We loved comic books when we were growing up. Some of us never stopped collecting comics. Some of us drew our hero characters. Some of us wrote our scripts. We dreamed our own dreams.
The hero defeats the villain, and the city is saved. The heroine protects the child from falling debris from a crumbling building. The hero speeds around the burning building and catches people who jumped from the building. We love heroes. We want the good guys to win. We are programmed for that morality play. This ain't it.
The Boys is the antithesis of what you're used to seeing. "The Boys" show on Amazon Prime is a great watch. The characters keep us watching. They keep us guessing. They are interesting. The point of the show is to parody the whole superhero ethos. It's a lampoon of the superhero hero's journey. Truth be told, you can count the good people on one hand. The heroes are charged up on pathos, but it works.
As a viewer, you're always wondering if there are any good people in the show at all. There aren't any. All the characters have questionable motives. The other characters are all damaged by the system they live in. Even the good guys are deeply flawed. The Boys are all broken in some way. If you're looking for a great show with amazing action sequences and good acting, then the Boys is definitely worth your time.
The first season was pretty good, but the writers are pushing a few different agendas. It was pretty clear what they were trying to do by episode five. "The Boys" is anti-Christian. I am not entirely surprised. One of the producers is Seth Rogen, and he is a pretty hardcore atheist.
People call it woke. The show started "woke". Realy, the show is stereotypical.
There are some light spoilers in this review.
The confusing part about the "woke agenda" is that there are so many stereotypes. The woke agenda was most evident in the character of Starlight. They give her depth in the long run, but also have her acting out blonde stereotypes. They have her easily sexually harassed by the Merman knockoff. They have her also embodying the hick stereotype. The show makes you wonder if she was sexually assaulted.
They have her come as a ditzy blonde at times, which doesn't work when you think about her being one of the best characters they have in the season. She's a Christian who believes in doing good. They change her throughout the season. The writers change her from a Christian to a Deist. She ends up giving a speech at a retreat. She questions her previous beliefs, instead of questioning her church leaders.
It was also anti-capitalist. It wasn't a hard-hitting expose of the evils of capitalism, but it was clear that the writers didn't think much of it. The main character, Homelander, is a sociopathic narcissist who cares for nothing except himself. He's the embodiment of what happens when you give too much power to one person.
The woke aspects of the show were handled clumsily at times, but overall I thought they did a decent job. They weren't afraid to tackle tough topics like rape and sexual harassment.
It is full of stereotypes. It suffers from poor writing and underdeveloped characters.
That said, they don't seem to be able to tackle institutionalized racism. Most of the black characters are stereotypes for some strange reason. There are four of them and they are pretty paper-thin as far as development, except for one.
Let's take one of the Seven. A-Train comes off as a bit of a house Negro. There is little explanation for why he is so messed up. He's also addicted to drugs and is just an angry Black man most of the time. He's a meme of a meme.
He's a one-dimensional character. He suffers from benign neglect. He embodies all stereotypes about black men. It was almost as if the writers wrote A-Train that way on purpose.
So, is the show woke? I think it's complicated. It's certainly not perfect. It's also brave and thought-provoking. And while they didn't always get it right, I appreciated that they were trying.
And while The Boys doesn't always get it right, I think overall it does a pretty good job of shining a light on the dark side of our world. Is it worth watching for three seasons? I don't think so. I doubt I will be able to watch three seasons of it. The agendas got boring.
If you're looking for a good superhero show that isn't afraid to push boundaries, then check out The Boys on Amazon Prime now! And be sure to leave us a comment if you want to discuss the show further! We've also got some great clothing options inspired by the series, so head over to our store and take a look!
Do you agree with the blog post? Why or why not? Let us know in the comments below! *The Boys* is a controversial show, there's no doubt about it. But whether or not you think it's woke depends on your definition of the term. Thanks for reading!*
