No Surrender Cinema: The Boys (S3 Ep1) “Payback”
Another season of The Boys is finally upon us, which means that the tradition of No Surrender Cinema covering the premiere episode can continue! The opening installment of Season 3 wasted no time in delivering what we’ve come to expect from Amazon’s hit adaptation of Garth Ennis’ long-running comic book, so let’s not waste any more time and dive right into the events of the episode!
SPOILER WARNING: If you’re yet to see this episode, this review does include full coverage of the things that happened within it. So if spoilers aren’t your thing, go experience the episode for yourself, then come back here to compare notes!
In the final episode of Season 2, both sides dealt with great losses. Butcher’s (Karl Urban) beloved wife Becca became collateral damage when her son Ryan tapped into his latent superpowers to save her from Stormfront, a new member of The Seven who as it turns out is a Nazi hellbent on creating a super-powered master race. The series of events overwhelmed Homelander (Antony Starr, Banshee) and was about to force the final showdown between he and Butcher before Queen Maeve stepped in, stating that she would reveal the truth about the plane crash incident that they were responsible for if he comes after any of them. Homelander is stopped dead in his tracks, knowing that he can’t risk losing the love and adoration of the public, especially after the woman who loved him (Stormfront) has just been decimated by his own son (plus the whole Nazi thing).
Also in Season 2, we got a Scanners-esque head explosion sequence, at a congressional hearing, which took the life of several people, the most important of which being Jonah Vogelbaum, the man responsible for the creation of The Homelander. The assassin went unseen until the final minutes of the season, when it was revealed that Victoria Neuman, a congresswoman who has taken a stand against Vought and the superheroes, actually has powers of her own. Not only that, but the final scene of the season has Hughie (Jack Quaid) going to work for her at the Office of Supe Affairs!
That takes us to the present day, where Hughie is loving life; he’s enjoying his job at the Office of Supe Affairs, feeling that he can still make a difference by doing things by the book. He and Starlight are officially official, stepping out together at the premiere of The Seven’s new movie (which in-universe was rewritten due to the Stormfront incident, and features Charlize Theron in a cameo portraying her in that film). Butcher, however, is as gruff as ever, and begrudgingly asks for Hughie’s permission to carry out their latest task. Hughie agrees, but warns Butcher that it’s got to go smoothly, without the usual trail of blood that typically follows The Boys home.
This is where The Boys does what The Boys and takes insanity to the nth degree. Frenchie and Kimiko crash a party where an Ant-Man knockoff named Termite is using his powers to fuck a Barbie doll in front of a crowd of onlookers. After using the Dream House as his personal sex palace, Termite goes off to get coked up with his boyfriend, and I’m going to stop talking about this scene right here because it needs to be seen to be believed. All you need to know is that it features a rather…interesting…set piece and a humorous, yet grisly death. Keep in mind this is just the first episode, and this one scene outdid nearly every page in the comic’s history. If they intend to up the ante as we get further into the season, then I can’t even imagine what Eric Kripke and the rest of the team behind The Boys have cooked up.
True to his word, Butcher takes the high road with Termite even when he has him dead to rights, and spends the rest of the episode gathering information for his never-ending war against the supes. Thanks to Maeve, Butcher gets intel on the superhero team known as Payback (a clear shot at The Avengers that has carried over from the comic series). Not only does she deliver him information, but also several vials of Temp V, a version of Compound V that is still in development, but will give those who use it superpowers for 24 hours. Scoffing at the risk, Butcher decides to hang onto the vials, and knowing what I know about the comic book, I’m expecting to see these vials emptied sooner than later. We also get to see the softer side of Billy Butcher, when he buys Ryan a Connect 4 on Amazon (nice bit of product placement there) and enjoys some bonding with the boy.
Meanwhile, over in Homelander land, the world’s greatest hero is still reeling and doing a not so good job of hiding his insecurities. He mocks A-Train for gaining weight (piling on the irony by playing psychologist and saying it has to do with his feelings), then nearly obliterates him when A-Train snaps back. He becomes angered when The Deep, the ousted member of The Seven, gets booked on a TV show for to promote his new book ahead of Homelander’s publicity tour for the new movie. The (super)man can’t even get a decent handjob from the crippled, burnt to a crisp Stormfront because she keeps bringing up her dreams of suped up Aryans to him mid-stroke. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, and I have no doubt in my mind that some poor soul will be feeling the wrath of The Homelander very soon, most likely Butcher, who refuses to back down to him later in the episode, and actually becomes a sounding board for all of his issues. Despite their ability to contain their mutual disdain for each other, things don’t go south, although it’s evident that each of them is willing to watch the world burn if it ensures the total destruction of the other.
Homelander isn’t the only one dealing with his feelings, because things aren’t all sunshine and roses for Hughie. Despite his best efforts to do things by the book, he realizes that not everything is on the up and up. After an encounter with a man named Tony who comes to the bureau and states that Victoria Neuman is his old friend Nadia, Hughie rightfully suspects that there are other factors at play. His relationship with Starlight also hits a snag when she’s named co-captain of The Seven, mainly for the good publicity it will bring the team. Oh, and she’s judging potential new recruits for The Seven on the superhero reality show American Hero, instead of Ralph Hinkley, the person in the running for the spot happens to be her old boyfriend Super Sonic, aka Drummer Boy. The shit hits the fan for Wee Hughie when he tails Victoria one night and sees her meeting the man from earlier and using her abilities to blow him apart, bit by bit. We end the episode with Hughie realizing that he’s in way over his head, the expectation that things are only going to get wilder from here!
To say I was satisfied with the Season 3 premiere is an understatement. I was surprised to see the discovery of Victoria’s true nature so soon, but I think it just ups the ante for our favorite band of antiheroes this season. The first 3 episodes of the new season are available now on Amazon Prime, and as a fan of the series I’m anxious to get through the other 2 this weekend. New episodes will be dropping weekly, and you can expect a wrap up of The Boys Season 3 after it concludes in a future edition of No Surrender Cinema!
