Spoiler Review: ‘The Boys’ Season 2 Finale Was Extremely Satisfying
- Details
- Category: New Series and Movie Reviews
- Published: Sunday, 11 October 2020 14:43
- Written by Lupe R Haas
As show finales goes, “The Boys” season 2 finale is one of the best in television history. Episode 8 titled “What I Know” was jam-packed with twists, turns and action. The highly satisfying end to season 2 was also full of zingers and indirect digs at the perpetrators of the current racial divide. Below is a run down of the show with spoilers including two deaths, one resurrection and a happy ending for some.
“The Boys” episode 8 started out with a PSA about school preparations in case of an “active super villain” with Homelander (Antony Starr) providing the steps to take in case of an incident. The scene is obviously a reference to “active shooter” drills.
At the White House, Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) and Victoria Neuman (Claudia Domit) urge a politician to take action against Voight after the disaster at a Congressional hearing but he nixes any further actions.
At the Boys’ basecamp, Butcher (Karl Urban) wants an all-out war with Voight but his cohorts don’t agree. Annie/Starlight (Erin Moriarty) suggests they wait to see if she can convince someone else to testify. She and Hughie (Jack Quaid) set off to an unknown destination.
Back at the Tower, Homelander and Stormfront (Aya Cash) don’t know who’s responsible for the mass murder at the Capitol, but that won't stop them from getting compound V to the public. Stormfront also gives an update on Black Noir’s condition after his nut allergy takedown. He’s alive but “unresponsive” and apparently no brain damage. Stormfront then jokes, “it’s hard to tell.”
Annie and Hughie are driving as the listen to Billy Joel. Annie asks why he’s obsessed with Billy Joel’s music - he’s not 57.
Annie and Hughie get to Queen Maeve's (Dominique McElligott) apartment where they beg her to testify against Voight. She insults them and isn't interested in the suicide mission.
Back at the Boys’ lair, Becca (Shantel VanSanten), who escaped her lockdown, shows up desperate for Butcher to help get Ryan back.
Back at the Church of the Collective, Alastair Adana (Goran Višnjić) meets with Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) to talk about reinstating the Deep (Chace Crawford), but Edgar can't take an admitted rapist. When the conversation turns to A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), we learn that Stormfront was an original follower and she's the one that had A-Train fired because he's black. We also find out the Collective has an internal research bureau. When they leave, A-Train comes out of hiding after overhearing their conversation, and mad as hell.
Homelander and Stormfront take Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) out to the mall for some lunch but when fans swarm the Supes - Ryan has a panic attack. Homelander does the dad thing and flies him away from the crowd.
Back with the Boys, everyone is catering to Becca trying to get some intel on Billy Butcher's romantic side. Butcher tells his crew he's going to rescue Ryan alone but his friends are sticking by him.
Annie and Hughie are back in the car talking about Hughie's attachment to Billy Joel and Hughie reveals his mother left him at an early age and all he has is the memories of dancing with her to Billy Joel's music. Look for this to be a storyline in season 3.
While they're driving, A-Train appears in the backseat. Hughie stops the car and both run out. Both think A-Train is about to attack but he's there in peace because he wants back into the Seven. He hands over some intel on Stormfront and says, "Fu** that bitch!"
In the next scene, Butcher meets with Edgar for a proposition. He'll get Ryan back to him to use as leverage against Homelander but on the condition that he take the boy and leave Becca behind with him. Edgar replies, "And you call me a ruthless bastard."
In that same scene, a meaningful conversation is also happening reflecting today's divisive when Stormfront's racist agenda is brought up.
Butcher: Look in the mirror. That bitch should bother you.
Edgar: Of course she does. But it's not about me. I can't lash out like some ragey entitled maniac. That's a white man's luxury.
Believe it or not the next scene has Homelander being a loving father. At the cabin, Ryan admits he was scared at the mall, and daddy dearest tells his own story when he was a child experiencing the same emotions. It's a rather sweet scene, and the Supe tells Ryan he loves him.
After Frenchie and Kimiko have a moment, we return to the cabin where Homelander and Stormfront encourage Ryan to practice using his powers. When he can't act out his powers, Homelander tells him to imagine someone he hates, but Ryan has been taught not to hate. Stormfront then goes into a racist tirade.
Stormfront: Bad guys want to hurt us because of what we look like. They want to wipe us from this Earth just because of the color of our skin. It's called white genocide."
Her hate-filled speech is interrupted by a mobile alert. She flies off in anger.
The Boys gear up for battle a few miles away from the cabin.
Stormfront arrives to the Tower angry as news reports show pictures of Stormfront with her Nazi husband and Hitler. Queen Maeve watches her storm in. When she checks social media, memes of her image as a Nazi go viral sending her into a rage.
Back at the cabin, Homelander and Ryan watch the same news reports when a sonic sound cripples both of them. Homelander flies off to investigate.
Butcher and Becca arrive to the cabin and scoop up Ryan.
Homelander finds the source of the sound and destroys the Voight sonic speakers. He knows he's been betrayed.
Butcher drives back with his wife and kid to meet up with the Boys crew, but they're wondering why he didn't stick to the plan. Butcher asks Mother's Milk to drive mother and child away. He confesses the deal he made with Edgar, and ashamed of it, but Becca wants him to go with them. He says they're better off without him, and they leave with MM.
As they're driving away, Stormfront arrives blasting the car into the air. Kimiko and Starlight go up against the Nazi supe as Butcher rushes to the overturned car. Frenchie and Hughie fire their guns but they have no effect. Butcher runs off with Becca and Ryan.
The girl fight continues. Kimiko and Starlight get in a few good punches but then Stormfront breaks Kimiko's neck. With Starlight on the ground, the Nazi is going to finish the job but then you hear, "hey, krout." When she turns around Queen Maeve throws a punch. Kimiko rises from the dead and joins the two other Super pummeling Stormfront on all fronts. They've got her pinned. "Eat shit Nazi bitch!" they yell as they kick her. Frenchie chimes in, "Girls do get it done." Stormfront flies off.
Voight's guards arrive to an empty cabin with no Butcher. Homelander arrives, and demands to know where Ryan is. It's a blood bath for those poor guards.
Stormfront stops Butcher and Becca in the woods. She zaps Butcher away, and she approaches Becca demanding she hand over Ryan. Becca strikes her in the eye with a knife. Stormfront grabs her by the neck and starts choking her. Ryan begs her to stop as Butcher strikes her with a tire wrench. Ryan's eyes light up and shoots his lasers.
Butcher wakes up and hears Ryan crying and saying "I'm sorry mom." He turns to see Becca bleeding from her neck. Stormfront is shish kebab laying on the floor with no limbs speaking in German.
Becca begs him to protect her boy and not to blame him for her death. She assures him he's a good boy. He promises, but once she dies, he turns to him with a tire wrench with hate in his eyes as the boy cries.
Just then Homelander lands and sees Stormfront on the ground. He sheds tears as he demands Ryan come to him. Ryan chooses Butcher. Butcher is about to get sliced when Queen Maeve once again saves the day. She threatens Homelander with releasing the video footage from the plane if she doesn't let them go. He threatens to destroy everyone. She replies, "As long as everyone sees what a fu**in monster you are. As long as no one loves you again." In his mind, he hears cheers from adoring fans fading. With tears in his eyes, he let's them go.
At a press conference, Edgar announces Compound V will no longer be made available, and Stormfront was apprehended and held in a secure location. She was also behind the Congress massacre as well. He then introduces the team who stopped Stormfront. Homelander thanks the team and credits Queen Maeve and Starlight for stopping Stormfront. He clears Starlight of any wrongdoing.
Hughie and Starlight reunite on a park bench. She's wearing the cross necklace her mom gave her before she left the city. She now believes there's hope, but she's still not feeling safe at the Tower but she feels obligated to stay.
Starlight: If you jump ship and you let the assholes steer, you're part of the problem.
Yet another very relevant line that is an obvious reference to the current White House administration.
Butcher and Ryan bond in the next scene. Ryan says he's scared. Butcher places a St. Christopher charm necklace around Ryan's neck and explains Becca gave it to him to keep him safe. Now she would want him to have it for the same reason.
Mallory drives up with a team to take Ryan to safety. When they're saying their goodbyes, Butcher reminds him what he taught him. "Don't be a cunt." replies Ryan. LOL
Once Ryan is secure in the car, Mallory asks Butcher if she thinks Ryan will be like his father. He replies that Becca doesn't think he will. Mallory tells Butcher the Boys the charges against them were dropped, and Victoria Neumann will head up a White House task force, the Office of Supe Affairs. She'll be sneaking money to Mallory's agency as well.
The Boys head off back to their lives with MM (Laz Alonso) returning to his family, Frenchie (Tomer Capon) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) with packed bags leave the basement to go dancing as they promised each other earlier in the episode.
Next scene, we get a close-up of Homelander repeating to himself, "I can do what I want," over and over again as he practices self-love and pleasures himself. A wide shot reveals his bare bottom perched on top of a building with the moon in the background, reminiscent of Batman imagery.
Back at the Church, Alastair confronts A-Train and the Deep about some files that were stolen. A-Train pretends not to know what he's talking about but Alastair knows he was the one. However because of his good deed, he's now back in the Seven. Deep, on the other hand is not. The Deep insults him and leaves.
Next scene is Victoria talking to Alastair by phone. They seem to have been in cahoots against Voight the whole time, and he says there's more to come especially if she passes through the tax exemption for the church. She agrees, and all of a sudden his head explodes in the same manner at the Capitol. Then another shocker - Victoria's cloudy eyes return to normal. She's a freakin' Supe.
Victoria arrives to her campaign office to find Hughie asking for a job. He doesn't feel like he fits in with the Boys but he wants to continue his fight against Voight. "I want to do it the right way, and not covered in guts," he says. She gladly accepts his offer. Oh, boy!
The episode ends with a Billy Joel song.
Well that's the end of another crazy chapter in the Boys vs the Super, but executive producer Eric Kripke and his gang have already planted so many teases for the third season. "Supernatural's" Jensen Ackles is joining the cast for season 3 as Soldier Boy. Karl Urban told CineMovie in August that they were set to start shooting this Fall in Vancouver but Kripke revealed at the New York comic con, production will begin in early 2021.