By Brian Dinh
Rating: 3/5
Amazon Prime’s superhero TV show “The Boys” returns with a great second season, although not without its faults. The first season demonstrated the faults of celebrity culture with fantastic writing and executed visually impressive action scenes with dramatic performances. Although the second season has the same level of acting and action, the writing quality has decreased, and the storyline falls back on repetitive plot devices.
After the season one finale, the Boys become wanted criminals and aim to uncover the secrets behind superhero employer Vought International and Compound V, a drug that turns children into superheroes. In The Seven, the superhero group, renowned hero Homelander deals with a power struggle against Vought International, who adds the superhero Stormfront to The Seven without Homelander’s permission. The CEO of Vought International, Stan Edgar, sees Compound V as a more valuable asset than Homelander, infuriating Homelander, who also has to fight a declining media reputation, as protests break out against him because of various controversies.
The cinematography and acting performances elevated the second season’s intensity and craziness. Anthony Starr beautifully portrays a power-tripping psychopath’s descent into madness as Homelander, and Giancarlo Esposito becomes Vought executive Stan Edgar, who intimidates the most egomaniacal of superheroes. The camerawork was impeccable, and the practical effects really enhanced every action scene. For example, the exploding heads scene at a congressional hearing used rapid cuts and close-ups of the bystanders to portray the panic and fear of the crowd. Although I was bothered by the show’s dark color grading, I understood its use to portray the grim realities of the world, and I got used to it as I continued watching.
Even with impressive scene framing and actors, the second season falls short when it comes to writing quality. The show continues its criticism of stardom from the first season, but this theme seems forced at times. Some lines of dialogue feel like they were added just to give blatant social commentary, which prevented me from being completely immersed in the show’s narrative and universe. For example, Homelander ear clapping the blind superhero Blindspot was an obvious comment on Hollywood’s bias against the disabled when casting for shows or movies. Although it was a funny scene, I thought of it as an unnecessary moment that disrupted the episode’s pacing. Another issue I had with the writing was the constant use of plot conveniences. For example, each superhero just happens to have video evidence of one another committing crimes that they use to blackmail one another.
All in all, I recommend the second season of “The Boys” to anyone who wants a take on the superhero genre that does much more in storytelling than what Marvel or DC has in the past decade. It is witty, dramatic, and is a relevant social satire that has something for everyone, from comedic scenes about cults to heartfelt performances that show the range of human emotion.