The Boys (2019-2026)
published 2026-01-01 | updated 2026-09-07 | tags: #backlog #tv
Table of Contents
Season 3 (2022)
I really like the show (so far). The visuals are insane, the characters get themselves into crazy shit that is unlike anything I've seen on screen before. My only gripe is that main characters have a hard time dying so I never worry about the consequences for what's happening. Sitcom logic is a-ok, but it makes the evolving story feel more stagnant that I would have liked.
Solder-boy the stand-in for "classic patriotism" in contrast with modern (Homelander) patriotism works well.
Homelander not only surviving but coming out somehow better after all the heinous shit he does this season is a great Trump allegory and honestly I am really dreading (in a good way) the stuff he's going to get away with the next two seasons.
I was supposed to talk about Season 4 of The Boys but It's been a few months since I watched that and I have since completely forgotten anything to do with that particular season... oops!
Season 5 (2026)
This season got a lot of flack, at least on Reddit, and I cannot for the life of me tell you why.
Was Season 5 of The Boys brilliant? No.
Was Season 5 of The Boys consistent with Seasons 2, 3, and 4? Yes!
Here's a bullet list of my thoughts about the season in no particular order:
- The concentration camps kept coming up, but ultimately were resolved too easily.
- The Gen V tie-in was really disappointing and did not feel like pay-off for watching 2 seasons of another show.
- The finale was satisfying, but not nearly badass (or wimpy, choose one extreme) for the build-up.
- I like that pretty much all the shitty bad guys died and all the good guys (with some exceptions) lived happily ever after.
I need to think of a word for this, but The Boys also suffered from the problem of a prestige show being awesome in it's first season, and then it can either continue to innovate, and risk alienating it's audience, or stay consistent with it's first season, and risk getting stale. I think The Boys walks the line pretty well but ultimately falls on the consistent side of the spectrum which ends up making the last season feel meh when in my opinion it's as good as the beginning of the show, we've just been watching that show for like... 40 episodes.