The new season of Prime Video’s Emmy winning series ‘The Boys’ drops THIS WEEK – are you ready?
There’s SO much to look forward to.
There will be new Supes…
Oedipal struggles…
Toxic masculinity exploration… (that is just so nice to look at…)
There will be so much more that I can’t talk about at all yet, but suffice it to say that this season will be one you can’t look away from! (Okay maybe I covered my eyes once or twice, but I also could not stop watching or exclaiming about just how fucking awesome the show is.) My standards were high after Season 3, but Kripke and company didn’t let me down.
You can catch up on all things The Boys and know just where we left off with all your favorite characters (whether they’re your favorites to love or hate or a little of both) with the book that takes a deep dive into the show and the characters and the talented actors who bring them to life – Supes Ain’t Always Heroes.
Just like the show, the book is also a wild ride. There are chapters dissecting the characters, from Homelander to Butcher, Starlight to Stormfront, Hughie to A Train and many more.
There are exclusive interviews with the actors who have so much insight into what makes their characters tick. (I love what Jensen Ackles has to say about Soldier Boy and why the role was so compelling. He knows it was…look at that expression).
There are deep dives into the themes the show tackles and how it reflects some things about real life even as there are also exploding penises and superhero orgies and flying hamsters.
Pick up your copy today and be ready for next week – it happens to be on sale on Amazon right now.
Every year when March 1st rolls around and it’s Jensen Ackles’ birthday once again, I find myself feeling grateful that the man who brought to life two of my favorite fictional characters ever (aka Dean Winchester and Soldier Boy) is happy and healthy and enriching our lives with his creative presence. This year is no exception – whether it was playing a part as a talented actor, entertaining us at a convention, showing off his great form at the golf course, hyping some Supe Juice at the brewery or just selfies with family, friends and fans, I’m grateful for everything he shared with us this past year.
So let’s celebrate Jensen Ackles heading into his 46th year with a little look back at some of the highlights of his 45th!
March was the finale of The Winchesters, which saw the return of Dean Winchester, defying the laws of God (Chuck) and time to defeat an enemy threatening an alternate universe John and Mary – and ultimately Dean’s little brother, still alive in the universe of Supernatural we know and love. We all know Dean will do whatever it takes to save Sam, and he proved it once again – even after he was already settled into Heaven!
The spring saw Jensen roadtripping across the country with Clif to join his family in a new house in Connecticut, which gave us some travel glimpses along the way. Hopefully they’re having a blast renovating the house and enjoying the East coast weather for a change of pace.
In the spring, I was lucky enough to go to some conventions in the US, including the one in New Orleans in May. One of my favorite cities in the world.
Jensen showed off his “model poses” much to everyone’s amusement.
The long wait is finally over – the new book, ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys’ released on December 5! We delayed the release in solidarity with the writers’ and actors’ strikes, but now the book is ready for reading just in time for us to all lose our collective you know what over the teaser trailer for The Boys Season 4, coming in 2024. And tease us it did…
Showdown between Annie and Homelander?
Robert Singer and Victoria Neuman leading in the polls?
Rob Benedict joining the fun – and feeling really “torn” about it?
Karl Urban and Jeffrey Dean Morgan the duo we never knew we absolutely needed onscreen?
Also, I have missed you JDM!
Oh, and was that Black Noir???
Yesssssssssssssssssssssssssssss!
If you haven’t watched the trailer yet, what are you waiting for?
And now there’s a book that delves deep into all the amazing characters and provocative story lines that make The Boys universe so incredible – just in time for more! (And for holidays, birthdays, etc. if you or someone you love is a fan of The Boys)
Supes Ain’t Always Heroes is the perfect way to catch up on everything that’s happened so far and gain a deeper understanding of all the complicated characters. There are chapters that take deep dives into all your favorites, from Homelander to Soldier Boy, Butcher to Black Noir, Starlight to Stormfront, Hughie to A Train and many more. What makes your favorite character tick? Let psychologists and sociologists help you explore everything you love about them – or everything you love to hate. If you love the show’s biting social commentary, media experts and journalists take an insightful look at the issues the show tackles – from racism to sexism, toxic masculinity to social media, and how it all fits into Hollywood and corporate America.
The book doesn’t forget the brilliance of the show’s actors or the comics creators. Sometimes it’s the cast who bring these complex characters to life that have some of the most fascinating insights into who they are. There are exclusive in-depth interviews with Jensen Ackles (Soldier Boy), Aya Cash (Stormfront), Nate Mitchell (Black Noir), Jim Beaver (Robert Singer) as well as co-creator Darick Robertson, and additional comments from many of the other cast on this show we’ve all come to love.
I love what Jensen Ackles has to say about Soldier Boy and the decisions he made in portraying him. That’s a Soldier Boy smirk if I ever saw one! And we’re all counting on him being back, right???
Eric Kripke has said that ultimately he sees ‘The Boys’ as hopeful – and we do too. We put this book together because the show sparked so much thought and discussion with the way it reflects things we might wish we didn’t see in the real world around us. We believe in changing the world just like ‘The Boys’ ultimately does, so every copy of Supes Ain’t Always Heroes purchased benefits the Venice Family Clinic and their life saving work in this real world.
We hope you love Supes as much as we all do – Here are some of our awesome contributors celebrating the book’s release!
courtesy Tina Charlescourtesy Kaela Josephcourtesy Hansi Oppenheimercourtesy Tanya Cook
If you love ‘The Boys’, don’t be afraid to go deeper (Deeper?). Just be careful not to sneeze!
A new episode of ‘The Boys’ spinoff ‘Gen V’ streams Friday – well, usually Thursday at midnight. If you’re like me, you can’t wait to find out what happens next!
Here’s our recap of last week’s Episode 5 to get everyone ready for this week’s Episode 6…
SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH FIVE OF ‘GEN V’ AHEAD!
Everyone ended the fourth episode of Gen V wondering if their streaming service had glitched, so it’s merciful that in Episode 5 the show doesn’t make us wait to find out that no, that’s not what happened. Instead it’s Andre, Cate, Emma, Jordan and Marie whose memories glitched, as in none of them can remember the past few days. They wake up at a Supe named Dusty’s house (clearly his house because his pet llama is wandering around the premises), Andre and Cate in bed and Jordan and Marie in bed – and Emma (still gigantic) naked and floating in the swimming pool. Luckily it had a tarp on it which is covering her.
As a result of her saving the day, Emma finally starts trending on social media, and realizes that her mother’s stern warning about not “getting big” was bullshit – more of her evolution into finding her voice and being willing to take up space. Lots of it.
Know who realizes that? Sam. He shows up concerned about Emma, who doesn’t remember him at all.
Sam promises he’ll fix it, make her remember.
Emma: Remember what?
Sam: That you’re a hero. A real one.
Me, a passionate Emma fan: Damn right!
Vought is still after Sam, sending a whole team of armed operatives to capture him. In a truly disturbing sequence, Sam’s psychosis manifests so that he sees them all as puppets – and proceeds to rip them apart, puppet entrails flying everywhere and heads rolling, rock music playing to make the whole scene surreal.
Sam comes back to reality standing in a sea of bloody body parts.
Dr. Cardoza is freaked out after Sam’s little visit, but the Dean reminds him he can’t really walk out as he doesn’t have anywhere else to go, putting it in her own special way.
Dean Shetty: Cutting up Supes and seeing how they tick is a skill that won’t quite shine on your LinkedIn profile…
Back to trying to perfect a virus to control the “psychopaths” then, Dr. Cardoza.
Marie finds a tracker implanted in her chest and realizes the Dean is probably part of that. She manages to pull it out of herself (ewww). This episode begins to paint a chilling portrait of just how sinister the people running God U actually are – and sets us up for some big reveals about who they’ve drawn into their web of manipulation.
Marie runs to Cate to tell her about the trackers and…that was a mistake. The episode veers back and forth with Marie and company discovering some of what’s going on and then being made to forget, which is depicted in a way that makes the viewer feel almost as unsettled and ‘off’ as Marie and friends.
For a while they’re sure it’s Rufus who’s messing with their heads, and poor Alexander Calvert almost gets taken out for good because of it, even as he protests his innocence.
But Sam knows the truth – and by the end of the episode, they all know who is really responsible for repeatedly wiping their memories. It’s Cate. Surprisingly empathic, relatable Cate. (Of course, that’s never the answer of who the real villain is in this universe…)
Cate says she’s sorry, that she only ever wanted to help and make things better. Do we believe her??
In other news, Jordan and Marie spend much of the episode dancing around each other and trying not to admit to the other that being together maybe wasn’t a mistake after all. Jordan’s invisible Supe friend reminds them that maybe Marie is “cool with hiding the sausage and bumping donuts” and so maybe they can be either in female or male form and still be with her. I’m rooting for them!
I’m rooting for Sam and Emma too. She doesn’t remember who he is, but she goes to him anyway.
But how long can he keep hiding from Vought??
A new episode streams this Friday (Thursday at midnight) on Prime Video and let’s just say the level of excitement around Soldier Boy perhaps making an appearance is off the charts. I won’t say for sure that it’s in this week’s episode, but let me tell you, when you do see him again, the entire scene is PRICELESS! The gifs that fandom will make alone…. OMG.
gif justjensenanddean
Catch up on Gen V now so you’re ready for all the chaos. And to catch up on the whole fascinating world of The Boys, you can preorder the new book ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys’ NOW at https://smartpopbooks.com/theboys/
There is, of course, a chapter all about Soldier Boy and what makes him tick, and an exclusive interview with Jensen Ackles too – plus a lot more about all your favorite characters.
Don’t miss this week’s episode of Gen V!!
And don’t miss the chance to preorder ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes’ – you get free original art of Soldier Boy and Kimiko with preorders!
A new episode of Gen V drops this Friday (or, as Kripke admitted, let’s be real, probably late Thursday night) and I can’t wait! If you haven’t been able to watch the first three episodes which were released last week, here’s a little recap of what happened in those episodes – and why I’m so excited about the next ones! (My review of Episode 4 will be up later this week before Episode 5 drops on Friday)
WARNING: SPOILERS FOR EPISODES ONE THROUGH THREE AHEAD
The show takes place at Godolkin University (God U, get it?), where the first generation of superheroes who actually know how they got that way (ie, their parents shot them up with Compound V) is arriving for the start of classes. We’re introduced to the main characters, including Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair), whose perspective largely frames these episodes. There’s also Luke, aka Golden Boy (Patrick Schwarzenegger), top ranked and stereotypically attractive, and his girlfriend Cate (Maddie Phillips), who has to wear gloves most of the time because if she touches you she can mind control you.
Andre (Chance Perdomo) is the son of a Supe and in line to be one of the Seven himself if his dad has anything to say about it, Jordan (London Thor and Derek Luh) is the bi-gender child of two highly driven parents, and Emma (Lizze Broadway) is Marie’s roommate, whose superpower is that she can make herself tiny.
Gen V takes the same cynical look at where we are as a society in terms of what we value and how we relate to each other. Social media, crafting an image, and cultivating followers and popularity is a legitimate major at God U, and the vast majority of students are all in. As soon as one of them gains some recognition, they can’t walk across campus without repeated requests for selfies, and most fellow students can’t be trusted with any personal information. Emma learns this the hard way when she’s manipulated by a classmate into talking candidly about herself, only to have that used as fodder for the girl’s viral TikTok.
The adults are corporate power-hungry manipulators too, as we’ve come to expect from Vought. The first episode introduces us to the aptly named Professor Brink Brinkerhoff (Clancy Brown), who’s about as much of a stereotype of a narcissistic full professor as you can get – I admit, as a professor myself, I thoroughly enjoyed the caricature. He’s got the power to decide who gets to be part of the Crimefighting School – similar to the coveted admission to the Business School in a few real life universities – and he’s got his favorites. He summarily rejects Marie before Golden Boy turns on his mentor and takes him out of the picture, opening up an opportunity for her to get in. Dean Indira Shetty (Shelley Conn) is an enigmatic woman who can seem incredibly warm and nurturing, and then you get a glimpse of her face when the target of her warmth can’t see it and realize she’s as cold as ice. Andre’s dad, who was the Supe Polaris, is just as icy in his determination to see his son become number one – and maybe one of the Seven.
One of the narratives that The Boys universe has explored in all its versions is parenting, for better or worse (usually for worse…). In the original show we eventually learned what Annie’s mother and other parents had done to their children with Compound V for mostly selfish reasons, and in the animated Diabolical, we saw the costs of that selfishness in brutal detail for the kids. Gen V continues that exploration, and not just with Andre’s father. Emma’s mom is similarly invested in her child’s “success”, essentially telling her to suck it up and do whatever it takes to find some popularity no matter what the personal cost. Jordan’s mom and dad are the “driven Asian parents” who refuse to see their child for who they are and instead want to have a successful son – whether or not they identify as a son or not.
True to every Eric Kripke show ever, that’s not all the show has to say about family though. Like Supernatural and The Boys and every other show he’s put his creative touch on, Gen V is also about the importance of family bonds – especially sibling bonds – and what that inspires. Of course, the sibling bonds on this show are fraught and sculpted by trauma, because this is the universe of The Boys after all. Marie is desperate to find her little sister, who was separated from her after she got her first period and her powers manifested as the ability to control blood – which she hadn’t harnessed at all and thus it became a weapon that accidentally killed both her parents and traumatized her younger sister. Luke is desperate to find his little brother (who’s named Sam and has floppy hair so that every Supernatural fan was instantly a million percent invested in that relationship).
Yesterday Sony Home Entertainment announced the release date for the Blu-Ray set of Season 3 of ‘The Boys’ as October 24, so if you’ve been waiting to own the adventures of Butcher, Hughie, Annie, Homelander, Soldier Boy and company, the wait is almost over. Here’s the official synopsis of Season 3 in case you forgot (how could you forget??)
It’s been a year of calm. Homelander’s subdued. Butcher works for the government, supervised by Hughie of all people. But both men itch to turn this peace and quiet into blood and bone. So when The Boys learn of a mysterious Anti-Supe weapon, it sends them crashing into The Seven, starting a war, and chasing the legend of the first superhero: Soldier Boy.
And hoo boy, is that a powerful scene when they find him (in more ways than one!) Thanks, Jensen Ackles.
The Blu-Ray and DVD sets include special features – gag reels, deleted and extended scenes, and the “Making Of” featurette.
I don’t know about you, but gag reels are my favorite thing EVER! This cast clearly had alot of fun making last season…Catch up on Season 3 before Season 4 releases, tentatively set for some time this winter when the strike is resolved.
Every episode of that season was an insane rollercoaster that left me always wanting MORE!
You can also catch up on the story so far and be ready for Season 4 with the new book ‘Supes Ain’t Always Heroes: Inside the Complex Characters and Twisted Psychology of The Boys’. We’re supporting the current WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike by pushing the release date back to December 5 but you can preorder the book now so you have a deep dive into the show and its characters to go along with your DVDs. What makes them tick and why did we all get sucked into this show so completely, even if it did sometimes make us want to cover our eyes? Exclusive interviews with the cast bring even more insight into the actors’ experience of what makes this show so special.
You can preorder at https://smartpopbooks.com/TheBoys/ and get free original artwork of Soldier Boy and Kimiko that’s just plain gorgeous.
And look for the spinoff show ‘Gen V’ releasing on September 29!
It’s kind of a tradition to wish one of my favorite actors a happy birthday here. For many years, this was a good time to thank Jensen Ackles for bringing to life my favorite fictional character, Dean Winchester – and I am still and forever grateful for that and always will be. Over the past year, he’s brought to life not one but two other characters, and voiced Dean again, released his third record, and had his first live Radio Company show. Not to mention a worldwide publicity tour for ‘The Boys’ and tons of conventions. It’s been a busy year for Mr. Ackles!
I will always wish for Supernatural to still be on my TV or streaming screen, but I’ve thoroughly enjoyed those other characters he’s made so memorable. So I think a little celebration of Mr. Ackles’ past (very productive) year is in order this year for his birthday post.
First up? Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy was a revelation – I had already been a big fan of ‘The Boys’, so having Jensen join a show I already loved felt almost too good to be true. To have him portray a character as nuanced and unhinged as Soldier Boy? Utopia!
Wakes from a deep slumber indeed – we were all wide awake when that happened!
We got to see a whole other side of Jensen on ‘The Boys’ (no, I’m not talking about that first very naked introduction) – Prime Video allowed Soldier Boy to curse the way Dean Winchester probably would have, and to indulge in all sorts of things we didn’t get to see Dean do either. I will also be forever grateful for that amazing super suit and the fact that Kripke thought that long hair would help differentiate Soldier Boy from Dean. Please, universe, let the long hair stay forever!
I half fell in love with Soldier Boy despite the truly awful things he says and does thanks to Ackles showing us his vulnerability and trauma alongside his being an asshole. (So much so that my next book will be a deep dive into that show).
Soldier Boy is not dead and will be back at some point, so we all have something to look forward to when that happens!
I’ve had the privilege of talking to Jensen in depth over the past year about his experience on The Boys, and I’m thrilled that it was a challenge (which he welcomes) professionally. I’m also thrilled that it gave him exposure (no, not that scene again…) beyond what even a wildly popular show on the CW could provide. He shone on the press tours for The Boys, and I loved watching people discover him and his talent for the first time!
Photos: karlsen manuela scarpa
Then we got another intriguing character in Sheriff Beau Arlen in ‘Big Sky’ – and more of the long hair I’d like to stay around forever! (I happen to know that Danneel loves it too, so come on Jensen, listen to us!)
I’d watched a little of Big Sky in the first season and enjoyed it, but wasn’t as excited about it as The Boys. Sheriff Beau really grew on me, though – along with the fascinating character of Donno – and I found myself missing the show when it wrapped, still not knowing if it will get another season.
Beau was the character who I think was closest to Jensen himself, especially since he got to play a father (Soldier Boy’s biological son didn’t really make him a father) for the first time. It was interesting to watch him portray that, knowing what an important role that is for Jensen in real life. It brought out a softness and at the same time a fierce protectiveness in Beau that made the character so much more interesting than I expected him to be – and I feel like there was still a lot more to find out about him when the season wrapped!
Kudos on making us all fall a little in love with yet another character, Jensen!
We also get to hear Dean Winchester (and see him every now and then) on The Winchesters. It doesn’t feel like having him back in the same way as it would if Sam and Dean were truly back and it was Supernatural, but I’m interested in what that show is setting up and hoping it paves the way for just that, without changing any of the canon I so cherish. Fingers crossed.
(And it’s been a bonus to watch that show’s young stars come into their own – watching Drake Rodger and JoJo Fleites experience Jus In Bello con last weekend was joyous).
I got to chat with the cast and EPs Jensen and Danneel Ackles and showrunner Robbie Thompson at New York Comic Con last summer, which was extra wonderful because I hadn’t had a Danneel or a Robbie hug in way too long. It was wonderful to have a chance to ask some questions about the prequel, and it was lovely to meet Drake and Meg for the first time.
And that velvety suit was lovely too. And soft.
And that’s not even all – there have been other acting projects too, and Chaos Machine has been out there pitching new deals. But it’s not just acting and producing that have made the past year stand out for Jensen.
The past year has been a pivotal one for Ackles in terms of one of his other talents (is there anything he can’t do??) – I don’t think he can really say anymore, in his self deprecating way, “Oh I’m not really a musician.” Pretty sure that ship has sailed, Jensen! I was incredibly fortunate to be at Radio Company’s first live concert in Nashville in December and it was crystal clear that Radio Company can be stacked up against all the other successful bands out there and hold their own. Ackles was a rockstar, truly, and I don’t think I stopped grinning the entire show. Actually I’m pretty sure no one did.
Photo: Paleonut
I was at that long ago convention when Jensen sat onstage with a guitar after the ballroom had mostly emptied out and played a song for us, a little haltingly, as we sat on the floor, rapt. I was at the first little meet and greet/concert with Jensen and Steve at the Nashville convention when they played for twenty or so people – he told me how nervous he was after and asked how it had been. Seeing him blossom into a bona fide rockstar had me so emotional at the Analog show that I’m surprised I didn’t just sob my way through it.
Radio Company’s new album dropped last week and has already been at the top of the country charts. I’m not even a huge country music fan, but its smooth harmonies and catchy tunes get stuck in my head in the best of ways. And Jensen’s voice will never not be addictive. Congrats on crossing over into true musician category, Jensen.
The year has also seen tons of conventions. I wondered, when Supernatural ended (still sobbing…), if the conventions would continue for only a short time – I feel so lucky that they have kept going! Whether I’m fortunate enough to be there or watching from afar like I did with JIB last weekend, it’s wonderful to be able to ‘see’ them and hear their thoughts so frequently throughout the year.
Yes, it’s a job for them, but it’s also something they clearly enjoy and I’ve written many times about how it’s made the relationship between the actors and the fans a little bit more reciprocal in the Supernatural fandom than in others. That has carried over to Walker and The Winchesters (and soon to Gotham Knights I’m guessing), because these actors know their fans so much better than most actors do.
Photos: Alana King
Jensen and Jared and Misha and the gang were in Rome last weekend (in their coordinating jackets) and will be headed to Atlanta shortly – I won’t be able to be there to celebrate with them unfortunately, but I’m sure the fans who are there will make it a special con weekend for the birthday boy. Somebody give him a birthday hug from me!
Photo: eeecatPhoto: SomerInTheWind
Sometimes he still looks about ten years old.
Happy birthday, Mr. Ackles.
May the next year be as exciting for you as this one was – and here’s hoping for more of all three characters you brought to life this past year – and more of whatever other exciting new things you have planned!
The season finale of Season 3 of The Boys has been one of the most anticipated ever. It’s honestly been so much fun watching the excitement ramp up each week for each episode – it was a brilliant decision on Eric Kripke and Prime Video’s part to release the episodes over five weeks instead of all at once, especially with the insane promotion we were treated to each week. I watched the whole season before it streamed in the press screeners, but I still felt entirely swept up in the anticipation and excitement (and, let’s face it, dread!) each week.
The cast traveled to Brazil for four wild days of promotion, which only served to amp up the anticipation even more. We were treated to interviews and red carpets and the cast all having a bloody good time. And Jensen Ackles looking like this.
Now that everyone has had a chance to watch it, this is the spoilery recap and review of the season finale, so SPOILERS ahead. LOTS OF THEM!
I’ve been watching this show since its beginning and have loved it since then, but Season 3 has been a whole different ballgame. As a passionate Supernatural fan, the addition of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy meant that I was even more excited about this season, but even I wasn’t prepared for just how much I’d be drawn in by the character or just how complicated my feelings about Soldier Boy would be. He’s an asshole and a bigot and a bully, but Ackles also portrays him with vulnerability and humor and at times he’s almost charming. I feel like I should not have been hoping for any kind of redemption arc for Soldier Boy, and yet I found myself nervous as hell going into the finale, hoping that a) he wouldn’t be killed off and b) he might find at least a little bit of redemption. Help save the day, maybe?
Well… I should know Eric Kripke better than that by now!
I’ve been writing a lot about this season of The Boys being all about choice, and the season finale sees every main character have to make some difficult ones.
Passing It On From Father To Son – Or Not
This season is also about the intergenerational transmission of trauma, and the toxic masculinity messages that are passed down from fathers to sons. One of those messages is about strength and power. All the men whose fathers were abusive, with either physical or verbal violence or both, have a hard time not repeating the cycle.
Butcher’s father was both, and those toxic messages are ever-present in his head, bleeding out of him in eruptions of physical violence and caustic, cruel barbs thrown at enemies and friends alike.
In this episode, he vacillates wildly between giving into those violent impulses, laser focused (heh heh) on taking down Homelander and willing to use anyone as a weapon to do that, and trying to hang onto the caring part of him that wanted to protect Lenny and now wants to protect Hughie. He never does tell Hughie about the Temp V being fatal, but he unceremoniously knocks him out with a punch and shoves him in a convenience store bathroom to keep him from taking it again. So, a few points at least in his favor?
On the other hand, he’s been fine with using Frenchie and Kimiko and now Soldier Boy to get the revenge he wants, and he’s as manipulative as ever in this episode, as he repeatedly tells Soldier Boy that Homelander is not really his son. We see Soldier Boy’s ambivalence several times, hesitating to kill his own son and emotional about having a child – but Butcher knows to play to the rage he feels at being tossed aside and replaced, focusing that rage on Homelander by telling Soldier Boy that he is his replacement and the reason he was tortured. Well played, Butcher, but chillingly cruel.
Homelander was not just abused but neglected, deprived of not just a father but a mother too. A sensitive boy like Butcher seems to have been, he too had that knocked out of him with cruelty, absorbing the same message that to be “a man” you must not only be strong and powerful but unfeeling too. Showing vulnerability is weakness, unmanly. Both men struggle to have any kind of healthy relationships – even Butcher’s with his wife was doomed once Ryan existed – and both have been increasingly isolated and alone as this season progressed.
The season 3 finale of The Boys was a tour de force for the entire cast and crew, from the writing to the directing to the effects to the score, and certainly the performances from every single actor. I’ve been a Jensen Ackles fan since Supernatural premiered way back in 2005, so I know how powerful his acting is, but to see him bring to life an entirely different character in this season, who is so very not Dean Winchester, has been eye opening nevertheless. He brings to Soldier Boy not just the toxic masculinity we were expecting, but a vulnerability that is unexpected, with subtle expressions and gestures and tone of voice, showing us so much more than we would have understood from the dialogue alone.
SPOILERS AHEAD IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THE SEASON FINALE!
In the finale, Soldier Boy opens up to Butcher as the two drink together, perhaps sensing that they share some big time daddy issues. As a manufactured superhero who’s had to hold up a fake persona for literally a century, Soldier Boy seems relieved to tell the truth – the Soldier Boy Story movie was BS. He wasn’t a poor kid with a heart of gold on the streets of South Philly who woke up with abilities; his father owned half the steel mills in the state.
Soldier Boy: I went to boarding school. Got kicked out of boarding school. Because I was a fuck up. But he made sure I knew it.
This Butcher can relate to, intimately, asking if he used a belt (like Butcher’s father did).
Soldier Boy: Never laid a hand on me. He couldn’t be bothered. Said I was a disappointment. Not good enough to carry his name. So I went to his golf buddies in the War Department and they got me into Dr. Vought’s Compound V trials. I became a superhero. Strongest man alive, fuckin’ ticker tape parades when I came home.
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He says it all with bravado, trying to keep the persona up even as he’s finally telling the truth. What did the old man say then, Butcher wonders.
Soldier Boy: Ah. He said I took a short cut. That a real man wouldn’t have cheated.
That toxic masculinity that Soldier Boy has been embodying all season laid out in his father’s brutal, intentionally cruel accusation, fueled with misogyny and homophobia, cut deep. That disgust that his son wasn’t a ‘real man’ and that complete rejection, even after Ben had transformed himself completely into what he was certain his father wanted him to be, must have been devastating. He must have thought that his father would surely love him then, only to be rejected once more.
The pain he still carries from that rejection is clear on Soldier Boys’ face, the way he hangs his head, suddenly feeling vulnerable.
I spoke to Jensen Ackles in an exclusive one on one interview about that scene in the finale, which is one of my favorites of the entire season. In typical Jensen fashion, he gave credit to all the talented people who collaborate to make the show so special.
Lynn: Hearing the backstory of how his father treated him, I felt like I started to “get it” a little. Not that it excuses his behavior, but it starts to explain it. And you made the decision to play the character with a lot of nuance, vacillating between vulnerability and trying to connect to others, and then just erupting in rage. It’s dizzying to watch all that happen within the space of seconds, but the best part of the character is that you really pulled that nuance off. Was that an explicit note to make that nuance part of the character or something you inferred?
Jensen: A lot of that is in the script, it’s just really good writing. Kripke is such a vivid storyteller with his words, and he does it in such a precise, almost surgical way, that in reading it – not just Kripke but his whole writing staff is so talented – that a lot of that nuance is either right there on the page or certainly implied. And they allow us to kinda navigate it and find it. So I definitely was looking for that, and that’s a note that he’s been giving me since the beginning of Supernatural.
Lynn: It was so much a part of Supernatural also, yes. A big part of why I fell for Dean Winchester so hard.
Jensen: It’s nice to know he’s still encouraging us to find the nuances of the scenes and make those moments in between the moments count.
Lynn: Well, you did. I was a little angry at you, like damn it, I knew he was gonna put just enough vulnerability in there that I was not gonna be able to just outright hate this character. And the entire fandom has been flailing along with me with the same quandary, so good job, good job.
Jensen: It was fun to play those colors, to be just such an outwardly gross character, but to play him in a way that you do feel bad, you feel bad for this big guy’s journey even though you shouldn’t.
Lynn: I think that’s exactly it. I felt bad even though I kept saying, what are you doing? It got to the point when I thought he might die and I was yelling at the screen no no no no don’t die don’t die!
Jensen: (laughing)
Lynn: This episode was painful to watch because of all my conflicting feelings. But Supernatural was also painful, so I guess maybe that’s just me…. Don’t judge.
Jensen: (laughing) Maybe that’s what we should be delving into, Lynn. What does this say about you?
Lynn: Oh no, let’s not go there…
Luckily, he let me off the hook.
In the end, Soldier Boy can’t accept what his son is offering, even though he has wanted a chance to raise a child and “do it better”. But Soldier Boy is confronted with a son who personifies all the things he hates most about himself – all the things his father accused him of. It’s tragic that, in the final moment, Soldier Boy can’t shake loose of his father’s brutal definition of what it is to be a man. All he can see is Homelander looking weak. A disappointment. All those things that his father called him, and that he constantly fears in himself, and so he can’t bear to see that in his own son. So he lashes out, recapitulating his own father’s rejection and cruelty.
But he does it with no joy; his face reflects the pain he too is feeling, his inescapable disappointment in himself. And of course, there are tragic consequences.
At least he’s not dead – Eric Kripke has said that Soldier Boy will definitely be back at some point and Jensen has said that if Kripke asks, he’ll come running. I swear, I could hear the sigh of relief from the entire fandom from all over the globe at that moment. Thanks for making us care so much, Jensen and Eric. I think.
Stay tuned for my deep dive on The Boys season finale – coming later today!
The season finale of The Boys Season 3 has all the over the top fight scene showdowns we would expect from a finale episode – but it also has so much more. And much of that is a dizzying mix of heartbreaking and hopeful. Those emotions are so far apart that rocketing back and forth between them is what I called in my review of last week’s episode a mindfuck, and this week is even moreso. Back on the roller coaster for the finale, though – I’ve admitted that the twists and turns and speed are both terrifying and exhilarating, so I keep opting to climb right back on.
There are a lot of reckonings in the final episode. Some of the characters find their lines and then pick a side – and it’s not always the one we’re expecting them to pick. I went into watching this episode holding my breath, because despite all of us knowing he’s a Class A asshole, most of the show’s fans do not want Season 3 to be the last we see of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy.
The character is a big departure from Soldier Boy of the comics, from his overt cowardice to his origins (and not being the father of Homelander). That left Kripke and company the room to create a character that is much more nuanced and complex, and then to cast someone as brilliant as Ackles to portray him. The cast has been effusive in saying that Jensen “fit right in” and Ackles, in his customary humble way, has said that he was just hoping not to mess up a dynamic that was already working perfectly (which it was). All of that shows. Soldier Boy, Butcher and Hughie was the trio I had no clue I needed until they were on my screen – and now I definitely want MORE.
As I pushed play on this episode, now knowing that Homelander is Soldier Boy’s son, I had about a thousand hypotheses of which direction things could go. Suffice it to say, I bit my nails a lot while watching – and that I was still shocked. And once again, I felt more than I anticipated and more than I wanted to. No spoilers in this article for the finale episode, but HANG ON TIGHT! Here are my non-spoilery thoughts after watching the season finale, now that I’ve (sort of) composed myself.
The final episode revisits the main themes of the season, including toxic masculinity, which Kripke and many of the actors have talked about in interviews throughout the season. Almost every character struggles with what that means and what that role entails. Is masculinity inextricably linked with ‘strength’ and ‘saving people’ and if so, how is that defined? Who gets to define it?
The theme extends beyond gender. The Boys has an interesting twist to the “saving people, hunting things” mantra that Kripke wove into Supernatural, asking if it really matters who’s doing the saving. And there’s an underlying theme that’s deeper, and one that struck me as very real life – what does it do to the person who needs to be saved? Does being saved translate to weakness and saving to strength? Would we even be asking that question if we weren’t as a culture obsessed with being badass in some oddly strict definition of the word, no matter how we identify? It’s part and parcel of the whole superhero genre, but is that a message that’s actually helpful? Sometimes being strong isn’t about being able to laser someone in half or throw them across the room. Sometimes it’s about being there for someone else when they need it, even if that doesn’t look very badass. As a psychologist, I am awed when I see that kind of strength in my clients – ordinary human beings doing extraordinary things to help others. That’s a whole different definition of badass.
And what of the definitions that our culture instills in us? All those gendered stereotypes about what strength looks like, the strict boundaries of “what it means to be a man”. As this entire series has vividly shown, and perhaps this season especially, some of those rules and norms are toxic, harming the individual and everyone around them. Driving people away. The idea that you don’t need anyone, that relationships aren’t important, that everyone is a threat to your place in the hierarchy. That you can never be the one who needs saving. The reiteration of a hierarchy that says someone has to be the alpha male and everyone else has to fall in line – and that if you are that alpha male you have to hang onto that spot no matter what or who gets sacrificed. Do you have to internalize those rules you learned from a flawed parent and live by them, or can you decide to make your own rules? And will it be too late if you do?
I said in my review of the last episode that The Boys comes from a very Freudian perspective – that we are inevitably shaped by our pasts, whether we want to be or not. Especially, as Freud believed, those early years and our first caregivers. But neither Freud nor The Boys would say that there’s no escaping that early experience, even if it was traumatic. As Kimiko says in this episode, “Our past is not who we are. I thought I’d always be broken, but you saw something in me.” The question is, which of these characters can see that something in themselves, and will it be enough for them to break away?
The heartbreaking answer is that for some, no it will not.
One of the reasons this season, and especially these last few episodes, hit me so hard is because they also echo some of the main themes of Supernatural. There’s a reason I was and always will be so emotional about that show. This season of The Boys looks at family and its importance in our lives and its many definitions, just as Supernatural did. Family by blood, family by choice, family by shared time in a foxhole trying to survive. Family as the support system who gets you through, and family as abusive and controlling and ultimately soul-destroying. Family as the people who give you those ideas about what it means to be a man or a woman without leaving any space for any other options, and demonstrate those rules with the abuse that makes them unforgettable.
Sometimes. Sometimes the cycle doesn’t get broken – and I hate that.
There are vivid reminders that abuse doesn’t always mean beating the shit out of someone (though sometimes it does). Words can do lasting damage just as easily, and sometimes those are even harder to forget or fight back against – because it’s your own self you’re talking back to. (The Boys makes that literal at times, which I invariably love an unreasonable amount). The voices in our heads can talk us out of irrational thoughts that hold us back, or they can talk us into staying afraid and trying to stay safe the only way we’ve learned. With all the trauma and PTSD in The Boys, it’s inevitable that both of those voices exist – and are sometimes given voice themselves!
The messages about fathers and sons in this show are Freudian in their flavor too. There’s a tremendous fear of betrayal, the darkest side of competition, mixed with heartbreaking longing, very Oedipal. Sometimes I hope desperately that the message will be different, but this show has never been one to avoid the dark side.
The season ultimately turns out to be all about choice – as Kripke’s shows often are. Do you choose to have power if you can, or do you turn it down? Is there something worth giving it up for? Conversely, is there something worth holding onto it for, even if there is a price? There are no easy answers for any of the characters, and that holds true in the real world too.
I love that a show that’s entirely ‘out there’ rings so true for what is right here in front of us every single day. I love that it reflects the worst of humanity, specifically mirroring the things that make my stomach turn on a daily basis – and that it also reflects the best. It’s dark as hell, and disturbing, and sometimes truly painful to watch, but it makes me think and it makes me feel. It gets the wheels turning as fast as that roller coaster barrels down the steepest hill and leaves me just as breathless.
One more ride on the rollercoaster? Sign me up.
Do not miss the season finale of The Boys this Friday (or tonight if we’re lucky), and be prepared for some of the twists and turns not being what you expect. Season 4, anyone?
