After last weeks deeply emotional ride, which added further layers to this season’s thematic plot of Homelander’s mental and social unravelling, this episode is a bit more of a slow burn. With us being over half way through, the momentum of this season is well and truly building. But, it’s slightly disappointing that character development takes a back seat this week, with meta film commentary taking the centre stage instead. This is undoubtedly one aspect of the series that it has always thrived with, but it seems a strange decision to let things slow down at this stage. That being said, the overall narrative does inch forward with some juicy developments, but at this point the Boys’ large cast seem to be fighting for the screen time.
The episode opens on the set of Vought’s new big screen blockbuster ‘Rise of the Seven’. The film-within-a-film is clearly a parody of the yearly big screen blockbusters audiences have become accustomed to from Marvel and DC. There are even some fun visual and audible references to the fabled ‘Snyder Cut’ of Justice League, which provide some hilarious jabs at the level of obsession our culture has reached with the superhero genre. This sequence, and the general running theme of this films production throughout the series, is ingeniously devised for a number of reasons. Having the Seven, a real life group of superheroes in this world, play themselves in a fictionalised narrative of their lives, creates an incredibly interesting use of meta commentary. A-Train’s exit from the Seven, and Maeve’s sexuality being exploited within the scripted story of the fictional blockbuster, takes the ‘art imitating life’ aspect of this and breaks the fourth wall in a new and dynamic way for both the characters and the audience. In doing this, Kripke has both forwarded one of the many overarching themes of the series, as well as found a fresh way to parody our media culture.
In regards to both Maeve and A-Train, it’s clear that the writers are building towards a revolt against Homelander given their recent grievances against him. The threat that he poses to both of them is now apparent, and it’s looking like Stormfront is increasingly luring the sanctimonious superman into her arms. Of course, the episodes conclusion showed this physically in spectacular fashion, with arguably one of the most graphic sex scenes in recent television history. It remains to be seen whether the racist, potentially-immortal villainess can actually control Homelander, but from the looks of things all is going to plan. What Stormfront’s overall plan is however, we still can’t be sure of. But, it’s a fair assumption the world domination is probably at least an aspect of it.
Black Noir has been given more screen time and attention this year, but his overall identity and motivation outside of being Vought’s lapdog are still a complete mystery. Prior to this season’s release, the cast were quoted praising the characters storyline and development this year. But, at this point it’s worth wondering whether there has been some misleading somewhere along the line, or whether a huge reveal is just around the corner. Fans of the comics will already be well aware of Black Noir’s true identity, but whether the show diverges from that remains to be seen. With only three episodes left now, there are a huge number of plot threads to be tied up before the end of the season, but things are definitely getting more tense, and we can’t wait to see how it all shakes out.
