The following contains mild spoilers for The Boys Season 3, on Prime Video.

Since the premiere of its first season in 2019, Prime Video's The Boys has developed a more confident voice for commentary with each subsequent outing -- for better and for worse. In its first season, the show more closely resembled its comic book counterpart, with a delightfully violent but detrimentally broad, unfocused approach to social commentary. It was all too often satisfied with vague statements and clichés, which ultimately made the unique tone of the show feel like a distraction. In Season 2, everything changed.

Released in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, The Boys Season 2 arrived at an undeniably historic time. Stunningly, it proved more than capable of meeting the world's problems head-on, skewering them with satire so precise it was genuinely refreshing. At a moment when everyone in the country wanted something to say, The Boys actually had something to say. Through Stormfront and Homelander, the show explored the complex relationship between old-school fascism and modern-day American ideologies, turning what was once a vague message about abuse of power into a relevant addition to the growing conversation of America's present wrong-doings and legacy of violence.

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Homelander And Fans On The Boys

Most impressive of all, however, is that the show was still vitally relevant during the pandemic, even though it was filmed long before the pandemic took hold. This points toward the rare skill of its creative team, the clarity of its purpose and the unique qualities of its subject material that lend itself so well to commentary. From Season 1 to Season 2, the transformation of The Boys felt like a magic trick. It was an entirely different show on all fronts. Season 3, on the other hand, feels like a hollow ghost of its predecessor.

This is not to say that Season 3 of The Boys is a complete retread of Season 2, nor is it to dismiss the obvious quality still on display. From Frenchie's hilariously unfortunate encounter with Termite, to the cathartic three-way grudge match between Butcher, Homelander and Jenson Ackles' excellent Soldier Boy, this season retains much of what has always made it entertaining. But when it comes to social commentary, where Season 2 succeeded in adding to the conversation, Season 3 seems to be content to echo it -- an issue most present in how it uses its characters.

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The Boys Season 3 Trailer Homelander Header

It's hard for the "heroes" to feel much more than chess pieces this season, carefully crafted yet disappointingly obvious in their purpose. Soldier Boy, for instance, is serving as a peculiar and forced embodiment of the COVID-19 virus; yes, the actual virus itself. Aside from the fact that much of America has (albeit erroneously) moved on from COVID entirely, there isn't much to be said about the government's mishandling of the virus that hasn't been exhausted over the past two years -- frankly, they're preaching to a tired choir.

What's more, the metaphor itself is extremely flimsy, coming dangerously close to unintentionally trivializing a deadly period of modern history. COVID was an invisible, terrifying stalker that ravaged the globe all at once, destroying or altogether ending the lives of the world's most vulnerable. Comparing that to a brash Captain America analog who basically operates like any other Supe while killing mostly Supes in a small, localized capacity is strange. Yet, it's a marked shift for the show, away from developing their characters towards using them like hollow vessels.

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Hughie angry with Homelander in The Boys

This shift has affected much of the show's lead cast. Though Episode 7 brought Hughie's arc to a somewhat satisfying climax, his journey towards an egotistical, toxically masculine, power-hungry pseudo-Supe has felt like such a harsh and, again, forced turn for him. This is further evidenced by the fact that the show is currently fighting to return him to where he started the season, rather than grow him further. If a show spends most of its time steering its main characters on and off an apparently unnecessary detour, it's a troubling sign.

Most notably, the show has taken a surprising misstep with Homelander; surprising in that -- on paper -- it sounds like it should work. In Season 3, Homelander has stepped away from his role as a Superman analog and is now an analog for the disgraced, former President Donald Trump. In concept, Homelander and Trump share a lot in common, and perhaps there is something to be explored there -- in execution, it's nonsense.

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Homelander staring at Butcher in Season 3 of The Boys.

Homelander is now a vessel for one of the world's most reviled politicians, but in his world, horrible politicians still exist. In fact, Homelander is often at odds with them in a way that Trump simply never was. It also disappointingly misses the point of Trump's legacy; a legacy the country is currently reckoning with via the Supreme Court. The show seems to think that Trump was the ultimate American evil, a man who devastated while he was in office but ultimately stood alone; it will be extremely telling how they handle Homelander's coming election-esque battle in the finale. In reality, Trump is merely a byproduct of a political party that has spent decades successfully pushing a far-right agenda; Homelander had to oust his handlers, Trump thrived because of them. His legacy is not what he did while he was in office, but his lasting impact after he left.

Having Homelander in conflict with senators, CEOs and The Seven comes off as silly. Sure, Trump's coup lost party support pretty quickly on the day, but sitting Republicans are racing to align themselves with him now. CEOs like Elon Musk are decrying the country's "shift to the left" as human rights are stripped away. They're on Homelander's team. But even if a viewer disagrees with this assessment, or if the show had successfully pulled off this allegory, or if they make it all worthwhile in the season finale, it needs to be asked: Does it matter?

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The Boys' Homelander, covered in blood

The Boys is currently struggling to echo events that happened over a year ago. Trump is, frankly, irrelevant as a subject. Whether he runs again or not, 2024's Republican candidate will fight tooth and nail to prove they're every bit the politician he was. Focusing on Homelander rather than the system that created him, then, feels irrelevant, too. Will the show now be an SNL-style recap of every traumatic event that occurred since its previous season, shifting around its characters like cast members to fill empty roles? This turns the show's earned confidence into arrogance.

Then again, maybe it's too much to ask a show to stay ahead of the times, the conversation, etc. Perhaps it's akin to asking it to predict the future, especially in a world where impossibly horrible things happen seemingly every day. But The Boys was once truly, disgustingly magical. Fans can't be faulted for yearning for the unique effectiveness of Season 2 once more. For wanting The Boys to feel super again.

The Season 3 finale of The Boys premieres July 8 on Prime Video.