MovieChat Forums > The Boys (2019) Discussion > No Likeable Characters/No Super Villains

No Likeable Characters/No Super Villains

posted 4 years ago by HolyWars (61)
25 replies | jump to latest

A couple of things that bother me about this show are that there are really no likeable or 'good' characters to root for, and there are no super villains (to use Homelander's term) to root against.

There is no character that is a stand-in for even the audience. initially, I thought it would be the Hughie, but he

-----spoiler alert-----

goes ahead and murders Translucence, lies to Starlight repeatedly, and is corrupted. At first I thought they may turn his character into a super-villain, which would have been way more intriguing than what they eventually did - see below for more on that.

I get that they are going for the anti-hero angle and the 'deconstruction' of the superhero genre -ala The Watchmen - which did it much better, and had sympathetic protagonists.

On the flip-side of that coin is that there are no characters to really root against: no super villains. The Vought corp has to invent them, in order to justify The 7 getting into the military, but none are created organically, through their own volition. And lets be honest: there are plenty of good reasons for them to exist in this world: The 7 are completely corrupted, murder, maim, and destroy. Shouldn't there be a Lex Luthor out there that sees this?

What do you all think?

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

I agree that there are no really "good" characters and this makes it a difficult series to like. I am generally getting tired of watching only anti-heroes on tv, because I don't think people are that bad in real life. At the same time, that's what this series is about. Hughie is morally compromised but I think he recognises it. I think there is an interesting moral battle shaping up between Hughie and Billy Butcher.

I'm rooting against Homelander, although he's such a good villain that I hope he remains throughout the series.

I would be very happy if more lighthearted and optimistic fare became available to us, especially considering the depressing state of the real world right now.

[–] HolyWars (61) 4 years ago

Yeah, I guess it was hard to anticipate how bad the real world would get!

The thing about this show is, I feel bad in general after watching it. It's unnecessarily crass - and I'm no prude - but I cringe at some of the dialogue.

Interesting to hear your insights!

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Yes, agree. And the gore is well beyond my taste, although I think that's the show's idea of "fun."

I'm not sure it does any of us any good to spend so much time getting into the heads of such dark characters.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

It is an immoral show trying to make these characters appear "cool" to audiences when they are all corrupted and rather evil.

[–] HolyWars (61) 4 years ago

Very true. I’ve never seen a show populated with so many psychopaths.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

That's the new "cool" thing in Hollywood, try to make clearly evil characters appealing.

[–] ridah (289) 4 years ago

This isn't exactly new, it's always existed in one form or another. I mean look at 40 years ago, JR Ewing, Darth Vader, the Terminator, Predator...all villains that ultimately are "cooler" than their protagonists.

[–] ODB82 (2055) 4 years ago

I find myself rooting for a lot of them. They don’t have to be particularly good or just. I end up rooting for characters I enjoy. I think Homelander is hilarious. I root for him.

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Homelander is indeed hilarious. I root against him, which maybe is the same thing as rooting for him? I don't know.

[–] ODB82 (2055) 4 years ago

I root for him in general even though he’s horrible. I wouldn’t want to necessarily want to see him come out on top in the end but it wouldn’t upset me either. He’s highly entertaining and they’ve added some sympathetic elements to him.

[–] xfool (963) 4 years ago

Starlight and Maeve are definitely likeable

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Yes I like Starlight. I think she's the only character really trying to be good. I think Hughie has allowed himself to be corrupted by Billy Butcher and we'll see how that turns out. I don't like Maeve. Even though I think she is trying, she has been part of the Seven for years and clearly has collaborated with Homelander's evil and duplicity in the past, if reluctantly. I think she is more like Hughie than she is like Starlight.

[–] HolyWars (61) 4 years ago

Starlight up until about last week. I realized what she did was an accident, but she showed no remorse and admitted so to Butcher.

[–] xfool (963) 4 years ago

she killed him accidently and did feel bad about it. Huge difference there, Homelander would kill just for fun.

[–] HolyWars (61) 4 years ago

I believe she said she felt nothing to Butcher, though I could be wrong about that.

[–] [deleted] 4 years ago

Billy, Frenchie, Kimiko, and Mother's Milk are good characters and I root for The Boys.

I think Maeve, Elena and Becca are boring characters. Zzz...

Hughie and Starlight are annoying.

The Deep is okay in this season.

I really hate Homelander and Stormfront.

I think the super villain has always been around and will be revealed soon.

[–] Darren (1342) 4 years ago

Deep's gone all in on the creepy cult though. When the leader told him to cut off Eagle the Archer, he switched instantly from yep, great guy, was there for me when I needed him, to righto boss, he's persona non grata. A Train looks better by comparison. You can see he hopes this group can help him out, but you could see he was taken aback by the exile of Eagle, and he didn't exactly confront the Deep about mindlessly following orders, but he did point out that the Deep just threw a friend of his overboard for completely selfish reasons.

[–] Iffy762 (1334) 4 years ago

Yeah, I liked the difference in how A-Train and The Deep responded to that. To me, The Deep is a very insecure and immature person who will agree with anyone who'll make him feel good about himself. He just doesn't seem to demonstrate the ability to think deeply about things. I think he's a follower. I liked A-Train more after he showed himself to recognise the moral problem in The Deep's response. But at the same time, I think it makes A-Train more culpable for his bad actions than The Deep. If A-Train does something wrong, I think he knows and feels it's wrong, and does it anyway. I really hope A-Train makes a choice to redeem himself at some point. But, you know, so far no real heroes in this story.

[–] xfool (963) 4 years ago

Homelander and Stormfront are the villains sort of, both have no qualms killing innocents as long as its out of public scrutiny

[–] papamihel (1616) 4 years ago

The comic has the same appeal as Boondock Saints or Falling Down - it's kind of a revenge porn. Regular peeps beating the shit out of rich and famous cunts and sticking it to "the man" (both corporate and government) in process.

The show tries to hard IMO to be serious and complex...

[–] jekporkins (1970) 4 years ago

What's interesting is I think it just shows everyone is flawed, which is a lot like real life. You can root for a flawed hero easily. Flawed heroes are focused on revenge and people get in the way. Hughie is that character. He is simply trying to avenge his ex and be a good man, which is insanely difficult when people keep exploding on him.

I consider the 7 to be supervillains, not heroes.

[–] HolyWars (61) 4 years ago

I think flawed is fine.

Psychotic is something else entirely.

[–] ATG6 (3000) 4 years ago

Butcher is the super villain. His team already killed one fo the Seven.
Vought is the super villain.
Gus Fring is the super villain. They don't seem to be making much use of him on the show though, too bad.
Stormfront is the super villain. Now she's pulling Homelander into her plot. (I still think he will end up destroying her. He's callous and self-centered, but he wants to be a hero, not the bad guy.)

[–] jekporkins (1970) 4 years ago

I don't think Homelander wants to be a hero. I think he wants gratification and love, which is what he never got as a child. He is using the American public as a crutch. He's as evil as it gets.

Homelander is that Lord Acton quote defined: "Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men, even when they exercise influence and not authority; still more when you superadd the tendency of the certainty of corruption by authority."