The Boys is an awful show

00:53:38
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhRmvpG_L7s

摘要

TLDRThis video review critiques a show from seasons 1 to 4, noting a decline in quality. Season 1 is praised for its character arcs, but subsequent seasons are criticized for unnecessary violence and poorly executed themes. Characters like Homelander are seen as repetitive with little development, while complexities in characters such as Huey and Deep fall flat. The thematic satire of superhero tropes becomes sidelined by gratuitous violence and nonsensical plot choices. The review suggests that character motivation lacks depth and consistency, leading to a disengagement with the show's original appeal. Ultimately, the themes and narratives become muddied, detracting from the initial potential seen in the show's introductory season.

心得

  • 📉 Decline in quality from Season 1 to 4.
  • 🔪 Gratuitous violence overshadows plot.
  • 👥 Inconsistent character development.
  • 🎭 Loss of original satirical themes.
  • 🌀 Repetitive cycles in character arcs, especially Homelander.
  • 🤦‍♂️ Criticism of Huey's character shift.
  • 😐 Ineffective comedy scenes with Deep.
  • 📤 Initial appeal overshadowed by later issues.
  • 📺 Comparisons with 'Invincible'.
  • 🔄 Stagnant thematic exploration beyond violence.

时间轴

  • 00:00:00 - 00:05:00

    The speaker expresses a delayed interest in a show, particularly Season 4, which led to revisiting earlier seasons. Season 1 is positively regarded for its strong character arcs despite not being groundbreaking. However, Season 2 marks a decline due to gratuitous gore overshadowing plot development.

  • 00:05:00 - 00:10:00

    Season 1's violence had a narrative purpose, like emphasizing trauma and character choices. Season 2 onwards, violence became gratuitous. The critique extends to character writing, plot coherence, and thematic focus, with a satire attempt seemingly misunderstood.

  • 00:10:00 - 00:15:00

    Homelander's character inconsistencies are highlighted. Initially portrayed as emotionally immature yet smart, Season 2 onwards sees a shift to more irrational decisions. His known adversaries are treated inconsistently in terms of threat levels and retaliation.

  • 00:15:00 - 00:20:00

    Homelander's decisions, particularly about the protagonist, seem illogical. Despite knowing Butcher's significance, actions taken don't match his abilities or threat perception. Plot loopholes and character protection undermine the storyline's integrity.

  • 00:20:00 - 00:25:00

    Ryan's character development is inconsistent, oscillating between good-natured and morally ambiguous. The show's handling makes future redemptive arcs questionable, affecting the logical progression of Butcher's character tied to Ryan's fate.

  • 00:25:00 - 00:30:00

    Homelander's character feels stagnant with repeated themes of insecurity and superiority without evolution. Despite being a Superman allegory, his power levels are inconsistent, questioning his world-threatening capabilities.

  • 00:30:00 - 00:35:00

    The show's over-reliance on specific character arcs without evolution is critiqued, especially regarding characters like Deep, who have not progressed despite significant screen time. The inconsistency in character development detracts from the narrative.

  • 00:35:00 - 00:40:00

    The critique extends to season 4, questioning logic and motivation behind character actions, specifically Sister Sage. Her decisions lack clarity in intent and contribute to a convoluted narrative structure aimed at furthering Homelander's plotline.

  • 00:40:00 - 00:45:00

    Season 3's handling of Huey's character is criticized for inconsistent motives and forced drama stemming from Annie's strength over him. This shift disrupts his earlier portrayal as the show's moral center, impacting his interactions significantly.

  • 00:45:00 - 00:53:38

    The video concludes with a critique of the show for failing to deliver on its initial clever and mature take on superhero narratives. It suggests "Invincible" as an alternative that handles similar themes more effectively, ending without a structured outro.

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思维导图

Mind Map

常见问题

  • How does the reviewer feel about season 1?

    The reviewer thinks season 1 is pretty good with great character arcs, although not revolutionary.

  • What criticism does the video have about the later seasons?

    The video criticizes the later seasons for excessive violence, inconsistent character development, and loss of original themes.

  • What is the main complaint about the character Homelander?

    The complaint is that Homelander's character has become repetitive and lacks development.

  • How does the reviewer feel about the portrayal of violence in the show?

    The reviewer feels the violence becomes gratuitous and lacks purpose as the series progresses.

  • What character dynamic is highlighted as problematic?

    The dynamic between Butcher and Homelander, and their repetitive rivalry.

  • What aspect of the show is compared unfavorably to the handling in 'Invincible'?

    The show's portrayal of violence and thematic depth is compared unfavorably to 'Invincible.'

  • How does the reviewer feel about the character arc of Huey?

    The reviewer criticizes Huey's arc for turning him into an insecure character, which felt unoriginal.

  • What issue does the reviewer have with the character Deep?

    The reviewer finds Deep's screen time unjustified and his scenes unfunny.

  • How does the reviewer view their original interest in the show?

    The reviewer was originally interested but was turned off by later developments.

  • What underlying theme criticism is noted about the show?

    The show loses sight of its original satirical theme in later seasons.

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    why the long
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    planning to watch this show damn it I
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    around to finishing the show like a
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    should be clear in saying that I do
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    actually like a lot of things about this
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    show even season 4 season 1 is actually
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    pretty good and has a lot of great
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    characters who go on well-written arcs
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    it's not the best thing in the world and
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    most of the things it does I've seen
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    done better elsewhere but that's not to
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    say it isn't good but season 2 is a
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    massive step down in quality for
  • 00:00:50
    starters it was the season that really
  • 00:00:52
    started to lean into the overly
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    gratuitous nature of let's be disgusting
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    and gory just for the sake of one-upping
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    ourselves and seeing how much the
  • 00:00:58
    audience can bear to watch before they
  • 00:01:00
    give up now the revolting and violent
  • 00:01:02
    aspect of the show was always here from
  • 00:01:04
    the very beginning and for a lot of
  • 00:01:05
    people that was part of the appeal the
  • 00:01:07
    show promised to take traditional tropes
  • 00:01:09
    and superhero media and flip them on
  • 00:01:10
    their heads by sterzing Massive IPS like
  • 00:01:13
    the MCU daring to do a concept like evil
  • 00:01:16
    Superman which at the time was still
  • 00:01:18
    somewhat fresh and new and by actually
  • 00:01:20
    showing the more violent consequences of
  • 00:01:22
    hero work the death of Hue's girlfriend
  • 00:01:24
    Robin is set right at the start of the
  • 00:01:25
    show and it immediately signifies
  • 00:01:28
    exactly what you're going to get it's
  • 00:01:29
    mess y bloody and frankly horrific this
  • 00:01:32
    isn't like the flash where Barry saves
  • 00:01:34
    the day and all his fight scenes are
  • 00:01:35
    tame and generally not very brutal when
  • 00:01:37
    at train shows up you know it's serious
  • 00:01:39
    because you've just seen how easily he
  • 00:01:41
    can violently kill you before you even
  • 00:01:43
    have a chance to Blink and he's of
  • 00:01:45
    course a somewhat major antagonist in
  • 00:01:47
    the first season because he just killed
  • 00:01:48
    the main character's girlfriend this
  • 00:01:50
    scene also works to further emphasize
  • 00:01:52
    the trauma huie experienced when Robin
  • 00:01:54
    died that'll ultimately lead to him
  • 00:01:55
    making the choice to follow Butcher on
  • 00:01:57
    his misguided path for Revenge what I'm
  • 00:01:59
    getting at here is that in season 1 yeah
  • 00:02:01
    there was a lot of Carnage but there was
  • 00:02:03
    always a point to it it was there to
  • 00:02:04
    further accentuate the current situation
  • 00:02:06
    and to enhance plot points and themes
  • 00:02:08
    hwi making the choice to kill
  • 00:02:10
    translucent firmly solidifies him as in
  • 00:02:12
    the game now and that's represented by
  • 00:02:14
    all the blood splattered on his face in
  • 00:02:16
    clothes he's made the choice to not keep
  • 00:02:18
    himself clean but season 2 was the first
  • 00:02:20
    one that really started pushing it and
  • 00:02:22
    by season 3 any notion of that aspect
  • 00:02:25
    being secondary rather than the main
  • 00:02:26
    point is just completely gone like when
  • 00:02:28
    I see Ant-Man shrink down and go into
  • 00:02:31
    someone's dick hole sneeze and
  • 00:02:32
    accidentally expand and kill him I start
  • 00:02:34
    to wonder what we're doing what purpose
  • 00:02:36
    did this serve that couldn't have been
  • 00:02:38
    accomplished all the same without all
  • 00:02:39
    the needless gratuiti and listen I'm no
  • 00:02:41
    pearl clutcher I'm not even necessarily
  • 00:02:43
    saying the show is bad for having
  • 00:02:45
    mindless Gore for the sake of it but
  • 00:02:47
    it's one of the many factors that turned
  • 00:02:48
    me off of it the show is bad because
  • 00:02:50
    well there's a lot of writing issues as
  • 00:02:52
    per usual the plot is often times
  • 00:02:54
    lacking if not outright nonsensical a
  • 00:02:56
    lot of the characters either act really
  • 00:02:58
    stupidly for no reason or or they're
  • 00:03:00
    damaged in other ways and the show seems
  • 00:03:01
    to have lost sight of what it was
  • 00:03:02
    originally about thematically in order
  • 00:03:04
    to shove in more disgusting gratuitous
  • 00:03:06
    violence it tries to be a satire of
  • 00:03:08
    superhero media but a lot of the time it
  • 00:03:10
    doesn't even seem to understand the
  • 00:03:11
    superhero it's parodying homelander is
  • 00:03:14
    the obvious example since he's meant to
  • 00:03:16
    be what if Superman was a megalomaniacal
  • 00:03:18
    narcissist but the issues with his
  • 00:03:20
    character are more to do with just how
  • 00:03:21
    stupid they randomly made him just in
  • 00:03:23
    case you don't remember season 1 all
  • 00:03:24
    that well homelander was a lot of things
  • 00:03:27
    he was emotionally immature thanks in
  • 00:03:29
    large part the fact that he was raised
  • 00:03:30
    in a lab and experimented on throughout
  • 00:03:32
    his childhood he didn't have anyone to
  • 00:03:34
    actually teach him right from wrong and
  • 00:03:36
    he became obsessed with his own
  • 00:03:37
    perception he has this deep-seated need
  • 00:03:39
    to be loved and it causes him to do
  • 00:03:41
    increasingly awful things to earn the
  • 00:03:43
    approval of others but never in season 1
  • 00:03:45
    would I have described homelander as
  • 00:03:47
    stupid he's easy to manipulate at first
  • 00:03:49
    sure but he's also pretty good at
  • 00:03:50
    figuring out that he's being manipulated
  • 00:03:52
    fairly quickly and dealing with the
  • 00:03:54
    person in question a big thing about
  • 00:03:55
    season 1 is that the main characters are
  • 00:03:57
    operating with a sense of anonymity none
  • 00:03:59
    of the are known by the seven because
  • 00:04:01
    even the ones who should be recognized
  • 00:04:03
    by the people that directly wrong them
  • 00:04:04
    get overlooked as just another fan
  • 00:04:06
    anytime they interact with one of the
  • 00:04:08
    soups huy bumps into a train outside of
  • 00:04:10
    his girlfriend's apartment and despite
  • 00:04:11
    the guy having recently smashed through
  • 00:04:13
    his girlfriend and having to look him
  • 00:04:15
    directly in the eye to apologize he
  • 00:04:17
    still doesn't recognize him the same is
  • 00:04:19
    the case for homelander the one time he
  • 00:04:21
    sees butcher before realizing who he is
  • 00:04:23
    and that's despite the fact that he's
  • 00:04:24
    met this guy before and quite literally
  • 00:04:26
    raped his wife the soups tend to
  • 00:04:28
    overlook these guys guys in season 1 and
  • 00:04:30
    the boys use that to their advantage to
  • 00:04:32
    operate in plain sight right under their
  • 00:04:34
    noses but that's no longer the case in
  • 00:04:36
    season 2 homelander knows who all these
  • 00:04:38
    guys are and can identify their faces if
  • 00:04:40
    not their names because again he's a
  • 00:04:42
    smart character who was able to figure
  • 00:04:44
    out pretty quickly who killed
  • 00:04:45
    translucent and why he figures out who
  • 00:04:47
    butcher is and why he wants to kill him
  • 00:04:49
    without having to be told and so when he
  • 00:04:51
    confronts him at still Wells he doesn't
  • 00:04:52
    let him take the easy way out and blow
  • 00:04:55
    himself up he rescues him from the
  • 00:04:56
    explosion and takes him to Becca's
  • 00:04:58
    revealing that she's still alive and
  • 00:05:00
    that now she has a son the product of
  • 00:05:02
    the worst thing to ever happen to these
  • 00:05:04
    people a daily reminder of how
  • 00:05:05
    homelander messed up all their lives and
  • 00:05:07
    homelander made sure butcher knew about
  • 00:05:10
    that before letting him die that was at
  • 00:05:11
    the end of the first season and starting
  • 00:05:13
    off season 2 you might be wondering why
  • 00:05:15
    butcher is still alive at first I
  • 00:05:17
    thought maybe homelander would rather
  • 00:05:18
    butcher live with this knowledge and let
  • 00:05:20
    it haunt him for the rest of his days
  • 00:05:22
    but even if that's the case you'd think
  • 00:05:23
    he would at least keep him locked up
  • 00:05:25
    somewhere or take some sort of measure
  • 00:05:27
    to keep track of him butcher's just
  • 00:05:28
    walking around to free man and because
  • 00:05:30
    of this he's able to go back to the boys
  • 00:05:32
    and continue making trouble for vot and
  • 00:05:34
    well the reason we're given by the show
  • 00:05:36
    for why he decided to do this is because
  • 00:05:38
    he apparently made a deal with Becca
  • 00:05:40
    Becca we had a deal a deal that is alive
  • 00:05:45
    and well and running around as free as a
  • 00:05:47
    goddamn bird the details of which we
  • 00:05:49
    later learn are that she said she would
  • 00:05:51
    kill herself in front of Ryan if any
  • 00:05:53
    harm should come to Butcher and that she
  • 00:05:54
    would tell him it was homelander fault I
  • 00:05:56
    said if he hurt
  • 00:05:58
    you I would would kill myself in front
  • 00:06:00
    of
  • 00:06:01
    Ryan and my last words would be your
  • 00:06:03
    father did this to
  • 00:06:06
    me it's a good thing he don't know your
  • 00:06:09
    TOS I wasn't bluffing she insists to
  • 00:06:12
    butcher that she wasn't bluffing about
  • 00:06:13
    that which I find strange doesn't really
  • 00:06:16
    seem in character for her to traumatize
  • 00:06:17
    her own son like that even if it's to
  • 00:06:19
    save the man she loves but either way
  • 00:06:21
    that was their deal only the thing is
  • 00:06:23
    Becca is completely powerless in the
  • 00:06:25
    situation she and Ryan live in this
  • 00:06:27
    wallof compound built by VA to s late a
  • 00:06:29
    normal Suburban neighborhood for Ryan to
  • 00:06:31
    grow up in hoping to give him a nice
  • 00:06:33
    somewhat ordinary upbringing so that he
  • 00:06:35
    won't turn out like homelander and
  • 00:06:37
    neither of them are allowed to leave
  • 00:06:38
    this place so if homelander took butcher
  • 00:06:40
    out of there he could do whatever he
  • 00:06:42
    wanted to him and Becca would have no
  • 00:06:43
    way of ever ensuring he held up his end
  • 00:06:45
    of the deal maybe she could if he held
  • 00:06:47
    him prisoner and had him take pictures
  • 00:06:49
    with the daily newspaper or something
  • 00:06:51
    but you can't really do that if you have
  • 00:06:53
    no idea where he [ __ ] is either way
  • 00:06:55
    butcher is the only one with plot armor
  • 00:06:57
    here so any of the other characters are
  • 00:06:59
    still game and homelander is more than
  • 00:07:01
    happy to kill them he even gos Starlight
  • 00:07:03
    into killing huy and this only doesn't
  • 00:07:05
    happen because of
  • 00:07:08
    this he lets Starlight live after this
  • 00:07:10
    point because she manages to convince
  • 00:07:12
    him that she's not working with hu and
  • 00:07:14
    she's still pissed off at him for lying
  • 00:07:15
    to her and homelander never thinks to
  • 00:07:17
    use the tracking chip that she still has
  • 00:07:19
    in her neck to follow her and maybe find
  • 00:07:22
    out if she is in fact still working with
  • 00:07:24
    the boys spoiler alert she is later on
  • 00:07:27
    in the season she gets captured by vot
  • 00:07:29
    and this is after she's removed her chip
  • 00:07:30
    and gone Rogue and homelander still
  • 00:07:32
    decides not to kill her they're holding
  • 00:07:34
    her in this prison that's apparently in
  • 00:07:36
    vot Tower and not in some off thee books
  • 00:07:38
    black site somewhere and to be fair to
  • 00:07:40
    homelander he does want to kill her but
  • 00:07:43
    at this point he's working with
  • 00:07:44
    Stormfront who wants to keep her alive
  • 00:07:45
    because it's better publicity Starlight
  • 00:07:48
    is a traitor is trending number one and
  • 00:07:50
    we've got a million Tweets in support of
  • 00:07:51
    compound v a common enemy rallies the
  • 00:07:54
    base I don't know why you can't just
  • 00:07:56
    kill her and still tout her as a public
  • 00:07:58
    villain but all right then the finale
  • 00:08:00
    the gloves are off because Becca's dead
  • 00:08:01
    and butcher can't really hide behind the
  • 00:08:03
    deal she made with homelander anymore
  • 00:08:05
    but just as he's about to kill him mave
  • 00:08:07
    shows up out of nowhere and threatens to
  • 00:08:09
    release video footage she recovered of
  • 00:08:11
    the time he abandoned an entire plane of
  • 00:08:12
    people to die and since we've already
  • 00:08:14
    gone over how he's super image obsessed
  • 00:08:16
    he's not willing to let that footage get
  • 00:08:17
    out I would ask why he doesn't simply
  • 00:08:19
    kill all of them and destroy the phone
  • 00:08:21
    but I guess homelander is assuming she'd
  • 00:08:23
    be smart enough to have copies of that
  • 00:08:25
    footage hidden elsewhere with people
  • 00:08:26
    ready to upload it should anything
  • 00:08:28
    happen to her though it's not clear if
  • 00:08:29
    that actually is the case it's not a
  • 00:08:31
    very good bit of blackmail anyway since
  • 00:08:33
    homelander kind of has the ultimate
  • 00:08:35
    trunk card which is if you do anything
  • 00:08:36
    to defame me then I'll have nothing left
  • 00:08:38
    to lose and I will destroy everything on
  • 00:08:41
    this planet which it takes him like a
  • 00:08:42
    year to realize apparently but once he
  • 00:08:44
    does you'd think he might you know
  • 00:08:46
    actually kill the people who are
  • 00:08:47
    actively undermining his efforts and
  • 00:08:49
    looking for ways to kill him now I've
  • 00:08:51
    heard a few people say that the reason
  • 00:08:52
    homelander and the other soups don't
  • 00:08:54
    take the multiple opportunities they
  • 00:08:56
    have to kill the boys is simply that
  • 00:08:58
    they're overconfident I mean like I
  • 00:08:59
    already said earlier they tend to
  • 00:09:00
    overlook normal people that they deem to
  • 00:09:02
    be of lesser importance but that's just
  • 00:09:04
    it they don't deem these guys
  • 00:09:06
    unimportant when homelander finds out
  • 00:09:08
    translucent is missing he rises hell
  • 00:09:10
    trying to find him because if someone
  • 00:09:11
    can so easily [ __ ] with one of their own
  • 00:09:13
    that's a problem it makes them look weak
  • 00:09:16
    when the Gory remains of translucent are
  • 00:09:17
    then shipped to homelander in a box with
  • 00:09:19
    a message warning coming for you he
  • 00:09:22
    takes it seriously and quickly figures
  • 00:09:24
    out who these people are and what they
  • 00:09:25
    want the same can be said about all the
  • 00:09:27
    soups in this show they will pay
  • 00:09:28
    attention if consider you a threat and
  • 00:09:30
    the boys have proven themselves to be
  • 00:09:32
    one there's this plot point in season 2
  • 00:09:34
    where black noir randomly decides to
  • 00:09:35
    start actually trying to find butcher
  • 00:09:37
    and he does so pretty easily like kind
  • 00:09:40
    of stupidly easily he basically just has
  • 00:09:42
    one of the tech people search for him
  • 00:09:44
    and they find him on one of the cameras
  • 00:09:45
    set up to detect if anyone's coming in
  • 00:09:47
    and out of the compound and Becca's at I
  • 00:09:49
    don't know what [ __ ] good those
  • 00:09:50
    cameras are if nobody's checking them
  • 00:09:52
    and the only way anyone will actually
  • 00:09:53
    see someone sneaking in is if they're
  • 00:09:55
    actively searching for it but either way
  • 00:09:57
    the show then implies that Noir somehow
  • 00:09:59
    track butcher from Becca black no here
  • 00:10:02
    wasn't us we were cautious we swap cars
  • 00:10:05
    no tow roads he must have track me from
  • 00:10:07
    Becka apparently it wasn't that hard to
  • 00:10:09
    find butcher and when he does he's
  • 00:10:11
    pretty damn set on killing him huy and
  • 00:10:13
    mm so if homelander wanted to he could
  • 00:10:15
    have easily done the same by the time of
  • 00:10:17
    season 4 I've kind of lost count of all
  • 00:10:19
    the reasons homelander can and can't
  • 00:10:21
    kill these guys honestly he's no longer
  • 00:10:23
    threatened by the plane footage because
  • 00:10:25
    the heroes understand what'll happen if
  • 00:10:26
    that ever gets out and in fact he
  • 00:10:28
    literally threatens to brutally murder
  • 00:10:30
    huie if Starlight doesn't stay in line
  • 00:10:32
    so he's clearly willing to do that
  • 00:10:33
    because if you step one inch out of line
  • 00:10:35
    I mean if you so much just [ __ ] blink
  • 00:10:37
    the wrong way then that will be Huey I
  • 00:10:40
    guess the only reason he's even
  • 00:10:41
    bothering with this is because Starlight
  • 00:10:43
    playing pretendas his girlfriend is good
  • 00:10:45
    for his poll numbers but the second she
  • 00:10:47
    leaves the seven and starts publicly
  • 00:10:48
    speaking out against homelander you'd
  • 00:10:50
    think that goes right out the window and
  • 00:10:52
    in the season finale he has literally
  • 00:10:54
    all of them in his sights and could
  • 00:10:55
    easily kill them but he doesn't because
  • 00:10:59
    I don't know I guess he doesn't want to
  • 00:11:00
    look mean and scary in front of Ryan
  • 00:11:02
    actually can we talk about Ryan because
  • 00:11:04
    whether or not homelander brutally
  • 00:11:06
    murdering someone right in front of him
  • 00:11:08
    would negatively affect him in any way
  • 00:11:09
    is up for debate at this point at the
  • 00:11:11
    end of the same episode he watches as
  • 00:11:13
    homelander lasers a man to death in the
  • 00:11:15
    middle of a crowd simply for throwing
  • 00:11:17
    something at Ryan and then all the crowd
  • 00:11:19
    cheers and Ryan [ __ ] Smiles I found
  • 00:11:21
    this moment incredibly weird because up
  • 00:11:24
    to this point everything we'd seen about
  • 00:11:25
    Ryan indicated that he was you know a
  • 00:11:28
    good person like sure he had a bit of an
  • 00:11:30
    antisocial upbringing so he's not the
  • 00:11:32
    most well-adjusted person in the world
  • 00:11:34
    but his mom always tried to instill
  • 00:11:35
    moral values within him that he really
  • 00:11:37
    seemed to take to heart sometimes it
  • 00:11:39
    helps to imagine someone you hate but at
  • 00:11:41
    home when I say hate I have to put a
  • 00:11:43
    quarter in a swear jar but I don't
  • 00:11:45
    really hate anyone the first time Ryan
  • 00:11:47
    ever does anything even remotely dark is
  • 00:11:49
    when he kills Stormfront and
  • 00:11:50
    subsequently Becca by mistake but even
  • 00:11:53
    that was only in service to trying to
  • 00:11:54
    protect his mom and he immediately felt
  • 00:11:56
    really bad about it afterward nothing
  • 00:11:58
    about Ryan suggests that there's any
  • 00:12:00
    part of him who enjoys the suffering of
  • 00:12:02
    others but in the beginning of season 4
  • 00:12:04
    he seems to have bought into homelander
  • 00:12:05
    hole humans are just toys for our
  • 00:12:07
    Amusement philosophy which is really
  • 00:12:09
    weird but then the second Ryan
  • 00:12:11
    accidentally kills someone he likes it's
  • 00:12:13
    back to oh my God I can't believe I
  • 00:12:15
    killed someone I don't want to do this
  • 00:12:16
    anymore dad and I'm like can we stop
  • 00:12:19
    flip-flopping with this kid every 5
  • 00:12:21
    Seconds it always seemed like we were
  • 00:12:22
    setting Ryan up as the one who will
  • 00:12:24
    eventually kill homelander but at this
  • 00:12:26
    point I have no idea what they're going
  • 00:12:27
    to do with him and I do not mean that in
  • 00:12:29
    a good way sometimes Ryan really cares
  • 00:12:32
    about people and doesn't want anything
  • 00:12:33
    to do with homelander and sometimes he
  • 00:12:35
    doesn't really give a [ __ ] and actually
  • 00:12:37
    seems to enjoy the fact that his father
  • 00:12:39
    brutally murdered a guy for the
  • 00:12:40
    slightest possible offense so I really
  • 00:12:42
    just don't know it seems to be whatever
  • 00:12:44
    the writers currently want the conflict
  • 00:12:46
    to be for butcher and homelander Ryan
  • 00:12:48
    will just toss a coin and pick a side
  • 00:12:50
    but because of this it really makes it
  • 00:12:51
    hard to figure out what they're going
  • 00:12:52
    for with butcher's characterization like
  • 00:12:55
    initially his whole thing was that he
  • 00:12:56
    was on this self-destructive downward
  • 00:12:58
    spiral where wants to kill homelander
  • 00:13:00
    and get his revenge and it doesn't
  • 00:13:01
    really matter what happens to him the
  • 00:13:03
    only person he ever truly cared about is
  • 00:13:05
    gone and he's determined to spend the
  • 00:13:06
    rest of his life chasing the guy who
  • 00:13:08
    killed her and then he finds out Becca's
  • 00:13:10
    alive but she doesn't want to leave with
  • 00:13:12
    him because she knows he would never
  • 00:13:13
    accept Ryan and this makes him basically
  • 00:13:15
    suicidal because everything he's done
  • 00:13:17
    for the better part of a decade has
  • 00:13:19
    basically been for nothing now he
  • 00:13:21
    eventually finds a new purpose when
  • 00:13:22
    Becca dies and makes him promise to look
  • 00:13:24
    after Ryan and make sure he doesn't turn
  • 00:13:26
    out like homelander and so the two bond
  • 00:13:28
    in their Mutual grief over Becca and
  • 00:13:30
    form something of a fatherson
  • 00:13:31
    relationship this all seems to be
  • 00:13:33
    setting up that butcher's ultimately
  • 00:13:35
    going to have to make a choice between
  • 00:13:36
    getting revenge against homelander or
  • 00:13:38
    saving Ryan and probably dying in the
  • 00:13:40
    process depending on how they want to go
  • 00:13:42
    with this but they have a falling out in
  • 00:13:43
    season three and then homelander finds
  • 00:13:45
    him so by the end of that season he's
  • 00:13:47
    back with homelander and as we just
  • 00:13:48
    established Revels in watching a man die
  • 00:13:50
    for being somewhat mean to him and I
  • 00:13:52
    don't know what I meant to make of
  • 00:13:53
    Ryan's character so I have no idea how
  • 00:13:56
    to interpret butcher's perception of him
  • 00:13:58
    he wants to save Ryan from homelander
  • 00:13:59
    and throughout season 4 he debates with
  • 00:14:01
    himself about whether or not it'
  • 00:14:03
    ultimately be better for the World At
  • 00:14:04
    Large if Ryan were to die right along
  • 00:14:06
    with his father by the end it seems like
  • 00:14:08
    he's realized Ryan has to go and this is
  • 00:14:10
    treated like a bad thing but considering
  • 00:14:12
    this kid just killed the woman who
  • 00:14:14
    looked after him for a whole year
  • 00:14:16
    following the death of his mother and
  • 00:14:18
    doesn't even seem phased by it I think
  • 00:14:19
    butcher's right to come to that
  • 00:14:21
    conclusion you might be saying the ark
  • 00:14:22
    they're setting up for season five will
  • 00:14:24
    involve Ryan coming to his senses
  • 00:14:26
    through butcher appealing to his
  • 00:14:27
    humanity and maybe sacrificing himself
  • 00:14:29
    or something in the process and you're
  • 00:14:30
    probably right but what I'm getting at
  • 00:14:32
    is that I won't be able to buy that
  • 00:14:34
    Redemption because we've been shown time
  • 00:14:36
    and time again that Ryan will completely
  • 00:14:37
    flip his morals at the slightest
  • 00:14:39
    inconvenience so the show ending with
  • 00:14:41
    him being homelander but good this time
  • 00:14:43
    isn't going to land as well as I think
  • 00:14:44
    the show wants it to there are other
  • 00:14:46
    reasons I find homelander frustrating
  • 00:14:48
    but the main one is that the show
  • 00:14:49
    doesn't seem to know what to do with his
  • 00:14:51
    character every season it's the exact
  • 00:14:53
    same thing and after the fourth or fifth
  • 00:14:55
    scene of him talking to himself in a
  • 00:14:57
    mirror or drinking breast milk which is
  • 00:14:59
    has become a meme now more than an
  • 00:15:00
    actual destructive trait that signifies
  • 00:15:02
    his Insanity I just start to lose
  • 00:15:04
    interest yes homelander is insecure and
  • 00:15:06
    narcissistic and ultimately wants to be
  • 00:15:08
    loved by the masses but will settle for
  • 00:15:10
    being feared if push comes to shove I
  • 00:15:12
    get it now can you please actually have
  • 00:15:13
    him do something can we change the
  • 00:15:16
    status quo even a little bit so that
  • 00:15:18
    it's not just homelanders being
  • 00:15:19
    manipulated by some new super villain
  • 00:15:21
    character while securing more power over
  • 00:15:23
    VA and the people who work there and boy
  • 00:15:25
    you just know everyone else is sick of
  • 00:15:27
    his [ __ ] but not a single one of them is
  • 00:15:28
    is going to do anything about it because
  • 00:15:30
    he's just so scary by the way something
  • 00:15:33
    that's worth touching upon just how
  • 00:15:34
    powerful is homelander exactly because
  • 00:15:37
    you might hear evil version of Superman
  • 00:15:39
    and assume their power levels are
  • 00:15:41
    similar if not exact for all intents and
  • 00:15:43
    purposes he's this world standin for a
  • 00:15:45
    Superman figure and seems to have more
  • 00:15:47
    or less the same power set he can fly
  • 00:15:49
    shoot lasers out of his eyes he has
  • 00:15:51
    super strength hearing and smell he can
  • 00:15:53
    see through anything except zinc what
  • 00:15:55
    can't I see
  • 00:15:56
    through zinc homelander correct
  • 00:15:59
    while Superman can see through anything
  • 00:16:01
    except lead they're very similar is my
  • 00:16:02
    point but homelander Powers also seem to
  • 00:16:04
    be toned down significantly and pretty
  • 00:16:06
    much every way I mean the season 3
  • 00:16:08
    finale kind of proves this by having him
  • 00:16:10
    engage in a 1V one with mave and it's
  • 00:16:12
    actually close mave has nothing to scoff
  • 00:16:14
    at herself in terms of strength
  • 00:16:16
    durability and overall power but she
  • 00:16:18
    shouldn't be able to stab someone as
  • 00:16:20
    strong as Superman in the ear and
  • 00:16:21
    actually cause him to bleed let alone
  • 00:16:23
    make him bleed just by punching him
  • 00:16:24
    repeatedly so that implies he's much
  • 00:16:26
    weaker than Superman even if still the
  • 00:16:28
    most powerful soup in the boys Universe
  • 00:16:30
    it also doesn't help that they don't
  • 00:16:32
    always apply his abilities consistently
  • 00:16:34
    sometimes his super hearing allows him
  • 00:16:36
    to hear mallerie tapping on her phone
  • 00:16:37
    screen from several feet away or even an
  • 00:16:40
    entire conversation taking place miles
  • 00:16:42
    away from where he is just keep him calm
  • 00:16:44
    our best guess he'll get bored and move
  • 00:16:48
    on you don't know that you were
  • 00:16:52
    right I'm not going to get bored and
  • 00:16:54
    move on and other times huie can be
  • 00:16:56
    hiding right above him in a vent without
  • 00:16:58
    homelanders being able to hear his
  • 00:16:59
    breathing and actually unless this vent
  • 00:17:01
    is also cated in zinc he should be able
  • 00:17:03
    to see Huey so I don't know how the [ __ ]
  • 00:17:05
    he's getting away makes it hard to
  • 00:17:07
    accurately determine just how powerful
  • 00:17:09
    he's supposed to be but the ultimate
  • 00:17:10
    point is I don't really believe the
  • 00:17:12
    notion that he could destroy the entire
  • 00:17:14
    world if he decided to frankly I think a
  • 00:17:16
    couple of well-trained missiles from the
  • 00:17:18
    US government would be enough to kill
  • 00:17:20
    him or at least significantly [ __ ]
  • 00:17:22
    him all storm front and if he's not
  • 00:17:24
    powerful enough to utterly decimate the
  • 00:17:25
    planet if he becomes angry enough then
  • 00:17:27
    his threatening persona that so much of
  • 00:17:29
    the show's Stakes are built on kind of
  • 00:17:31
    loses its effect there's a point in
  • 00:17:33
    season 3 where Annie and Ma were trying
  • 00:17:34
    to get a few soups together to team up
  • 00:17:36
    against him and based on the way ma
  • 00:17:38
    fought him in the finale I'm pretty sure
  • 00:17:39
    they would have won that contest easily
  • 00:17:41
    this is also why it's kind of hard to
  • 00:17:43
    buy that he was able to Stage a coup at
  • 00:17:45
    the end of season 4 and effectively make
  • 00:17:47
    himself king of the world I guess the
  • 00:17:49
    military doesn't have anything to say
  • 00:17:50
    about the active treason taking place by
  • 00:17:52
    the Speaker of the House deputizing the
  • 00:17:54
    soups and placing the nation under
  • 00:17:56
    martial law otherwise again they could
  • 00:17:57
    take him out very easily but if you
  • 00:17:59
    think homelander getss it bad let me
  • 00:18:01
    tell you about the rest of the seven
  • 00:18:03
    most of them aren't really given much to
  • 00:18:04
    do but they do make sure to devote
  • 00:18:06
    plenty of time to the Deep for some
  • 00:18:08
    reason like for the life of me I cannot
  • 00:18:10
    figure out why this guy takes up so much
  • 00:18:13
    screen time he's not funny and yet
  • 00:18:15
    basically every scene of his is just
  • 00:18:17
    this overly drawn out comedy scene where
  • 00:18:19
    he does something silly like sing with
  • 00:18:22
    his gills everything I hope for or [ __ ]
  • 00:18:26
    an octopus it's weird because even when
  • 00:18:29
    there is something meaningful to explore
  • 00:18:31
    with him they still turn him into a joke
  • 00:18:33
    any moment of characterization is played
  • 00:18:34
    for laughs and ultimately undercut and
  • 00:18:36
    he never grows from it and it'd be one
  • 00:18:39
    thing if these scenes were funny but
  • 00:18:40
    they never are they have this plot line
  • 00:18:43
    throughout season 2 where basically deep
  • 00:18:45
    is trying to redeem himself in the eyes
  • 00:18:46
    of vot so he can get back into the seven
  • 00:18:48
    and in this time of great vulnerability
  • 00:18:50
    he's prayed upon by a powerful and
  • 00:18:52
    influential cult they set him up with a
  • 00:18:54
    wife and have him go around recruiting
  • 00:18:56
    other soups into this cult and you'd
  • 00:18:57
    think they might be setting up some
  • 00:18:59
    really scary concept where these
  • 00:19:00
    extremely powerful beings are beholden
  • 00:19:02
    to the will of a prominent religious
  • 00:19:04
    faction that seeks to dominate the
  • 00:19:05
    culture but deep gets mad when they
  • 00:19:07
    don't get him back in the seven then he
  • 00:19:09
    gets kicked out from the cult and the
  • 00:19:10
    only time we ever see anything to do
  • 00:19:12
    with this plot line ever again is when
  • 00:19:14
    deep is going on this campaign about how
  • 00:19:16
    toxic they are and it's played for a
  • 00:19:18
    [ __ ] joke again it's used for a
  • 00:19:21
    shallow vanity campaign that doesn't
  • 00:19:24
    explore his character or develop him in
  • 00:19:26
    any way nor does it touch upon the World
  • 00:19:28
    building po potential of such a powerful
  • 00:19:30
    organization and if you think that's bad
  • 00:19:32
    wait until I tell you about the time he
  • 00:19:33
    was sexually assaulted in the first
  • 00:19:35
    episode of the show he whips down his
  • 00:19:36
    pants in front of Starlight and tells
  • 00:19:38
    her that if she doesn't give him a
  • 00:19:39
    [ __ ] he's going to pull Rank and make
  • 00:19:41
    sure she gets kicked out of the seven
  • 00:19:43
    this is rightfully treated as a
  • 00:19:44
    disgusting horrifying thing that causes
  • 00:19:46
    her to question every single belief
  • 00:19:48
    she's upheld about what it means to be a
  • 00:19:50
    superhero and a member of the most
  • 00:19:51
    famous group of them she ultimately
  • 00:19:53
    sucks it up and does it but eventually
  • 00:19:55
    when she's had enough she outs him for
  • 00:19:56
    what he did and the bad press causes to
  • 00:19:59
    fire him from the seven and banish him
  • 00:20:00
    to Ohio aka the 10th circle of Hades
  • 00:20:03
    this is the first time deeps characters
  • 00:20:05
    ever really explored in any capacity and
  • 00:20:07
    we find out that he has gills and is
  • 00:20:09
    super insecure about them one day he
  • 00:20:11
    brings home a girl who asks to see the
  • 00:20:13
    gills and he's really not comfortable
  • 00:20:15
    with it but eventually takes off his
  • 00:20:16
    shirt and she starts aggressively
  • 00:20:18
    fingering them while throwing him down
  • 00:20:19
    on the couch he tells her he wants her
  • 00:20:21
    to stop and she calls him a freak and
  • 00:20:23
    continues I don't really know how she
  • 00:20:25
    managed to keep him pinned down
  • 00:20:27
    considering she's just a normal human
  • 00:20:29
    and he has you know super strength but
  • 00:20:31
    I'm not here to victim blame the point
  • 00:20:32
    is he got raped and to the show's credit
  • 00:20:34
    this is not depicted as anything other
  • 00:20:36
    than traumatizing and horrific which is
  • 00:20:38
    more than can be said about a certain
  • 00:20:39
    episode in season 4 what I take issue
  • 00:20:41
    with is how the rest of this is dealt
  • 00:20:43
    with by the show like I kind of touched
  • 00:20:44
    on in passing already the insecurity he
  • 00:20:46
    has for his gills is eventually handled
  • 00:20:48
    when the cult people will get him high
  • 00:20:50
    on shrooms and don't let him leave his
  • 00:20:51
    room until he hashes things out with
  • 00:20:53
    them the gills now being able to speak
  • 00:20:55
    to him and the voice of Patton Oswald
  • 00:20:57
    thanks to the fact that again he's high
  • 00:20:58
    as a kite none of the scenes with them
  • 00:21:00
    actually take the time to explore his
  • 00:21:02
    inner psyche nor do they even
  • 00:21:04
    acknowledge the fact that this deformity
  • 00:21:06
    of which he so ashamed was recently the
  • 00:21:07
    subject of a severely traumatic
  • 00:21:09
    experience instead they talk about
  • 00:21:11
    fingerbanging a kindergarten teacher
  • 00:21:13
    behind the bleachers and then they
  • 00:21:14
    seeing you are so beautiful until he
  • 00:21:16
    comes to accept him as part of his body
  • 00:21:19
    everything there is one thing these
  • 00:21:21
    scenes touch on in passing that might
  • 00:21:23
    have actually been used to facilitate an
  • 00:21:24
    arc for him going forward which is that
  • 00:21:26
    his insecurity about the gills is what
  • 00:21:28
    causes him to treat women the way that
  • 00:21:30
    he does he's afraid they'd laugh at him
  • 00:21:32
    if they saw them so he makes sure to
  • 00:21:33
    humiliate them before they ever get the
  • 00:21:35
    chance you could have views this in the
  • 00:21:37
    fact that he literally experienced the
  • 00:21:39
    same thing he did to Starlight as a
  • 00:21:41
    means of character growth where he
  • 00:21:42
    becomes a better person who genuinely
  • 00:21:44
    seeks redemption and forgiveness from
  • 00:21:46
    the people he's wronged but the show
  • 00:21:48
    just drops this he goes back to the
  • 00:21:50
    seven and immediately becomes homelander
  • 00:21:53
    Yes Man again he's still a womanizing
  • 00:21:55
    piece of [ __ ] and he hasn't learned a
  • 00:21:57
    damn thing deep has never been a good
  • 00:21:59
    character not even in season 1 and now
  • 00:22:01
    we're Four Seasons in and not a single
  • 00:22:03
    thing has changed I don't think it would
  • 00:22:05
    be that big a deal if he was a minor
  • 00:22:07
    character who showed up every once in a
  • 00:22:08
    while but he's one of the main villains
  • 00:22:10
    on this show and like I said they devote
  • 00:22:13
    a lot of screen time to him that just
  • 00:22:15
    isn't Justified I will say a train gets
  • 00:22:17
    it much better because at least in
  • 00:22:19
    seasons 2 and three he's not really
  • 00:22:21
    badly written so much as they just don't
  • 00:22:23
    seem to know what to do with his
  • 00:22:24
    character but they don't want to get rid
  • 00:22:26
    of him because again he's the villain
  • 00:22:28
    who killed H's girlfriend so there needs
  • 00:22:30
    to be some sort of resolution to that
  • 00:22:32
    rivalry but they wanted to wait to do
  • 00:22:33
    that for later on in the show I guess so
  • 00:22:36
    for these two seasons he's just kind of
  • 00:22:38
    there uh he's having heart problems
  • 00:22:40
    that's basically it in season three his
  • 00:22:42
    brother Nate talks to him about how he
  • 00:22:44
    could be doing more for the black
  • 00:22:45
    community by speaking out against a
  • 00:22:47
    racist soup named bluehawk and when at
  • 00:22:49
    Tran tries to do it the corporate way
  • 00:22:50
    and not actually get his hands dirty
  • 00:22:52
    nothing gets accomplished and blueh Hawk
  • 00:22:54
    ends up crippling his brother for life
  • 00:22:56
    this causes at train to brutally murder
  • 00:22:57
    him out of venge but obviously that
  • 00:22:59
    isn't doing anything to address the core
  • 00:23:01
    of the issue so it doesn't make anything
  • 00:23:03
    better as Nate is quick to point out
  • 00:23:05
    this is something I guess but it really
  • 00:23:07
    isn't much and it kind of doesn't go
  • 00:23:09
    anywhere after this to be fair this in
  • 00:23:11
    season 4 do touch on his role as an
  • 00:23:13
    African-American superhero and what that
  • 00:23:15
    means when vot only wants to use his
  • 00:23:17
    race to Pander to a demographic rather
  • 00:23:19
    than actually bother to represent them
  • 00:23:21
    genuinely they have Adan being forced to
  • 00:23:23
    do this white savior movie where will
  • 00:23:25
    phoh plays a coach who pulls him out of
  • 00:23:27
    the ghetto and inspires him to be become
  • 00:23:28
    a hero that and a multitude of other
  • 00:23:30
    factors is what finally pushes at train
  • 00:23:32
    into betraying homelander and helping
  • 00:23:34
    the boys take him down something that
  • 00:23:36
    was pretty obviously always going to
  • 00:23:37
    happen but again they wanted to wait a
  • 00:23:39
    bit to keep that drama between him and
  • 00:23:41
    huie going while he sat on the fence for
  • 00:23:43
    way longer than he probably should have
  • 00:23:44
    I think when it became clear in season 3
  • 00:23:46
    that he was going to die inevitably once
  • 00:23:48
    homelander had had his fun with him that
  • 00:23:50
    should have been when he turned and
  • 00:23:52
    actually I think it would have been way
  • 00:23:53
    stronger as a character decision to do
  • 00:23:55
    it when he was at his weakest and most
  • 00:23:56
    vulnerable rather than wait for season 4
  • 00:23:58
    when he had a brand new heart but they
  • 00:24:00
    didn't do that credit words do though
  • 00:24:02
    the arc they send at train on in season
  • 00:24:03
    4 is pretty neat there's this
  • 00:24:05
    particularly nice scene where he has to
  • 00:24:07
    rush mm to the hospital after he has a
  • 00:24:09
    panic attack and when he does a kid sees
  • 00:24:11
    him Smiles in awe and he rushes off it's
  • 00:24:13
    the first time he's ever actually done
  • 00:24:15
    something truly heroic without any other
  • 00:24:17
    motivation than to help someone and
  • 00:24:19
    without all the lights and cameras
  • 00:24:20
    focused on him and it makes him feel
  • 00:24:22
    really good to have done the right thing
  • 00:24:23
    and inspired that young boy as for his
  • 00:24:25
    relationship with Huey I also think that
  • 00:24:27
    what they did was very mature and my
  • 00:24:29
    only real complaint would be that they
  • 00:24:31
    had these characters Meander and limbo
  • 00:24:33
    for two seasons before ultimately
  • 00:24:34
    reaching this point enough time has
  • 00:24:36
    passed and enough things have happened
  • 00:24:38
    now that huy is finally at a place where
  • 00:24:40
    he can forgive a train for Robin after
  • 00:24:42
    seeing that he's turned over a new leaf
  • 00:24:43
    and is really trying to help their
  • 00:24:45
    Dynamic perfectly mirrors that of
  • 00:24:47
    Butcher and homelander who seem forever
  • 00:24:49
    locked in this rivalry that can only end
  • 00:24:51
    One Way well what if we share a
  • 00:24:53
    different Destiny scorched Earth shock
  • 00:24:56
    and a blood and Moon but where butcher
  • 00:24:59
    is ultimately going down a destructive
  • 00:25:00
    path that'll get him killed and
  • 00:25:02
    accomplish nothing huie is able to
  • 00:25:04
    finally let go of his demons and grow as
  • 00:25:06
    a person it's similar to The Arc he went
  • 00:25:08
    on in season 1 but I don't think he can
  • 00:25:09
    ever truly let go unless he's forgiven a
  • 00:25:12
    train and now he has also I say again I
  • 00:25:14
    don't know exactly what they plan to do
  • 00:25:16
    with butcher so it might be butcher also
  • 00:25:18
    breaks free of this cycle like huie does
  • 00:25:20
    but like I said I really just have no
  • 00:25:22
    idea what they're going for on that
  • 00:25:23
    front anymore black noir was a big
  • 00:25:25
    disappointment I know in the comics they
  • 00:25:27
    do some crazy story line where it turns
  • 00:25:29
    out Noir was actually a homelander clone
  • 00:25:31
    all along who was made as a contingency
  • 00:25:34
    for if homelander ever became too much
  • 00:25:35
    to handle and then he ended up actually
  • 00:25:37
    being far more unhinged and was actually
  • 00:25:39
    the one who raped Becca and I'm not
  • 00:25:41
    suggesting they should have adapted that
  • 00:25:42
    Faithfully That's [ __ ] stupid and it
  • 00:25:44
    would never have worked but I do really
  • 00:25:46
    dig the idea that of all the other
  • 00:25:47
    superheroes in the show Noir is the only
  • 00:25:50
    one who can physically stand against
  • 00:25:51
    homelander he's sort of shrouded in
  • 00:25:53
    mystery for the first couple of Seasons
  • 00:25:55
    which only adds to the Intrigue because
  • 00:25:57
    you have no idea how power ful he is for
  • 00:25:59
    all we know he's the only one strong
  • 00:26:01
    enough to meaningfully hurt homelander
  • 00:26:03
    and one of the only ones durable enough
  • 00:26:04
    to take the brunt of his attacks without
  • 00:26:06
    immediately dying we don't know exactly
  • 00:26:08
    how strong he is but we know he took
  • 00:26:10
    kamiko down in like 5 seconds flat and
  • 00:26:12
    we know that other than homelander and
  • 00:26:14
    the other major players like Soldier Boy
  • 00:26:16
    and Stormfront Noir is the only soup
  • 00:26:18
    that the boys absolutely do not want to
  • 00:26:20
    [ __ ] with translucent is attacking huy
  • 00:26:22
    at work no problem I'll just hit the
  • 00:26:24
    [ __ ] with my car and 1 V one him with
  • 00:26:26
    nothing but a crowbar black noir is
  • 00:26:27
    tracked me to my house and is waiting
  • 00:26:29
    outside to kill us better call the fire
  • 00:26:31
    department and falsely report a gas leak
  • 00:26:33
    in the neighborhood just to buy
  • 00:26:34
    ourselves a few hours to figure out what
  • 00:26:36
    the [ __ ] we're going to do about it
  • 00:26:38
    there are also strong implications that
  • 00:26:39
    at least some aspects of his comic book
  • 00:26:42
    counterpart are true here too it's
  • 00:26:43
    hinted at and then directly confirmed by
  • 00:26:45
    a spin-off show in an episode that is
  • 00:26:47
    considered Canon that noir's entire
  • 00:26:49
    purpose is to closely monitor homelander
  • 00:26:51
    to make sure he doesn't step out of line
  • 00:26:53
    if Mr Edgar believes black white can
  • 00:26:54
    teach me noir is not there to teach you
  • 00:26:57
    he is is there to watch you make sure
  • 00:27:00
    you follow the script make sure you
  • 00:27:01
    don't screw up and embarrass the company
  • 00:27:04
    and bring you in if you do he's the only
  • 00:27:07
    one of the soups who answers directly to
  • 00:27:09
    Edgar to the point where he wears a body
  • 00:27:11
    Cam and Edgar watches him every time he
  • 00:27:13
    goes out and does anything so you'd
  • 00:27:15
    think if any of the soups on this show
  • 00:27:16
    stands even a chance of beating
  • 00:27:18
    homelander it'd be this guy right
  • 00:27:21
    nope the thing I just mentioned about
  • 00:27:24
    him being specifically loyal to Edgar
  • 00:27:26
    makes it weird that he would just stand
  • 00:27:27
    by while homelander as Edgar as CEO of v
  • 00:27:30
    and gets him sent to prison so already
  • 00:27:32
    with just that move anything I thought I
  • 00:27:34
    understood about his character just went
  • 00:27:35
    out the window we find out he used to be
  • 00:27:37
    part of Soldier Boy's team back in the
  • 00:27:39
    80s and that Soldier Boy violently
  • 00:27:41
    abused him at several points so when he
  • 00:27:43
    finds out soldier boy is alive and out
  • 00:27:45
    to kill all of his old team for selling
  • 00:27:46
    him out to the Russians he freaks out
  • 00:27:48
    and goes into hiding makes sense he's
  • 00:27:50
    having a natural response to his trauma
  • 00:27:52
    by not wanting to face soldier boy I
  • 00:27:54
    hope they give that some kind of
  • 00:27:57
    resolution the we do this thing where in
  • 00:27:59
    order to show us his inner thoughts we
  • 00:28:01
    see what he always sees a bunch of
  • 00:28:03
    talking cartoon animals egging him on to
  • 00:28:05
    face up against Soldier Boy and it's
  • 00:28:06
    abundantly clear from the side of this
  • 00:28:08
    just how damaged his psyche really is I
  • 00:28:11
    actually like this a lot but then after
  • 00:28:13
    they talk him into it he goes back to
  • 00:28:14
    the Tower and homelander confronts him
  • 00:28:16
    about the fact that soldier boy just
  • 00:28:18
    revealed himself to be his father making
  • 00:28:19
    him no longer sure if he wants to kill
  • 00:28:21
    him he asks Noir if he knew and
  • 00:28:23
    apparently taking a silence as
  • 00:28:25
    confirmation even though Noir is
  • 00:28:26
    literally always quiet he kills him
  • 00:28:29
    that's it he never faces soldier boy
  • 00:28:32
    there's no resolution to his trauma or
  • 00:28:34
    any kind of Arc he's just dead and to
  • 00:28:37
    add insult to injury the cartoon animals
  • 00:28:39
    show back up and say this soon you'll be
  • 00:28:42
    in the sweet Embrace
  • 00:28:45
    of Christ the lord like I guess this is
  • 00:28:49
    supposed to be funny because if it's
  • 00:28:51
    supposed to be sad like you'd naturally
  • 00:28:53
    expect then I don't know what to make of
  • 00:28:54
    that line it seemed intentionally
  • 00:28:56
    written and delivered that way for the
  • 00:28:58
    sake of Comedy but that completely
  • 00:29:00
    undermines not only the impact of his
  • 00:29:01
    death but also the sadness of the fact
  • 00:29:03
    that these cutesy little animals only
  • 00:29:05
    exist because of how deeply alone and
  • 00:29:07
    scared Noir must always feel they're a
  • 00:29:09
    testament to how mentally broken he is
  • 00:29:11
    and they show up in his final moments of
  • 00:29:13
    life to make a funny joke for the
  • 00:29:15
    audience I I don't understand the show's
  • 00:29:18
    obsession with all these characters
  • 00:29:19
    being nothing but jokes speaking of
  • 00:29:21
    which this is what they decide to do
  • 00:29:23
    with him in season 4 since his whole
  • 00:29:25
    Persona was just the mysterious silent
  • 00:29:27
    Ninja the first three seasons vot
  • 00:29:29
    decides to just have an actor sit in on
  • 00:29:31
    all the seven meetings and just pretend
  • 00:29:33
    to be him for the first little bit he
  • 00:29:34
    just sits there silently like you'd
  • 00:29:36
    expect making it feel like nothing's
  • 00:29:38
    really changed and that his presence is
  • 00:29:39
    still felt but then they decide to do
  • 00:29:41
    the big reveal yo what the [ __ ] that was
  • 00:29:44
    so [ __ ] up you guys the dead speak his
  • 00:29:47
    whole deal is that he's an actor trying
  • 00:29:49
    to figure out the character and all he
  • 00:29:51
    does across the entire season has vent
  • 00:29:53
    his frustration that Noir is so hard to
  • 00:29:55
    act for because he was so enigmatic I'm
  • 00:29:57
    on Island here okay I have questions but
  • 00:30:00
    I'm not allowed to speak I hate sacking
  • 00:30:02
    but I'm supposed to follow some stupid
  • 00:30:03
    black ninja [ __ ] which makes no
  • 00:30:05
    goddamn sense by the way you ever meet a
  • 00:30:07
    black ninja like Noah lives in a ninja
  • 00:30:09
    Dojo apartment for besta can tell he
  • 00:30:11
    didn't know karate I need some
  • 00:30:13
    intentionality here I'm just having
  • 00:30:14
    trouble with noir's motivation you feel
  • 00:30:16
    me you didn't hire me to stand around
  • 00:30:17
    like a [ __ ] oak tree what do you need
  • 00:30:19
    some direction I thought we weren't
  • 00:30:20
    killing the guys today I just feel like
  • 00:30:22
    I'm not getting clear direction for this
  • 00:30:23
    role shut the [ __ ] up and everyone take
  • 00:30:25
    your seats and this is just it's the
  • 00:30:28
    only joke the for the whole season they
  • 00:30:30
    also have this really weird thing where
  • 00:30:32
    deep tells him the reason Noir loved
  • 00:30:34
    killing so much was because it made him
  • 00:30:36
    horny so if he wants to channel his
  • 00:30:37
    energy he needs to let himself get
  • 00:30:39
    turned on anytime he commits murder the
  • 00:30:41
    resolution to this is he kills someone
  • 00:30:45
    and gets a boner and he and the deep are
  • 00:30:49
    like
  • 00:30:51
    bro this is a real show that exists by
  • 00:30:54
    the way is now a good time to talk about
  • 00:30:56
    the show's obsession with making all the
  • 00:30:58
    villain characters [ __ ] freaks in the
  • 00:31:00
    sheets because they do that with like
  • 00:31:01
    every single one of them obviously
  • 00:31:03
    there's the homelander drinking breast
  • 00:31:05
    milk thing and his General mommy issues
  • 00:31:07
    Vibe that's been a thing since season 1
  • 00:31:09
    like I said they've amped that up to the
  • 00:31:10
    point of cartoonish Insanity the longer
  • 00:31:12
    the show has gone on last season he was
  • 00:31:14
    drinking a bucket of milk straight from
  • 00:31:16
    a cow this season they introduce a big
  • 00:31:19
    breasted right-wing Nut Job who's
  • 00:31:21
    slavishly devoted to him and so she's
  • 00:31:22
    taken medication that allows her to
  • 00:31:24
    produce breast milk even though she's
  • 00:31:26
    not pregnant it's uh
  • 00:31:29
    but homelander isn't the only one like I
  • 00:31:31
    said deep likes to [ __ ] fish this is
  • 00:31:33
    again something that's been a thing
  • 00:31:35
    since season
  • 00:31:36
    1 I like you too you know that let's not
  • 00:31:40
    you know rush into anything too fast
  • 00:31:42
    okay okay if I just touch it when you
  • 00:31:44
    shut
  • 00:31:45
    up and in this season they gave him an
  • 00:31:48
    octopus girlfriend played by Tilda
  • 00:31:50
    Swinton yes really uh Ashley and the
  • 00:31:52
    news reporter have just way too much to
  • 00:31:55
    unpack and don't even get me started on
  • 00:31:56
    her Dynamic with tech we're not ready to
  • 00:31:58
    get into that episode quite yet all the
  • 00:32:00
    main good guy characters have normal
  • 00:32:02
    vanilla sex lives with the exception of
  • 00:32:04
    Frenchie but even then his more out
  • 00:32:06
    there kinks are mainly linked to his
  • 00:32:08
    time working for the bad guys so it
  • 00:32:10
    still kind of feels like only the
  • 00:32:11
    villains are allowed to be sexually
  • 00:32:13
    deviant he just gobbles that vagina
  • 00:32:15
    right
  • 00:32:16
    up it's like the people behind the show
  • 00:32:19
    think the best way to signify that
  • 00:32:20
    someone isn't right in the head as if
  • 00:32:22
    they are even slightly kinky and I'm not
  • 00:32:24
    sure what they're trying to imply with
  • 00:32:26
    that and all right I've put it off long
  • 00:32:28
    enough I guess that was as good a segue
  • 00:32:30
    as they need to talk about it there's an
  • 00:32:31
    episode in season 4 where some really
  • 00:32:33
    bad [ __ ] happens to Huey and I'm going
  • 00:32:35
    to give the same forewarning I put in
  • 00:32:37
    the disclaimer at the beginning of this
  • 00:32:38
    video we're about to touch on some
  • 00:32:39
    pretty sensitive topics so if that's not
  • 00:32:41
    something you feel comfortable listening
  • 00:32:43
    to I advise you skip to this time code
  • 00:32:45
    your mental health comes first okay so
  • 00:32:47
    at train informs The Gang That
  • 00:32:49
    homelander is calling a bunch of soups
  • 00:32:51
    together for a meeting and they want to
  • 00:32:52
    know what it's about it's taking place
  • 00:32:54
    out of Hardy being thrown by the
  • 00:32:55
    billionaire Tech Knight this Show's
  • 00:32:57
    parody of Batman man look he even has
  • 00:32:58
    his own Alfred is this guy supposed to
  • 00:33:00
    be Alfred and they decide to have he go
  • 00:33:02
    undercover as a superhero named web
  • 00:33:04
    weaver who as you can probably guess is
  • 00:33:06
    supposed to be the version of Spider-Man
  • 00:33:07
    in this world apparently web weaver was
  • 00:33:10
    invited to this party personally by Tech
  • 00:33:12
    Knight to apply for the role of sidekick
  • 00:33:14
    and as he is about to find out is being
  • 00:33:16
    considered for that role because he's a
  • 00:33:17
    [ __ ] freak Tech knite takes him down
  • 00:33:19
    to his backat cave and it turns out to
  • 00:33:21
    be a BDSM Sex Dungeon trying to keep up
  • 00:33:23
    appearances huy has to do all sorts of
  • 00:33:26
    weird sex things that web weever
  • 00:33:27
    apparently into which involves him
  • 00:33:29
    getting locked down and having his feet
  • 00:33:31
    tickled by Ashley bite your dick off and
  • 00:33:34
    cook it I'm 100% a cannibal but
  • 00:33:37
    eventually Tech Knight figures out who
  • 00:33:38
    he really is and
  • 00:33:40
    then and then he decides to keep him
  • 00:33:43
    strapped down with the intent of cutting
  • 00:33:45
    new holes in him for him to [ __ ] but
  • 00:33:47
    huwi is thankfully saved by his team
  • 00:33:49
    before any incisions can be made it is
  • 00:33:51
    of course worth keeping in mind that he
  • 00:33:53
    did still have to do a bunch of weird
  • 00:33:55
    sexual stuff that he only consented to
  • 00:33:57
    because he would have been killed
  • 00:33:58
    otherwise and even though he wasn't
  • 00:34:00
    technically being threatened at the time
  • 00:34:01
    because Tech Knight didn't know who he
  • 00:34:03
    was that's obviously going to exact a
  • 00:34:05
    heavy toll on him mentally also I
  • 00:34:07
    wouldn't accept that as an argument
  • 00:34:08
    anyway because hwi asked them to stop
  • 00:34:10
    several times and Tech Knight refused
  • 00:34:12
    because he didn't know the safe word
  • 00:34:14
    like H is literally saying I want you to
  • 00:34:16
    stop and they're continuing anyway and
  • 00:34:18
    the messed up thing is these scenes are
  • 00:34:20
    played for comedy like yes at the end of
  • 00:34:23
    the episode Hy breaks down crying and
  • 00:34:25
    that seems to have been spurred on by
  • 00:34:27
    what he just went through through but
  • 00:34:28
    that's not what it's actually about he's
  • 00:34:30
    really broken up because his dad just
  • 00:34:32
    died and he's been trying to keep it
  • 00:34:33
    together and pretend everything's fine
  • 00:34:35
    but then this caused them to just lose
  • 00:34:36
    any of that composure the scenes
  • 00:34:38
    themselves where hwi is assaulted are
  • 00:34:40
    meant to be comedic like that clip I
  • 00:34:42
    played for you earlier despite the fact
  • 00:34:43
    that huwi is going through something
  • 00:34:45
    truly terrible something which as I've
  • 00:34:47
    touched on already was actually handled
  • 00:34:49
    with weight and severity when it
  • 00:34:50
    happened to other characters in the past
  • 00:34:52
    now people are quick to play the whole
  • 00:34:53
    male sexual assault isn't taken as
  • 00:34:55
    seriously as it is with women card and
  • 00:34:57
    that is absolutely true and something
  • 00:34:59
    that needs to be discussed more broadly
  • 00:35:01
    people just don't take male victims of
  • 00:35:03
    rape nearly as seriously and will often
  • 00:35:05
    downplay the trauma they experienced but
  • 00:35:07
    again when it happened to the deep in
  • 00:35:08
    season 1 that episode absolutely did not
  • 00:35:11
    treat it like a joke sure they never
  • 00:35:13
    bothered to mention it again or use it
  • 00:35:15
    for his development which was a massive
  • 00:35:17
    and frankly gross oversight on their
  • 00:35:18
    part but at least in the moment they
  • 00:35:20
    recognized how bad it was so I don't
  • 00:35:22
    necessarily know if it's due to any kind
  • 00:35:24
    of social disparity between men and
  • 00:35:26
    women I think it literally is just that
  • 00:35:28
    the writing in season 1 was better than
  • 00:35:30
    it is now but I frankly don't understand
  • 00:35:32
    how this could have happened because
  • 00:35:33
    these seasons were made by the same
  • 00:35:35
    exact people you'd think if they
  • 00:35:37
    understood then they would understand
  • 00:35:38
    now but I guess not the creator of this
  • 00:35:41
    show is Eric kryy who also created
  • 00:35:43
    Supernatural one of my favorite shows
  • 00:35:45
    ever written so even though I didn't
  • 00:35:47
    think the show was very good I still
  • 00:35:49
    always had a lot of respect for the guy
  • 00:35:50
    behind it but that all changed with this
  • 00:35:52
    episode because right after it first
  • 00:35:54
    came out a lot of people recognized what
  • 00:35:56
    I've already pointed out here and
  • 00:35:57
    rightfully called the show out on it and
  • 00:35:59
    ky's response was to call it hilarious
  • 00:36:02
    he then went on to demonstrate how
  • 00:36:03
    little he actually understands about
  • 00:36:05
    Batman by using the same Reddit argument
  • 00:36:07
    that's been debunked for years at this
  • 00:36:09
    point and it makes you question why he's
  • 00:36:11
    at the helm of a show that's meant to
  • 00:36:12
    saiz superheroes again that's beside the
  • 00:36:14
    point so I won't harp on it too much but
  • 00:36:16
    it is really weird and worth pointing
  • 00:36:18
    out uh Eric I don't think you were ever
  • 00:36:20
    watching Batman the same way as the rest
  • 00:36:22
    of the world if you think the Batcave
  • 00:36:25
    even remotely resembles a Sex Dungeon
  • 00:36:27
    but if you still have your faith in
  • 00:36:29
    humanity hold your horses because
  • 00:36:31
    there's more this isn't something nearly
  • 00:36:32
    as many people are talking about but
  • 00:36:34
    believe it or not this was not the only
  • 00:36:36
    instance of Huey being raped this season
  • 00:36:38
    it's just that this time it's a little
  • 00:36:40
    more subtle and as we've come to learn
  • 00:36:41
    from things like the acolyte or
  • 00:36:43
    Wonderwoman 84 a lot of people don't
  • 00:36:45
    even seem to notice stuff like this
  • 00:36:46
    unless it's directly spelled out to them
  • 00:36:48
    in the next episode the boys are trying
  • 00:36:50
    to stop a plot to assassinate the
  • 00:36:51
    president and they eventually find out
  • 00:36:53
    that the soup who's been hired to do the
  • 00:36:55
    job is a shape shifter there's this
  • 00:36:56
    really odd moment where they try to do
  • 00:36:58
    that Trope where the shifter gets lost
  • 00:37:00
    in a crowd even though they just got
  • 00:37:02
    finished showing us how long it takes
  • 00:37:03
    for them to transform like it has to rip
  • 00:37:05
    off its own skin and it leaves a trail
  • 00:37:07
    in the process so surely there's only
  • 00:37:09
    one person the shifter could possibly
  • 00:37:11
    look like right now this old lady that
  • 00:37:13
    it had transformed into right before
  • 00:37:15
    leaving the building I don't know where
  • 00:37:17
    she is in this crowd of people though so
  • 00:37:19
    either the show is telling me it somehow
  • 00:37:21
    shifted again and didn't leave a pile of
  • 00:37:23
    Flesh in its wake or it jetp packed into
  • 00:37:25
    the sky before the heroes could get
  • 00:37:26
    outside this is is a small moment but I
  • 00:37:28
    found it really funny and it's what
  • 00:37:30
    allowed the shifter to escape so that
  • 00:37:32
    later in this episode it could capture
  • 00:37:33
    Annie and take over her form now the
  • 00:37:35
    show goes out of its way to establish a
  • 00:37:37
    few things about this shifter's Powers
  • 00:37:39
    whoever his form it takes it can also
  • 00:37:41
    absorb all their memories and perfectly
  • 00:37:42
    copy their
  • 00:37:45
    mannerisms oh why the [ __ ] would I kill
  • 00:37:48
    your mother so when it impersonates
  • 00:37:50
    Annie it would be really hard for huie
  • 00:37:52
    to realize she's not the real deal he
  • 00:37:54
    does eventually figure it out but not
  • 00:37:56
    before fake Annie has sex with him and
  • 00:37:57
    then proposes and if you have even a
  • 00:37:59
    decent grasp on the concept of consent
  • 00:38:01
    you've probably already gathered where
  • 00:38:03
    I'm going with this because hewi did not
  • 00:38:05
    know the person he was sleeping with
  • 00:38:07
    wasn't really his girlfriend he could
  • 00:38:08
    not have meaningfully consented to
  • 00:38:10
    having sex with her therefore he was
  • 00:38:12
    raped uh how many times was it had to be
  • 00:38:15
    less
  • 00:38:16
    than 20 Jesus Christ not only does the
  • 00:38:19
    show never actually acknowledge this
  • 00:38:21
    fact or what it would do to huei
  • 00:38:23
    mentally it actually takes it a step
  • 00:38:24
    further and does something really
  • 00:38:26
    heinous basically and he does eventually
  • 00:38:28
    get free and somehow manages to get all
  • 00:38:30
    the way to this highly secure bunker
  • 00:38:32
    that's four stories below ground we
  • 00:38:34
    wouldn't be stuck four stories
  • 00:38:36
    underground playing pocket pool in order
  • 00:38:38
    to stop the shape shifter from killing
  • 00:38:39
    the president and her friends she kills
  • 00:38:41
    The Shape Shifter the day is saved and
  • 00:38:43
    they all go home but uh-oh hu's in
  • 00:38:47
    trouble an he gets really mad at Huey
  • 00:38:49
    for the fact that he slept with this
  • 00:38:50
    impostor and that he proposed to her you
  • 00:38:53
    put the ring on her finger huie I know
  • 00:38:56
    because I pride it off her [ __ ] dead
  • 00:38:59
    hand she accuses him of being shallow
  • 00:39:01
    and not looking too close because the
  • 00:39:03
    person pretending to be her was giving
  • 00:39:05
    him everything he wanted without any of
  • 00:39:06
    the emotional baggage even though I
  • 00:39:08
    cannot stress enough that she had every
  • 00:39:11
    single detail of Annie's physiology and
  • 00:39:13
    memories locked down and he still
  • 00:39:15
    figured out it wasn't her so not only is
  • 00:39:18
    what hewi went through not even being
  • 00:39:19
    acknowledged but now he's being blamed
  • 00:39:21
    for something that he couldn't possibly
  • 00:39:23
    have done any differently but the thing
  • 00:39:25
    is I can hear all of you right now
  • 00:39:27
    scream scaming the same thing at me that
  • 00:39:28
    I thought when I first saw this clip
  • 00:39:30
    being shared around on Twitter which is
  • 00:39:32
    that obviously Annie just went through
  • 00:39:33
    something extremely traumatic and
  • 00:39:35
    harrowing so of course she's going to
  • 00:39:37
    lash out irrationally at the person
  • 00:39:38
    who's supposed to always be there for
  • 00:39:40
    her and quite literally wasn't deep down
  • 00:39:43
    she obviously understands that it's not
  • 00:39:44
    his fault but she's upset and she's
  • 00:39:46
    taking it out on him unfairly the
  • 00:39:49
    problem is I think you're giving the
  • 00:39:50
    show a little too much credit because
  • 00:39:52
    while that's definitely true what you
  • 00:39:53
    would then expect is some sort of moment
  • 00:39:55
    where she realizes she was being unfair
  • 00:39:58
    and apologizes to huie yes she went
  • 00:40:00
    through something really [ __ ] up but
  • 00:40:02
    the amount of mental damage this would
  • 00:40:03
    cause for huie can't be overstated he's
  • 00:40:05
    going to have intimacy and trust issues
  • 00:40:07
    for the rest of his life because someone
  • 00:40:09
    was able to so convincingly portray the
  • 00:40:11
    person he loved for 10 whole days
  • 00:40:13
    without him noticing this is something
  • 00:40:15
    that's going to psychologically damage
  • 00:40:17
    both of them for the rest of their lives
  • 00:40:19
    and all it would take is one scene where
  • 00:40:20
    Annie acknowledges that it's not his
  • 00:40:22
    fault and that she was too hard on him
  • 00:40:24
    but that never happens the only followup
  • 00:40:27
    this argument gets for the rest of the
  • 00:40:28
    episode is this exchange you are getting
  • 00:40:31
    tested for every single disease known to
  • 00:40:34
    mankind okay I'm not getting shift or
  • 00:40:37
    syphilis and then they're just buddy
  • 00:40:38
    buddy again the way the show frames it
  • 00:40:40
    is that huie did indeed [ __ ] up even if
  • 00:40:42
    unintentionally but it's okay because
  • 00:40:44
    Annie forgives him for it it's just
  • 00:40:46
    disgusting season 4 is so [ __ ] bad
  • 00:40:49
    like they introduced this new villain
  • 00:40:51
    called sister Sage whose only superpower
  • 00:40:53
    is that she's apparently the smartest
  • 00:40:55
    person in the world so homelander wants
  • 00:40:57
    her advice on how to basically take it
  • 00:40:59
    over and I know the show wants me to
  • 00:41:01
    believe she's really smart but I always
  • 00:41:03
    say that a smart character can only be
  • 00:41:04
    as clever as the one writing them and I
  • 00:41:06
    don't understand a single one of her
  • 00:41:08
    plans or why she's even doing this at
  • 00:41:10
    all she kind of has that thrawn from
  • 00:41:12
    Ahsoka effect where something will
  • 00:41:14
    happen that you'd think she doesn't want
  • 00:41:16
    but then she just goes oh it's all part
  • 00:41:17
    of my plan don't worry about it only the
  • 00:41:19
    difference is that her plans actually
  • 00:41:20
    somehow work and for the life of me I
  • 00:41:23
    can't figure out how like throughout the
  • 00:41:25
    whole season homelander wants to find
  • 00:41:26
    out who the mole is and she seems to
  • 00:41:28
    figure out pretty quickly that it's at
  • 00:41:30
    train but for some reason she doesn't go
  • 00:41:32
    to homelander with this information and
  • 00:41:34
    even throws a different guy under the
  • 00:41:36
    bus when it's eventually revealed to
  • 00:41:38
    homelander that it's at train he accuses
  • 00:41:39
    Sage of being stupid because she
  • 00:41:41
    couldn't figure it out but she said she
  • 00:41:43
    did always know and that she kept it a
  • 00:41:45
    secret so that he would continue feeding
  • 00:41:46
    the hero's bad information which is a
  • 00:41:49
    really weird excuse considering all the
  • 00:41:51
    info at train gives the boys is true he
  • 00:41:53
    told them that homelander was gathering
  • 00:41:55
    all the soups at Tech KN night so they
  • 00:41:56
    could discuss plans for world domination
  • 00:41:59
    and the boys acted on that Intel to
  • 00:42:00
    listen in and gain valuable information
  • 00:42:03
    at train was the one who told them about
  • 00:42:05
    the Assassin that was hired to kill the
  • 00:42:06
    president and where to find them and
  • 00:42:08
    that's how they found out said assassin
  • 00:42:10
    was a shape shifter if they hadn't known
  • 00:42:12
    that then huie probably wouldn't have
  • 00:42:13
    ever figured out that the person in the
  • 00:42:15
    room with them and the president wasn't
  • 00:42:17
    Annie because the fact that they all
  • 00:42:18
    knew that a shape shifter was involved
  • 00:42:20
    would have made it so that that
  • 00:42:21
    information was on his mind even if
  • 00:42:23
    vaguely I'm not sure what sage and
  • 00:42:25
    homelander would have to gain by letting
  • 00:42:27
    them know that unless they wanted the
  • 00:42:29
    assassination to fail but frankly
  • 00:42:30
    they're lucky it did since the only
  • 00:42:32
    reason the president survived was
  • 00:42:34
    because Starlight happened to show up
  • 00:42:35
    right at the last minute and we already
  • 00:42:37
    went over how that was extremely
  • 00:42:38
    contrived I really have no idea why Sage
  • 00:42:41
    didn't tell homelander who the mole was
  • 00:42:43
    but I guess it doesn't matter because
  • 00:42:45
    event she couldn't possibly have
  • 00:42:46
    predicted or controlled cause Newman to
  • 00:42:48
    be killed and president singer to take
  • 00:42:50
    the fall for it making the Speaker of
  • 00:42:51
    the House the next in line to be
  • 00:42:53
    president protore I guess Sage somehow
  • 00:42:55
    knew that his first act would be to
  • 00:42:57
    deputize the soups and put the country
  • 00:42:59
    under martial law it's all very nice and
  • 00:43:01
    convenient when things just kind of
  • 00:43:03
    happen like that and when homelander
  • 00:43:04
    finally asks her why she decided to help
  • 00:43:06
    him establish a racist ethnostate of
  • 00:43:08
    soups who would not be welcoming or kind
  • 00:43:10
    to her this is the only answer she gives
  • 00:43:13
    why would you do
  • 00:43:15
    this to see if I could to give a little
  • 00:43:18
    backstory she explained in a previous
  • 00:43:20
    episode that when she was a little girl
  • 00:43:21
    her grandmother died of leukemia she had
  • 00:43:23
    come up with a cure within like 3 days
  • 00:43:25
    but because she was a little black girl
  • 00:43:27
    girl all the doctors laughed her off and
  • 00:43:29
    her grandma died because of this she's
  • 00:43:31
    decided that she doesn't care about
  • 00:43:32
    anything or anyone and that the world
  • 00:43:34
    can burn for all she cares she can come
  • 00:43:36
    up with all sorts of things to fix the
  • 00:43:38
    world's problems she has the intellect
  • 00:43:40
    for it but she doesn't do it because of
  • 00:43:42
    that one time when she was a kid and she
  • 00:43:43
    couldn't save her grandma the same
  • 00:43:45
    Grandma who by the way was a black
  • 00:43:47
    panther um I'm sure she would love to
  • 00:43:49
    see her granddaughter not using her
  • 00:43:51
    intelligence for the good of mankind
  • 00:43:52
    maybe that's something we could even
  • 00:43:54
    Explore there's always next season
  • 00:43:56
    there's a lot more I could say about the
  • 00:43:58
    show that I'm just going to let live for
  • 00:43:59
    the sake of this video not being any
  • 00:44:01
    longer than it already is but there's
  • 00:44:03
    one last thing I wanted to go over that
  • 00:44:05
    I'd just be remiss if it got left out
  • 00:44:07
    and this is because the last person I
  • 00:44:08
    want to talk about was at one point my
  • 00:44:11
    favorite character on this show and that
  • 00:44:13
    is Huey Campbell I already went over
  • 00:44:15
    pretty much everything to do with him in
  • 00:44:17
    season 4 the good and the monstrously
  • 00:44:19
    bad and I think my overall conclusion
  • 00:44:22
    there is that he's actually handled fine
  • 00:44:24
    there again the stuff with a train is
  • 00:44:25
    really good and they also have lot of
  • 00:44:27
    Great Moments between him and his dad
  • 00:44:28
    that I haven't really touched on yet
  • 00:44:30
    season 4 handles huie pretty well but it
  • 00:44:32
    doesn't matter because season 3 already
  • 00:44:34
    completely assassinated him this is
  • 00:44:36
    actually the reason I gave up on the
  • 00:44:38
    show after the third season because
  • 00:44:40
    again I really liked huie and seeing
  • 00:44:42
    what he'd become filled me with so much
  • 00:44:44
    rage they took a character who was
  • 00:44:46
    compassionate caring and understanding
  • 00:44:48
    and turned him into an insecure Manchild
  • 00:44:50
    whose's mad his girlfriend is stronger
  • 00:44:52
    than him and that just doesn't sit right
  • 00:44:53
    with me okay so to add a bit of context
  • 00:44:56
    this is what hwi does in season 3 he
  • 00:44:58
    starts off at pretty much the happiest
  • 00:44:59
    point of his life he has a really nice
  • 00:45:01
    well-paying job working with someone he
  • 00:45:03
    considers a really close friend to take
  • 00:45:05
    down soups and undermine vot in a much
  • 00:45:07
    more aboveboard way than he's used to he
  • 00:45:09
    and Annie are really happy together they
  • 00:45:11
    share a nice apartment things are
  • 00:45:13
    looking up for all Huey and then he
  • 00:45:14
    finds out that Newman is not only a soup
  • 00:45:16
    which she kept from him the entire year
  • 00:45:18
    they were working together but
  • 00:45:20
    specifically the soup who had been
  • 00:45:21
    behind the head explosions last season
  • 00:45:23
    that significantly undermined the boy's
  • 00:45:25
    efforts at multiple points and could
  • 00:45:26
    have easily killed hwi at one point
  • 00:45:28
    which caused him extreme panic at the
  • 00:45:30
    time and he finds out about this in the
  • 00:45:32
    worst possible way by following her into
  • 00:45:34
    an alley in witnessing her brutally
  • 00:45:36
    murder someone with her powers this is
  • 00:45:38
    the first Domino that leads toward a
  • 00:45:40
    downward spiral where Hy feels powerless
  • 00:45:43
    everything he thought he knew about
  • 00:45:44
    Newman was a lie all the work they'd
  • 00:45:46
    been doing together was a lie and was
  • 00:45:47
    ultimately for nothing and on top of all
  • 00:45:50
    that his girlfriend is constantly
  • 00:45:51
    putting her own life in danger by
  • 00:45:53
    continuing to work at vot and there's
  • 00:45:55
    not a single thing he can do to protect
  • 00:45:57
    her if homelander decides to go AP [ __ ]
  • 00:45:59
    all these things compound and make huie
  • 00:46:01
    decide he needs to level the playing
  • 00:46:03
    field so when butcher reveals that he's
  • 00:46:05
    gotten a hold of multiple vials of
  • 00:46:06
    temporary V which can give the user
  • 00:46:08
    superpowers for a short period of time
  • 00:46:10
    huie steals himself some and is given
  • 00:46:12
    the power of teleportation as well as
  • 00:46:14
    enhanced strength durability and the
  • 00:46:16
    power to heal his broken arm which
  • 00:46:18
    implies speed healing now for some
  • 00:46:19
    reason when the other characters find
  • 00:46:21
    out about this they treat it as a bad
  • 00:46:23
    thing and I find that kind of weird
  • 00:46:25
    because yes as we event eventually find
  • 00:46:27
    out toward the end of the season temp V
  • 00:46:29
    is very bad for you and if you take
  • 00:46:31
    multiple doses like Butcher and Huey are
  • 00:46:33
    doing it is absolutely guaranteed to
  • 00:46:35
    kill you over time which is how butcher
  • 00:46:37
    ends up with a brain tumor by the end of
  • 00:46:38
    the season which manifests itself into
  • 00:46:40
    its own shitty plotline in season 4 that
  • 00:46:42
    were not even going to get into so yeah
  • 00:46:44
    temp V is bad for you but the characters
  • 00:46:46
    don't know that at the time mm is upset
  • 00:46:48
    with butcher about it because as he puts
  • 00:46:50
    it the whole point of what we do is that
  • 00:46:54
    no one should have that kind of power if
  • 00:46:55
    you don't draw the line somewhere how
  • 00:46:58
    the hell are you going to know where you
  • 00:46:59
    stand which is actually an interesting
  • 00:47:01
    topic that I wish the characters on this
  • 00:47:03
    show would discuss more because it
  • 00:47:05
    brings to light how they might have come
  • 00:47:06
    into this soup fighting business for
  • 00:47:08
    completely different reasons that could
  • 00:47:10
    conflict with each other that might be
  • 00:47:11
    mm's position but I could just as easily
  • 00:47:13
    see someone like Huey or Annie arguing
  • 00:47:15
    that it's not the power that makes them
  • 00:47:17
    evil it's the culture that created them
  • 00:47:19
    and in fact the very existence of people
  • 00:47:21
    like Annie or kamiko are living proof
  • 00:47:23
    that that kind of power in the right
  • 00:47:25
    hands can be used for good like say huy
  • 00:47:28
    and butcher using it to go up against
  • 00:47:29
    homelander keep that in mind we're
  • 00:47:31
    goingon to Circle back to it in a moment
  • 00:47:32
    the reason Annie is against it initially
  • 00:47:34
    just seems to be that the drug was
  • 00:47:36
    untested at the time huie first shot it
  • 00:47:38
    up you shot up an untested drug from vot
  • 00:47:42
    you could have gotten yourself killed
  • 00:47:44
    which is a fair reason but you know once
  • 00:47:46
    Hui used it and it worked and didn't
  • 00:47:50
    seem to have any negative side effects I
  • 00:47:52
    think he could easily argue that it was
  • 00:47:53
    ultimately worth the risk he saved mm's
  • 00:47:56
    life because of of his superpowers and
  • 00:47:58
    like we just went over them continuing
  • 00:47:59
    to use the temp V could ultimately end
  • 00:48:01
    up being for the greater good I mean who
  • 00:48:03
    do you guys want do you guys want gawy
  • 00:48:06
    weak freaking the [ __ ] out Huey or do
  • 00:48:08
    you want strong confident handling a
  • 00:48:10
    [ __ ] Huey with it I can actually help
  • 00:48:12
    without it I'm I'm probably dead no yeah
  • 00:48:14
    he's right not only can he use his
  • 00:48:16
    powers to save others but they'd really
  • 00:48:18
    come in handy for protecting himself on
  • 00:48:20
    field missions which he's going to be a
  • 00:48:22
    part of either way much better to have
  • 00:48:24
    super durability while getting shot at
  • 00:48:26
    and the power to relocate quickly I
  • 00:48:28
    think so I think Huey and butcher using
  • 00:48:30
    the temp V is fine and I'm actually a
  • 00:48:31
    bit put off by the show's insistence
  • 00:48:33
    that it's not what I take issue with is
  • 00:48:35
    what huie does next so butcher basically
  • 00:48:38
    realizes soldier boy is the best
  • 00:48:40
    possible chance they have of killing
  • 00:48:42
    homelander since he's one of the
  • 00:48:44
    strongest superheroes to ever live and
  • 00:48:45
    has a handy dandy new explosion power
  • 00:48:48
    that can decimate city blocks he knows
  • 00:48:50
    mm would never go along with a team up
  • 00:48:52
    with the guy who murdered his entire
  • 00:48:53
    family so he drugs him and hwi and
  • 00:48:56
    butcher leave with with Soldier Boy and
  • 00:48:57
    I'm not necessarily against the plan on
  • 00:49:00
    its face because between him and
  • 00:49:01
    homelander soldier boy is easily the
  • 00:49:03
    lesser of two evils and at least with
  • 00:49:05
    him they know he can be sedated and
  • 00:49:07
    properly imprisoned since it's been done
  • 00:49:09
    before but where I draw the line is that
  • 00:49:10
    huie would never agree to Soldier Boy
  • 00:49:12
    terms in exchange for killing homelander
  • 00:49:14
    he wants them to help him find his old
  • 00:49:16
    teammates so he can murder them and I
  • 00:49:18
    can see butcher absolutely being fine
  • 00:49:20
    with this plan but hu is not the kind of
  • 00:49:22
    guy to just serve people up on a platter
  • 00:49:24
    to be slaughtered especially innocent
  • 00:49:26
    that Soldier Boy isn't even specifically
  • 00:49:27
    targeting but who will be caught up in
  • 00:49:29
    the crossfire I get that they're soups
  • 00:49:31
    and most of them are probably bad people
  • 00:49:33
    but all the same Hui only kills people
  • 00:49:35
    when he absolutely has to he's also one
  • 00:49:38
    of the only one of the boys who was
  • 00:49:39
    willing to humor the idea that soups can
  • 00:49:41
    actually be good people even when mm and
  • 00:49:43
    especially butcher were skeptical
  • 00:49:45
    initially and yes I already highlighted
  • 00:49:47
    that hu's at a desperate point of
  • 00:49:49
    powerlessness which is driving a lot of
  • 00:49:51
    his decision-making but I don't think
  • 00:49:52
    that necessarily accounts for something
  • 00:49:54
    this extreme all of this finally comes
  • 00:49:56
    to a head in the episode herogasm where
  • 00:49:58
    hewi and Annie get into a heated
  • 00:50:00
    argument about all the decisions he's
  • 00:50:01
    made recently and this scene is where I
  • 00:50:04
    lose all respect for this character now
  • 00:50:07
    like I hinted at a minute ago part of
  • 00:50:08
    what's made him feel so powerless as of
  • 00:50:10
    late is the fact that Annie is in
  • 00:50:12
    constant danger and he has no way of
  • 00:50:14
    saving her but this scene
  • 00:50:15
    recontextualizes that concern in a way
  • 00:50:17
    that's Unbecoming to say the least I
  • 00:50:20
    saved you Annie Jesus Christ all I want
  • 00:50:24
    is to save you God forbid I help you
  • 00:50:26
    because cuz I always have to be the weak
  • 00:50:27
    one you always have to be the strong one
  • 00:50:29
    you always have to be so much stronger
  • 00:50:31
    than me this was set up in previous
  • 00:50:34
    episodes but that doesn't even begin to
  • 00:50:37
    justify this bizarre character shift
  • 00:50:39
    there's a couple of great little moments
  • 00:50:40
    in season 1 where hwi and Annie are
  • 00:50:42
    going on their first date and Huey
  • 00:50:44
    realizes Annie is intentionally bowling
  • 00:50:46
    really badly so as not to show him up
  • 00:50:48
    and make him feel emasculated I think
  • 00:50:50
    you're holding back for some weird not
  • 00:50:53
    going to show me up on a first date
  • 00:50:55
    reason you want to quit stroking my you
  • 00:50:56
    go and show me what you really got she
  • 00:50:58
    talks about a boy she liked in high
  • 00:51:00
    school who was being picked on and so
  • 00:51:02
    she stepped in and saved him and he felt
  • 00:51:03
    really humiliated so we never spoke to
  • 00:51:05
    her again the lesson she learned from
  • 00:51:07
    that was that she should never show her
  • 00:51:09
    strength to a boy she likes but Hy
  • 00:51:11
    breaking down that barrier instantly
  • 00:51:12
    makes her feel more comfortable with him
  • 00:51:14
    doesn't bother you that I could whip
  • 00:51:16
    your ass in bowling and in everything I
  • 00:51:21
    really think it's awesome they're really
  • 00:51:23
    you it makes her see him as different
  • 00:51:25
    from a lot of other guys she's been with
  • 00:51:27
    and it's one of the reasons she
  • 00:51:28
    continues going out with him this scene
  • 00:51:30
    in season 3 actually acknowledges these
  • 00:51:32
    moments and this is what it has to say
  • 00:51:34
    about them on our first date you said
  • 00:51:38
    that it didn't bother you I know but it
  • 00:51:40
    does sometimes a little oh you can [ __ ]
  • 00:51:42
    right off with that this reccon those
  • 00:51:44
    scenes to mean that their relationship
  • 00:51:46
    is built on a pretty big lie well I mean
  • 00:51:49
    it already was because of the whole you
  • 00:51:51
    know I'm secretly working with a group
  • 00:51:52
    of terrorists out to destroy the company
  • 00:51:54
    you work for and I'm not telling you
  • 00:51:56
    part but this is different because that
  • 00:51:58
    was meant to be a genuine moment that
  • 00:51:59
    built up the love these two characters
  • 00:52:01
    share with each other the man that Annie
  • 00:52:03
    knows Hy to be despite the lies he told
  • 00:52:05
    her is what makes her realize he's a
  • 00:52:07
    good person and it's why she gives him a
  • 00:52:09
    second chance in the end but apparently
  • 00:52:11
    that was false too and it's all in
  • 00:52:12
    service to taking what could have been
  • 00:52:14
    an actually compelling motive for huie
  • 00:52:16
    and turning it into uh he feels insecure
  • 00:52:19
    because a girl can beat him up uh are we
  • 00:52:23
    in first grade it just feels like they
  • 00:52:24
    wanted to give hwi and Annie Rel
  • 00:52:26
    relationship drama and couldn't be
  • 00:52:28
    bothered to come up with any actual
  • 00:52:29
    reason why they might be at odds so they
  • 00:52:31
    decided to pretend the temp V was bad
  • 00:52:33
    without ever justifying that claim at
  • 00:52:35
    the time it was made and retcon one of
  • 00:52:37
    the better moments of this god- awul
  • 00:52:39
    show thus taking away a piece of what
  • 00:52:41
    made huie such a good character in the
  • 00:52:43
    first season [ __ ] the boys it can
  • 00:52:45
    [ __ ] rot for all I care I'm ending
  • 00:52:47
    this video here but before I go I'm
  • 00:52:48
    going to do the obvious thing that
  • 00:52:50
    everybody does and say that if the main
  • 00:52:51
    appeal of the boys for you is that it's
  • 00:52:53
    a more violent and bloody depiction of a
  • 00:52:55
    superhero world that's not afraid to
  • 00:52:57
    touch on certain adult topics Invincible
  • 00:52:59
    is a much better show you've probably
  • 00:53:01
    already seen it if you're watching this
  • 00:53:03
    but if not give it a watch I highly
  • 00:53:04
    recommend but uh yeah that's pretty much
  • 00:53:07
    it uh I have no idea how to end this
  • 00:53:09
    video I did not write an outro so I'm
  • 00:53:12
    just going to kind of ramble
  • 00:53:13
    indecisively until eventually editing
  • 00:53:15
    sheave cuts off
  • 00:53:25
    this for
标签
  • show review
  • gratuitous violence
  • character development
  • themes
  • superhero satire
  • season decline
  • Homelander
  • Huey
  • Deep
  • plot consistency