This article contains major spoilers for season three of the Prime Video series The Boys.The Boys has wrapped up its third season in a bloody, explosive, and shocking season finale that has changed the status quo of the series. Based on the comic of the same name by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys follows a team of vigilantes who combat superpowered individuals who abuse their abilities, in a world where superheroes not only exist but are owned by an evil fictional corporation. Following a two-year delay after its second season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, The Boys season three premiered its first three episodes on June 3, 2022, and concluded on July 8, 2022. The season was highly anticipated, as it was a reunion for series creator Eric Kripke and Jensen Ackles, who worked together on Supernatural.
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Unlike The Boys seasons one and two, season three arrived amidst a new wave of superhero series as it premiered after the release of Peacemaker, Moon Knight, and Ms. Marvel this year and just a couple of weeks before the new season of Umbrella Academy. The final episode of the season aired the same day that Thor: Love and Thunder opened in theaters. In many ways, superheroes have dominated pop culture now more than ever, and The Boys season 3 was released right in the middle to highlight what sets it apart from the competition. This is what made The Boys season three so great.
The Boys: Civil War
A civil war is a conflict between groups on the same side, mostly associated with the American Civil War. Yet in terms of comic book superhero storytelling, it is associated with both the 2006 Marvel comic of the same name and the 2016 film Captain America: Civil War. It is only fitting that when The Boys introduce their version of Captain America in the form of Soldier Boy, the season becomes a full-blown Civil War between the various characters.
The Boys themselves are split up, with Butcher and Hughie siding with Soldier Boy on his quest to get revenge in exchange for killing Homelander, while MM, Frenchie, and Kimiko object to Butcher and Hughes’ use of Temp V to gain superpowers, as it is against the very nature of their business.
Hughie and Annie break up as a couple due to their differing opinions of how to handle the situation, while the superheroes find themselves at odds. Homelander is losing control of his team, with Maeve and Starlight actively working against him and being stuck with The Deep and A-Train, two characters he has no respect for. His one true ally he shows any emotion around is Black Noir, and Homelander even turns on him by eventually killing him for his betrayal. Soldier Boy’s entire mission is rooted in his original team turning on him and giving him over to the Russians for experimentation.
The civil war parallel is also played out in the divide the world feels over the presence of superheroes. Homelander’s speech radicalizes a group of men who feel the world is against them, and by the series’ midpoint, there is a clear line between those who support Starlight and those who listen to Homelander. Nothing can cure the divide, as Homelander supporters have dug themselves so deep into the fantasy they have been sold they refuse to hear anything else.
By the time the season has ended and the Boys have finally regrouped, a larger threat has been hiding in the wings and taking advantage of the divide, with the reveal that the superpowered Victoria Neuman now set to be the Vice President, and is a problem that everyone will have to deal with.
Season 3 Ups The Boys’ Superpowers and Their Emotions as Well
The Boys has spared no expense on its visual effects before, yet the series has primarily saved big action set pieces for the season finale. Season three adds a new wrinkle to the series, though, that also changes how events unfold. For both seasons one and season two, The Boys were outmatched and outgunned against superheroes and had to rely on their wits and dirty tricks to survive in the world. Yet season three introduces the concept of V24, a Compound V variant that temporarily grants superpowers to the characters, which has led to more head-on confrontations. It also drew lines in the sand between the various members of the team, as Hughie and Billy were willing to become what they hated to settle the score, while Frenchie and M.M. could not cross that line.
This ups not only the violence but also the emotional confrontation. In the much-hyped sixth episode ‘Herogasm,’ it was not the sex scenes viewers were left talking about but instead the showdown between Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie against Homelander. This confrontation was built up over six episodes between two heroes that the series has been developing as monsters, so it was a case of the audience needing to pick their poison. It allowed Butcher and Hughie to get some emotional anger out on Homelander that had been building for three seasons.
And still, there were two episodes left of the series that managed to deliver on the action that served as an emotional catharsis for many of the characters. By the end of season three, the temporary superpower angle appears to be off the table for next season, meaning the characters will now be at a disadvantage against Homelander. In a sense, season three was a chance for The Boys to temporarily indulge in more classic superhero fights before the massive fallout that stems from it.
Expanding The Boys’ Satire in Season 3
When The Boys premiered in July 2019, it was arriving 13 years after the comic premiered and seven years after it concluded. Much had transpired in the years since the comics’ publication, yet the series’ first season very much sticks to the outline of the original comic even down to the satire which, by the time of the series, felt stuck in time. The series originally portrayed the Vought superhero team the Seven and their publicity in a way similar to the Evangelical Christian films of the time. However, by season two and especially season three, the satire seems more relevant to the current climate.
Season three opens with the premiere of the in-world movie Dawn of Seven, clearly a play on Batman V Superman: Dawn of Justice, and even the fact that the fake movie had to do extensive reshoots is a clear reference to the reshoots that Warner Bros. forced on Justice League. The joke lands even better when it is revealed that Stormfront is played by Charlize Theron, who just a month before the premiere showed up in the end credits of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Vought itself has now become more of a satire of mega-corporations like WarnerMedia (now Warner Bros. Discovery), Viacom, Comcast, and Disney and how they capitalize on social media trends to boost their image while still serving their bottom line. Also, the idea that Homelander, the corporate symbol of Americana, is primarily supported and adored by a conspiracy-minded ultra-conservative fanbase who is filled with entitled male rage feels far more contemporary than anything in season one of The Boys. It appears now the show has moved beyond the comic book source material and can use the real world around it to inform its storytelling just as much.
Toxic Masculinity in The Boys Leads To More Violence
While each season of The Boys has very much been about toxic masculinity, season three drives home the theme by highlighting the cycle of violence parents can impart on their kids. This is shown in several ways, with M.M. fearing his violent outburst will hurt his daughter, or how Hughie’s recklessness with Temp V and needing to save Annie stems from his resentment of his father, who he views as weak for not going after his mom when she left, instead failing to realize the strength his father had to keep going despite his depression.
The series sees a flashback to Butcher’s childhood, and how despite hating his father for the violence he inflicted on him and his brother still ended up becoming very much like him. Butcher’s tough exterior ended up costing him his brother. Butcher keeps repeating the same violent cycles, pushing those who he cares for away like Hughie and Ryan, the son of his wife Becca, and the villain Homelander. Butcher thinks the only way to protect Ryan is to aggressively push him away, but that ends up hurting Ryan and pushing him into the arms of Homelander. Now Ryan is given a male role model who will tell him he can use his power in whatever way he wants.
The biggest reveal of the series comes from the revelation that Homelander is the son of Soldier Boy. Homelander is so desperate for a family, he tries to appeal to Soldier Boy in what appears to be a turning point for everyone that the two most powerful individuals are about to team up. However, the series swerves around those expectations. Soldier Boy expresses his disappointment for Homelander as being weak. Soldier Boy’s own traditional, rigid views and machismo prevent him from what would be a beneficial alliance between father and son. While it is unknown how many seasons the series will go for, many of the characters are now faced with the option to change their lives to find a way to finish and escape the violence, or continue their self-destructive behavior. Season three makes the ambiguities and painful dilemmas at the heart of The Boys more powerful than ever.
