My apologies. I should have written this a few months ago when I actually finished the show. I would have had a much hotter take then. Since then, I've moved on with life, watched other shows and almost forgot I had watched this. Not in a bad way because I thought the show was very good.
What's funnier is that people really do have a read on me now. I had a lot of people asking if I watched this show (before I actually watched it) because it's about super heroes. Maybe I have been too transparent and need to pull back.
What a time we are living in when you can be a nerd out in the open and NOT get made fun of. This kind of stuff I would have had to keep to myself when I was younger.
Anyways, I digress. The Boys. Let's talk about it. I never read the comic book series it is based off of. I know OF it, but didn't care to read it. Back then, I was not ready for Garth Ennis or his various series that pushed the limits of what was explicit in comic books at the time. I was still deep into super heroes before I started to really branch out.
I say all that to let you know that other than a raunchy, adult take on super heroes, I did not know what to expect from this show.
Let's be clear for anyone that is wondering, this show is real dark. I think we are at the point now where we can have our light super hero movies and still have a place for a show like this. If anything, they toned down the original source material from what I understand.
Kudos to Amazon. They pushed this show and you can tell that there was some money behind it. Also, kudos to keeping the season to eight episodes. If you've read any of my other reviews, you will know I have turned on the idea of thirteen episode seasons. There is always padding. I love ten episodes, eight is even better. That means they have to get through their story and there is not enough time for filler. I never felt that this show was too slow or meandering. It is a very slow burn, sure, to get to the endpoint. However, they sprinkle in some pretty big moments throughout.
Part of me wants to think that some of the things that happen are for shock value, but as you go on, that is just part and parcel to the whole vibe of this show.
The casting was great all around. To me the stand outs are Karl Urban as Billy Butcher and Antony Starr as Homelander. Every scene with Homelander in it, knowing how powerful he is, you begin to wonder, is THIS the time where he completely loses it? The way he plays the character on that knife's edge, you don't know which way he is going to fall. Is he going to be merciful? Or he is about to kill someone? There was tension in every scene that he appears in.
I was completely engrossed in the story as I kept watching to see if it would get much worse for everyone involved. Would our "heroes" in this story be able to break through the conspiracy and take down the super heroes? Each person has an emphatic story so you begin to start rooting for your favorites, whoever they may be.
I tend to ramble on, so I am keeping this deliberately short. I will say the show ends on a great cliffhanger and I will definitely be around for season 2. If you haven't watched it yet and you have no problems with essentially a dark dramedy, give this show a shot.
