ZZZorcerer posted:

Only way it's Cindy is if the first kill (gov lady) was done under Vought and now she's been indoctrinated and is killing for the cult.

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:

Did you mean sexually abusive? Because that was a lie.
lol people are still misreading the gay couple scene

He's definitely an rear end in a top hat though. It would be a funny twist if he was just an rear end in a top hat who wanted to do drugs and party and not some insane monster, but I doubt it.

Baudolino posted:

The fact that the big bad is parody of Superman itself dates the show. The boys was not first the comic first to do" Superman but evil".
Now it almost feels a bit overused.

I feel like if The boys comic had been made today it would have focused more on a evil Batman or a evil Tony Stark character or possibly a parody of popular mangas and animes.

Dongicus posted:

Noam Chomsky posted:

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR1opArF/?k=1

Martman posted:

I think it's more that A-Train quickly realizes (or at least fears) he's gonna go back to being a coward and serving as Vought's fake progressive token minority dude. So he's realizing his one heroic act didn't actually change who he is, and now with the heart he's both metaphorically and literally sustained by Vought's racism.

unlimited shrimp posted:

In Hughie's apology scene, he uses his father as an example to articulate his revelation that strength isn't necessarily being able to protect your loved ones, it can also be buckling down and supporting & providing for them (and evidently never letting the mask slip so that your kid can grow up resenting you for it). I don't read this as Hughie having a revelation about toxic masculinity. It does read like he's realized that he doesn't need to let his own traumatic experiences dictate what he considers to be valid love and support.

Tender Bender posted:

I feel like the show's real world parallels are explicit and reasonable enough that an average conscious viewer can be expected to understand them. There are clearly a lot of people in the Boys universe who don't just believe Vought stuff as shown by the massive protests and Victoria's whole deal, there's clearly other sources of information like in our world. You're not wrong that it's pretty vague what their causes are or what like "Supe approval ratings" mean beyond advertising dollars, that's a world building problem. But it's not remotely confusing or distracting that we don't do a deep dive into the interior life of this dude. Homelander is on camera admitting to kidnapping, blackmail, and murder and Todd still goes to a rally, then cheers a live murder he watched happen in front of him. You're still here saying that the show has done zero work explaining why he's wrong and not just a nice guy who watches the news.

unlimited shrimp posted:

sure whatever go ahead and synthesize the thesis and antithesis

Open Source Idiom posted:

FWIW I agree that this season of the show doesn't largely explore the ideology of Honelander's supporters. If you were watching this show without any familiarity with American politics I think you'd be absolutely lost.

You've got that one stepdad dude who has the scene where he gets energised by Honelander's speech, but the show doesn't follow any of the reactionaries, protestors, or counter protestors for the most part. There's no real attempt by any of them to articulate an ideology outside of screaming at each other.

I also agree that the show puts its fingers on the scale when it comes to condemning Butcher, Hughie, etc. and that the show can occasionally end up espousing centrist or contradictory political messages.

That said, I don't think anyone watching this show isn't familiar with Trump (and I don't really know what to do about any viewers who aren't, since I don't know them). And it's pretty clear that Homelander's supporters are violent reactionaries (as emblematised by stepdad), and that the show is pro-direct action, even violent direct action, in the face of psychotic and overwhelming fascism.

The finale has that moment where Mother's Milk and Frenchie talk about accepting the human capacity for violence and toxicity while also working towards protecting ourselves, and others, from that violence. I thought that scene was a better thesis concerning the themes of the season than any simplistic statement about toxic masculinity or trauma or whatever. (Though, obviously, it concerns both.)

CAPTAIN CAPSLOCK posted:

Sneak peak of how The Boys are finally gonna get Homelander

https://i.imgur.com/bUI5C0H.mp4

ANOTHER SCORCHER posted:

The system is compromised, but engaging in violence, illegal activity, allying with ugly subaltern groups, or playing by the other sides rules is unacceptable. When they go low we go high.

As a consolation prize for buying into this impotent cynicism, you get to swear and see gory violence.

Witeldram posted:

I never understood the sudden outrage at the politics in Season 3 because I thought the political messages were already extremely obvious and on-the-nose from the beginning lol.