Myrelle

Last thing from me-I had a friend stay with me once and she told me to pick one that I thought would make her want to watch more. Can't remember where we were in the series at that time, but I picked WIAWSNB and she went home a fan for life, if that helps.

I think Devil's Trap is the best episode from S1 with Faith and Something Wicked a close second and third. Skin too. Dead in the Water, too, with The Benders and Asylum for the creep factor. IMTOD and What Is and What Should Never Be are tied for me as best from S2. Children Shouldn't Play with Dead Things is great too. One of the most underrated eps, IMO

Trying to think of the most compelling ones from S1... Maybe the first three, Bloody Mary, Skin, Asylum, Scarecrow, and Faith, The Benders, Shadow(even though I'm not crazy about it, It does advance the story), Something Wicked, and then the last three. That's 14 though. That's kind of a lot but I think he'd get a good idea what the show is like, on the whole, from those-at least up S4 when they brought the angels in.

I'd have to agree even though I'm not so sure that it would sell him on wanting to continue. But it is kind of important to the story. Not sure if he'd be interested in watching the end of S1 and going back to watch from the beginning, if he liked it. That's how it happened for me. I watched Devil's Trap and was so sucked into it that I just had to catch up with all the rest from the beginning over the summer. But I realize that wouldn't work or be ideal for everyone.

Holy Crow! This looks great! Can't wait.

Yeah, this post says it all for me. I thought the hotel scenes were the best ones of the entire episode because of all the subtle character beats; and especially those between Soldier Boy and Hughie. I live for that kind of content. But I know many who found the fight scene to be the highlight of the episode. And it was Amazing. No lie there. But yes, we still haven't even really seen that much of Soldier Boy. We still don't know very much about him either. What's his backstory? When was he first dosed with compound V? Why did his team hate him so much that they would betray him to the kind of torture we've seen inflicted on him? Was he even supposed to survive it? Was that strange explosive power he possesses given to him intentionally or is it a by-product of the torture, maybe like the resistance to the halothane? And he sure does possess an underlying, burning sense of violence in his nature that has nothing whatsoever to do with that radioactive power of his. Where the heck did that come from? Because again I say it's not like Homelander's underlying violence which comes from a cold place, AFAIC, and we know why with him. So two to go. Just really hopeful that we'll get more background info on SB and more of him in general before this short season ends too soon.

I used to think that I would have been ok with both of them dying, but tbh, I think they both should have lived and continued hunting(or just let Sam have the normal life since he was the one who was more back and forth regarding it) just to prove that their skills were not in any way Chuck's doing because he was apparently the "writer"of their "story". I hated that with the fire of ten thousand suns and will never ever forgive or forget what Andre Badd tried to do with that garbage that he tried to pass off as writing. So, for me, they need to come back from the dead just to negate that Badd crap-even if it's just for a limited time/series. And I think Jensen feels the same way, even if JP doesn't-not that he would turn it down if offered, of course-but he was the one who "loved" that ending unequivocally from the beginning and even when/while it just didn't sit right with Jensen, his longtime co-star and supposed "brother" in RL too as far as this show was concerned.

TV Line agrees with you. They gave their Performer of the Week to the entire cast of The Boys for Herogasm. Something they've only done twice before in all the years that they've been doing that.

I think I said this on another episode thread, but acting is a very subjective matter and even if many like/love any actor or actress, there will always be those who don't, for whatever their reasons. For my part, I love Jensen and feel that he's elevated the show immensely and the other actors seem to appreciate his skillset too, from all I've read. And Kripke loves him for his range-in fact, that was specifically why Kripke wanted him for this role. So if you've never seen him before and aren't impressed or if you watched him for 15 years and aren't impressed, just know that there are some who likely feel the same way about some of your favorites too. I've seen many out there who feel that Antony Starr is the be all and end all as as an actor, while I feel that there are at least four other actors on this show who are better/stronger than him and I further feel that there is another actor on this show who many love to pieces, but who has usually done very little for me from the very beginning. I will miss Jesse Usher's acting if A-Train is indeed dead and I think Chace Crawford has the most thankless role on this show, but he's doing a good job with it anyway, AFAIC. And while I don't think that any actor can walk on water, it wouldn't surprise me in the least to find out that Jensen Ackles indeed could...J/K, of course. 🙃

Yes! Loved that too!! 😄

So I just saw an interview wherein Jensen Ackles said that some heavy, heavy secrets are coming out in these last two episodes concerning Soldier Boy that made him think Wow. Whoa. and What? while reading the script. He also said he needed to take a seat while reading it and he hopes that we'll be as shocked when we find out. So, I am officially nervous now. Thanks a lot, Show.

I loved the little part when Hughie was asking Soldier Boy if he knew what the internet was and etc. and Soldier Boy's response was "You just made those words up, didn't you?" Jensen's delivery of them was so funny. And Starlight explaining how good MM is at performing certain sex acts so they could both be admitted into Herogasm. Yes, it's often the little things that get to me more, too; and not just in the comedic vein. I also love so many of the emotional beats that we've been given this season even when there's very little or no dialogue involved. And I'll add that, IMO, this season seems to hold so many more of those lovely and very subtle emotional beats than the previous seasons. I think that's why I'm finding so much more enjoyment in the show this year than I ever have before. I used to wait for the weekend to watch the show, no matter when it dropped. Now I find myself counting down the minutes and waiting with remote in hand for it to drop. I could live with this.

Imagine that. 🙃

Homelander has laser vision-which I'm not sure Soldier Boy had ever seen in a supe before this fight and from how he reacted to the Butcher/Homelander "stare off" in that fight-but he quickly recovered enough from that surprise to save Butcher from him(and that's why supes shouldn't wear capes. 😉 Loved that. So much.) So Soldier Boy is a trained fighter who knows how to think quickly on his feet and adapt in a fight-human qualities, but with a definite power of their own, that Homelander likely does not have being that he sees his humanity as his weakness and something that needs to be snuffed out entirely for him to reach the perfection like marble that he's striving for. And Homelander can also fly, something else I'm wondering if Soldier Boy has ever encountered in a supe before. So they both learned some things about the other's "powers" and strengths(because there's more than one kind of strength besides the physical)from this first encounter. The biggest difference I can see right now in these two powerful supes is that Soldier Boy is far more humanized by his experiences than Homelander has ever been by his. I wonder if Kripke and co. will allow this to be shown as a greater strength though. I guess we'll see if they will allow Soldier Boy his full radioactive power(including the powering supes down part) in the next fight between these two powerhouse supes. And will Butcher learn of and use the Russian music prompt to help nuclearize(?) Soldier Boy to try and kill Homelander next time. Butcher's answer to Homelander's charge of cheating(Really, Homelander? Seriously?...) as regards their "deal" was "Scorched Earth" so we know for sure where Butcher's head is still at, and it has little to do with the temp V, AFAIC. And again, I have to wonder if Kripke and co. will allow this to be shown as the human weakness that it should be shown as this season? Only two more episodes left. It just doesn't seem like there will be enough time to me. I think Homelander's powers and strength were on full display in the fight, but not Soldier Boy's. That's why I would like a re-match before he's gone-which I am going to hate if it happens. I've grown as attached to him as I have all of the others at this point-and this even though I know what I know about guest casting on tv shows. 😑

Maybe not a popular opinion, but whether it's the writing or the coldness that Antony Starr has heretofore imbued into his character, I'm not feeling one bit of empathy for Homelander, even knowing how he was raised and how he was made. And I do think AS gave it all he had in that mirror scene, but I also think that the writing was very much on the nose in that scene too, but with good reason-that being they're trying to avoid the complete mustache-twirling villain trope with Homelander, thus the "you still have that tiny bit of humanity" schtick-but I fear it's too late now and even that is not working for me. I still need to see Homelander more fearful of losing everything and more fearful of the threat to his dominance as a supe-which they most certainly did not achieve for me here. Not truly. I am curious as to whether he saw his alter ego in the mirror after the fight or if that part of his psyche has now fled, too, and as I think he feels Black Noir has done. In all honesty, I'd love to see Homelander lose his powers as I think that would really test him and challenge him as a character and even truly humble him a bit, even if it's just temporary Maybe the next fight will give us that, but somehow I highly doubt it. I think in the writers' minds Homelander has now been humbled some; it just hasn't worked for this viewer. We'll see though. I think they're coming back too.

I was hoping that they might have at least taken his powers away. It looked like Soldier Boy was in pain and hurting a lot again from powering up there too. I wonder why. I thought he had it somewhat under control when he killed Crimson Countess.

Wow. Just. Wow. That was so good. I LOVED! the hotel scenes so much. Karl Urban was right. Jensen Ackles has most definitely carved out his own unique supe character on this show. My insides might have melted when he looked at Hughie and said "I'm not a bad guy."-and this, even if he is one. The chemistry between Jensen Ackles, Karl Urban, and Jack Quaid is off the charts to me. Ackles and Urban especially. Little Nina needs to die. Kimiko is a warrior. Love Frenchie for loving her. And vice versa. I'd like to see them get out and away. A-Train finally and truly "manning up" might have cost him his life. We'll see. That fight at the end held lots of surprises for Homelander. Intense. MM and Soldier Boy's small encounter was Gold, especially Soldier Boy breathing in the gas and Butcher calling Soldier Boy off. Homelander's mirror scene-A+. Herogasm barely registered for me excepting for all those bodies afterwards. My only complaint in this one was Annie. She's just not doing it for me. I mean I guess her character is a necessity on a show like this, but I'm just not feelin' her. But then again, maybe it's just because she's too good to me in this show full of such altogether fun baddies and pseudo-heroes. I think she's wrong about him too.

Jack Quaid said that it is his favorite of the entire series.

It must be a power that only some of them have.

I'm now thinking that this was the case.

Maybe the Russians lied to Vought about having a way to kill SB with every intent of turning him into the weapon and with Vought looking to get rid of him to make way for the new team, this sounded like the answer. In that scenario, it would seem that the Russians would have made the first move/approach. I can't believe that Vought would give up their most powerful supe either unless they thought they were indeed really sending him to his death. But Crimson Countess knew he was alive, didn't she? That seems to indicate that someone knew he was going to be kept captive but not killed from the get-go.

I hope that what went down in Nicaragua is explained better. I'm a bit confused as to how much the CIA knew of what was going to happen. I think Mallory had no idea, but clearly Stan Edgar and all of the supes, except Gunpowder, were with him. That was stated. But was it the Russians who instigated things or was it Vought, all on their own, or was it Vought with the help of the CIA. My big question is who instigated matters though. I'm guessing Vought.

Likely he was ok with it before he had to live with it. Toxic masculinity runs very deep in our society and has for many, many years. Sometimes women too, as well as other men, are even enamoured with facets of it. BDE came from somewhere, after all. I'm loving the many facets of it that Kripke and co. and this wonderful cast are portraying. The layers and the nuances are sending me, tbh. I'm loving this season like no other so far.

I still think it's going to be Maeve who dies. I did not know this. I do know that Jensen said his favorite episodes of the season are 6-8. I'm ready for them though. More than ready, actually. 😉

Co-signing all of this. For me the difference in Soldier Boy and Homelander is that Soldier Boy was a product of his time. Just look at The Legend - there wasn't a word out of his mouth that wasn't pure Rat Pack on Crack toxic masculinity. He is still living in the past every bit as much as Soldier Boy, and he's been in the world all this time. Homelander though, seems to have made conscious choices along the way of becoming the psychopath he is. I'm curious about SB's nuke power. The blast in Times Square seemed completely involuntary, but it appeared that using it to take out the Countess was all him. Did anyone catch what name the Countess called Soldier Boy by? I missed it both times I've watched and can't check CC at the moment. Is it the same name that was on the redacted Soldier Boy file that was zaprudered from the preview She called him Ben. Ans yes, he seems to have gained some control over his new power. My feelings about Homelander and Soldier Boy is that Homelander runs cold and Soldier Boy runs hot. Homelander is dispassionate on the surface, while Soldier Boy allows his passion and passions to run free. In fact, his passion matches his new power in many ways. Oh, and ITA about The Legend too.