I somewhat understand the people who, with regards to entertainment, will say that "everything is really bad now". The statement itself is faulty, and has always been used by those who yearn for the good old days (whenever the "bad and new days" are). Franchises go sour. It's nothing new.
The reason it seems like "everything is bad" this time is that a lot of well-liked franchises worsen in strikingly similar ways: the social commentary becomes less subtle and more simple-minded, character arcs end up in unconvincing places (or take a few steps back), in-universe events begin to transpire in ways that disregard previously established ones (either for the sake of a message or plot contrivance), and the tonal shifts become less elegant. For some critics, Season 2 of Amazon's The Boys will find good company among Watchmen, Star Wars, and various Marvel products, but I'm not prepared to lump it in there just yet.
Season 2 was wonky, but the finale gave me much of what I enjoyed about the series from the start. When it goes dark, it does not hold back; when it gets violent, it sure gets violent; when it makes fun of the cynicism and politically correct pandering it is now partially guilty of, it is more in-touch with the celebrity-worshipping digital age than most. Lastly, I do find Hughie and Starlight (Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty) somewhat adorable - even if their acting was better last year.
As true as that all may be, I see the criticisms. The lampooning of things like Neo-Nazism and alt-right incels was weirdly incoherent (sometimes the stand-in for the master race is superheroes; other times we get regular white supremacist talking points, or at least the buzzwords), the power levels among the superheroes seem to fluctuate wildly depending on what the plot demands, characters with interesting set-ups are granted weak pay-offs (or none), and Homelander (Anthony Starr), even if he's still my favorite character, is now at a point where he seems unreasonably anxious about being "outed", given how quickly he recovered in the public consciousness from the last "outing" (this is certainly not the only reason he's on-edge now but I shall not spoil too much). Maybe that's part of the satire? It's too subtle to fit into the rest of the season, methinks. Pick a level of petulance and aggressiveness and stick to it, Boys.
A lot of stuff in The Boys S2 went nowhere, and then right back to where it started. If the show must continue (as it clearly wants to), it won't surprise me if Season 2 becomes the one we skip on marathon night.
The reason it seems like "everything is bad" this time is that a lot of well-liked franchises worsen in strikingly similar ways: the social commentary becomes less subtle and more simple-minded, character arcs end up in unconvincing places (or take a few steps back), in-universe events begin to transpire in ways that disregard previously established ones (either for the sake of a message or plot contrivance), and the tonal shifts become less elegant. For some critics, Season 2 of Amazon's The Boys will find good company among Watchmen, Star Wars, and various Marvel products, but I'm not prepared to lump it in there just yet.
Season 2 was wonky, but the finale gave me much of what I enjoyed about the series from the start. When it goes dark, it does not hold back; when it gets violent, it sure gets violent; when it makes fun of the cynicism and politically correct pandering it is now partially guilty of, it is more in-touch with the celebrity-worshipping digital age than most. Lastly, I do find Hughie and Starlight (Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty) somewhat adorable - even if their acting was better last year.
As true as that all may be, I see the criticisms. The lampooning of things like Neo-Nazism and alt-right incels was weirdly incoherent (sometimes the stand-in for the master race is superheroes; other times we get regular white supremacist talking points, or at least the buzzwords), the power levels among the superheroes seem to fluctuate wildly depending on what the plot demands, characters with interesting set-ups are granted weak pay-offs (or none), and Homelander (Anthony Starr), even if he's still my favorite character, is now at a point where he seems unreasonably anxious about being "outed", given how quickly he recovered in the public consciousness from the last "outing" (this is certainly not the only reason he's on-edge now but I shall not spoil too much). Maybe that's part of the satire? It's too subtle to fit into the rest of the season, methinks. Pick a level of petulance and aggressiveness and stick to it, Boys.
A lot of stuff in The Boys S2 went nowhere, and then right back to where it started. If the show must continue (as it clearly wants to), it won't surprise me if Season 2 becomes the one we skip on marathon night.