The Boys: Season 2 Episode 1 ‘The Big Ride’ Recap & Review
Returning for their sophomore season of debauchery, the first three episodes of ‘The Boys’ season two premiered on Amazon’s Prime Video on Friday, Sept. 4 with a new episode weekly starting Friday, Sept. 11. Showrunner Eric Kripke returns to adapt the Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson source material. This is where you might want to watch before continuing reading beacause…
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
The episode begins with a recap of season one. So, technically this is a recap of a recap. I had just re-watched season one recently so everything was pretty fresh in my mind but I’m sure it was helpful for people with less time on their hands.
The start of season two begins in an executive boardroom at Vought as lunch orders are being brought in set to “Sympathy For The Devil” by The Rolling Stones because apparently pop culture still hasn’t gotten enough of that fucking song. Hopefully soon though, not everything will be made by white guys in their 40’s who grew up on Scorsese movies. To go along with the cliché needle drops, we are introduced to this season’s big bad, Stan Edgar, played by Giancarlo Esposito as he intimidatingly promises to boss around the white house. This is intercut with Black Noir, played by Nathan Mitchell expertly assassinating various “terrorists.” The scene is really well directed and fun finally getting a vague idea of Black Noir’s super powers when he takes on a “Super Terrorist” that emanates fiery explosions from his body. Noir doesn’t flinch even though his body gets badly burned and in an incredible match cut, Black Noir carries the terrorist’s now decapitated head into another room where he teases a small boy; presumably the terrorist’s son. Dark, funny shit.
In the following scene, Homelander, played by Anthony Starr, speaks to a crowd about the operation Black Noir conducted and that they did it in honor of Translucent. A wide shot reveals they are at a memorial for the invisible superhero played by Alex Hassell last season. Homelander gives some PR “cartel” spin explaining Translucent’s death when it was actually Hughie, played by Jack Quaid who detonated Translucent like a microwaved marshmallow. A screen at the memorial shows 1980-2020 so both seasons are seemingly taking place within the same year or perhaps concurrent with reality, it’s hard to tell how much time exactly has passed since we last saw the characters.
There one quick scene catching us up with The Deep, played by Chace Crawford, drunk at a bar watching Homelander and Starlight, payed by Erin Moriarty on a news broadcast. Cut to Hughie jealously watching the same broadcast on his phone in a dingy room and then: title card. This starts a cute little montage of Hughie dressing up as Starlight dresses down in their respective dwellings. While still in dad rock territory, this montage set to Billy Joel’s ‘Pressure’ is at least outside the box and keeps the running joke nod to the singer from season one going.
Hughie and Starlight have a secret rendezvous on the subway to flirt and share information on a Vought employee whom Starlight knows. Hughie lets some jealousy slip and they part on uneven ground. Then, we check back in with The Deep who, still drunk, stands on top of a water park structure yelling at children, “You think water is supposed to be fun? Try swimming in the Mariana Trench, you little fucking idiots!” Love to see it. He then gets arrested and bailed out by Eagle The Archer, played by Langston Kerman; an obvious Hawkeye parody. This is also the first appearance of the overtly obvious ‘Fresca’ product placement. There is a blink and you’ll miss it Seth Rogen cameo who also happens to be one of the 11 executive producers for the show. There’s also a Chris Hansen crime reenactment tv show within the show that portrays Billy The Butcher killing Madelyn Stillwell, played by Elisabeth Shue, which was the season one finale. A reporter then says that Stillwell’s baby unexplainably was found unharmed 17 miles away. Finally, the report shows the faces of our vigilante heroes: Mother’s Milk, played by Laz Alonso, Frenchie, played by Tomer Capon, Hughie of course, Kimiko ‘The Female’ Miyashiro, played by Karen Fukuhara and Billy The Butcher, played by Karl Urban. The boys then argue about what they should do and why they should try to find Butcher who is still MIA or dead as far as they know.
Homelander is now in Stillwell’s old office and seemingly reminiscing time together as he holds a picture of their smiling faces. However, in disgustingly Oedipal fashion, finds an old bottle of breastmilk in a mini fridge, warms it up with his heat vision, and practically gives it fellatio as he drinks it. The Vought coordinator, Ashley Barrett played by Colby Minifie, walks in and almost catches him doing so but reports that she has some potential new recruits for The Seven to replace The Deep and Translucent. As they enter a gymnasium, a Daredevil proxy is performing acrobatics and demonstrating prowess with weapons despite being blind. Ashley proudly says he could be a “differently abled member of the seven,” and that “inclusion is a big priority” to millennials. She also callously states,” if we find an ethnic or female or, fingers crossed, an ethnic female to replace The Deep, were golden.”
Lines like this are, I believe the sole or at least most important purpose for this show existing in many ways. Yes, it’s an R-rated blood fest that satisfies audiences hunger for superhero stories outside the Disney mould, but also a chance to give its cynical message about capitalism and corporations co-opting progressive campaigns solely because it might make them more money.
Needless to say, Homelander hates the idea of a “cripple” on the team and smashes the poor applicant’s ear drums. In a pretty terrifying declaration, Homelander states that he alone will decide who is on The Seven.
Starlight tracks down the Vought employee that Hughie told her about to a small motel. She watches the guy and another man enter the motel room where he proceeds to lay down plastic and take off his shirt. The shirtless subject takes out a machete and hands it to the man who hands back cash. Starlight films on her phone as the man with machete gruesomely begins to chop off the Vought employee arm; hacking away until it's severed and says, “I can keep the arm, right?” The Vought man’s arm regenerates and he says, “for an extra grand, I’ll let you chop off my dick.” Fair to say, the edge has not left ‘The Boys.’ Still, punk rock for teenage boys.
Hughie and the gang are in their hideout when two guys come storming in bleeding all over the place. I’ve watched this episode a few times and I’m still not sure exactly who these guys are. I think they’re smugglers Frenchie knows so he speaks to them in French without subtitles and although Hughie asks “What did they say?”, in classic cliffhanger tv style, we don’t hear Frenchie’s answer. They all roll up to some docks where a boat is lying on its side out of the water. Mother’s Milk notices security cameras so they watch footage of the smugglers unloading human cargo which Frenchie says they told him, "they would only smuggle guns and cocaine and fentanyl.” The video then shows a person telekinetically lift the boat out of the water and throw it at someone. “Another Super Terrorist.”
The next scene is another funny but short where Homelander oversees marketing on the minutiae of their PR. Following this is an impromptu therapy session between The Deep, Eagle The Archer and a therapist. Then Hughie and the gang decide to call their CIA friend, Susan Raynor played by Jennifer Esposito.
Starlight meets up with Gecko, the Vought employee who charges people to chop off his limbs played by David Thompson. She then blackmails him into stealing a sample of Compound V from Vaught laboratories where he works or else she’ll release the video of him in the hotel room working as an “S&M hooker.” Some great intimidation work from Erin Moriarty.
On a desert war inspired set, Homelander and Queen Maeve played by Dominique McElligott, star in a Vought propaganda commercial alongside a soldier so they can appear as patriotic as possible to the masses. This is where Aya Cash as the super obnoxious Stormfront comes in filming an Instagram live story where she announces she’s the newest member of The Seven. Since she’s streaming it live to her probably millions of followers, Homelander has to save face and force a smile while asking who approved it. Of course she says Mr. Edgar, Giancarlo Esposito’s villainous suit from the opening of the episode.
Hughie and the boys meet up with Raynor, the CIA lady for some info. Mother’s Milk finds out how his family is doing which is a touching moment in a show that is relentlessly masculine. Hughie even backs this up asking if M.M. can see his family soon and they silently make up from earlier. As they change topics to the footage of the Super Terrorist that could levitate a boat, Raynor says she might have the whole picture that puts Vought at the top of the mess. The sweet scene is quickly cut short as soon as she talks about Vought, her head literally explodes like a popped grape. There was no sign of a bullet, no cut to a villain menacingly posing just the boy screaming covered in blood. They escape in their van and Hughie asks Frenchie if he knows any super that can do that. He doesn’t.
Back with Homelander as he meets with Mr. Edgar. He tries to threaten and intimidate Mr. Edgar and says he has no authority to decide who gets to join The Seven. Mr. Edgar pulls an uno reverse card and calls him out on injecting terrorists with Compound V which Mr. Edgar had to clean up covertly before Compound V gets into the wrong hands or anyone finds out where it came from. So Mr. Edgar challenged Homelander and won. If last season is any indication, Homelander will attempt to laser beam Mr. Edgar to death at some point. He then flies to see his son, who he had with Billy Butcher’s wife Becca played by Shantel VanSanten.
The episode ends with Starlight calling Hughie to tell him she convinced Gecko to steal the Compound V. Hughie decides to not tell her about the CIA lady’s head exploding and Starlight can tell he’s lying so she hangs up, upset. A man is thrown down the stairs of the boys’ hideout and then, finally, Billy The Butcher walks in the door.
To say that was a lot would be an understatement. There was tons of ground to cover with catching up with the old characters and introducing a few new ones. I think it was a solid continuation with everything you loved and/or hated about season one. I hope to see more surprises from the upcoming season because that is when the show is at its best. Raynor’s head suddenly exploding without explanation is the kind of memorable moment akin to Robin getting run over by A-Train in the show’s pilot. The show’s never ending nihilism and irreverent take on the Superhero genre might eventually get old, but for now I’m giving it the benefit of the doubt.