The Boys is back for its third season, picking up where it left off and then some. This season expands the revisionist superhero universe's scope and roster of depraved, super-powered characters as it looks back at its own history while keeping an eye on its future. This isn't to say that the comic book adaptation isn't as deliriously gory and profanely comedic as it always has been, but there is a more prominent sense of world-building and greater emphasis on social satire that takes shape on the story. In short, The Boys is back, bigger and badder than ever, and going straight for the jugular when it comes to skewering the foibles and nuances of this American life to great effect as only the Prime Video series can.
Continuing to adapt the comic book story created by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, The Boys Season 3 has the eponymous crew keep an eye on super-powered figures revered by the public as heroes whenever they abuse their powers. While the psychotic Homelander and the Seven face scrutiny over their former teammate Stormfront being exposed as a Nazi in Season 2, the Boys' leader, Billy Butcher, and his ensemble look into the history behind other supes linked to Vought International. This comes as the Boys' Hughie Campbell realizes he's in over his head, working for Congresswoman Victoria Neuman, unaware of her murderous true nature and connection to Vought.
The Boys is still immaculately paced, knowing exactly when to dive deep into its lurid, violent world of salacious super-powered shenanigans and sinister corporate malfeasance and when to allow the audience up for air. Similarly, the tone remains well-balanced, veering between pitch-black comedy and heartbreaking character moments as the pressures of constantly being exposed to and participating in such unrelenting brutality take an evident toll. Just as the audience appears to think they know where the story is going next, showrunner Eric Kripke and the team pivot to keep viewers on their toes while rapidly escalating the stakes.
The real standouts of the cast this season are Karen Fukuhara and Karl Urban. Fukuhara is given plenty of room in the early episodes of the season to portray Kimiko as a woman that is trying to reconnect with her stolen sense of humanity through her blossoming relationship with Tomer Capon's Frenchie. Whereas Antony Starr has played a hero constantly on the edge, with endless amounts of rage bubbling under the surface, Urban gets to explore a similar dynamic as Butcher finds himself careening off the rails with his own deep-seated issues betraying his smug demeanor.
The Boys has never been a show to pull its punches, both in terms of graphic content and its social messaging, and the series is taking its most pointed, visceral swings yet in Season 3. The characters and world they live in are just as volatile and reactionary as our own -- the only difference is that The Boys has people that cut a person in half with heat vision in the blink of an eye. This satire isn't just needling corporate culture and public imaging but takes a grander socioeconomic stance that feels very much the superhero show that boldly speaks to where society is right now.
Three seasons in, and The Boys has more than earned its place as one of the best superhero television series of all time and as one of the finest original shows running on Prime Video. Obviously still not for the faint of heart, the superhero satire returns for its third season angrier and more direct than ever, with blood and gore running wholesale as its brutal characters continue to run amuck. For all the mayhem and vulgar thrills, The Boys cast continues to wear their hearts on their sleeves while proving there is still plenty of mileage in this postmodern deconstruction of the genre.
Developed for television by Eric Kripke, The Boys Season 3 premieres June 3 on Prime Video, with new episodes released Fridays.