgar and Stormfront. And there is a whole hell of a lot more story arcs going on than just that. You have the Butcher family stuff, Maeve and her girlfriend stuff, the Church of the Collective stuff, Homelander mentally deteriorating, etc. This season has been so much more broad and challenging than the 1st. I'm personally loving it. I do wish they would tone down the political bullshit, though. It detracts from the otherwise fantastic storytelling.

All good, Dude. I’ll check out the thread when time permits.


:thumb:

I wouldn't kick her out of bed or anything but drop dead gorgeous? Not anywhere close to that in my eyes.

I had to look her up to see who she was. Butterface. Body is not horrible. As always, though, what one guy sees as attractive another may not see it at all. I love that system; there's something for everyone.

I won't spoil it yet for you lot but that final episode was a great payoff and I think will make a lot of people happy.

We had a discussion, right here, a month ago. Peek back a page. ;)

The flutter of punched holes from the 3-hole punch as improvised weapon. ROFL

Where's my flag pin? :rolleyes:

'if you let the assholes steer, you're part of the problem.' - that's foundational to our current cultural divide. People who not only think their opposition is evil incarnate, but if they fail to gird for battle daily it's a personal moral failing to fight for your personal view of good and right.

No one on earth thought Kimoko was a goner off one neck snap.

Is Homelander cosplaying with Vito Corleone's cheek implants?

Credible lead ties Stormfront to Jeffrey Epstein death.

The finale was amazing. I loved every second of it.

Btw, for those of you who watched the final episode and are curious about what Stormfront was saying near the end, here it is...

Jensen Ackles

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/am...20200924234145

Starr was such a tour de force in this that we started watching Banshee. Not dissapointed at all so far!

Good call. Banshee blows the Boys out of the water. Job alone is better than any character on the Boys and Kai would **** up Vought with ease.

Here's the thing about the political aspects for me. I think this show tries to attack the extreme aspects. We are a divided country right now and social media is a big part of that. The line that keeps ringing in my head is from storm fronts first confrontation with Homeland

"you need the whole country to love you. I need 5 million that are ****ing pissed"

They are pulling from the more extreme aspects of trump and his fear mongering but it's hard to say it's not true when i jump on YouTube and see an ad for trump telling me biden is going to destroy America by allowing Syrian refugees to increase bay 700%.

The fact the show makes you think of any of that is the problem.

The show has always had the political undertone with the subtlety of a sledgehammer. Last season was metoo and corporate power.

Wait? It's over already? Only eight episodes?

I try to look at it like the old Star Trek; it would take on issues of the current time with a different spin so you didn't know you were being preached to.

Except the showrunner has already done interviews stating that he wanted to put White Supremacy and and White Nationalism on display. Also, I don't recall Roddenberry being so blatant about his politics in the 60's. Subtle, sure, but not blatant.

https://variety.com/2020/tv/features...wn-1234780075/

“That character is a legitimate Nazi who comes out of the Nazi party and who ages very slowly. And so that was the character I walked into the Season 2 writers’ room with. I felt, through that, we could say a lot of things I wanted to say about white nationalism and white supremacy, and really take aim,” creator and showrunner Eric Kripke tells Variety. “What we found was the modern face of hate — especially online and social media-driven hate — is actually quite attractive: It’s a lot of good-looking, young men and women who couch these really despicable notions in this branding of ‘We’re just free-thinkers’ and ‘We don’t fit in with the mainstream because we’re telling the truth.’ But it’s the same old s— that people have been pitching for thousands of years.”

I'm still enjoying it.

I was a huge dedicant of the comic series, which is one of the best stories I've ever read. It's different - because it's a different medium and things have to be different.

The political overtones are present, but were present in the comic series as well - so it doesn't jump out or surprise me (I'm also not a snowflake).

So... It's a bad thing to have white supremists as bad guys?

Don't be stupid, the point was whether the narrative was vague and allegorical like Star Trek, or pointed and specific like the showrunner said his intention was.

Yeah seems like she has more to work with but leaving a lot on the table....


The woman who hosts Good Morning football is the opposite, she is working with average stuff but seems a lot hotter than she should be.

:whackit: Get a hold of yourself.

They are going to ****ing ruin this show:

"One of the reasons that we're getting into Soldier Boy [in season 3] and that team, Payback, is we're interested in exploring a little bit of how we got here," Kripke said. "Through the history of the supes, we can tell a little bit about the history of America and how we ended up in the current fraught position that we're in. Soldier Boy gives us an opportunity to do that."

By "fraught position," he means our current climate in which people are fighting against white supremacy and systemic racism. “Certain politicians like to pitch this somehow idyllic ‘good old days’ where everything was perfect and calm. That is complete and utter bulls---," Kripke added. "It was never that way. So, by exploring the history of Vought in the history of America, we get to make some of those points. There was never an America when they say ‘Make America Great Again.’ It was always a struggle. That's the point. It's a struggle to make things better."

https://ew.com/tv/the-boys-season-3-...7c2d000124e638

Oh FFS. Get kripke out of there.

Just tell a good story and leave YOUR personal takes on political America out of it, Kripke. FFS

Maybe in season 3 we find out that the black guy Homelander killed was a fake crime :).

Kripke isn't well informed in comic lore saying Superman is a perfect example of white supremacy when it was written and created by two Jewish men.

Get woke, go broke. I've mostly loved the show but if the creators are gonna keep spewing this filth then I wont shed a tear when the show inevitably gets cancelled. It would be a shame because all of the pieces are there for this thing to become legendary.

The numbers for Season 2 were astronomical and it's in absolutely zero danger of being cancelled.

The funny thing is that the original author Garth Ennis, who is Northern Irish, actually really likes the idea of America as a melting pot. Something he referenced several times in his Hitman series.

Maaaaaaaan, I hope this little thing isn't indicative of where they are going this season. I'll admit I was kind of tickled they were taking a shot at a certain pillow salesman, but it wasn't funny at all. I'm desperate for more "The Boys" but this ain't it.

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Today on VNN:<br>-An update on America&#39;s favorite hero, Homelander<br>-Meet the new man: Victoria Neuman announces FBSA hire<br>-Where is Alastair?: Church of the Collective head missing amidst new allegations <a href="https://t.co/MC1cppXGvW">pic.twitter.com/MC1cppXGvW</a></p>&mdash; Vought International (@VoughtIntl) <a href="https://twitter.com/VoughtIntl/status/1412803607439699970?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>

Seth Rogan is such an angry little pissant. I thought weed was supposed to mellow you out.

Finished season 2 last night…what a ****ing show. Absolutely in love.

It just sank in - "Robert Singer". Sublime. Especially with Dean joining the cast in season 3. Heh.