Alright, so The Boys Season 2 just ended with an amazing season finale. Thus far, we have covered Episodes 1 – 5 in two tranches viz. here and here. Now that we have the entire season available, let’s dive deep into a story analysis for The Boys Season 2. Heads up, this will contain spoilers!
Characters drive the plot
The strength of The Boys Season 2 was character development. It was obvious that while there were twists and turns plot-wise, the story was driven by well-crafted characters throughout.
In my earlier analysis, I had wondered out loud whether the series’ insistence in not following the comics in having the Boys team themselves take Compound V would be a structural weakness. After all, how would non-powered individuals have any hope against supes?
Disunited
The trick was using the supes against each other. This was achieved by making the Seven members layered individuals with their own motivations. With the antics of Stormfront and Homelander basically pissing off the rest of the Seven, the duo had made enemies of Starlight, A-Train and most significantly, Queen Maeve.
Thus, these supes would ally themselves with the cause of the Boys – directly and indirectly – which led us to the shocking season denouement. In addition, Homelander’s own psychosis worked against him at the very end – his narcissistic compulsion to be loved stopped him from acting at the critical junctures.
The Storm breaks
The season finale itself was wildly satisfying, closing the Stormfront storyline and setting up the Boys status quo that was seen in the comics. The Mexican standoff in terms of Vought’s relationship with the Boys is finally established in this series. The added spice comes in the Victoria Neuman payoff, which is built up from the comics analogue but adapted in a creative way. Kudos to the creative team.
For the characters, the events of the season had significant impacts on their lives and they were changed by them all. There were good and bad endings for different characters but no one character was left untouched.
With the end of this season, The Boys have proven itself to be the best superhero TV series of all time. Nothing comes close, thus far. Now, to watch the whole damn thing all over again! Fuckin’ diabolical!
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