S01.E06: The Innocents

[paulvdb]

Quote

SUPER IN AMERICA (2019). Vought Studios. Genre: Reality. Starring: Homelander, Queen Maeve, Black Noir, The Deep, A-Train, Starlight, Tara Reid, Billy Zane.

Premiere date: July 26, 2019

[Richness]

OK, the Tara Reid and Billy Zane cameos at the convention were funny. However, I nearly died when Haley Joel Osment appeared as Mesmer.

[Miles]

In the first episode Butcher said Homelander was a boyscout. But he always knew that Homelander was the worst. Now, it could be that he didn't want to tell Hughie everything, but why would he lie like that? He could have just said "he's a homicidal maniac rapist". Honestly seems like some bad writing. They didn't want us to know how bad Homelander was till he blew up that plane, so they bent the character and the story to hell. I don't really appreciate that kind of thing.

Also the deputy director of the CIA would let Butcher just walk out of her office with compound V in hand? Suuuuure. In any reality she would have called security and confiscated that stuff. That's also some bullshitty writing right there.

Also is Butcher reeally supposed to be this dumb? What she offered would have been a huge win. Sure you wouldn't get homelander directly, but you'd take away his support system and resources. That might actually make him somewhat vulnerable. Instead he decided to piss it all away.

On 7/28/2019 at 3:07 AM, Richness said:

OK, the Tara Reid and Billy Zane cameos at the convention were funny. However, I nearly died when Haley Joel Osment appeared as Mesmer.

You should watch some Future Man (another Seth Rogan show on Amazon) then. The first season is amazing. The second, sadly not so much, due to apparent budget cuts. But both seasons have a lot of Haley Joel Osment.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Miles

[Sakura12]

17 hours ago, Miles said:

lso is Butcher reeally supposed to be this dumb? What she offered would have been a huge win. Sure you wouldn't get homelander directly, but you'd take away his support system and resources. That might actually make him somewhat vulnerable. Instead he decided to piss it all away.

I'll give you the CIA letting Butcher walk out like that. That would not happen. However from what I've seen of Butcher so far, he's a selfish asshole that's no better than the Supes he's going after. He doesn't care about his team or anyone else. He only wants Homelander. So yes he would turn the CIA down if they couldn't give him the only thing he wants. 

I also thought he was being sarcastic when he said Homelander is a freaking saint. Meaning he's the worst out of all of them. At least that's what I got from the way he said it. 

[Racj82]

6 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

I'll give you the CIA letting Butcher walk out like that. That would not happen. However from what I've seen of Butcher so far, he's a selfish asshole that's no better than the Supes he's going after. He doesn't care about his team or anyone else. He only wants Homelander. So yes he would turn the CIA down if they couldn't give him the only thing he wants. 

I also thought he was being sarcastic when he said Homelander is a freaking saint. Meaning he's the worst out of all of them. At least that's what I got from the way he said it. 

Yeah I never took that boyscout comment seriously and he is indeed a selfish asshole. None of that rings as false to me.

[Miles]

7 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

I'll give you the CIA letting Butcher walk out like that. That would not happen. However from what I've seen of Butcher so far, he's a selfish asshole that's no better than the Supes he's going after. He doesn't care about his team or anyone else. He only wants Homelander. So yes he would turn the CIA down if they couldn't give him the only thing he wants.  

I don't dispute this one bit. At this point he's only out for himself and his revenge. Still, like I said in my post, even if the CIA won't give him Homelander directly, taking out Homelander's support infrastructure is a big step in the right direction.

What are his alternatives here? If he doesn't give the deputy director the V, that doesn't bring him any closer to getting Homelander. But if he gives her the V, it does. It's not as much as he would have liked, but it's more than nothing.

7 hours ago, Sakura12 said:

I also thought he was being sarcastic when he said Homelander is a freaking saint. Meaning he's the worst out of all of them. At least that's what I got from the way he said it. 

Didn't seem like it. He went really specific with "doesn't drink, doesn't smoke".

Edited July 31, 2019 by Miles

[Morrigan2575]

On 7/27/2019 at 9:07 PM, Richness said:

Haley Joel Osment appeared as Mesmer.

Huh. I kept wondering where I knew him from.

On 7/30/2019 at 2:29 AM, Miles said:

But he always knew that Homelander was the worst. Now, it could be that he didn't want to tell Hughie everything, but why would he lie like that?

Because Butcher was playing Hughie. Butcher pretty much plays all of them. He's angry and looking for revenge and will do whatever he can to get what he wants (Homelander).

So this episode explained a lot about Homelander. I wonder if he's the first Supe? He was raised in a lab and lacked relationships, explains his weird thing with Stillwell and nursing.

I really wonder what happened to Becca? I have a horrible feeling that she isn't dead at all and, the whole rape thing was a lie. Mostly, because I expect the worst from this show and, nothing would destroy Butcher faster than finding out his wife left him for Homelander or whatever. Plus, Butcher is as cruel and selfish as the Supes he hates so this would be a real kick in the balls go humble him.

I pretty much expect the worst out of every character (except the Mesmer) I thought Rayner was working from Vaught, which surprised me, she really would have set The Boys up as Agents, but, wouldn't go after Homelander because he was too powerful. With Mesmer, I actually thought he was going to kill himself, was surprised to find him meeting Homelander. 

Caught is one evil organization but, there's something I'm really curious about, they keep referencing the 82nd floor and the Big Boss but, so far we haven't seen them. I wonder who/what they are to keep even Homelander in check?

[bettername2come]

23 hours ago, Morrigan2575 said:

Because Butcher was playing Hughie. Butcher pretty much plays all of them. He's angry and looking for revenge and will do whatever he can to get what he wants (Homelander).

It is a good strategy for making sure Hughie doesn't go after Homelander when he wants to kill him himself.

[PWHCHCH]

I’m calling it now. Becca is the fly that keeping buzzing around. Maybe Homelander has extra special jizz that gave her super powers. 

[The Companion]

On 7/30/2019 at 1:29 AM, Miles said:

Also the deputy director of the CIA would let Butcher just walk out of her office with compound V in hand? Suuuuure. In any reality she would have called security and confiscated that stuff. That's also some bullshitty writing right there.

Also is Butcher reeally supposed to be this dumb? What she offered would have been a huge win. Sure you wouldn't get homelander directly, but you'd take away his support system and resources. That might actually make him somewhat vulnerable. Instead he decided to piss it all away.

Butcher had the sample with him, but referenced other evidence that he hadn't brought with him. If they only take the compound V, what happens then? Their only known witness won't cooperate.

Butcher is single minded. He doesn't care about the kids or the other supes. He only wants one thing. 

On 7/31/2019 at 1:35 AM, Racj82 said:

Yeah I never took that boyscout comment seriously and he is indeed a selfish asshole. None of that rings as false to me.

I read that, in retrospect, as him lamenting that Homelander doesn't screw up in an easily punishable way. It isn't as simple as some blackmail videos. He isn't going to slip up that easily, and he isn't going to leave witnesses. 

On 8/2/2019 at 9:01 PM, Morrigan2575 said:

Because Butcher was playing Hughie. Butcher pretty much plays all of them. He's angry and looking for revenge and will do whatever he can to get what he wants (Homelander).

. . .

I really wonder what happened to Becca? I have a horrible feeling that she isn't dead at all and, the whole rape thing was a lie. Mostly, because I expect the worst from this show and, nothing would destroy Butcher faster than finding out his wife left him for Homelander or whatever. Plus, Butcher is as cruel and selfish as the Supes he hates so this would be a real kick in the balls go humble him.

Butcher is a liar and he has no interest in letting everyone see his cards. That is clear from his actions. He is paranoid to track his associates and his only goal is to get what he wants.

My guess was that Becca is one of the made villains or that she found out something that necessitated a choice between her old life and something else. 

I enjoyed the Deep's exile. I want more from Queen Maeve, who is clearly struggling. Also, what is the deal with Black Noir? 

For a bunch of superheroes, they sure don't do much heroing.

[Miles]

59 minutes ago, The Companion said:

Butcher had the sample with him, but referenced other evidence that he hadn't brought with him. If they only take the compound V, what happens then? Their only known witness won't cooperate.

And what happens if they don't take it? They have nothing. Great improvement there.

[The Companion]

6 hours ago, Miles said:

And what happens if they don't take it? They have nothing. Great improvement there.

I think it is pretty clear that, if you are going to take a shot against the 7, you damn well better make it stick. Half a case gets you basically nothing except possibly laser eyes to the face. 

[callie lee 29]

I just binged the first 6 episodes and Butcher is about to make me quit. I don't think I can take much more of his sanctimonious bullshit. At this point I'm not sure there's much difference between him and Homelander.

[Dobian]

On 7/29/2019 at 11:29 PM, Miles said:

 They didn't want us to know how bad Homelander was till he blew up that plane, so they bent the character and the story to hell. I don't really appreciate that kind of thing.

I'm waiting for the evidence to come out that Homelander and Queen Maeve really were on that plane and lied about it.  They'll see the scorched trail burned through the cockpit instruments that could only be caused by a laser.  And someone had to have their phone camera on recording the hijacking and the two of them on the plane, including the part where they left them to die.  Start gathering phones from the bodies and see what's on them.

[Bruinsfan]

I wouldn't bet the farm on remnants from a plane that crashed out in the middle of the Atlantic including damning evidence. Honestly, the scene with stuff washing up on shore would have better suited the aftermath of the plane with the negotiator from Baltimore crashing in the Lower Bay than an impact thousands of miles out to sea. But if someone had the presence of mind to get phone camera footage and upload it to the cloud...

[wrlord]

Haley Joel Osment was inspired casting.

[CigarDoug]

On 8/6/2019 at 2:51 PM, The Companion said:

For a bunch of superheroes, they sure don't do much heroing.

I'm not sure what the rules are for the Seven, but the first episode revealed that Vought places a superhero in every major city, if the city is willing to pay for it. I think the Supes have managed to bring down crime dramatically across the country wherever they are placed, so there is less for them to do. Not that they can eliminate it altogether.

But I agree, besides the armored car in episode one and the warehouse caper Deep and Starlight handled, we haven't seen much heroing. I guess the focus in more on the corporate side, and less examples of actual crimefighting. But even Starlight was complaining it's more about public appearances and less about doing superhero stuff.

[AnimeMania]

I think most of their crimefighting has to be vetted be the company first before they are called out to fight it. I think the majority of the crimes are faked by the company just for PR opportunities.

[vavera4ka]

On ‎7‎/‎31‎/‎2019 at 1:56 AM, Miles said:

 

Didn't seem like it. He went really specific with "doesn't drink, doesn't smoke".

exactly. all technically good qualities that don't really reflect on goodness of a person.

[Bruinsfan]

On 7/31/2019 at 1:56 AM, Miles said:

Didn't seem like it. He went really specific with "doesn't drink, doesn't smoke".

I took it as a nod to Adam Ant.

[ketose]

On 7/30/2019 at 2:29 AM, Miles said:

In the first episode Butcher said Homelander was a boyscout. But he always knew that Homelander was the worst. Now, it could be that he didn't want to tell Hughie everything, but why would he lie like that? He could have just said "he's a homicidal maniac rapist". Honestly seems like some bad writing. They didn't want us to know how bad Homelander was till he blew up that plane, so they bent the character and the story to hell. I don't really appreciate that kind of thing.

Also the deputy director of the CIA would let Butcher just walk out of her office with compound V in hand? Suuuuure. In any reality she would have called security and confiscated that stuff. That's also some bullshitty writing right there.

Also is Butcher reeally supposed to be this dumb? What she offered would have been a huge win. Sure you wouldn't get homelander directly, but you'd take away his support system and resources. That might actually make him somewhat vulnerable. Instead he decided to piss it all away.

You should watch some Future Man (another Seth Rogan show on Amazon) then. The first season is amazing. The second, sadly not so much, due to apparent budget cuts. But both seasons have a lot of Haley Joel Osment.

At the beginning, Butcher was telling Hughie almost nothing. He certainly didn't tell Hughie the bug he planted was a ruse to get one of the supe enforcers out in the open. Butcher also isn't one to tell the story of his wife right off the bat, especially when Homelander doesn't do any of the reckless things other supes do, it makes it harder to believe. I think it's good writing because it advances characters instead of plot.

The CIA thing probably has more to do with the Director than anything else. She wants Butcher out there investigating the supes because she can't do it officially. I very much doubt if she just had a vial of Compound V she could take it to the lab. That stuff is a trillion dollar secret. I'm sure whatever scientific resource analyzed it either has a Vought mole working there or some hero worshipper who would take it to the Seven. Also, Homelander is overpowered and crazy. Trying to take him in or taking down Vought could very well be a suicide mission. She was willing to give Butcher the budget. However, Butcher either wants Homelander in a jail cell or murdered and if the CIA won't do the former, he'll do the latter.

[Camera One]

I'm starting to really dislike Butcher.  He seems to be becoming more one-dimensional in his black and white vision of the world.

It was nice to finally learn the backstory of the Asian woman.

I'm afraid of what Homelander is going to do now that he has the photos of the team.  I don't want to see even more innocents die.  At the very least, he will probably tell Starlight that Huey is using her.  I'm not sure how she can forgive his murder of Translucent.  

The fake commercials for the 7 were amusing.

Did Maeve think Starlight was never genuine?  I hope this is the beginning of a friendship between the two of them.

[Tachi Rocinante]

"The Mesmerizer" font looked like Law and Order, and the kid "actor" in the show's last name was Howser.  Sometimes being meta just looks lazy.

Edited June 15, 2022 by Tachi Rocinante