The Boys (2019) s03e08 – The Instant White-Hot Wild

So, before getting started with the episode itself, I just want to say it’s a very good episode, with excellent direction from Sarah Boyd, a great script (credited to David Reed and Logan Ritchey), and fine performances from most of the cast.

There aren’t any bad performances. Well, maybe Cameron Crovetti as Antony Starr’s superpowered son, but we won’t know until next season if he’s hitting his limit or if it’s part of the role.

But the end of the episode, setting up season four, goes on forever. It goes on so long, it becomes clear lots of season three was just very slowly moving the pieces in position for next season. Or, worse, the action and the arcs were all for nothing. With some of the character development, it’s too soon to tell; they’re pushing off having to address it until next time.

The episode leaves many unanswered questions, even about the ground situation after the big blowout. The episode only runs an hour but could use at least another five minutes to make the epilogue not feel so tacked on. It sets up each epilogue beat as an ending—even when they’re clearly not—then drums on and on. The longer it goes, the more it cuts into the show’s effectiveness.

Most of the season’s stakes get wiped out or reverted this episode to one degree or another. The characters have more history between them now, but their pieces are in more or less the exact same spots (with some exceptions).

Things kick off with Karl Urban ditching Jack Quaid at a gas station so Quaid won’t get killed when Urban and Jensen Ackles go to take on Starr. They’re planning on directly attacking the skyscraper where the superheroes hang out, which will have massive civilian casualties.

Quaid rejoins the Boys, who’ve teamed up with Erin Moriarty and an escaped Dominique McElligott to stop Urban and Ackles. Except since Ackles is Starr’s biological father, all sorts of loyalties are getting confused and questioned, and everyone’s got additional hurdles before reaching the objective.

Eventually, there’s a big superhero fight, lots of wanton destruction, lots of lasers, lots of fisticuffs. It’s a reasonably good fight sequence, though the editors let it run long between checking on the various fronts. Sometimes it’s for emphasis; sometimes, it just runs long. It’d be fine if the big finale weren’t so lackluster.

So maybe the episode needs another five minutes during the first and second acts, then another five during the epilogue. Given where it takes certain characters, it’s rushed.

Lots of good acting from Urban, Starr, Ackles, Quaid, Moriarty, McElligott, and Laz Alonso. The episode gives Tomer Capone and Karen Fukuhara very little compared to how much they’ve been getting lately, but it’s okay.

Jessie T. Usher and Chace Crawford get their arcs pushed until next season (presumably, they could run them as C plots forever, I suppose). Though it certainly seems like they’re setting up season four to be the finish, but since everyone spent season three acting like it was going to all resolve—which makes sense for the characters anyway—it’s too soon to tell.

But other than the visuals of the big fight literal finish, some of the editing, and the epilogue ad nauseam, it’s an excellent episode.

The Boys (2019) s03e07 – Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed

Despite primarily being a setup for next episode’s season finale, this episode of “The Boys” gets a lot done, and most of it’s excellent, with the occasional exceptional. It gives Karl Urban another great acting showcase, even though he’s stuck in a nightmare where he’s entirely reactive.

Great direction from Sarah Boyd; it’s her first episode of “The Boys.” Also outstanding is the script, credited to Paul Grilling (his first writing credit on the show).

The episode starts a week after the previous episode’s bombshells. Antony Starr and Colby Minfie are doing damage control on Erin Moriarty telling the world how the superheroes are actually shitheels; Dominique McElligott is still missing, Jensen Ackles is still on the run, and “The Boys” are broken up.

Moriarty and Laz Alonso are laying low—it’s unclear what they’ve been doing in the week, other than Instagram posts from Moriarty—when Tomer Capone and Karen Fukuhara show up looking for refuge. Fukuhara’s still healing, Capone’s getting high again, and they need help, which Moriarty and Alonso provide. So they pair off, boys and boys, girls and girls, and work on their respective subplots until later in the episode when Fukuhara and Capone get back together for another of their devastatingly tragic scenes. While Moriarty remains the show’s de facto protagonist, Fukuhara’s really the heart at this point, especially since she’s lost her powers and has learned the dangers of being without them.

Meanwhile, Urban and Jack Quaid are babysitting Ackles at Paul Reiser’s country home. Brief scenes from the very funny Reiser, who dishes the real dirt on Ackles’s “Ultimate Captain America.” Less winning World War II, more bashing in Civil Rights protestors’ heads. Racist Ackles leaps out during an inspired flashback for Nathan Mitchell, who’s still on the run from him; Starr’s so pissed off about Moriarty turning on him, he’s not concerned with Mitchell going AWOL. It’ll probably be crucial next episode, along with a lot of other things.

Starr’s public breakdowns are getting bad enough Claudia Doumit, now committed to the superhero cause, intercedes to introduce another subplot for later. Of course, given the big reveals at the cliffhanger, that subplot may wait for next season.

Ackles’s next target is psychic Ryan Blakely, who’s been living off the grid for decades; when they find him, he traps Urban in a nightmare, leaving Quaid to manage Ackles. Ackles, who’s incredibly stoned (Urban’s keeping him that way to compensate for Ackles’s PTSD) and incredibly obnoxious, shatters even more of Quaid’s illusions during their adventure.

There are a couple significant character surprises throughout—one at the beginning, then one later–both setting up for next episode. The majority of the episode is character work for Urban, Quaid, Alonso, and Fukuhara. Fantastic work from all of them, plus, obviously, Ackles, who’s just getting better the worse his character gets.

While it’s all technically setup, including some running subplot check-ins, it’s still a great episode.

Oh, and then Chace Crawford has a humdinger of a comedy scene. It’s actually unclear if it’s set up for anything or just a reminder he’s a depthless jackass.

The Boys (2019) s03e06 – Herogasm

Herogasm might be the best “Boys” episode. I can’t remember the previous seasons well enough, but it’s an exceptional hour of television with a phenomenal script (credit to Jessica Chou). It’s Chou’s first credit on the series, which makes the episode even more impressive as the episode concludes some long outstanding story arcs. It also gives many cast members big monologue scenes, including revealing a momentous new narrative device for Antony Starr.

Superb monologue-y, spotlighted performances from (in no particular order): Starr, Erin Moriarty, Laz Alonso (probably his best work on the show), Jessie T. Usher (his best work on the show), Colby Minifie (her best work on the show), Claudia Doumit, and Jack Quaid. Karl Urban gets a phenomenal scene, but it’s not monologuing about his soul; it’s doing a super-powered fight. It’s awesome.

Also awesome is Jensen Ackles, who hasn’t gotten a lot of lines before but gets to do his “Ultimate Captain America” in the sensitive modern era culture shock, and it’s excellent. The episode’s not about Urban, Quaid, and Ackles very often, but when it focuses on them, it does a great job exploring the character dynamics of this troubled trio. First, Ackles isn’t just a fascist murderer, he’s one who can’t control it, and then Urban and Quaid are addicted to the temporary superpower drug.

The episode opens with Chace Crawford and Starr discovering Ackles is back from the dead, which causes Starr’s most loyal teammate Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) to run out because Mitchell knows Ackles is out to get him. But Ackles is going after c-lister twin superheroes Jack Doolan and Kristin Booth first; they’ve retired from the hero game and just get stoned and screw around. The “Herogasm” of the title is an annual superhero orgy (for the c-listers), and multiple people end up there trying to intercept Ackles. Crawford’s going at Starr’s behest, Moriarty and Alonso have teamed up since Urban and Quaid abandoned them, Usher is there trying to find racist Nick Wechsler, and, obviously, Quaid, Urban, and Ackles are also headed there. The orgy’s extreme, gross, and sometimes funny, while acknowledging there’s a lot of not funny about it, and eventually there’s a lot of tragedy. The episode does a fantastic job using it as a framing device.

The one set of cast members not at the orgy is Karen Fukuhara and Tomer Capone; Capone’s ex-boss Katia Winter has kidnapped Capone for not doing her bidding, and Fukuhara doesn’t have her superpowers to save him anymore. There’s a funny recurring bit about Capone being sad he didn’t get to see Herogasm, which also ties into Urban and Alonso’s professional and personal estrangement.

Pretty much every scene is a highlight in one way or another, with Capone and Fukuhara getting some really nice moments. It’s a momentous episode, and it’s a significant success for the series, Chou, and director Nelson Cragg.

I sometimes forget “The Boys” isn’t just good for a comic book adaptation but really good; then Herogasm comes along to remind it’s exceptionally good.

The Boys (2019) s03e05 – The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies

Silly me, when I wondered how things could get worse for everyone on “The Boys,” I didn’t realize it was going to be everyone everyone, including Antony Starr’s psychotic Superman analog. He’s just become to de facto CEO of the superhero pharmaceuticals company (sycophant Colby Minifie gets the title), and he doesn’t, you know, know anything about big business. Starr’s way out of his depth and obviously can’t admit it, which he plays beautifully. He’s actually not in the episode very much, just for some bad-to-worse scenes throughout, but it’s still an excellent episode for him.

The episode opens with a reprieve (or cop-out) for previously mortally wounded Karen Fukuhara. She’s okay now. Like, she’s in the hospital—which raises questions about how they took a superpowered individual to the ER—but she’s okay. She and Tomer Capone get to spend one great day together with him taking care of her. Of course, he’s neglected to tell her his former boss, Katia Winter, blames him for their Russian mission going wrong last episode and is demanding he kill people for her again, but he’s trying to center Fukuhara’s recovery. It’s a lovely arc for Fukuhara and Capone, and of course, their respite will not last.

Laz Alonso starts the episode mad at Karl Urban for superhero serum juicing, but once Jensen Ackles’s reawakened from a Russian lab Captain America gets to New York and starts blowing up city blocks… Alonso decides to put aside his anger. Erin Moriarty’s also recovering from last episode’s tragic twists, but she’s present enough to suggest they deal with Ackles, who everyone thinks is just a super-villain.

Starr’s too busy watching the stock price, though.

It’s a very packed episode. First, there’s relationship stuff for Moriarty and Jack Quaid, again showing why she’s one of the show’s greatest assets, then there’s Urban and Dominique McElligott bonding over the shared trauma of existence in “The Boys” universe. McElligott is another of the show’s best performances. Urban gets the heaviest lifting in their scenes, leaving her the comic relief, which is actually nice since the rest of the time, she just lives in terror of Starr.

Jessie T. Usher then finally gets his arc involving racist superhero Nick Wechsler, which manages to go incredibly wrong even after it’s already going incredibly wrong. “The Boys” isn’t wasting any time getting everyone to the bottom of the well. Except for Chace Crawford, who’s only got one scene, where wife Katy Breier is effectively puppeteering him to success. I was expecting more with them, but the episode leaves a lot of seemingly open threads unfinished. It’s got a particularly frustrating cliffhanger.

One big highlight—not sure executive producer Seth Rogen’s cameo is a highlight; it’s funny, it’s not a highlight–but one unquestionable series highlight is Paul Reiser. He plays “The Legend,” who was sort of Stan Lee in the comics, but in the show, he’s a Robert Evans-type. Reiser’s awesome; no notes.

He helps the Boys find Ackles, who’s on a revenge mission.

Ellie Monahan gets the script credit; very good script. And Nelson Cragg’s direction is outstanding.

It’s a great episode. It’ll marathon superbly. But having to wait a week for any resolution to the… four or five hard cliffhangers? Annoying.

The Boys (2019) s03e04 – Glorious Five Year Plan

Following the conventional (Dan O’Bannon) wisdom about second acts ending with things in the worst shape for the heroes… it’s hard to imagine how “The Boys” will further ratchet the situations before the season finale. Everything has gone wrong across every storyline, gloriously so. No pun intended.

There are two main plots, two subplots. Or like, one and a half subplots because one of them is the hard cliffhanger. The episode’s also got an incredibly dangerous soft cliffhanger, but only one life or death one.

The Boys’ plot in this episode is a Russian field trip. They’re looking for the gun the Russkies used to kill Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) back in the eighties, intending to turn it on Antony Starr, which ties in with Erin Moriarty and Starr’s superhero plot. “The Boys” is incredibly precisely constructed this episode; Meredith Glynn gets the script credit, her first “Boys” as writer (she’s an executive producer this season). It’s a really good script; some of the supporting cast gets short scenes, but they’re good short scenes, and they build.

Now, Jack Quaid knows Karl Urban is juicing with the superhero serum. His morning begins with Starr humiliating him—Starr’s just decided he’s dating Moriarty to raise his points–and, when they get to Russia, the anti-Homelander Russian state media is running the story making fun of Quaid for getting super-cucked. Seething anger builds in Quaid, leading to big decisions.

While Quaid’s still good, he’s not great with the anger stuff. Not sure if it’s a limitation of the script, Julian Holmes’s directing (which is otherwise good), or just Quaid not being able to do it, but when he’s got to be angry, he’s throwing a tantrum. There’s a “cute” quality. Too much Meg Ryan, perhaps. Though my good lady wife pointed out Quaid got his dad’s Innerspace butt.

Anyway.

The subplot to the Boys is Tomer Capone and Karen Fukuhara getting increasingly sick of Urban, to the point even Laz Alonso’s concerned about morale. Fukuhara’s excellent this episode. Capone’s good too (thank goodness, last episode’s stumbling was momentary), but Fukuhara’s great. She’s got to assassinate some Russians in trade for superhero-killing gun intel.

Meanwhile, Moriarty and Dominique McElligott (who’s not in this season anywhere near enough) are putting together their rebel strike force to take on Starr once Urban, and Quaid bring back the state-of-the-art bang bang. Moriarty enlists ex-boyfriend Miles Gaston Villanueva in what ends up being an excellent subplot for both of them. So much of “The Boys” hinges on the casting and Moriarty’s in that essential group.

The superhero plot is more behind-the-scenes drama than epical plot; Jessie T. Usher is getting into it with returning team member Chace Crawford, whose evil Karen wife (Katy Breier) knows how to get into Starr’s good graces at Usher’s expense. Then there’s some more for Colby Minifie to do as the team’s executive liaison.

The superhero subplot involves superhero company CEO Giancarlo Esposito and his secretly adopted, secretly superpowered government official, mole Claudia Doumit trying to run damage control on Starr. It’s another excellent subplot, with series-best acting from Doumit and season-best from Esposito.

Then, of course, the episode also gives Urban and Starr a bunch to do. No wasting the transfixing scenery incinerators here. They both get excellent spotlights, multiple ones for Starr.

It’s an outstanding episode. I’m looking forward to seeing how things get worse because of the incredible creative skill involved, but I’m also dreading them because of the taxing emotional investment. “The Boys” is—even more than witty, gross, hilarious, icky—heavy. It’s always very, very heavy.

Gloriously so.

The Boys (2019) s03e03 – Barbary Coast

We’re firmly in season three with The Boys now, with this episode setting up a couple longer storylines and a few immediate ones. First, the world’s reacting to Antony Starr going megalomaniac on live television—the white men positively responding because they’re garbage—and Erin Moriarty discovering she no longer has any leverage thanks to her better ratings.

Of course, her ratings don’t matter since a more unhinged Starr’s giddily sharing his plans for a scorched Earth (literally) with her.

So while Moriarty’s dealing with going from a position of power to Starr’s prime target for abuse, Jack Quaid’s busy getting back into it with Karl Urban, Laz Alonso, and Karen Fukuhara. Tomer Capone takes a personal day to deal with ex Jordana Lajoie’s problems, only it turns out that plot will feed directly into the next episode.

It’s an unfortunate subplot, mostly because director Julian Holmes doesn’t seem to know how to break Capone out of his worse acting impulses. As a result, Capone’s scene opposite Lajoie was like a spoiled madeleine, reminding of his weaker performance earlier in the show.

Capone and Fukuhara are both getting sick of working for Urban—who’s recovering from his superhero serum this episode, unable to control his heat vision, and irate about it. Capone’s better with Fukuhara than without, especially since his side quest involved a lot of kink-shaming for comedy with his Russian dominatrix crime lord former boss, Katia Winter.

Everyone but Capone goes to Laila Robins, who’s hiding out with Cameron Crovetti since Starr lost it last episode. Unfortunately, there’s not enough bridging material between Starr declaring his hostile superiority and everyone reacting to it or everyone discovering Claudia Doumit works for Giancarlo Esposito. Neither Doumit nor Esposito show up in this episode, with Esposito sorely missed in Moriarty’s plot. She keeps hearing what Esposito would tell her about Starr, who’s got all sorts of schemes to make her miserable, whether it’s bringing ex-boyfriend Miles Gaston Villanueva onto the superhero team for drama or even bringing back Chace Crawford, who assaulted her and kicked off the show back in the first season.

Compounding Esposito’s absence is his character appearing in a flashback. Urban found out something Robins hasn’t been telling him or The Boys, so he confronts her about it, and she does a story time with a flashback. The flashback itself is pretty good, although Sarah Swire isn’t nearly as good as Robins; Swire plays the younger version. But then Justiin Davis does an Esposito impression in his performance as the young version of that character, and it does not work.

The flashback’s revelations also put Urban in an even worse place, meaning he’s going to take everyone else with him—young and old—to that place. It’s a confined episode, but with a lot going on and lots of smaller season three plot setups. The stuff they can do without all the guest stars.

The episode does more with man’s inhumanity to man than gore, though there’s a harrowing sequence for Crawford and Starr, where Crawford (or maybe just the audience) discovers his wife Katy Breier is a villain in the making.

Then Jessie T. Usher gets a somewhat surprisingly proto-storyline with brother Christian Keyes. It’s a packed episode and mostly fine, but it doesn’t have the wow factor of the previous couple. Instead, it’s all either setup or exposition; there is some great “Boys” humor before everyone has a bad day, though, with Quaid needing help calling in sick to work.

Moriarty’s easily the episode standout, even as she’s entirely reactionary.

The Boys (2019) s03e02 – The Only Man in the Sky

Everyone gets a consequential arc this episode. Well, every one of the Boys. Chance Crawford’s dopey Aquaman is relegated to an in-world TV commercial for a Lifetime movie (equivalent) as setup for Antony Starr’s arc for the episode. It’s Starr’s birthday, which means the media empire aligns to promote him; only this year, everyone remembers he was dating a Nazi last year, and no one cares much about celebrating.

Starr gets an arc, with Erin Moriarty bouncing between that one and Jack Quaid’s. Then Jessie T. Usher’s arc about embracing his African roots is basically a comedy subplot. Or the closest thing to a comedy subplot in the episode, which starts with Karl Urban getting irritated by little super-kid Cameron Crovetti being a kid and therefore irritating; Urban’s then got a character development arc as well as a superhero investigation arc.

Urban and Quaid are both investigating separately—Urban tracking down a former sidekick (an unrecognizable Sean Patrick Flannery) who works the gun show circuit and Quaid trying to uncover boss Claudia Doumit’s secret superpowered past. Moriarty’s supposed to be helping Quaid, but Starr’s being an asshole during his birthday show rehearsals to annoy her.

Tomer Capone and Karen Fukuhara are also on assignment, going to an amusement park where Flannery’s former teammate, Laurie Holden, does stage shows. It’s a great arc for Fukuhara, who’s trying to recapture a lost childhood; Capone is along but not enjoying any of the commercialized pleasantries.

Then Laz Alonso spends the day with daughter Liyou Abere, only getting more and more obsessed with what he knows about Urban’s investigation.

It’s an exceedingly well-balanced episode, script credit to David Reed, especially as a side event has major repercussions for everyone’s day (and the series going forward).

There’s the usual acting spotlight for Starr, whose psychotic Superman analog gets a couple amazing scenes. Urban’s also got a great arc as he weighs juicing up on superhero serum, even temporarily. Quaid gets some excellent comic timing material, even if the results aren’t laughs. He and Moriarty are a fantastic team when they get to Nick and Nora together.

What makes “The Boys” so special isn’t its gory, black comedy but the humanity it brings to its characters and how carefully the show emphasizes that humanity. Real good direction from Philip Sgriccia again. Especially on Starr and Urban’s big acting scenes. Then that cliffhanger. It’s a petrifying humdinger but also an entirely soft cliffhanger. There are no heads ready to roll, just a terrifying future with connotations across the cast.

The episode also waits until near the end for the significant gore scene. There are a few big splats and smooshes throughout, but the biggest ick comes late.

“The Boys” is, as usual, superb.

The Boys (2019) s03e01 – Payback

“The Boys” get back at it a year after last season. Much of this episode is setting that new ground situation. Jack Quaid is working for Claudia Doumit at the Department of Meta-Human affairs or whatever, unaware she’s an evil super-powered lady; Quaid’s happily dating Erin Moriarty. She brings him along to her superhero society functions, leading to very award interactions for Quaid and his previous superhero nemeses like Antony Starr and Jessie T. Usher.

Meanwhile, Karl Urban, Tomer Capone, and Karen Fukuhara are all now working for Quaid, The Boys becoming a government surveillance team. It’s working out okay, with Urban keeping himself in check so as not to jeopardize his relationship with his dead wife’s super-kid (as a result of Starr raping her). In addition, Laila Robins has a quick appearance, establishing she’s babysitting the super-kid, hidden away from Starr.

Laz Alonso has retired from superhero hunting; it takes a while for the episode to get to him; I was bummed he’d left the show, but no, it’s just another seventy-minute streaming episode, and there’s lots and lots of time.

On the superhero front, Starr’s still mad he didn’t get to take over the world with Nazi girlfriend Aya Cash, and his damage control media campaign still hasn’t gotten his numbers back up. Moriarty’s got the best image, making superhero pharmaceutical company CEO Giancarlo Esposito much happier with her than Starr.

Usher and Chance Crawford both get check-in scenes, sucking up to Starr, mostly. Dominique McElligott has almost nothing—she’s at the movie premiere at the beginning, then disappears for a while, only to come back in a significant plot development for the season. But as far as the supes go, it’s Starr’s episode, and he’s just as mesmerizingly evil as ever.

The episode opens with a cute uncredited cameo but turns the dial up to eleven in intensity and icky. I expected them to go balls to the wall the whole episode, but they tone it down pretty quickly as they get into the character stuff. Quaid’s got jealousy problems with Moriarty at home (she’s working with an ex, who’s a supe), and then at work, there’s something going on with Doumit, but he’s not sure what.

The narrative sticks to Quaid and Starr for most of the episode, then shifts to Urban for the last act, establishing he’s still the man, even if he doesn’t have as much to do this episode. Big things will be happening; we just haven’t gotten to them yet. Lots of promises for the season to come.

It’s an outstanding episode. “Boys” doesn’t rest on its laurels or give itself time for a self-congratulatory victory lap outside the opening sequence. Once it’s back at it, it never slows down.

Esposito’s particularly good this episode, too; he’s supporting the other plot lines but with a whole bunch of personality.

I wasn’t worried about “The Boys,” but I didn’t expect them to get season three going with such a strong start. Craig Rosenberg’s got the script credit, it’s real good, and Philip Sgriccia’s direction is solid. In addition, the production design for this episode (Arvinder Greywal and Jeffrey Mossa) is superb.

I can’t wait to see what they’re doing next; besides some great gory gross-outs, those are inevitable.

Fast & Furious (2009, Justin Lin)

With Fast & Furious, director Lin and screenwriter Chris Morgan do something incredible. They take what, a decade before would have been at best a video game spin-off (maybe featuring the original, now down in their career cast's voices), and make an energetically mercenary movie out of it. The film's ludicrous at almost every turn, but it's hard not to appreciate a huge budget in CGI being spent on car chase after car chase.

Oh, there are some real cars racing, but Lin apes the conclusion to Return of the Jedi for the finale–just with cars. It's entirely admirable and entirely pointless. There's not an honest moment in the entire movie, everything is perfectly calculated to entertain. The film gets too loud and almost too busy–Gal Gadot's useless character is in the not really bad bad Bond girl part–seemingly because Vin Diesel wants a lot of tear jerker scenes to be a tough guy during.

Lin doesn't want to hold a shot–he's clearly more into Michael Bay for car chase inspiration than Billy Friedkin–but his composition is good and Amir Mokri does a fine job shooting the film. The real car racing footage looks great. All the composite CGI stuff is a little too obvious, but it's a video game, you're not supposed to care.

The film does require a certain enthusiasm for Diesel and Paul Walker's bromance; Lin gets a surprisingly okay performance from Walker.

Like I said, big, loud, dumb, sometimes perfectly amiable.