The Boys (Amazon)

[Corvinus85]

A few more things

Spoiler

The irony of casting the guy who played Iceman in X-Men as the equivalent of Pyro in this one.

The entire hospital portion had a strong X-Men vibe, but with all the flair of this show.

Cindy, which I referred to as Jack throughout the episode , may have been the one who assassinated Raynor. But that was my assumption after seeing her explode that guard.

 

[Zorral]

3 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

I've noticed episodes become available at 7 pm CST on Thursday where I live.

Thanks!

Well, where I am, I've finished making dinner and clearing up.  It's Friday night.  I've cracked a Heineken, got the earphone ready, in The Chair, feetz up, about to hit it.  

[karaddin]

10 hours ago, Zorral said:

How do you guys manage to watch the new ep so fast?

 

It comes out early afternoon for me so I have a chance to watch it relatively soon afterwards. I had it on while working yesterday because it was a bad fucking day, that's not the norm though.

I was also thinking ever since rewatching the trailer after the first 3 eps that

Spoiler

The supe we now know is Cindy was the one that killed Raynor but I'm actually less sure after this episode. When Cindy pops that guy it's clear that she's crushing and twisting him and then the explosive pop is like doing that with your fist to a water balloon. It's also pretty much instant - as soon as she uses her power he goes pop.

Raynor on the other hand has the warning sign of the nose bleed which is already much slower than Cindy, and then her head just straight up explodes - no clear sign of crush first. 

So I'm starting to think it's a deliberate misdirect given we got Cindy popping that guard in the season trailer.

 

[ithanos]

I would have to agree about who was responsible for Raynor - still up in the air.

Vought certainly looks like it has some factions. I'm guessing Black Noir is related to Edgar somehow, hence the loyalty. We haven't seen Noir and SF share a scene which could be an interesting tell.  

Deep and A-Train may as well break from the 7 and start the 2.  

[Zorral]

I wasn't as impressed with this episode as others posting here. Partly its the dilution of introducing yet more supes, and partly because of the stringing out of the episodes, once a week, I'm guessing.

Starlight remains my favorite character.  There is something about the actor -- I enjoy seeing her, by which I mean her face communicates so much of feelings I, at least, think I understand. 

Spoiler

She does convince me that she is good. Though ... now she's deliberately killed somebody, says she feels no remorse, using the justification that everyone else, whether supe or not uses, "It was necessary."

I'm already sick to death of Stormfront and Homelander, whether separate or together.  Maeve is just boring.

But I still love Frenchie and MM.

Hughie is, as always, fairly negligible.  But I can see why Starlight stays by him.  He helps her feel that she is still good, by his very blandness, probably.

[red snow]

12 hours ago, ithanos said:

 

Deep and A-Train may as well break from the 7 and start the 2.  

Maybe that's the spin off show?

I liked the episode mainly for the cool "this is what magneto would do to people" moments and the Mr Fantasdick elements. I guess i just like seeing powers done in a more violent way than we've seen with the the MCU films.

Stormfront gave a bit of an infodump regarding vought but at least that storyline is out there now. I'm curious as to whats in the koolaid fresca - maybe some diluted workable form of compound V?

I felt like I was still missing something regard lamplighter. Why did he turn on the boys when he appeared to be working for them in the flashbacks? Was it because Homelander worked him out.

I also feel like Stormfront would work better as Homelander's mother although that seems out of the question unless they get particularly GOT. I'm also having trouble parsing why there'd be such a diverse group of supers kicking around? Unless the first wave were test subjects (like marvel did with "truth") it doesn't make much sense why there are any non white supers. It suggests there has been a schism between Vought the person and Vought the company at some point. It'd make a funny take on capitalism and business if a corporate takeover unwittingly thwarted a fourth reich because it wasn't financial viable for shareholders.

[Veltigar]

I thought this was a brilliant episode. Now almost all the Boys are interesting. Only Hughie remains boring as shit though (and Urban is a bit of a parody, if a likable one), but I guess that's never going to change.

Also loved the reveals concerning SF

Spoiler

This is so much better than she being Homelander's mom. I'm sick and tired of shows using incest as a way to be edgy. It's just a joke at this point. Really looking forward to what comes next.

I do wonder how she's connected to Edgar

Spoiler

I would hesitate a guess that she feels as if Vought the company was also encroached on by minorities like Edgar.

And when exactly 

Spoiler

She got turned into a superhero. Did she become one as an adult or as a child? What are the adds  that she has this massive power advantage over everyone but Homelander? Why is she alone capable of standing the test of time?

 

And now that we know they are working on stuff to turn adults into supes, how long before the Boys start juicing V?

 

5 hours ago, Zorral said:

Starlight remains my favorite character.  There is something about the actor -- I enjoy seeing her, by which I mean her face communicates so much of feelings I, at least, think I understand. 

 

You and me both 

21 hours ago, Corvinus85 said:

A few more things

  Hide contents

The irony of casting the guy who played Iceman in X-Men as the equivalent of Pyro in this one.

The entire hospital portion had a strong X-Men vibe, but with all the flair of this show.

Cindy, which I referred to as Jack throughout the episode , may have been the one who assassinated Raynor. But that was my assumption after seeing her explode that guard.

 

Ow shit, I knew I recognized that guy from somewhere. That's brilliant! 

18 hours ago, karaddin said:

It comes out early afternoon for me so I have a chance to watch it relatively soon afterwards. I had it on while working yesterday because it was a bad fucking day, that's not the norm though.

I was also thinking ever since rewatching the trailer after the first 3 eps that

  Hide contents

The supe we now know is Cindy was the one that killed Raynor but I'm actually less sure after this episode. When Cindy pops that guy it's clear that she's crushing and twisting him and then the explosive pop is like doing that with your fist to a water balloon. It's also pretty much instant - as soon as she uses her power he goes pop.

Raynor on the other hand has the warning sign of the nose bleed which is already much slower than Cindy, and then her head just straight up explodes - no clear sign of crush first. 

So I'm starting to think it's a deliberate misdirect given we got Cindy popping that guard in the season trailer.

 

Spoiler

Ah, that might be the case. I just thought her powers had been growing, but I guess you are probably right. Who knows how many Nazi's she has on hand to take care of shit like that. I do wonder what will happen to Cindy. She seems like she could easily be the third strongest superhero after Homelander and SF

 

 

4 hours ago, red snow said:

Maybe that's the spin off show?

I liked the episode mainly for the cool "this is what magneto would do to people" moments and the Mr Fantasdick elements. I guess i just like seeing powers done in a more violent way than we've seen with the the MCU films.

Stormfront gave a bit of an infodump regarding vought but at least that storyline is out there now. I'm curious as to whats in the koolaid fresca - maybe some diluted workable form of compound V?

 

  Hide contents

I felt like I was still missing something regard lamplighter. Why did he turn on the boys when he appeared to be working for them in the flashbacks? Was it because Homelander worked him out.

 

 

He wasn't working for them, they blackmailed him. 

Spoiler

He probably reported that to Vought instead of actually spying and they then tricked him into sending Mallory a message by burning the kids. Afterwards they pulled him from circulation and gave him a job that needed someone capable and willing of keeping their mouth shut. A soldier, which he had proven to be. 

 

[Rippounet]

Great episode. Lots of tension, great scenes, several interesting reveals. Dat's good shit.

We now know more about Starlight's power... Its great weakness... And potentially its strength? Could she go toe to toe with Stormfront if she was next to a power plant, I wonder... ?

Not sure where the Deep & A-Train story is going, that may be for next season, with the head of Scientology being the next big villain.

I was surprised Cindy survived - shouldn't have been, since it was quickly established she's very tough. Wonder what her role will be - I can see her attacking Vought Tower next episode.

Stormfront promised she would no longer lie or hide anything from Homelander... But I seriously doubt she can be true to her word, she's still keeping something important from him. And -sorry guys,- but I really wouldn't rule out her being his mother just yet. There has to be a reason Homelander is that powerful, and I think Stormfront and him are the only supes that can fly.
In fact, the reveal about Stormfront's daughter may even explain why Stormfront would be willing to have experiments done on her eggs: since "human" children couldn't survive her, she would have wanted a supe child. I don't think she carried Homelander in her womb, but I think it's still likely she's his biological mother.

[Zorral]

Don't care so much about these matters, as how they critique the tropes that USA HOORAY has been nurtured on as to superheroes in pop culture, since -- well, forever, if one wants to go back to James Fenimore Cooper and the Leatherstocking Tales all the way up through Owen Wister's The Virginian and well, you name it, with A Hero employing Justified violence saving the day.

[karaddin]

@Rippounet I think

Spoiler

Starlight doesn't need a power plant to fight Stormfront, Stormfront is the power plant. When you've set the story up so one of the protagonists seems to have a perfect counter skill to one of the villains I tend to assume it's deliberate set up.

This might be too obvious though, and the website lists her power as plasma manipulation with nothing specific about electric currents.

 

[Zorral]

15 hours ago, karaddin said:

@Rippounet I think

  Hide contents

Starlight doesn't need a power plant to fight Stormfront, Stormfront is the power plant. When you've set the story up so one of the protagonists seems to have a perfect counter skill to one of the villains I tend to assume it's deliberate set up.

This might be too obvious though, and the website lists her power as plasma manipulation with nothing specific about electric currents.

 

Oooo, good 'un! Thanks.

[Gaston de Foix]

19 hours ago, karaddin said:

@Rippounet I think

  Hide contents

Starlight doesn't need a power plant to fight Stormfront, Stormfront is the power plant. When you've set the story up so one of the protagonists seems to have a perfect counter skill to one of the villains I tend to assume it's deliberate set up.

This might be too obvious though, and the website lists her power as plasma manipulation with nothing specific about electric currents.

 

I think this bang on the money.  

Spoiler

The head of Vought being an African-American (as is Black Noir) and Stormfront being a Nazi seems to be setting up an explosive confrontation.  I don't believe for a moment that Edgar believes himself genetically inferior or anything like that.  My guess is Homeland will betray Storm Front and Black Noir will kill her (setting up Edgar as the good guy where he is anything but). 

 

[Alarich II]

I do wonder about Cindy

Spoiler

- with her crushing and healing powers she should be able to take on most of the seven, including SF, perhaps not Homelander and it certainly feels like they are setting her up for a bigger confrontation. However, I still don't get how they managed to keep her locked in? She did break out easily enough, so what did keep her in? Lamplighter certainly is no match for her.

About SF

Spoiler

So she was Voughts wife, right? Any possibility that perhaps she inherited all or a controlling interest in Vought from her late husband? Crackpot theory: she did put Edgar in his position to mask her true intent - which is why Edgar put her into the Seven as part of a deal between the two. Edgar doesn't know about the secret facility, but uses BN as his personal spy to "investigate" Vought...

 

[Veltigar]

On 9/27/2020 at 3:55 AM, karaddin said:

@Rippounet I think

  Hide contents

Starlight doesn't need a power plant to fight Stormfront, Stormfront is the power plant. When you've set the story up so one of the protagonists seems to have a perfect counter skill to one of the villains I tend to assume it's deliberate set up.

This might be too obvious though, and the website lists her power as plasma manipulation with nothing specific about electric currents.

 

I agree. I hadn't considered the implications/revelations of this episode on

Spoiler

Starlight's power set but this seems like a clear set up for SL sucking the juice out of SF to wreck some shit up. Especially as the two already had a confrontation of sorts.

 

14 hours ago, Gaston de Foix said:

I think this bang on the money.  

  Hide contents

The head of Vought being an African-American (as is Black Noir) and Stormfront being a Nazi seems to be setting up an explosive confrontation.  I don't believe for a moment that Edgar believes himself genetically inferior or anything like that.  My guess is Homeland will betray Storm Front and Black Noir will kill her (setting up Edgar as the good guy where he is anything but). 

 

Spoiler

Is Black Noir African American? I mean, we haven't seen his face/body right?

 

1 hour ago, Alarich II said:

I do wonder about Cindy

  Hide contents

- with her crushing and healing powers she should be able to take on most of the seven, including SF, perhaps not Homelander and it certainly feels like they are setting her up for a bigger confrontation. However, I still don't get how they managed to keep her locked in? She did break out easily enough, so what did keep her in? Lamplighter certainly is no match for her.

About SF

 

She was 

Spoiler

drugged. Remember that was Lamplighter's explanation of the escape to SF, someone got the dosage of the drugs that keep her under control wrong.

 

Curious to see where they are going with her indeed. She's powerful enough to wreck some people. 

 

[Gaston de Foix]

30 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

....

Spoiler

I think someone said upthread the actor playing him was African-American.  And Chekhov's gun suggests you don't put a man in a mask and a body suit unless the mask is going to come off so....

 

[Alarich II]

24 minutes ago, Veltigar said:

She was 

  Hide contents

drugged. Remember that was Lamplighter's explanation of the escape to SF, someone got the dosage of the drugs that keep her under control wrong.

 

Curious to see where they are going with her indeed. She's powerful enough to wreck some people. 

 

The problem with that explanation is that

Spoiler

Cindy escapes after Lamplighter burns her cell door away and has her superpowers fully available as soon as she steps out of that cell. If she was drugged and only escaped because Lamplighter burned her cell open, then how could she crush the ward and proceed to crush all the other cell doors just moments after stepping out of her cell?

 

[Alarich II]

39 minutes ago, Gaston de Foix said:

  Hide contents

[...] Chekhov's gun suggests you don't put a man in a mask and a body suit unless the mask is going to come off [...]

 

Spoiler

.. or it's the Gimp. Which I wouldn't rule out, just yet.

 

[karaddin]

Given the way this story pulls an awful lot of its supes from other properties I've got some speculation about Cindy that could explain the door thing

Spoiler

I only know them from the short lived show The Gifted, but there's an X-Men universe mutant called Twist whose power was to turn things, which could include doors and, grossly, people (ie twist inside out). The hand gesture Cindy makes isn't just crushing, it twists as she does it. It's possible the door and it's frame are reinforced enough she can't twist it from that side, but once she's outside the door it's twisting away from the frame and she can do it.

I'm also assuming that she's actually at reduced strength through that whole incident, the drugs keep her weak enough the door set up stops her, but at full power she'd just crush the door through the frame. Hence LL's excuse makes sense.

On Noir

Spoiler

Yeah I think it's mostly just that the current actor is a black man, in story it's not at all clear. His description on the Amazon site says his weight and height varies which, combined with what we saw of him working for Edgar could mean there are actually multiple Noir's.

 

[Corvinus85]

25 minutes ago, karaddin said:

Given the way this story pulls an awful lot of its supes from other properties I've got some speculation about Cindy that could explain the door thing

  Hide contents

I only know them from the short lived show The Gifted, but there's an X-Men universe mutant called Twist whose power was to turn things, which could include doors and, grossly, people (ie twist inside out). The hand gesture Cindy makes isn't just crushing, it twists as she does it. It's possible the door and it's frame are reinforced enough she can't twist it from that side, but once she's outside the door it's twisting away from the frame and she can do it.

I'm also assuming that she's actually at reduced strength through that whole incident, the drugs keep her weak enough the door set up stops her, but at full power she'd just crush the door through the frame. Hence LL's excuse makes sense.

On Noir

  Hide contents

Yeah I think it's mostly just that the current actor is a black man, in story it's not at all clear. His description on the Amazon site says his weight and height varies which, combined with what we saw of him working for Edgar could mean there are actually multiple Noir's.

 

I would say this season the show has taken a bit more liberty with supe powers for the sake of the plot. Not a deal breaker, but it brings down the moments.

Spoiler

Lamplighter's fire is strong enough to melt an iron door in a second (could also be a shockwave effect, sure) and Frenchie's face is right next to the fire, but he's ok.

In the previous episode, Noir casually backhands Butcher, and he does the old thrown back routine, but in reality, given Noir's strength, Butcher at least should have had a shattered nose.

Starlight hits Hughie with her plasma thing strong enough for him to fly and slide for a significant distance, but his eye sight is fine, despite blindness, temporary or permanent, being one of the primary effects of Starlight's powers.

 

[Kalbear]

Since the ep has aired I think we dont need spoiler tags to discuss it.