The western analogy falls apart, admittedly, once you sit down to watch The Boys. It’s been a while since I saw Eastwood don his iconic poncho and wide-brimmed hat, but I can say with confidence that The good the bad and the ugly He didn’t have a giant exploding penis, gouged eye sockets, or a character forced to prove his loyalty by eating his best friend, who happens to be an octopus.
These are some of the delights unleashed in series three. The gore factor makes The Boys have a high barrier to entry and for many it will be a deal breaker. Like the Garth Ennis comic books it’s (loosely) adapted from, it’s a riot of torn tendons, exploding skulls, and lip-smacking perversity. If you’re not on board with that sickening smorgasbord, you’ll be on your way to the exit pretty quickly.
The Boys has always had a high gross outquotient. But after receiving five Emmy nominations last year and with an audience now rivaling that of Netflix’s Stranger Things in size and loyalty, Amazon has licensed the writers to let it go. And rip they have, with episodes like Herogasm, in which Butcher and the gang crash a riotous superhero orgy where nothing is left to the imagination.
But while the splatter effects are often shocking, The Boys is not an empty spectacle. In any case, it is unique in modern American television to touch the political live rail and comment more or less directly on the populist upheavals that have spawned Donald Trump and other political carpetbags around the world.
The Boys’ answer to the Orange demagogue is Homelander, a grinning psychopath whose slick facade obscures a black hole of insecurities and who’s unwilling to destroy innocents with his laser eyes. Until this season, however, the leader of the Avengers-esque “Seven” has made sure to keep his murderous side a secret. But when, in a moment of frustration, he let go and ranted at the camera about his superiority, he was shocked to see the superhero equivalent of his “poll” numbers skyrocket. His (white, male) fans appreciate it when Homelander is just Homelander. He could, to paraphrase Trump, zap someone on New York’s Fifth Avenue and not lose any support.