June 6, 2022
Review: 'The Boys - Season 3' is Filled With Over-The-Top Action
JC Alvarez READ TIME: 3 MIN.
The life of a superhero! They are like gods on earth, but with better press agents. The VOUGHT International corporation has certainly learned the secret to packaging and marketing supers and turning them into a profitable commodity for the world to worship, but after last season, things went a little bit off the rails – or, more like a lot off the rails! The leader of the world's greatest heroes, The Seven, The Homelander (Anthony Starr) fell in hard for his teammate, the newly-minted Stormfront (Aya Cash), but it turned out, she was a Nazi.
As Season 3 came to a climax, Butcher (Karl Urban) and Hughie (Jack Quaid), rebels working to take down the super-powered parade, were never more determined to stop VOUGHT and its CEO, Stanford Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). That led to helping the Seven take down the white supremacist in their midst. Hughie and Starlight (Erin Moriarty) found love, but also revealed the underbelly of VOUGHT International, which is on target to develop the "next level" super drug that will give the average human powers for up to 24 hours... or give the United States an unstoppable army. And if the U.S. isn't interested, Edgar will court the highest bidder!
Things are only going to blow up bigger going into Season. VOUGHT is in the midst of a PR fiasco that's resulted in them pulling the leash tightly on The Seven, and The Homelander is not happy about it. Anotehr thing that doesn't sit well with him is that Starlight is pulling in the better demo, and is now the apple of the organization's eye, so she's getting a promotion to co-captain. Meantime, Butcher has hidden The Homelander's son from him, and he will stop at nothing to get him back. Anyone that gets in his way, is just an obstacle to punch a hole through!
Butcher realizes that it's all getting real. The Homelander has got to be taken down at any cost, especially as the "hero" is starting to crack under the pressure. The answer may lie in the fate of the wartime hero known as Soldier Boy, played by new series regular Jensen Ackles ("Supernatural"). If Butcher can find the weapon that took down that veteran hero, who is missing in action... and who, incidentally was as powerful as The Homelander... then perhaps they've got just the means to bring down their enemy and reveal VOUGHT for the crooked organization that it is. The trail to uncovering the mystery behind Soldier Boy is wrought with land mines, but Butcher has convinced Hughie this is the thing to do.
Season 3 expands the lineup and introduces some new characters. Laurie Holden ("The Walking Dead") is on board as the Crimson Countess, and she may have some information that will lead them to Soldier Boy, but how are The Boys going to feel about unleashing a potentially much more dangerous bomb in order to take down another bomb – and how is The Homelander going to handle it when more powerful super arrives on the scene to steal his thunder?
"The Boys" is based on the highly controversial graphic novel series that takes a literally topsy-turvy spin on the superhero genre. These heroes aren't all fighting for the American Way and Justice For All; most serve at the altar of big money and the corporations that fund their over-indulgent celebrity lifestyles. It's up to Butcher and Hughie and their allies to hold the line!
Filled with over-the-top action, and totally inappropriate for younger viewers moments, "The Boys" delivers tongue-in-cheek commentary and satirically wraps it all up in humor and gore. It's as good as the fans want it to be, but it isn't easy to jump in for the uninitiated. Get yourself caught up on Seasons 1 and 2 before diving into Season 3. It will be worth it!
"The Boys" Season 3 premieres on Amazon Prime, on June 3, 2022.
Native New Yorker JC Alvarez is a pop-culture enthusiast and the nightlife chronicler of the club scene and its celebrity denizens from coast-to-coast. He is the on-air host of the nationally syndicated radio show "Out Loud & Live!" and is also on the panel of the local-access talk show "Talking About".