‘The Boys’ Gets It Right – Eric Kripke on Mirroring Reality, Soldier Boy and Supernatural Reunions

‘The Boys’ Gets It Right – Eric Kripke on Mirroring Reality, Soldier Boy and Supernatural Reunions

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This has been a week of exciting news for ‘The Boys’, with announcements at Comic Con that there will not only be a Season 5 (with Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy as a regular), but also a prequel coming up starring Ackles and Aya Cash! Vought Rising will be all about the early adventures of Soldier Boy and Liberty aka Stormfront.

The season 4 finale set up Soldier Boy’s return in the original series, as Homelander was reunited with his (unconscious) dad.

I was fairly certain that was happening but even so, when I watched the screeners, I squealed at that reveal. And I was definitely not alone!

Now we know we’ll be getting A LOT more of this fascinating character, including a focus on the complicated (understatement) father-son relationship between Soldier Boy and Homelander in Season 5. (Jensen and Antony Starr have a lot less complicated relationship – the two were overjoyed to see each other at Comic Con last weekend).

Kripke has also teased that father and son might be more allied than at each other’s throats, since they have  a mutual gripe with Butcher. I’m guessing Soldier Boy is gonna wake up mighty pissed, and honestly? I am here for it.

We’re also getting a 1950s era deep dive into what sculpted Ben into Soldier Boy and Clara into Liberty (and eventually Stormfront). The fact that Vought Rising is described as a “lurid pulp saga prequel” set in 1950s New York makes the prequel sound even more enticing – just imagine the LOOK of it! The costumes alone will have both Jensen Ackles and his entire fandom beyond happy.

And Season 5, which will be the final season of the original series, is sure to be as spot on with its parodies and as entertaining with its action, depth and surprising emotionality as the previous four seasons.

As if that wasn’t enough fantastic news, Creation Entertainment also announced its very first The Boys convention, in New Jersey in October!

Clearly the show continues to be a phenomenon, and I’m endlessly fascinated about all the reasons why it has captured so many people’s imagination. When I spoke with Eric Kripke before Season 4 had aired, we had a chance to talk a bit about the show as an eerie mirror of our real world, the power of its nuanced characters, and what Supernatural reunions might be on the way. Here’s some more of our conversation now that we’re not in worried-about-spoilers territory. You can read lots more about The Boys and its complex characters – with input from Jensen Ackles, Aya Cash, Eric Kripke and many others – in Supes Ain’t Always Heroes, including more of the psychological questions I can’t resist asking, to which they all have always given such incredible answers.

I asked Eric how it felt that the series keeps veering closer and closer to reality and being more explicit about being a mirror of some disturbing parts of our actual world. Was he worried that it was going to get a little too real for some people?

Eric Kripke: I never know whether something will work or not or what the response will be, I’m just trying to do something that means something to me and entertains me. It’s for sure a more explicit season, but like we’ve never been particularly subtle.

Lynn: That’s true!

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The Boys Season 4 Wraps Up With a Bang – Can’t Wait for Season 5!

The Boys Season 4 Wraps Up With a Bang – Can’t Wait for Season 5!

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The aptly named season finale, Assassination Run, kicks off (in universe) on January 6 – because of course it does. Honestly this season is hitting almost TOO close to reality right now, as the real world gets more and more terrifying. And yet I still find it validating to know someone else is seeing the chaos going on and reflecting it back to me.

So, here’s all the twists and turns and surprises the season ended with – SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THE SEASON 4 FINALE!

Directed by none other than Eric Kripke himself.

The story lines all converge in the finale, as they should. It’s January 6 and the news about A Train comes out (and the cancellation of that fabulous film Training A Train alas…)   Vought puts out a PSA with supes saying they take responsibility… which is exactly what they don’t. Congress counts the electoral votes as Frenchie works with increasing desperation on extracting the virus.

Torn Between Two Identities

The shapeshifter pretending to be Annie surprised Hughie by asking him to marry her, and he surprises her back by running to get his own ring and asking the same, and….yep, back in bed.

Hughie: Wow, that was great… two fingers was a lot…

Next season I hope Hughie gets to really open up about all the assault he’s endured this season.

The show has been able to say some nuanced things about female sexual assault in its four years, and it’s certainly had plenty to say about the trauma every single male and female character have endured, but Hughie’s sexual assault is an opportunity to say/show more about something not often talked about enough.

In between sleeping with Hughie, the shifter goes back to real Annie to recharge, confiding her own rather sad story. Sure, she’s a sociopath, but what did anyone expect?  She’s the ultimate example of the identity crisis every single character is having this season, literally not knowing who she is.

Shifter Annie: I barely remember what I look like. One minute I was me and the next I was Miss Jamison, my preschool teacher, and I could see every memory she had. She felt justified in doing all those shitty things…you all do. You all think you’re the hero of your own story.

Another major theme of The Boys. Erin Moriarty did an amazing job with this story line – it has to be, always, so difficult to play two versions of yourself!

While Shifter Annie is gone, Hughie calls Butcher, who tells him a story about a steakhouse in Nevada where he was gonna go with Lenny. The kind of memory you bring up when you know you’re running out of time.

Butcher: Funny what you think about when your time’s up.

He asks Hughie to go there, and to tell the Boys he’s sorry. Tears in his eyes, he hangs up.

Hughie and not-Annie and MM take Robert Singer (Supernatural’s Jim Beaver) to a secret bunker where they hope to be able to defend him and that they hope the shifter won’t get in. Oops, too late…

Singer: If you’d killed Neuman like I’d ordered, we wouldn’t be stuck underground playing pocket pool… ya idjit.

Every Supernatural fan everywhere: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS HE SAID IDJIT!!!

To make it even clearer, he adds: Balls!

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The Boys Season 4’s Penultimate Episode ‘The Insider’

The Boys Season 4’s Penultimate Episode ‘The Insider’

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Suddenly we’re almost at the end of The Boys season 4 – it seemed to go by very quickly, didn’t it? This season’s reception has been a bit more uneven than the nearly universal kudos for the previous season, especially for the last episode and the treatment of Hughie’s assault. It’s undoubtedly challenging to keep upping the game with a show that started out with such high levels of shock, sex and especially violence right from the jump. That may be the source of some struggle this season, but I’m still thoroughly enjoying what this show does best – hold up a mirror to some of the worst parts of our real life and poke at them. There’s so much that’s over the top in reality right now, sometimes The Boys feels a little too real – but mostly for me it’s validating to see the reflection and be assured that yes, someone else sees the insanity too!

I also enjoy watching the show through the lens of what it’s trying to say, which is slightly different each season. It’s why my colleague Matt and I edited a book on The Boys, examining those themes with input from actors, psychologists and media experts. I was fascinated then, in Season 3, and I’m still fascinated now. (You can find Supes Ain’t Always Heroes at your favorite bookstore or on Amazon)

We have one more episode that will air in the wee hours of Thursday morning this week – and believe me, you do NOT want to miss it!

So, what happened last week in Episode 4.07? A lot!

The Life of Ryan

The theme of this episode – attempting to be your own person and who you really are — is expressed in a biting parody of one of my favorite shows of all time, Avenue Q, which I saw on Broadway with my kids a long time ago – and adored.  Vought Studios presents, of course, Avenue V, complete with puppets of all the supes and poor Ryan looking uncomfortable with every single thing they sing about.  Most of that is encouraging kids to rat out their parents and teachers and neighbors for anything that might be ANTIFA or Christmas hate.  Ryan keeps calling ‘cut’, though the director insists his dad approved the lyrics. Homelander, overwhelmed with issues of his own, leaves Ryan a snippy message to just suck it up and do it, but that doesn’t go over too well.

Ryan eventually stops the filming and addresses the camera, much to Homelander’s anger and disappointment (though he’s taking his father’s previous advice not to let anyone else prevent you from speaking your mind…Be careful what you wish for, Homelander)

(I feel like Cameron Crovetti had a blast filming this…)

Ryan: That song isn’t cool, none of this is cool. Your family isn’t your enemy, your family is all you’ve got. I’ve been thinking about my mom a lot. She died but she loved Christmas…and Terms of Endearment…and her husband Billy. But she wouldn’t love this and she wouldn’t want me doing it. My mom always told me to tell the truth.

Ryan is as torn as everyone else this season – in his case, between two dads.  At Homelander’s place, Ryan sees a package under the Christmas tree and recognizes the return address as “dontbeacunt”. It’s a photo of his mom and Butcher and their dog.

Butcher, watching Ryan’s speech on a TV in a bar, tells Kessler aka himself that’s why he’s got faith in the kid.

And then he collapses on the floor of the bar.

Butcher also reunites with the Boys in this episode, telling them about the virus Sameer is working on and that it would cause global pandemic and a supe genocide. They all notice for the first time that Butcher is sometimes talking to no one (as Kessler calls him an asshole and warns him that he’s pissing away their best shot).  Butcher agrees that they’ll only use the virus on Homelander and Neuman, much to his alter ego’s disgust.

Kessler confronts Butcher, aka Butcher confronts himself. Why does he have such a soft spot for supes? Is it because he fucked Maeve? Cares about Ryan, who’s not even his? Butcher says he gave Becca his word, but Kessler scoffs that if their love was so perfect and pure why did he go around fucking waitresses?

Nobody is better at convincing Butcher that he’s a fuck-up than Butcher himself.

The Boys are starting to pull together again, though. Butcher also got Mallory to pull some strings and free a reluctant and still guilt-stricken Frenchie. MM asks Butcher to be back in charge, saying he’s better off doing research instead of being the skipper – and trying to follow doctor’s orders. Hughie, Butcher and Annie start to figure out the assassination plot for January 6 (of course) and also find a supe shapeshifter that Sister Sage put on the job. Uh oh.

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Walker Wraps Up On A High Note with ‘See You Sometime’

Walker Wraps Up On A High Note with ‘See You Sometime’

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The Walker cast and crew didn’t know for sure whether they would be picked up for a fifth season when they filmed this final episode, but it actually works strikingly well as a series finale too. I’m grateful for that, because many of us were quite attached to this show and were expecting more seasons. Its numbers were good, so that expectation wasn’t unreasonable, but unfortunately the CW as a network is headed in a different direction – one that didn’t leave room even for a successful and popular show like this one.

I’ve spoken with some of the cast and others who worked on the show, and they were all hopeful too. So this was a tough ending for them, and I’m sure very frustrating not to be able to tie up all the loose ends and film a true series finale. Keegan Allen posted his feelings on Instagram, which I think spoke for most of the cast (and the fandom).

Nevertheless, this one did feel satisfying as it brought to a close the main story lines of this past season and even ones that have spanned multiple seasons. I hope the cast and crew know that we appreciate their hard work on this episode, and their hard work on all four seasons. I know Jared Padalecki knows, because I told him. The unexpected ending was hard on him as the EP of the show, of course, feeling responsible for so many cast and crew. But the Walker fandom was celebrating during the finale too, enjoying the ride right up to the end.

This show ending felt emotional for me too because Walker came on just as my favorite show of all time, Supernatural, was ending. It provided some continuity for fans of Jared Padalecki, who were accustomed to having him on our screens every week for the past 15 years – more if you were a Gilmore Girls fan. Supernatural ending felt like a huge change for many of us, and Walker helped ease that loss while also giving us a whole new family to love.

I really liked this episode. Its title is even perfect – not goodbye, but “See You Sometime.”

The Aftermath

The best thing about this episode – and I told Jared this too – is that the show doesn’t gloss over Cordell’s trauma from being buried alive and almost killed by the Jackal. He’s trying very hard to be “normal” and hold it together, making a big breakfast for the kids and asking Geri if she needs him for anything. He’s also trying to make it up to all of them for the time he spent distracted and away, caught up in the case. Geri says not to come over, that he’d be too much of a reminder to Cassie of what happened. Which, fair, but I still don’t think that was his fault.

As he’s talking, he starts the blender to make a smoothie and immediately has a flashback, since that’s what the Jackal used to make the fruit puree he force fed his victims. Geri’s voice calls him back, but she can tell he’s rattled.

Geri: You’re okay. I’m here.

She reassures him that she loves him (though she probably should tell him to go get some therapy instead of just reassuring him that he’s okay, since he’s probably not – and understandably so!)

Most people give Cordell a pretty damn hard time for someone who just almost died and who is clearly trying very hard to make it up to everyone that he wasn’t there for while he was immersed in the case. It’s been a theme of this show, and it makes me have a lot of empathy for Cordi. He tries so hard, and nobody really cuts him a break most of the time.

Cordell wants to celebrate August’s last day of senior year, so he made a big delicious looking breakfast and tells Augie how proud he is of all he’s accomplished over the last year, but August interrupts.

Augie: When you weren’t here…

Ouch. He says it will take a minute to get over all the trauma, which he’s certainly right about, but I don’t know why that made the reminder that “you weren’t here” necessary. Like I said, people are hard on Cordell – he loves his kids so much and tries had to be a good dad. I’ve enjoyed seeing that side of the character, and love that parenthood was such a big part of what this show was about, often much more than Rangering.

Augie must decide the same, because he pulls his dad in for a hug. And that Cordi definitely does need!

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‘The Boys’ Episode 6 Really is Some Dirty Business

‘The Boys’ Episode 6 Really is Some Dirty Business

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This is a pivotal episode, but we don’t know it until the very end. I love a good twist – hey, I’m good friends with M. Night Shyamalan – and this was a good twist. Maybe one we all started to suspect along the way, but that’s part of the fun of it.

WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 6 AHEAD

Butcher: Crisis of Conscience

Butcher ain’t doing well. He coughs more and more as time goes on and he wrestles with his conscience (in the form of Becca) and his opposing desire to just do whatever the fuck it takes to get the job done no matter the collateral damage (as Kessler keeps urging him).  He’s sliding closer and closer to Soldier Boy levels of the-end-justifies-the-means and ignore-the-collateral-damage every day.

Honestly I had a hard time watching what happens with Sameer. Just looking at his hastily and brutally amputated leg makes me queasy, more so every time Butcher tries to convince Sameer to make more virus. Every time Butcher might soften just a tiny bit, Joe is there to push him onward.

Joe: Or we could just send you back in a fucking bucket if you don’t do what we say.

Becca appears and questions what he’s doing, but Joe keeps overruling her.

Becca: Are you even trying to get Ryan out anymore, or is it the same old bloodlust all over again? You’re gonna kill one Homelander and just end up with another.

Butcher claims he’s trying to save the world, and can’t do what needs to be done and “keep you happy,” dismissing Becca’s concerns in an awful parallel to how people really do push the nagging sense of guilt from their conscience aside to allow them to do truly horrific things in the real world.

The next time they meet up, Joe comments that Billy looks like shit. Billy tells him to go fuck himself (which he says he already did today – twice).

Kessler allows that he too has struggled with a dual identity, with opposing parts of ourselves – the theme of this season. How after his last tour, Joe came home and tried to be a family man, help his son, go fucking towel shopping. Be normal.

Kessler: But everywhere I looked I saw the ruined faces of those men that you and me tortured and killed. I couldn’t square up who I was at home with the shit I’ve done. That guy taking out the trash and watching Sports Center, that wasn’t me. The real me likes to hear ‘em scream.  So tell me, Billy, who’s the real you?

It’s the theme of this season. Who, indeed, is the real you? The real any of us?

When Billy tried to be “normal” with Becca, did it all just feel like an act? Like the darkest case of imposter syndrome?

Too Close to Reality Once Again

Another hard-to-watch story line in this episode belongs to Hughie. Fresh from sprinkling his dad’s ashes around the city he loved, Hughie infiltrates Tek Knight’s Federalist Society big money party to get some intel. This is accomplished by MM incapacitating a minor supe named Web Weaver (by shooting something up his butt because this show is fascinated with butt stuff, seriously – and with MM getting squirted in the face with substances, this time some web when he “puts it in the wrong hole”.) You can’t make this stuff up.

MM: There ain’t enough Purell in the fucking world.

(Nor enough mindfulness apps, which MM keeps desperately using).

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Catch Up On ‘The Boys’ Before Tonight’s New Episode!

Catch Up On ‘The Boys’ Before Tonight’s New Episode!

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The fifth episode of The Boys Season 4 that aired last week is one of my favorites. If you look beyond the spectacle, this show can be surprisingly emotional – and this episode is one that will make you feel, juxtaposing heartbreaking, tender and over-the-top violence in scenes that end up being powerful and memorable.

As we get ready for the next episode in the wee hours of Thursday morning, here’s a recap of what happened in the last episode and where we are now. (Oh, and episode 6? Pivotal!)

SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 AHEAD…

It’s Hard to Be One of ‘The Boys’

Before we get to the emotional part of the episode, in other news (that often mirrors the actual news in alarming ways), Firecracker is on a roll attacking Annie and pressing assault charges, painting their altercation and rivalry as “a biblical war of good versus evil”.  She’s painting herself as “the Lord’s Savior” for their new division, Vought Faith, all of them trying to manufacture some tears with a playing of “I Will Remember You” for Ezekiel. Annie’s also being blamed for the murder of Ezekiel, which was apparently done by Butcher somehow.

MM is increasingly worried about Janine, who’s been suspended for fighting a kid who called Homelander a hero. It’s hard to know the truth and stay quiet about it, isn’t it? MM tells her fighting isn’t the way to solve problems but she counters with why not, that’s what you do? Point, Janine. I look forward to Janine’s journey as she increasingly has the blinders taken off. I can relate, as I’m sure many of us can.

Billy and Joe meet on a park bench in the cold. Their exchange, as always, is crude and full of back and forth psychological volleys as Butcher struggles with his conscience. (Fandom is doing a lot of speculation right now about who Joe really is, and no spoilers here, but it’s pretty fascinating to watch, isn’t it?)

When Billy complains about the cold, Kessler has a typical answer, steeped in misogyny.

Joe: Well, I was thinking we could meet in your mum’s pussy but I wanted somewhere more private.

He’s also got a lot of criticism for the Boys.

Joe: Your team’s a joke. MM’s on the verge of breakdown, Frenchie’s a druggie, Hughie’s a pussy and the two supes on your side…

He also pushes Butcher to stay the course and be as brutal as it takes to get rid of Homelander.

Joe: Brother, I don’t get you. Half your brain is a fucking tumor, last chance at Homelander and now you decide to go soft? You and me – we don’t belong with decent people.

Ouch. It’s exactly what Butcher has always struggled with, torn apart by guilt over his little brother’s death and still believing so much of the hurtful things his father said to him.

Side note: Butcher’s not the only one struggling to figure out right and wrong. Homelander bonds more with Ryan, letting him make his own decisions and saying he’s proud of him for doing that, that he was manipulated by people his whole life and doesn’t want to do the same thing to Ryan. Ryan tries to do some good in the world by defending a woman that director Bourke is making uncomfortable, but teaching him a lesson about that inequitable power dynamic turns into reiterating one as Ryan enjoys watching Bourke get his ass beat way too much.

This is all pretty bleak, but there is hope – Butcher finally tells them he’s found the virus that kills supes that we saw developed at Godolkin U on the first season of Gen V. Unfortunately, as we know, Neuman has it.

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Walker’s Penultimate Episode Is All About “Letting Go”

Walker’s Penultimate Episode Is All About “Letting Go”

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The title of the penultimate episode of Walker seems eerily fitting, even though at the time they filmed it, they weren’t sure if the show would be renewed or if this would be its final season. “Letting go” is something that’s hard for fans to do when they’re invested in a show and in the community of fans that grows up around it. Especially with a show as successful as Walker has been, few of us were prepared for it to be ending. I guess that’s to say I’m going into watching this one with a bit of trepidation and anticipatory grief – but also determined to enjoy the ride until the very end. Letting to is hard, as all the characters also find out in this episode.

The episode spools out mostly coherently, in real time. We pick up as Luna has been shot and Cordell rescued. Trey tries to comfort Cassie, who begs him to help Luna, but it’s too late.

Trey and James go after the Jackal, giving Cassie something to do by taking care of a trembling and shaking Walker, but you can’t miss the glare she sends his way either.

It’s not rational really, he didn’t kill Luna, he was trying to save people just like David was. But he’s also alive and rescued and Luna is dead, and it makes sense that Cassie would really be struggling with that in the immediate aftermath.

A gunfight ensues in the woods (with music) and James gets shot (luckily with a vest on). Trey and the Jackal fight, and the Jackal almost gets the jump on him before they finally manage to take him down.

Coby Bell really conveyed all the pent-up hatred and resentment that James must have for this killer who nearly destroyed his marriage – twice! He looks like it’s all he can do just to rein in the impulse to pull that trigger.

This episode has some interesting things to say about emotions and how we can or can’t control them. It’s one of the main struggles that bring people in for help (with my psychologist hat on for a minute), and something that nobody is born knowing how to do. This episode shows just how difficult it can be to regulate our emotions when what we’re feeling is this intense – both with James in this scene and with Cassie later.

Later, the whole family gathers around Cordell’s hospital bed, Bonham squeezing his hand.

Liam is freaked out because Cordi was buried alive and it brings back horrible memories of when he almost was forced to bury his brother’s body when they were kidnapped.

It’s a Wizard of Oz situation, with Cordi telling them “I have so much to tell you – all of you. I dreamt you were all with me.”

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‘The Boys’ Delivers a Gut Punch Episode with ‘Wisdom of the Ages’

‘The Boys’ Delivers a Gut Punch Episode with ‘Wisdom of the Ages’

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Before we get into the fourth episode of Season 4 of The Boys, arguably one of the best episodes of the series, there’s other exciting news for the show – Jared Padalecki, who Eric Kripke cast as Sam in Supernatural, has finally said yes to hopefully joining The Boys in Season 5. If, as we suspect, Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy will also be back in Season 5, the entire Supernatural fandom will be sat and waiting impatiently (not that many of us aren’t already doing that this season, thoroughly enjoying SPN alums Jeffrey Dean Morgan and Rob Benedict (RIP Splinter) along with the entire stellar cast of The Boys).

I’ve been hoping Jared joined The Boys when his schedule allowed for a long time, so I’m thrilled to hear that might well be happening soon!

(You can catch up on all things ‘The Boys’, including deep dives into the characters and everything that makes the show special – plus exclusive interviews with Jensen Ackles on Soldier Boy and other cast – with that book Jensen’s holding, Supes Ain’t Always Heroes. Links at the end of the article fyi).

So, where are we now in Season 4?  The fourth episode of Season 4 of The Boys takes a dark dark turn – as in, things go very wrong for a lot of people.

It’s been more than a week, so I’m assuming you’ve caught up with all the insanity of the first three episodes (Spoilers for those episodes ahead). To recap:

The Insanity so Far: 4.01 to 4.03 Recap

Homelander and company have a plan for taking out poor Robert Singer and putting in fellow supe Victoria Neuman. On a personal note, Homelander is so obsessed with aging that he’s collecting gray hairs in a jar – gray hairs from anywhere he finds ‘em. He’s also sick of being surrounded by sycophants and imbeciles, proving it by demanding that The Deep give A Train a blow job and having them stand up and start getting to it (much to Ashley’s obvious excitement which was a touch I loved!).

That was a weirdly fitting counterpoint to Season 1 when The Deep forces Starlight to give him a blow job – and actually does go through with it. I love that the show remembers its own history.

Butcher’s having a crisis of conscience as he contemplates how much he’s willing to do to Ryan to “get him on our side”, personified in visions of Becca. Butcher’s new buddy Joe Kessler is not only played by Jeffrey Dean Morgan but has also traumatized the Supernatural fandom by channeling John Winchester (the character he played on that show) by insisting to Butcher that yes, he’d train his son up to be a killer. (Which is just what John Winchester did to both his sons).

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Will Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles Both Be On ‘The Boys’?

Will Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles Both Be On ‘The Boys’?

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Will Supernatural’s Jared Padalecki and Jensen Ackles both end up on the final season of The Boys??

It’s a question that has already set the internet on fire even though Season 4 of The Boys is airing now and Season 5 hasn’t started filming yet. As a huge fan of both Supernatural and The Boys (and anything Eric Kripke does, actually), nothing would make me happier. Over the past year, I’ve talked to all three of them about the possibility – which it looks like might actually happen!

I was hopeful that Jensen Ackles would join ‘The Boys’ long before the news came out that he would indeed play Soldier Boy in Season 3 of the series – I had been watching the show since Season 1 and so had he, and we’d had several conversations about how much we both loved it. So I was thrilled when it happened (and he was too).

Ackles, of course, had worked with showrunner Eric Kripke before on Supernatural, portraying a character that Kripke created who is one of the most popular fictional characters ever, the beloved Dean Winchester. (Long time Supernatural fans like me will never stop loving the Winchesters). The two had remained close, along with the other Winchester brother, Jared Padalecki. So both were thrilled to work together again.

When I spoke to Jensen for an exclusive interview chapter in the new book on The Boys, ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’, he told me there was only one person whose opinion of his portrayal of Soldier Boy he cared about very much, and that was Kripke.

When I spoke to Kripke, he had only glowing reviews, so I’d say mission accomplished – you can also read Eric’s insights in Supes, along with Jensen’s.

Here’s a little tidbit from my chat with Kripke:

Me: I just knew that Jensen would be so damn good at portraying Soldier Boy, in that he can make you understand every emotion his character is feeling, so I think alot of us were just uncomfortably blown away – in a good way – because people loved Soldier Boy and knew they should hate him!

Kripke: What’s funny in regard to Jensen playing Soldier Boy is, you know, he’s fucking fantastic, and he’s just so good at bringing the audience. It’s almost like, what I laugh about is like he was probably like a little too good at his job! I could have gone for the audience being like oh, I hate that guy, but so many people took his side in the finale like, we’re on his side, he’s the guy, fuck everyone! And you’re like, but he’s the bad guy and he’s trying to kill a ten year old…

I love their mutual appreciation that has stayed strong all these years.

As a huge fan (obviously) of both The Boys and Supernatural, I’ve also been thrilled every time an SPN alum makes an appearance. Christian Keyes crossed over to play A Train’s brother. Alex Calvert memorably played a character on Gen V. This season, Jeffrey Dean Morgan joined the fun and Rob Benedict made an appearance that no one will ever forget. Even if they want to.

I spoke to Eric Kripke after Season 3 had aired to ask him about where the series was headed, and I asked about the possibility of Jared Padalecki taking a turn on The Boys. I mean, he’s definitely a fan of the show – and of Soldier Boy! (Who we know is not dead…)

Turns out they had already chatted about it.

Me: Soooooo any possibility that the other Winchester brother might turn up on The Boys? I’d love to see Jared on the show.

Kripke: I told him, I’m like, you have an open door, man, so whenever you’re free from Walker, let’s talk about it. We’d have to pull it off with scheduling but yeah, ideally that would be great.

Me: I’m crossing my fingers. And if whoever Jared is playing ends up on screen with Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, I don’t know what will happen to the Supernatural fandom. An implosion maybe? An awesome one?

Kripke agreed.

I also, of course, chatted with Jared. He’d been too busy with filming and EPing Walker until recently, but that didn’t stop me from asking him about being on The Boys a few months ago. He most definitely did not say no, and he and Jensen both had some ideas about roles he could play that I won’t spoil, but let’s just say it seemed like a possibility.

So I wasn’t surprised to see Deadline break the story that Kripke and Padalecki have been texting and talking about it, and in fact had spoken about it yesterday – and it looks like a go!

Jared said in the Deadline article: We talked today…I only want to work on projects that I really care about or with people I really care about, and obviously Eric and I are indelibly connected forever… I adore Kripke’s storytelling, I will be ready when he makes the phone call. The answer is yes!

Looks like this might actually be happening – and I am so ready!!

What sort of role do you hope Jared would be playing? An ally of The Boys (and an antagonist to Soldier Boy)? A supe villain? A Vought corporate villain? So many possibilities!

You can read more of my exclusive interview with Jensen Ackles all about Soldier Boy (have I mentioned that we know he’s not dead?), plus insights from many of the other actors and some deep dives into all the characters and what makes the show so intriguing in ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’.  Catch up now and get ready for more of the wild ride that is ‘The Boys’!

Info at:

Supes Ain’t Always Heroes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

‘Walker’ Hits A Home Run with Let’s Go, Let’s Go!

‘Walker’ Hits A Home Run with Let’s Go, Let’s Go!

spnfans

This is such a fascinating episode, one of the best ones of the entire series. From the moment Cordell wakes up (thinks he wakes up) in an alternate reality where Emily is alive and it’s Augie’s graduation day, everything is weird. Even the way those scenes are filmed is weird, blurry around the edges as reality bleeds in and out. I love the look of it, the visual reminders that this is not real. Jared Padalecki does an amazing job portraying Cordi’s complex mix of emotions – confusion, a lingering sense of ‘wrongness’, but also so much joy and relief at having the people he loved and lost back in his life.

Even the title card is ghostly perfect!

The dialogue is brilliantly vague – Emily could be talking about all kinds of things. We’re here. Roads. Life. Never thought we’d get this far. She’s laying out his outfit, jacket, boots. Tie.

“Your mom would want that.”

I get a bad feeling right from the start – which, of course it’s bad, we know where he really is and what’s really happening – but I’m fascinated by how his drugged mind and dying body are making sense of this. It is surreal but somehow rings so true.

It’s emotional too, Cordi touching Emily with such reverence, astounded that she’s “real”, that “we’re here… it’s here.”

The use of “it” and vague words like that are perfect, especially when you think back over the episode once its conclusion is known. IT is here. But what is “it”? An important day for sure, a pivotal day, a day that portends lots of changes. That could describe a graduation day, but it could also describe many other huge life changes.

Jared Padaelcki shows off his acting chops by registering Cordi’s alternate confusion and gratitude, trying to just take it in and drink it up as they make the “long trip” to his parents’ house through “bad traffic” but the feeling of something being off nagging at him.

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