By, Nathan Yurof
In light of current events, we all have been spending a lot of time at home. To pass these boring hours, most of us are binge-watching new TV shows. Having finished Tiger King, the majority of us are now gearing up or finishing season 2 of Mandalorian. However, this month I have been watching the show known as THE BOYS. This show is both action-packed and extremely gory. If you are going to watch this show after you read this article, I highly suggest you prepare yourself for a gruesome experience. You will turn off your phone, laptop, or tv saying, “What did I just watch and why did I enjoy it?!” Have no fear, I said the same exact thing when I watched it. This show does involve superheroes; however, it’s a lot different from your average Netflix action-packed Marvel show. The concept of THE BOYS is something that we haven’t explored much yet in modern-day. It’s a brand new genre of superhero shows that I think you’ll enjoy.
Imagine if superheroes were real. Pretty cool, right? Except these “heroes” are more like celebrities than actual saviors. They cash in on merchandise, go to press conferences, speak politically, have contracts on teams or movies, and get away with a lot of crime. They have all the power in the world and almost nobody can stop them from doing whatever they want. The so-called “heroes” are protected by a shady company, called VOT, that makes money off of their “hero’s heroics.” However, not everyone is so easily fooled by this arrangement. THE BOYS is a team mainly consisting of non-powered people whose lives have been badly affected by these "heroes." THE BOYS work together to expose them for who they truly are by serving their own vigilante justice. During seasons one and two they recruit two more people onto the team that have superhero abilities and that share the same goal. They meet this goal by any means necessary! This team has NO MORAL COMPASS and that means they will do anything to make every “Supe’s” lives a living hell.
The beginning scene of this show is something that we haven’t seen before. It takes all we know about the beginning of superhero shows and throws it straight out the window. The scene opens on Hughie Cambell, a mild-mannered man living with his dad and dating a girl named Robin. Robin drops by at Hughie’s work, tech place. The two talk about possibly moving in together as they start walking down the street on the way to Robin’s apartment. Robin steps out on the edge of the sidewalk and begins to make fun of Hughie for how much he loves Billy Joel. They begin to kiss and suddenly - without warning - a blur passes by and Robin is dead with only her arms remaining in Hughie’s hands. He looks over to see the speedster superhero named A-Train covered in Robin’s blood as he begins to say, “I..can’t... Stop... I can’t stop!” He then speeds off and leaves Hughie to cry out Robin’s name.
Later we open up to Hughie and his dad in their apartment as they watch the news of A-Train’s response to killing Robin. He claims, “She stepped out into the middle of the street!” Hughie becomes infuriated as he knows what truly happened that day. This one action leads Hughie down the path of hating heroes. This hate eventually leads Hughie to team up with fellow hero-haters Billy Butcher, Frenchie, Mother's Milk, Kimkio, Madelyn Stillwell, and others. This group, calling themselves THE BOYS, assemble, to take down these superheroes once and for all. However, when a vigilante group forms there is bound to be another team to fight. This team is represented as superheroes, but they are essentially an evil Justice League. The members of this team consist of Homelander (Mix of Superman and Captain America but extremely evil), Queen Maeve (similar to Wonder Woman but minus the flight), A-Train (The Flash, but possibly not that fast), Black Noir (Batman, with a bit more power to him), The Deep (Aquaman, same control over water and general indestructibility), Translucent (Invisible Woman, with a fun bonus of indestructible skin), and finally Star Light ( Dr. Light/Star Girl - knocking enemies out with energy blasts drawn from electricity). These could be seen as the dark twist on the heroes we have grown up with and expect greatness from. The similarities don't end with just powers; even the costumes are similar to classic comic and movie heroes
As you watch the show, you begin to realize that not all of these heroes are evil. Both of these teams explore what’s good and evil in this world. Villains switch sides to the heroes and heroes switch sides to villains. In today’s world we often see good and evil but sometimes forget that there is a grey area. This is what THE BOYS explore, that it’s not as simple as heroes fighting villains but just as people fighting people- with fighting for what they think is right and fighting because it appeals to their best interest. It’s a confusing scenario, you sympathize with the most dangerous characters of this show because you have seen their origins. You have seen what they themselves have gone through and sometimes you have a moral understanding between them. It becomes frustrating as you begin to want something good to happen in one scene and be disappointed when the opposite occurs, making you shocked and stunned saying again, “ What did I just watch?!”
As always it’s time for my rating. On a scale from 1 to 10, with 10 being the best, I will give THE BOYS a 9.5/10. I highly recommend this show if you’re into dark parallel worlds and superheroes. If you want me to write a review of something you have watched or video games you have played be sure to email me at nathanyurof@oldrochester.org!