Martin Carr reviews the fourth episode of The Boys season 1…
Feral females, human trafficking and aquatic pornography is present and correct as The Boys keeps inviting you into all kinds of wrong. Congressional subterfuge, a superhuman military task force and no oversight is coming closer. Meanwhile therapy sessions for certain members of this elite group reveal more than just confrontational issues. Throw in some very tangible repercussions concerning a certain translucent flasher and The Boys just turned a corner.
Penned by Craig Rosenberg who had a hand in more than one or two Preacher episodes you can see where this might be headed. Incarcerated oriental females with anger management issues, baleful eyes and a good line in burrowing out bodily organs provides the tagline. Couple that with Spice Girl references, darkly deviant Homelander decisions and an A-Train who has gone off the reservation means things are far from peachy. Those gloves have come off, those wagons are circled and Vought is moments away from fully integrating their brand into a nationwide defence initiative.
With one already lining a zinc coated overnight bag with his body parts, it has become the job of Butcher’s crew to ramp up their urban terror campaign. Vendettas are just an excuse for tracking down, shaking up and finishing off those that remain. Unfortunately Mother’s Milk and Frenchie are inches from offing each other as their culture clash personalities threaten to go thermonuclear. Laz Alonso and Tomer Capon inject a much needed chemistry into proceedings which works well alongside the world weary Butcher and unhinged Hughie.
This mismatched band of barely functioning individuals work because of their differences not in spite of them. These flaws create a bond which The Seven have press-ganged on them by a money hungry corporation. They may all be broken people but those frailties are worn like armour on the outside and ultimately hold them together. For all the harsh language, physical violence and disregard for each other you care. Elsewhere the pressures of approval, a pursuit for an ever increasing market share and in-house malcontent has given rise to mutiny.
Humans are redundant, choices are being made and that longed for global influence is an endgame worth chasing. Casualties are inevitable, push back a forgone conclusion but ultimately this is a price worth paying for some. The Boys is asking more questions and digging deeper than some might be comfortable with, but breaking down walls requires a sledgehammer sometimes. Just packing the base with explosives and retreating to a safe distance is not enough. Sometimes you get your hands dirty.
Martin Carr
