BabySpinach

Well this finale pretty much confirms that everything would've been way better off if they'd just let Soldier Boy fry Homelander and Ryan back in season 3, even if it'd cause additional (unspecified) collateral damage. I think a lot of us saw that coming, too. I was never a huge fan of Ryan to begin with, and that hasn't changed. I'm sick of his flip-flopping and I don't find him compelling or enjoyable enough to be invested in what side he ultimately lands on. How many more murders does this brat get to commit before the narrative finally stops trying to persuade us to care about him? Overpowered kid in non-kid media is still one of my least-favorite character archetypes. Looking forward to Soldier Boy's return for sure! I only hope he gets to remain a wild card rather than a puppet of one side or another.

A mere difference of opinion doesn't call for you to either 'back down' or 'hold your ground'; the only reason you'd use those terms would be if you did feel attacked in some way. Just admit you don't actually have a counter-argument (or simply don't respond) instead of trying to mock my perceived emotional investment. That's lame.

How does one hog the spotlight if they have no creative control in the directing, writing, or editing? Is Jensen supposed to purposefully act worse for the sake of his co-stars? And disagreement is not an attack. No one's asking you or expecting you to 'back down'.

Carla's introduction is a pretty thankless one; within 30 seconds of her debut, she's mocking and belittling her ex in front of his co-worker (and sub-ordinate) whom she doesn't know, and Beau acting rather flustered and intimidated doesn't much help her case. Very effective, if instant dislike is what the writers were going for! At least Jenny stuck up for him, but I'm not buying (or just don't want to) that Beau's still in love with Carla like she claims. I like that Tonya and Donno are also being folded into the A-plot alongside their conspiring with Jenny's mom. Seems like all the major players this season, of which there are a fair few, will have some personal involvement in the main story.

They do seem to be treating the main plot with a lighter touch than in the previous seasons, but I don't really mind it. I'm mildly intrigued by what I don't know and am yet to find out, while in the meantime there's always a procedural B-plot that gets resolved within the same ep to hold me over. Still feels like I watched a substantial episode that accomplished something rather than just purely spun its wheels. On a shallower note, they really know how to style Jensen on this show. Last week it was the loose purple shirt, this week it's the Texas getup complete with hat! And seeing Jenny so smiley and cheerful as her undercover character was pretty novel, lol. Emily wanting to get her dad's knife back (which she keeps under her pillow) was also pretty sweet.

https://ew.com/tv/the-boys-season-3-finale-sets-up-season-4-tug-of-war-ryan/ Have people still not learned to not put kids at the center of non-kid stories? Child actors and their characters are almost never as compelling as the adults, especially with this show's cast. Can't say I'm particularly invested in Ryan waffling between psychotic little shit or goody-two-shoes while the actually-interesting characters cater to and revolve around him.

Ryan is not a particularly essential or beloved character (overpowered kids around whom more interesting characters revolve face an uphill battle in terms of likability anyways), yet he was the sole reason that SB was stopped from ending the most despicable and deranged character on the show. He just came off as an annoying plot device who fucked things up at the crucial moment. Most in the audience probably weren't attached to him enough to agree that his life was too high a price to pay for HL's death (that is if he wouldn't have just ended up surviving and getting depowered like Maeve did). The life of every poor bastard who gets liquified or crushed by Homelander and/or Ryan from now on is on the Boys' head. Not sure that'll even be brought up next season, though.

Well, we'll have Butcher to thank for any havoc that Homelander and Ryan inevitably wreak next season. He directly sabotaged his best chance against Homelander on Ryan's behalf, and now the kid is defecting to the dark side anyway. Should've just let them both fry! I don't understand why the Boys put stopping SB at an equal (higher?) priority as stopping Homelander? The guy can't fly or shoot instant eye lasers and he has an established weakness, so he's clearly not as much of a threat. Once they subdued SB, what would've been their plan? Just stand there and let HL smush them for taking down his dad? I liked that SB's allegiances remained vague until the moment of truth, and I was pretty surprised that he didn't side with his son (or grandson) after all. Funny, how he was actually on the right side for the wrong reasons and would've killed HL if not for Butcher. I appreciate that he got to throw some hands and was ultimately impossible to restrain. His open ending hopefully means he has a future in the next seasons; I feel like he's got a lot more story in him. That scene with SB and Butcher was quite poignant, and allowed us to see another side of SB for once. Jensen acted the hell out of it, of course, and I loved the way he delivered that monologue. Overall, I enjoyed this finale, though the return to the status quo feels a bit too neat for me.

Kripke confirmed in an interview that Ryan's lasers were more powerful than his dad's. https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/the-boys-season-3-ryan-homelander-powers/ Homelander is also stronger than SB, so that's two for two in apparent genetic concentration. No, he was a big deal because he was the first natural-born supe.

Yeah, I do feel like the powers you get (and whether you survive) are based on your genetics. That's why they made Homelander from Soldier Boy even though they still had to treat the resulting zygote/embryo with Compound V. Ryan's lasers were already confirmed to be more powerful than his dad's, so the genetic potential for power seems more potent with each generation. I don't like it when super-powerful kid characters take center stage (trauma flashbacks to SPN *shudders*), but Ryan will likely have a big part to play in the next seasons, if not this coming finale.

The speculation that's been floating around about Soldier Boy and Homelander was right on the money. I'd have preferred that Soldier Boy stayed an asshole anti-hero, but this and the cartoon exposition were the nail in the coffin for any possibility of him not being a full-blown villain. The likelihood of him being in season 4 (ie. surviving the final battle) has drastically diminished, given the side he's now on. Black Noir definitely has unfinished business with him. But holy shit, Butcher, that was a new low even for him. He's not a good guy, but he's one of the main protagonists! And I feel like Hughie may take another Temp V dose even if he knew; he seemed perfectly willing to get disintegrated by SB's chest nuke as acceptable collateral alongside Butcher last episode.

Jensen brings a leading man charisma and screen presence that not all "decent" actors possess. Soldier Boy is meant to be another top dog to rival Butcher and Homelander, and Jensen absolutely embodies that necessary gravitas. Jack Quaid (Hughie), Tomer Capone (Frenchie), and Chace Crawford (the Deep) are all very good in their roles, but could they convincingly pull off that kind of character? In my opinion, no. And I don't get how anyone who saw the motel scene with Hughie could call Jensen one-note as Soldier Boy. He flits from old-man grumbling to fond reminiscence to sputtering anger to hollow bitterness to regret/guilt to seemingly sincere claims of moral fortitude, all within a few minutes. We saw so many facets of this character in such a short amount of time, and it felt completely authentic and well-rounded. There's a good reason that people all over social media are losing their shit over Jensen as Soldier Boy.

While in the same breath blaming DEAN for Kevin's death! *has a stroke*

Wow, what a heart-pumping hour of television! That final fight was amazing; I can't begin to express how utterly satisfying it was to finally see Homelander get his ass kicked. And they could've gotten him for good if Soldier Boy didn't take so long to charge up! I knew it couldn't be that easy, but a part of me was still desperate for them to succeed. Wonder why halothane doesn't work on Soldier Boy anymore. There seems to be nothing else that could contain him long-term, now. Great character development across the board, too. And good on Starlight for not compromising; we always need at least one of those in such a morally-gray show.

In most movies/TV shows, the character who's tortured for three decades and then embarks on a quest of revenge against those who put him there would be the protagonist, and every member of the audience would be cheering for him. I know Soldier Boy's probably going to do some heinous things in the following episodes, but it's not going to hit the same as Homelander's despicable manchild psychopathy ie. the kind where he's long overdue to be knocked down several pegs. I'm still rooting for Soldier Boy to kick the shit out of him, as well as anyone else involved in the former's imprisonment.