S02.E01: The Big Ride

[Bort]

Quote

With Butcher still missing, Hughie, Mother's Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko are now fugitives, and Homelander and Vought are more powerful than ever. But just as the Boys are about to leave the country, they are pulled back into the fray.

Airdate: 4 September, 2020

[AnimeMania]

This was a really heavy episode, felt much longer than a hour, probably because there were no laughs. Check out the Bonus Content, there is a deleted scene (I could have really used some subtitles for this one) and a scene that includes commentary.

Edited September 4, 2020 by AnimeMania

[cambridgeguy]

So now we know what would happen if Daredevil tried to fight Superman.

[Morrigan2575]

A Soldier Boy shoutout.

Damn, I really liked the CIA Lady.

I'm totally confused on how we got from the S1 Cliffhanger to now. I thought perhaps Homelander showing up at the house was a flashback to S1 but, no. So how did Butcher get away?  

This was a long, slow episode bit, it was good to set the chess pieces and we got a little bit of character development for The Female.

I knew from the trailer that Homelander was drinking Stillwater's breast milk but, yuck.

I have to say this was OK but, it get really fun when Butcher showed up at the end. The show really needs his brand of assholish craziness to be fun

 

[AimingforYoko]

13 hours ago, cambridgeguy said:

So now we know what would happen if Daredevil tried to fight Superman.

Matt would at least know to get some kryptonite. 

Came late to the show, knew Anthony Starr from Banshee, but it's hard to see him as anything but Homelander now.

[Mr. Sparkle]

Translucent's Bar Mitzvah picture made me LOL. 

[mac123x]

They managed to up the gruesome factor, somehow.  I've never watched so much television with my peripheral vision.

 

Really liking Stormfront so far.  Her DGAF attitude is enjoyable.  She's essentially the writers saying "sure, the PR slick packaging shown in season 1 wouldn't really work, because social media and general cynicism would pull back the curtain."

[iMonrey]

Quote

They managed to up the gruesome factor, somehow.  I've never watched so much television with my peripheral vision.

They seem to think that's a selling point, and maybe it is. But I was a bit disheartened by that. Sure, I recognized how gruesomely violent the show could be back in season 1 but that wasn't the main draw for me. I hate to think the show runners think it needs more of that. If you read the promo blurb on Amazon Prime for this season it's really leaning hard into "more gore! more violence!" sell.

Having done a complete re-watch of Season 1 right on the tail of Umbrella Academy's second season, I can say I really prefer the latter. UA just has a lot more humor and they do the musical montages with much better music. The Boys just takes itself way too seriously.

I didn't think I was going to like Giancarlo Esposito in this because I'm one of the few people in the world who's kind of tired of his bad-ass act. But the story really does need someone who can take Homelander down a peg. I'm just not sure I bought Homelander backing down to him so easily. I still see no reason Homelander couldn't just take him out if he wanted to. 

[Broderbits]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

I'm just not sure I bought Homelander backing down to him so easily. I still see no reason Homelander couldn't just take him out if he wanted to. 

This begs the question: wouldn't the creators of these Supes have formulated a way to control/eliminate/subdue one who went too far off script? Or were these wonder scientists really so stupid that they created a monster with no back-up plan? How bad does Homelander have to get before it's time to disable him, or does that depend on how adversely he affects the bottom line?

I love this show and am willing to follow wherever it takes me, but please let Homelander have a reckoning.

[mac123x]

2 hours ago, iMonrey said:

UA just has a lot more humor and they do the musical montages with much better music.

The producers must really like Billy Joel.  I imagined Kripke saying "we paid for the rights to Under Pressure so we're going to use the entire fucking song."  

[DeeDee79]

This may be an unpopular opinion but Hughie annoys the hell out of me. We know that he's been through a lot with the loss of Robin and being separated from his dad and his previously normal life but he's not the only one in the group that is feeling that type of loss. All of his bitching about "we don't need Butcher" without taking into consideration that the men that he's speaking to have a long history with Butcher and may not feel the same way just pissed me off. Butcher is shady as fuck but he's been that way since the 1st episode and Frenchie and MM know him much better than Hughie does and still chose to jump back into things. I admit that he's a different man now due to his experiences and I know we're meant to feel more empathetic towards because of his strained relationship with Starlight ( which is on him ) but I spent most of the episode rolling my eyes and saying "shut UP Hughie" every time he started bitching. It's disappointing because I really liked him in the 1st season but so far he's just getting on my nerves.

[festivus]

Homelander drinking that breast milk was awesomely disturbing. I watch the kinds of shows that have stuff like that and even I could barely handle it. I was both shuddering and laughing. Well done by the actor.

[patty1h]

I got a wee bit nervous when Homelander got lippy to Mr Edgar, and then I wondered if Edgar is so confident spanking a Supe is because he has powers too.  My speculation is that the Nazi doctor dosed him back in the day and Edgar is on the Supe downlow - keeps it under wraps and doesn't need to flex.   He prefers a suit to a cape...  he'd rather show his power in a boardroom.

[marketdoctor]

Was this the first time we heard Starlighter sing?  Because she was really good.  It was an absurd idea (right up there with "5,000 Candles in the Wind"), but Erin Moriarty sang it well, and in character.

 

 

 

 

[Quickbeam]

On 9/5/2020 at 5:10 PM, DeeDee79 said:

This may be an unpopular opinion but Hughie annoys the hell out of me.

I can’t stand the character either. I’m team dad! 

[ketose]

On 9/5/2020 at 12:53 PM, iMonrey said:

I didn't think I was going to like Giancarlo Esposito in this because I'm one of the few people in the world who's kind of tired of his bad-ass act. But the story really does need someone who can take Homelander down a peg. I'm just not sure I bought Homelander backing down to him so easily. I still see no reason Homelander couldn't just take him out if he wanted to. 

There's a thin line for Homelander. If he kills Vought executives, he'd probably lose his contract and be outright labeled as a villain. The closest thing Homelander has to love is adoration, and Vought is the company that covers up his crimes so he can still be adored by the public. He probably wouldn't have killed Stillwell, except that Butcher provided the opportunity to be the killer instead of Homelander.

[Commando Cody]

I watched season 1.  I thought it was just okay.  I got about 10 minutes into this episode and I was done.  Way too much graphic violence.  

[Atlanta]

21 hours ago, marketdoctor said:

Was this the first time we heard Starlighter sing?  Because she was really good.  It was an absurd idea (right up there with "5,000 Candles in the Wind"), but Erin Moriarty sang it well, and in character.

What that really her voice? Just curious.

[ketose]

7 minutes ago, Atlanta said:

What that really her voice? Just curious.

The extras on Amazon say yes.

[The Companion]

On 9/4/2020 at 1:27 AM, AnimeMania said:

This was a really heavy episode, felt much longer than a hour, probably because there were no laughs. Check out the Bonus Content, there is a deleted scene (I could have really used some subtitles for this one) and a scene that includes commentary.

It was really dark. I assume it's setting up some major points this season, but it was really serious and I missed some of the absurdity.

On 9/4/2020 at 10:26 PM, mac123x said:

They managed to up the gruesome factor, somehow.  I've never watched so much television with my peripheral vision.

 

The physical effects are so amazing and horrifying. Blame a steady diet of horror movies but despite not being able to handle a bloody nose in real life, I love special effects and this show is amazing.

On 9/5/2020 at 9:38 PM, festivus said:

Homelander drinking that breast milk was awesomely disturbing. I watch the kinds of shows that have stuff like that and even I could barely handle it. I was both shuddering and laughing. Well done by the actor.

Somehow two exploding bodies last season and some really gross stuff in this one (that arm!) the breastmilk was somehow the most horrifying part for me too. I think it was even more disturbing after he killed her so mercilessly. Homelander is really creepy.

I am interested to see where the NotScientology story goes. I am having a lot of trouble rooting for Hughie too, particularly because he can't find anyone to be all in with, so he just feels indecisive. 

I did really like what they did with Starlight so far this season. She has taken a lot more ownership and it is good to watch. 

 

[blackwing]

On 9/6/2020 at 7:08 PM, marketdoctor said:

Was this the first time we heard Starlighter sing?  Because she was really good.  It was an absurd idea (right up there with "5,000 Candles in the Wind"), but Erin Moriarty sang it well, and in character.

As she said in this episode, Starlight was involved with "Capes for Christ".  And we saw her last season returning to her religious roots at that expo.  She sang well but I was laughing at the song... it's exactly the kind of Christian pop music that's sung at these nondenominational megachurches.

Watching The Deep losing it and going off the deep end being stuck in Cleveland was hilarious, especially the part where he's trashtalking guests at the water park.

[overtherainbow]

On 9/7/2020 at 12:42 PM, Commando Cody said:

I watched season 1.  I thought it was just okay.  I got about 10 minutes into this episode and I was done.  Way too much graphic violence.  

Yeah, I'm on the fence about how much I like this show. It's a bit too gory and violent for me but I love the social commentary and how it kind of pokes fun at the whole superhero fanaticism a-la Marvel   DC. So I've kind of put up with it. I've heard S2 is a lot worse than S1 though so I think I'm going to wait till all the episodes actually are out before I watch (or not). Some things are not worth stomaching.

Edited September 11, 2020 by overtherainbow

[tennisgurl]

So after so many of my friends told me to watch this show, I finally decided to take the plunge. I kind of avoided it for awhile, as I find Garth Ennis to be very hit or miss (we get it Garth, you hate superheroes and organized religion, can we talk about something else now?) as a writer and I read some of the comic version of this and I wasnt a huge fan, but I decided to give it a shot because lots of people I like are working on it, on and off camera, and while I think it has a lot of the same issues as the comics and with Garth Ennis work in general, like trying a bit too hard to be edgy and crazy, and overuse of violence, sexual and otherwise, I do actually think this story translates pretty well to television, and I like this quite a bit more than the comics. It always for more stylization, and I think the characters are coming alive a lot more due to strong performances by the cast. 

So will things get even more messed up and bloody this season? Lets find out!