It's the race of the century. A-Train versus Shockwave, vying for the title of World's Fastest Man. Meanwhile, the Boys are reunited and it feels so good.
In 2018, there were 495 scripted shows airing amongst the linear channels and streaming services. The way people are consuming content now is so different than it used to be. It happens according to one's own schedule. As such, there is less necessity to provide ample coverage of each specific episode in any given season from a show. Moreover, it is simply impossible to watch everything. As such, this site is making the move to shorter episodic reviews in order to cover as many shows as possible. With all of that being said, here are my thoughts on the next episode of Amazon's The Boys.
"Get Some" was written by George Mastras and directed by Phil Sgriccia
Annie is made to wonder if Vought is all that interested in stopping crime. During her short amount of time with the Seven so far, it has been a lot of press coverage and staged events to make it seem as if the world has its team of protectors. The company itself is trying to make as much money as possible by selling these superheroes as a literal product. It's a narrative within itself that is a well-crafted machine at this point. But it's so unexpected and unnatural to Annie. She no longer feels as if she embodies the morality of trying to protect the world from those who wish it harm. Now, it all feels like big corporate events meant to draw attention to the powerful. It's a lucrative event to have A-Train and Shockwave race each other. It's a competition that is over with as quickly as it begins. It's a lot of buildup for a race that has to be slowed down significantly just for the audience to see who actually won. And yet, it's a huge deal for A-Train. He feels the pressure to win no matter what. He can't settle for being the second fastest man alive. He has to maintain his title because that's what makes him unique. Being a speedster should be amazing and allow him to do so much good in the world. But instead, he is caught up in this corporate entity that makes him feel as if his spot on the team isn't secure if he isn't the embodiment of perfection at every single moment. He has failed the company before. He killed Robin at the start of the series. That's what fuels Hughie's entire vengeance even though he's seemingly quick to move on by asking for Annie's phone number when they meet once more. All of this has the potential to be a powerful allegory for the kind of pressure that individuals put on themselves in order to succeed no matter what the consequences may be. This show just pushes it to the extreme by featuring life-or-death stakes with all of that pressure and drama. But even that seems like a staged event where the police and the public are just glad that superheroes have arrived to save the day. They don't care how. The superheroes themselves just want the credit for stopping the bad guy. The focus has to remain on them and not whomever may commit such violence in the first place. As such, no one is really interested in asking questions about the significance of Homelander killing. It's just a part of the job to him. It doesn't detract from his appeal whatsoever. Annie went into this hour fearing that her career was over with already. It's not. She is more popular than ever before. And yet, she is the one forced to change her entire image in order to be more sexualized while Homelander is allowed to do whatever he wants. He may actually be validated as well because he was the one who said that the team needed to be more worried about what happened to Translucent. Stillwell also assumed that her heroes were invincible. She figured there was no way someone could actually kill them. And yet, Hughie did exactly that. And now, he may be closer than ever to understanding the drugs that can supercharge those with powers. It clearly makes them rage out of control. That's absolutely destructive and is bound to have more consequences than the high body count that is already stacking up. Hughie doesn't know if he can stomach all of that and the consequences. But that's something he has to do in order to be a part of this business. At least that's the choice currently being presented to him by Butcher and the rest of the team. It may not be as clear cut as that though. As such, the moral corruption of Hughie could ring false if the show isn't too careful moving forward.
