The Boys are back in town again for Season 3 and it is clearly established we are now one year on from the end of Season 2. Hughie (Jack Quaid) is now publicly dating Starlight (Erin Moriarty) and now works for Neuman’s Bureau of Superhero Affairs with The Boys working for them as independent contractors (although Mother’s Milks (Laz Alonso) has retired).
Meanwhile at Voight, Homelander’s (Antony Starr) stock has fallen since his public relationship with Stormfront (Aya Cash) so Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) offers Starlight co-captaincy of the Seven in order to rebuild Vought’s reputation. Edgar proposes a new Compound V known as V24 to Congress. This new formula offers superpowers for twenty-four hours, but Congress shows no interest.
In the meantime, Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) has a secret meeting with Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and tells him to investigate a group of superheroes named Payback who were the top group before the Seven emerged. Apparently, the secret to killing Homelander links to the death of Payback’s leader Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Maeve also provides Butcher with some V24 which starts a moral dilemma for Butcher.
Later, a man named Tony (Kyle Mac) appears at the Bureau of Superhero Affairs proclaiming himself to be Victoria Neuman’s (Claudia Doumit) friend although he addresses her as Nadia! Hughie follows them and hides behind a dumpster where he overhears Tony urging Neuman to tell him the truth about “Red River.” Neuman refuses, prompting Tony to retaliate, resulting in Neuman causing him to explode.
Oh yeah, we also meet a superhero called Termite (Brett Geddes) …
Verdict: 7/10. A smooth compact start to Season 3 that does not waste anytime in drawing the audience back in and taking them on another thrill ride. Everything is established, strap yourself in. let’s go…
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