‘The Boys’ Season 5 Episodes 1 and 2 Review - Strictly Okay

If Daredevil: Born Again has Wilson Fisk, whose ATVP puts innocent people in cages, The Boys has Homelander (Antony Starr), who, with his influence, orders the censorship of online posts by Starlighters and puts his detractors in prisons known as Freedom Camps. Both Fisk and Homelander deliver propaganda through news channels, and both become targets of resistance groups consisting of superhumans and humans. What's more, both villains are fascists with a deep desire to be loved by the people. You know the real world has reached grim, almost apocalyptic heights when superhero narratives begin to borrow their vision of fantasy from the ordinary, mortal realm. What really keeps these shows "fantasy," then, is the presence of strange, sorcerous images — like, in the case of The Boys, a giant penis wielded as a whip to assert control over prisoners.

During a different time, I would have laughed at The Deep's (Chace Crawford) podcast, where he claims that cutting women out of his life has brought him peace and happiness. But in today's world, where incels are all too transparently being elevated as role models, you see a character like the Deep and his statements as something the show's creators might have simply plucked from a real-life podcast.

In the world of The Boys, the only movies that seem to play in theaters and Freedom Camps are those produced by Vought International. In other words, only superhero content is consumed by the show's population. There are no cinephiles, no indie-movie nerds in sight. These Vought-produced spectacles are also huge commercial successes. Homelander celebrates one such film—whose title eerily echoes X-Men: Days of Future Past—in the first episode of Season 5. It is here that Starlight (Erin Moriarty), with the help of her followers, hijacks the event and leaks the Flight 37 video showing Homelander abandoning the passengers. You know Season 5 is no longer very fictional when no major dent is made in the image of this psychopathic, narcissistic Superman. There are minor dips in stock prices, but the PR machinery—with its blatant lies about the video being a deepfake—manages to preserve Homelander's reputation. His followers, in other words, continue worshipping their fascist ruler, who even manipulates the President of the United States.

Starr remains deliciously despicable as the most powerful supe on the planet, but his performance is beginning to feel predictable. He is not given any new notes to play with, at least not in the first two episodes currently available. I'm afraid this criticism extends to other actors as well. Granted, they all look incredibly comfortable in their characters' skins. This comfort, however, brings with it a severe lack of surprise. No line, no expression astonishes; everyone simply looks... competent. Butcher's (Karl Urban) cunt-y smile, Hughie's (Jack Quaid) frightened-little-boy face, Starlight's softness, Kimiko's (Karen Fukuhara) cuteness, and Frenchie's (Tomer Capone) Frenchness—it all reeks of been-there-seen-that. Hence, it is Maitreyi Ramakrishnan who, as Countess Crow: Countess of the Crows, brings a breath of fresh air with her appearance. I really liked her name; it has a playful rhyme to it. I hope she returns in later episodes as well.

With its fifth season, The Boys continues to explore quirky superpowers and sex. Let's just say that Frenchie and Kimiko don't stop at a French kiss, and you also meet a writer/supe named Worm (Ely Henry), who has an affinity for sand. He is hired by Butcher to dig a hole in order to rescue Frenchie, Mother's Milk, and Hughie from Freedom Camp. How does Worm do his job? I won't spoil the details. It's a clever visual joke in a season whose first two episodes are largely just okay. Like the performances, most incidents are devoid of surprise or ingenuity. I always knew that A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) would show up at the Freedom Camp, and his fate, therefore, feels not shocking but expected. Even the way the camera observes Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) leaves little doubt about his resurrection. If only the writing had been as sharp as some of the gags (wait until you witness Mountain Pornography), the fifth season could have arrived with a bang. Perhaps this is merely a warm-up; perhaps it will improve from here. I certainly hope so. After all, who would want the remaining six episodes to resemble a lame, ugly cash-grab affair? In other words, no one wants to sit through a series resembling one of those Vought International productions.

Final Score- [5/10]