The Boys S2 (2020) Review

 

The Boys S2 (2020)

Whew! What an eventful past couple days it’s been, binging through the whole series!
The Boys S2 sees Butcher, Hughie, and the boys again at war with Homelander and Vought, this time after the emergence of a new “hero” and Homelander’s son.

Season 2 somehow takes that craziness of the first season and keeps the train rolling, as this was another awesome season. This time around, things are bit slowed down, which was surprising given the 8 episode format, but still, a lot was brought to the table in the form of story. We once again get multiple arcs, with the Deep and A-Train seeking redemption, Queen Maeve’s sexuality, Homelander and Stormfront’s relationship, and the big reunion of Butcher and his wife. It was jam packed and somehow used good pacing to make it all wrap up nicely, with none of the branching storylines hitting dead ends. This season also features enough blood, violence, and raunchiness, that fans of S1 won’t be disappointed one bit.

Again, fantastic performances from Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, Karen Fukuhara, Giancarlo Eaposito, and Karl Urban, but the two main stars of this season were without a doubt Aya Cash as Stormfront and Antony Starr as Homelander. Their dynamic and relationship was so fascinating to see evolve from hatred to love, with intense power present whenever they share the screen.

Season 2 does a lot to progress the boys from Season 1, really making them a team and evolving them as characters. And while the show is about them, I feel as if it’s equal parts about the “supes” as well, if not more. We get more expansion on their lore, weaknesses, and most importantly, what they care about. For a show that is meant to show how immoral they are, a lot is done to show them as redeemable people.

Just like before, this season ends with a bang, tying up loose ends, creating new ones, and setting up The Boys for a dark and violent future ahead of them. And while season 2 faltered a bit, with it’s over-satirization of genre, it still felt fresh, always thrilling, and related incredibly well to real world problems and topics, showing that it isn’t just “that foul-mouthed, violent, Avengers ripoff".

8.6/10