The Boys: Season 2 Episode 2 'Proper Preparation and Planning' Recap & Review
WARNING: SPOILERS AHEAD
I’m starting to see why Amazon dropped the first three episodes all at once. This second episode of the Eric Kripke show streaming on Prime Video is a little plot heavy with multiple storylines and not much action.
Episode two opens with an unconscious Butcher, played as always by Karl Urban having flashbacks of a “yellow ranch” house and his wife, Becca (Shantel VanSanten) who we learned was alive last season despite Butcher being told she died while giving birth to the illegitimate child of Homelander (Anthony Starr). As Butcher wakes up and the title card shows onscreen, a wide shot reveals he in the parking lot of a restaurant. Having no idea how he got there, he runs inside and asks the waitress what city they’re in. Fort Wayne, she tells him. He asks for a pen and paper to write down what he saw in his flashbacks and as he does so, his “Wanted” picture comes on the news in the restaurant’s tv. He gives the waitress a desperate look and runs out. This was all a flashback.
Back at the boys’ hideout in present day, Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) tries to communicate with Frenchie (Tomer Capon) with a drawing but he doesn’t understand. Butcher says he’s going to go talk to someone who can help but Hughie (Jack Quaid) tries to assert some dominance, asks for the name and then laments about Butcher killing Stillwell (which Butcher corrects him on) and then leaving without a word. Hughie tries to stand up for the group but Butcher just walks over and calmly asks, “who else they gonna follow?”
Back at Becca’s house, Homelander is attempting to play catch with his son. His sons not great at it because this is probably the first time the kid has done it. Homelander tries telling him he’s capable of great things because he has the same genes as his super powered pops. Becca then comes out and tells her son to go do homework and scolds Homelander for putting ideas into the kids head. She wanted him to have a “normal childhood.” Homelander obviously wants to create another super but he’s not exactly the best role model. He passive aggressively threatens Becca if she doesn’t let him be more… involved.
The Deep (Chace Crawford) asks his therapist, Carol (Jessica Hecht) if he got the answers on a psych eval test correct as if he’s a child in school. Eagle The Archer (Langston Kerman) walks in with another Fresca product placement shot. The therapist tells Eagle that The Deep isn’t cooperating and she doesn’t “think there’s a path here.” Eagle replies, “leave it to me,” and we cut to Psilocybin (psychedelic) Mushrooms in a tea strainer. Eagle says something about The Deep being “inhibited by suppressive energy” and The Deep takes a big swig; Eagle does not.
Next, Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is shown in a jump cut montage of interviews for local alphabet soup news stations. Following this, Starlight, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) and Stormfront (Aya Cash) pose for a slew of photographers in their full costumes. They follow the Vought employee Ashley (Colby Minifie) offstage when Maeve gets a distressing phone call and leaves.
Cut to a funeral for Deputy Director of the CIA, Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito) who’s head was mysteriously exploded for talking to the boys crew about Vought and super terrorists. There, Butcher meets with another former CIA operative from last season named Grace (Laila Robbins) who he tries to convince to help him out with info on the super terrorist from the dock in the first episode of season two.
Still tripping on shrooms, The Deep is sitting alone in his room when a voice starts speaking to him from under his clothes. In a hilariously weird and off-putting cameo, Patton Oswalt voices the gills on The Deep’s torso. He proceeds to psychoanalyze The Deep’s defense mechanism of abusing women before they can potentially humiliate him for his abnormal body, recalling a teacher he “finger banged”. The Deep freaks out and tries to leave the room but Eagle is holding the door shut saying, “ride it out, brother.” I don’t know he’s a genius or insane but he’s the most handsome and clean-cut hippy on tv that’s for sure.
In classic Marvel style incognito clothes of a baseball cap and sunglasses, Maeve goes to see her ex girlfriend in the hospital for burst appendix. Maeve clearly still feelings for her in this very short scene.
Back at the press junket with Stormfront and Starlight, they answer ridiculous gender related questions about whether men or women make better super heroes and if they’re single. This is one of those great moments I mentioned last episode where, with just a line or two, the writers manage to satirize our real world portrayal of female superheroes that are often designed by the male gaze while also calling out the asinine questions producers force feed to boost ratings.
Then A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) joins the junket. Afterwards, Starlight and A-Train have a sort of stand off with polite words as they interact for the first since they attacked each other in the finale of season one. Starlight mentions saving his life and he asks if she mentioned letting Hughie escape then leaves for some foreshadowed blackmail.
The Deep is still tripping balls and his Patton Oswalt gills start singing “You Are So Beautiful” and The Deep starts crying.
Gecko (David Thompson) brings Starlight a sample of Compound V at the press junket but since she’s wearing her swimsuit style costume, she has no pockets. It seems like she hides the sample in her boots but at that moment A-Train runs up and asks her about it. He pats her down but doesn’t find anything and she gets away with the Compound V sample.
Becca drops off her son at piano lessons and drives until she comes to a large gate with a security guard stationed at it. The entire land she has raised her son on is some sort of compound. She screams at him until Dr. Park (Adrian Holmes) calls to tell her that Homelander was upset about being left out of his son’s life. She wants him to leave but there’s nothing they can do and she is a prisoner.
Back at the hospital with Maeve and her ex-girlfriend Elena (Nicola Correia-Damude), she explains that she fears Homelander will harm Elena if he knows about her and that’s why they can’t be together.
Now in the bedroom of Homelander’s son, he has a cute brainwashing session, telling him that they are gods that can do whatever they want because they’re superior to every living being. Real quality parenting there. Kind of a perverted version of telling your children they can be whatever they want when they grow up.
Butcher, Hughie and the boys break into a warehouse where Kimiko easily decapitates a gang member with her bare hands and Frenchie looks at her with the same shocked/impressed face as us, the audience. He finds a tattoo on the man and it’s a symbol for the Shining Light Liberation Army, the people that kidnapped Kimiko. Then, she leaves to stalks another person in the warehouse. Right when it seems like she’s going to jump and attack, she runs up and hugs the man. He’s her brother. The picture she tried showing Frenchie earlier was referring to him.
Suddenly, Butcher shoots at the brother but Hughie shoves Butcher then the brother blasts Hughie, Frenchie and Butcher away with his telekinetic abilities. He brings down some rigging onto them and leaves with Kimiko. Frenchie chases after her, heartbroken.
Starlight admits to Stormfront that she shares some of her pessimistic views about Vought but doesn’t feel safe sharing them. Stormfront tells a cute story about Pippi Longstockings but this was all just so Starlight could grab the Compound V sample out of Storefront’s bag that she stashed in there when A-Train almost caught her at the junket (which you should go back and look for if you didn’t catch the first time).
At the warehouse, Butcher wants to hunt Kimiko’s brother but Hughie wants to help her. Frenchie and Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) side with Hughie. The whole episode Hughie and Butcher have been at odds with each other, Butcher always pulling the physical intimidation card but here, Hughie wins by principle. Butcher then tells them that his wife is still alive and Homelander is holding her captive and 3 hours later he woke up in a parking lot; the start of this episode. He explains the deal he made with Mallory about trading the terrorist for finding Becca. They’re in a pickle.
Kimiko and her brother sit on a swingset where they confess they should have been there for each other, Kimiko communicating in Sign Language because she’s mute. They share touching tears over feeling like they’ve both become monsters before embracing in a deep hug. One of the few sweet moments of this entire series.
In what is I believe Starlight’s super bougie apartment, A-Train busts in and catches her with the compound V. He’s about to leave and threatens to tell Homelander when she flips it on him and says she’ll go public with proof that he killed his girlfriend, Popclaw (Brittany Allen) in season one. Starlight gives no shits, stares him down and he folds like a coward and leaves.
Unfortunately, only a scene after the sweet reunion of brother and sister, Kimiko’s brother betrays her and uses his powers to slam her into a car. He just told her their home was destroyed by Americans and the Shining Light gang was the only way for them to get justice. She chases him and he tosses her through the side of building but she’s apparently invulnerable because seconds later she jumps on him and puts him in a sleeper hold. The Boys show up and put him in the van to turn over to Mallory.
In a return to character, Butcher punches Hughie for getting in the way of finding his wife and threatens to kill him if it happens again.
This was definitely a slower episode that focused more on setting up stakes for the characters and establishing a new order. Butcher reinstated himself as leader, Hughie got knocked down a peg, Homelander is trying to indoctrinate a ‘Hitler Youth’ and Kimiko can’t catch a break. So, almost all the wretchedness that gives The Boys its charm but with less laser vision. This wasn’t the most thrilling flavor but still a welcoming vanilla.