Cinepals - THE BOYS 4x1 REACTION & REVIEW! | Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty | Amazon Prime

Episode Date: June 13, 2024

The Boys is back with season 4! Starring Karl Urban (The Lord of The Rings Trilogy, Star Trek, Dredd) as Billy Butcher, Antony Starr (Banshee, Outrageous Fortune) as Homelander, Jack Quaid (The Hunger Games, Scream) as Hughie Campbell and Erin Moriarty as Starlight. Watch our cutdown reaction on YouTube at https://YouTube.com/@Cinepals or watch the full reaction on Patreon at https://Patreon.com/JabyKoay SOCIAL MEDIA ~CINEPALS~ Twitter & Instagram: @TheCinePals https://www.YouTube.com/@Cinepals ~JABY KOAY~ Twitter & Instagram: @JabyKoay ~ACHARA KIRK~ Twitter & Instagram: @AcharaKirk

I do not want to miss Smash Mouth. We're watching The Boys Season 4 episode 1. Thanks so much for joining us. Let's just jump right into it. Here we go. Can't he just duplicate it? Yeah, that's what I was thinking. Oh, for fucks.

The effort involved. I hope you're happy now. Yeah. that was a dick move pun intended it was an ass move technically oh oh oh oh ew wow that was the first episode that was a lot that was a loaded episode yeah they set up a lot i really enjoyed that it was just like i mean there's there's so much going on you know and so I feel like because there's such a long gap between the seasons, it's nice to kind of get back into like,

these are the characters that we know and love. And also this is where we're at now. And this is where we're going with the story. So are we there? Cool. Okay. And now we're going to go. The thing is Homelander is aware of his, I guess, his limitations.

He's starting to realize like he needed someone who is smarter than him. He was sought out the person that is like the smartest person in the world. Like, that's the best move you could make. The only danger is, what if she turns against you? Like, you don't know if she's manipulating you in any way. All he has is brawn and tenacity to whatever is driving him, right? Right. His resilience.

It's like, that's the thing that he has. That's his strength. Yeah. No, you're absolutely right. Because if she ever did decide to turn against him, I bet she would have already thought of all the scenarios and, like, figured out a way to do that. Yeah, I mean, it could already be in play, and we just, it'll reveal itself later down the line. Like, the whole thing with him coercing her into joining the team, she probably anticipated he was going to do that.

And she anticipated, okay, here's how I'm going to play it so it doesn't look obvious that I'm making moves. Like, I'm not saying that's what's actually happening. I'm just saying it's a possibility. Should it reveal itself later on? Like, she's four steps ahead, like Sherlock Holmes. Yeah, I mean, I think she was genuinely surprised that, you know, she got a call from Holander, like that he came not. knocking at her door, I think that was genuine surprise, but I'm pretty sure, you know, everything after that is fully calculated. And that's terrifying because like Homander

alone is scary and just in what he is, what he stands for and just the fact that he can be such a wild card. Well, I'm wondering, she's such an interesting character because this can go a lot of different directions, right? If she sees the sacrifice of lives as a means to an end to get rid of Homelander from the inside. See what I'm saying? Ooh. Oh, I see. Like, that's a very different move than someone like Kiwi would make or Starlight would make, whatever she's going by now. Annie.

Annie. You know, like, those kinds of characters wouldn't make those kinds of moves. She's different in that way. She has got me wildly curious. I love her addition in the show just because you could literally do anything with that. You know what I mean? It's so fascinating. And so seeing Homelander have his.

what you'll call it? Midlife crisis. Yeah. That's interesting to watch. Like, where do you take that character? You have to take him somewhere new so the audience doesn't get bored. So the audience is like excited still to see the journey.

And it's like, they found something new to do with him fourth season in. And I'm like, that's cool. I'm glad. Well, I think it also helps to kind of make him relatable, right? Because I think as humans, as people, it's hard for us to relate to someone who is indestructible.

If it was that he didn't age and he wasn't going through some stuff that maybe some of us can kind of relate to, that feeling of like, oh my God, my body is failing me. I'm getting older and there's nothing I can do about it. It's kind of scary.

Like what's going on? Like, how do I, what legacy am I leaving behind for my children and all of that? I feel like that humanizes him a lot. Not that they've ever failed to humanize him because I think that they've done a really great job with the character of like

showing his emotional instability and his flaws and I think that makes him like so interesting and also relatable. But this is like you said, this is another interesting step to take with him. I think that to what you're saying though

it informs his behavior and how he treats everybody and it makes it all the more interesting. He is pure villain, but he's not pure evil. That's what I mean to say. It's the opposite, right? Because it all is almost like psychology, which the show has taken us through with him, you know, his childhood and all that stuff.

And so it all sort of informs how he acts with his kid and the awkwardness there. He doesn't really know how to be a dad. It's just an extension of himself. He literally says, like, you and I need to be so unified. We're basically one. Gross. He's trying to basically create a doppelganger of himself as a sort of means to extend his own life because he's seeing his limitations.

Sure. You know? Yeah. And so it's in the grossest way, something's that a lot of kids have to deal with, which is their parents are trying to live through them. And so it's the real dark side of that. I mean, the show is very cynical.

It's dealing with the dark side of a lot of things. You know, the writer kind of came out recently and was very transparent about his intentions with the show. And he's like, if you don't like it, go somewhere else. Right. That's a paraphrasing of us. But the thing is, he's also, taking shots at the left as well within the show and it's interesting to see that not as hard but he's still he's still doing it and he it's a cynical kind of outlook at just the world right this is all sort of it's supposed to be analogous while it's very on the nose now as where it didn't feel as on the nose earlier it's all supposed to be analogous to our own reality just with the superheroes and all that stuff you know yeah absolutely um the one part I question the only part I really questioned in the show that kind of

bothered me a little bit, which, you know, it's a superhero show, so who cares, but when they found the bodies and stuff, the way the corpse looked, I'm like, that doesn't look like the handiwork of a human being. It looks like the handiwork of a superhero or a soup of some kind. Well, weren't they trying to say that it was Starlight, that it was Annie? That she did that? Oh, I missed that part then. Yeah. Okay, I missed that completely. I think. No, I thought it was just in the riot, like three people died at the hands of the... No, yeah, I'm not 100% sure on that one, but I had the... Okay, well, maybe you're right.

And if that's the case, then it's fine. I've said this many times. I enjoy the story more than anything. Like, the violence is sort of just there. Like, that doesn't enhance it for me necessarily. It's just like it's just happens. Sometimes it feels like there's this heavy emphasis on a succinct combo of violence. And I'm just like, okay.

It's definitely shocking. Like, this episode, I was just really shocked by the violence, but more like I wasn't expecting it, you know? And then it just popped up. And I was like, oh, crap, that was a lot. I'm always ready for it at this point. I mean, the show literally comes out the gate in the, I don't know if it's part of this cut,

but the recap, it's like, that was literally all that you saw in the first 10 seconds. I'm just like, okay. Yeah. Like, that's not what's most appealing to me. What's most appealing to me are the three-dimensional characters that you've crafted here. 100%.

And, like, as we were watching it, I was thinking, and I'm sorry for anyone if, like, I come across as, like, completely clueless sometimes because we watch so many things and sometimes like my memory isn't super great especially if I've only watched the the thing once but I think what makes this show so compelling is that regardless of whether like you remember all of the story beats or whatever happened from the previous episodes the characters leave such a strong impression on you and at least for me like I care about them so much like I care about the boys I care about the team

And they're this little family and they're messed up. But like what family isn't, to be fair? That's true. That's true. It's also interesting seeing like the almost like your Xavier and Magneto of the show, right, as it were, with Butcher and Homelander. They're both falling apart in their own ways. Yeah. And that's interesting to see simultaneously.

And they both have to kind of posture in front of the other, even though it's like, it's clear at least to Homelander what's going on with butcher. Yeah. Right. Yeah, I mean, it's a lot of fascinating stuff that's going on all at the same time

within the show. I'm not over the Frenchy and, what's her name? Comico? Chemico? I got so afraid of saying her name wrong during the show. I was like,

let me just wait. I was really digging them. Yeah. And so... They're so sweet. This other thing that they're doing now, I'm like, okay,

I don't care about that guy. You know what I mean? This other guy? I mean, I guess all of us, or most of us are like, Yeah, but at some point, Frenchie and Kimiko have to figure it out and get back together, right? You know? This is just a weird distraction.

It's like, who is this dude? Have they introduced him before this episode? Like, I don't care about him. I think they may have, vaguely. Yeah. That was like a weird spot for me because I'm just like, I don't care. Even though it wouldn't be the relationship I was initially hoping for, there's some part of you that's like, oh, but what if that? That could be cool.

There was nothing like that was built up for me with this thing. It just happened. It just dropped in my lap, and I'm like, okay, I guess that's the direction we're going now. I do love, though, that Kimiko, her love for him is so pure and all-encompassing that she's like, you know what? I get it. We can't be together, but I want you to be happy. Yeah. So you go do your thing.

I'm going to be here, you know? Like, I really appreciate that. Okay. Yeah, yeah. No, that's, I mean, yeah. It's nice of her. Yeah, very nice. There might have been something in the previous season that established why they can't be together.

So I don't remember it if there is something there. Even though it's a show about like, you know, supernatural characters and whatnot for the most part. It's interesting to see the scene work play out in a way that feels kind of realistic. Yeah. You know, because you have Homelander objectifying two of his colleagues like that. And he's demonstrating to them and to himself like no one is going to tell me anything otherwise. And so I don't have anyone I can trust here. And it's like, but dude, you made that though.

Exactly. That's literally what you wanted. Exactly. And now you're mad at it. Yeah. Like literally, and he calls it out. He's like, these humans are just for us, they're like toys. And it's like, now you're mad at your toys, though, is essentially what's happened.

Yeah. Well, I mean, yes, they're all soups, but clearly he's the strongest one. Yeah. And everyone's seen how unhinged and crazy he can get if you ever speak out against him. So why would anyone? Why would anyone close to him do that? And so, yeah, it makes so much sense that. He would have to seek someone from outside who would have the guts to be like,

I'm going to tell you what you want to hear and you might not care for it, you know? I feel like the person who created the boys has probably had some shitty jobs. Probably. He's had some shitty bosses. And he's like, how can you be mad at me when this is the, this is like the error that you have designed? This is the situation. This is the toxic environment that you crafted and that you're mad at me when I'm like, you could fire me. Why am I going to talk against you?

exactly yeah like you're not cultivating a kind of supportive environment where people would feel confident to be able to say something against you exactly yeah yeah uh anthony whatever his name is uh star yeah his acting is so strong very good um that little scene with his with his son and he's like you know um whatever the dialogue was i'm not going to rehash it but his response to his son the like the way he took his time and there's a lot going on. There's so much going on. I would love to know his process of prepping for these scenes because, you know, you think about stuff like Marvel or just like superhero stuff in general.

It's kind of like popcorn, you know, it's just fun. So you don't imagine there's a lot of like studious effort in terms of like performances necessarily. It's just like, oh, we're having fun. It's a hangout. You know what I mean? Whereas, like, his scenes, they feel like real meaty scenes. No, I think that the characters are incredibly nuanced and especially Homelander, you know,

because he is just such a fascinating character, even if, I don't think you're supposed to like him, but also maybe you do kind of like him because there's parts of him that are fragile and broken and interesting. If anything, it's like he's always fascinating to watch. And like you say, there's always so many emotions playing out on his face at any one time. Like, I love watching him when he's kind of bored and contemptuous as well. Like when he's, that montage of him just sitting there with people talking at him and he's just kind of like, you know, dead inside. And, yeah. I thought that was also just creative as well.

Yeah, so creative. You guys, thanks so much for hanging out. Hopefully enjoy this. I'm Jabby Kui. This is a charic. Peace out.