S03.E04: Glorious Five Year Plan

[PurpleTentacle]

1 hour ago, MAK said:

Thought Stormfront was the first to take it? She was an adult. I'm pretty sure they gave it to Soldier Boy when he was an adult too. 

Their formula was probably evolving to develop specific powers so they experimented on babies who wouldn't need to consent/cooperate?

They specifically said in earlier seasons that it ended in death with most adults when they were given V. Only very few would survive it. Homelander had to go through quite a lot of test subjects before he made his super terrorist.

I think they set that up as an explaination why the boys weren't just taking V to even the playing field. But now that they changed their minds on that one, maybe they are also retconing regular V. Not sure yet.

Stormfront was given V as an adult. But she was also the first person who got V, if I remember correctly. Maybe she was just lucky.

Soldier boy, well we don't really know how many soldiers they went through till they created him. The US military has a long and storied history with unethical medical experiements on their soldiers.

[Asha124]

4 hours ago, PurpleTentacle said:

They specifically said in earlier seasons that it ended in death with most adults when they were given V. Only very few would survive it. Homelander had to go through quite a lot of test subjects before he made his super terrorist.

I think they set that up as an explaination why the boys weren't just taking V to even the playing field. But now that they changed their minds on that one, maybe they are also retconing regular V. Not sure yet.

Stormfront was given V as an adult. But she was also the first person who got V, if I remember correctly. Maybe she was just lucky.

Soldier boy, well we don't really know how many soldiers they went through till they created him. The US military has a long and storied history with unethical medical experiements on their soldiers.

But wasn't that the whole point of Sage Grove (the facility that Lamplighter was at)? To stabilize Compound V so that adults could take it without the risk of dying?

[PurpleTentacle]

29 minutes ago, Asha124 said:

But wasn't that the whole point of Sage Grove (the facility that Lamplighter was at)? To stabilize Compound V so that adults could take it without the risk of dying?

Maybe? I don't remember anything like that, but it has been a while.

But Homelander called the V "original recipe" when he gave it to Victoria. So doesn't sound like it is a new formula.

[CletusMusashi]

On 6/11/2022 at 9:02 PM, DeeDee79 said:

After rewatching I have an unpopular opinion about the Butcher/Frenchie/Kimiko situation. Butcher paid off Nina to get Frenchie and Cherie out of her debt, she ups her condition that one last job must be performed in order for her to let Cherie off the hook. Frenchie is outraged because he thinks that Butcher gave up Cherie's location and is further outraged when he says that Kimiko has to carry out the job for the debt to be paid. Why is Butcher the bad guy in this situation? Frenchie's bad blood with Nina happened outside of his affiliation with Butcher and he didn't tell the boys when she summoned him because he didn't want them to know what was going on. If Butcher hadn't offered up Kimiko (who he doesn't know doesn't want to kill anymore because she only talks to Frenchie) then Nina would have continued to pursue Frenchie and look for Cherie which Frenchie was trying to avoid. I understand that Butcher was "uncouth" when giving them the news but outside of that how is he the bad guy in this situation? Genuinely asking here.

Also, I'm calling a little bit of bullsht on her intended pacifism. I mean, didldos are not the easiest of weapons to slam through a human skull.  If she was using a weapon as a force multiplier, like by picking up a hammer or knife or something, then that's just about getting the job done. But if you can break a skull by pushing a dildo at it, you can break it even more easily with your fist. I mean, there are a lot of black belts who can crack bricks with their hands, but can they punch holes in them with sex toys? Generally not.

I kind of think that when she saw what she had to work with, there was a certain amount of "I may never get another chance to do this." Now she can scratch "massacre Russian mob with dildos" off of her bucket list. Can't say I blame her. It was hilarious. But Butcher wasn't the one who told her to crank it up to 11. And if she'd simply done the job and gotten out again, without showboating, she also probably wouldn't have gotten shot.

[CletusMusashi]

On 6/12/2022 at 3:20 PM, Affogato said:

Jamie is adorable. In a brain eating and scary way. I hope they figure out how to bring more hamster into the show. 

I'm hoping they figure out how to bring him into Homelander's butthole.

[gonzosgirrl]

3 minutes ago, CletusMusashi said:

I kind of think that when she saw what she had to work with, there was a certain amount of "I may never get another chance to do this." Now she can scratch "massacre Russian mob with dildos" off of her bucket list. Can't say I blame her. It was hilarious. But Butcher wasn't the one who told her to crank it up to 11. And if she'd simply done the job and gotten out again, without showboating, she also probably wouldn't have gotten shot.

I think she intended to get out, but was brought up short by the women being so afraid of her, to the point of shooting her in the head. Seemed like a real come-to-Jesus moment for her.

[MAK]

Well, the oligarch did tell her to choose....

[Affogato]

57 minutes ago, CletusMusashi said:

I'm hoping they figure out how to bring him into Homelander's butthole.

I get the reference but I think a hamster actually would like to bed down in a nice, clean skull. Frenchie could manage that.

[Aithne]

I don't see much reason to doubt that Kimiko genuinely is moving into a place where she doesn't want to be a hired gun anymore. A lot of her violence came because of trauma that she's now really starting to work through and move past. That doesn't make Butcher wrong for offering her services - as far as he knows, she's part of the team, and the team is working on this together. But since she's not a true believer in Butcher or in their mission, it's natural for her to chafe at the casual way he assumes authority over her. 

[blackwing]

Sorry to see Supersonic died.   Wish he had listened to Starlight.  I also wish we could at least have seen him use his powers.  I wonder who is going to join the Seven now or will they just leave the seat open.  
 

I could have sworn that Starlight can fly.  Or am I confusing the show with the comics?

[Bergamot]

On 6/11/2022 at 12:53 PM, MAK said:

Regarding the temptation of power for Hughie---he is on a really slippery slope.

They are speeding away in the van, MM and Frenchie are trying to revive Kimiko, trying to keep her alive, and Hughie is looking at his glowing newly healed arm, and smiling. He doesn't even seem aware of what's going on with Kimiko just behind him.

I wonder how that is going to play out.

When I watched this episode again, I found that Hughie went down a little in my estimation, whereas Butcher went up.

Butcher shows no pleasure or pride in his possession of Supe powers. He was reluctant for anyone to know about it; I think he is well aware that it opens him up to accusations of hypocrisy to use the same powers as those he says must be destroyed for their powers.

There is that great moment where he tells Hughie that Temp-V is not power, but pain -- more a curse than a gift. Butcher will always do whatever it takes to get the job done, but Karl Urban is so good at showing the hidden pain that it causes him. And Butcher especially went up in my estimation when he refused to give the Temp-V to Hughie, telling him that he didn't deserve what it would do to him. Hughie is still serving as Butcher's "canary", showing that there are things at which he will draw the line.

On the other hand, I know that Hughie is tired of being feeling powerless and being pushed around. We have seen this since the very first episode, when he failed in his attempt to ask his boss for a raise, and then later, when his father told him that he just didn't have what it took to get back at Vought for the death of his girlfriend. But I was just a little repelled at his self-absorption in that last scene. Does he want powers to help fight against the evilness of Vought and to save Starlight, the woman he loves, or is it more about making him feel good about himself?

Edited June 16, 2022 by Bergamot

[roamyn]

IMO Butcher knew Hughie took the Temp V, because of the subtle looks.  And Butcher knows exactly how Hughie feels when the latter said he was so angry and so tired of being bullied.

[Castiels Cat]

On 6/10/2022 at 9:09 AM, gonzosgirrl said:

Ooh, I almost forgot - - Stan! I did not see Victoria betraying him so completely coming. I'm still wondering if it isn't part of some larger plan. And giving the little girl V to 'protect' her? Yowza. Edgar still has some massive balls, insulting and then dismissing Homelander to his face. I remain unconvinced that he isn't a Supe himself, and/or somehow impervious to the laser eyes.

I totally think that Stan had the plan. He looks like someone in control and he said the daughter would be protected. 

[Castiels Cat]

On 6/10/2022 at 11:39 AM, Bergamot said:

I didn't hear any specific mention of it in the episode. My guess is that it is a reference to the Five-Year Plan for economic development that Joseph Stalin put into effect in the early years of the Soviet Union. If I remember my history, it resulted in a famine there that killed millions of people. The use of the phrase probably being an allusion to whatever plan the Russians had for Soldier Boy. The metaphorical meaning might be something about having a plan to achieve power and control which, even if it succeeds, in the end causes great destruction.

I think they used him to make supes. I have to rewatch earlier seasons to be sure. The hamster suggests it and I recall the serum being tested by the Russians being red as in made from his blood. I could be wrong.

[Castiels Cat]

On 6/10/2022 at 7:08 PM, DeeDee79 said:

Holy shit Supersonic's remains were gruesome!!!! I can believe that Homelander would go there but I couldn't believe what I was seeing. I wonder how Starlight is going to feel when she finds out that Hughie took the Temp V and actually seems to be reveling in his new power.

I loved Stan and Homelander's confrontation at the end and it's awesome how he's completely unintimidated by Homelander. I truly wonder if we're going to find out that Stan has powers at some point. There has to be a reason why Homelander has never attacked him.

Yay, our first real look at Soldier Boy! I can't wait for a full episode with him and the story of what happened with him and MM's family.

If that's true it could be a major bonus for when he comes up against Homelander!

I think Stan has powers... maybe Professor X type stuff.

[Bort]

Ok, there seems to be a bit of laxness when it comes to spoilers. In the episode topics, there should be no posts that contain something like, “Kripke said in an article…” That’s a spoiler, take it to the spoiler topic.

And if someone makes a comment in an episode topic that you know is covered in the spoiler topic, don’t link to it. They may not want to be spoiled. We all know where the spoiler topic is and how to use it.

[MAK]

On 6/10/2022 at 9:48 PM, Evie said:

I enjoyed Soldier Boy singing in the old show MM was watching. 

I kept watching the longer version that was a bonus reel because the way Ackles was singing reminded me of someone/something. 

Finally figured out that (at least to me) he sounds like if Ed McMahon ---from Carson, Star Search--- sang the song. Or like those announcers on game shows that described the prizes, "First we're going to fly you to Florida, and then ...." especially the "and then" part. 

Very 70s/80s.