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The Boys season 4 trailer

wondermega

Member
I immediately liked what they did with Sage. She's the smartest "Person" in the world, but also clearly very miserable. Reminds me of some people I know who are also extremely smart, and could easily exploit that if "living the high life" was interesting to them, but they are essentially just very lonely and completely tuned out since no one else can relate to them. They may as well live in a ramshackle apartment and follow up on frivolous pursuits just to pass the time, since the entirety of the world around them are essentially toddlers..
 

Men_in_Boxes

Snake Oil Salesman
Is this show worth watching? I feel like the conversation never quite bubbled up to "must watch status" like Shogun or Chernobyl, but it's definitely orbited around for a while now.
 
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Is this show worth watching? I feel like the conversation never quite bubbled up to "must watch status" like Shogun or Chernobyl, but it's definitely orbited around for a while now.
I consider it one level below those shows. Then again, I don't watch it as critically as others here, as I find it to be a fun Darkhorse comics-style Superhero show (yes I know it's not darkhorse but the show feels like it).

In the grand scheme of things, if Arrow (the TV show) season 1 was considered a C-grade season today, and Shogun is considered an A, then The Boys would be a strong B/almost A.

This will probably be Eric Kripke's best show.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
For those still confused about Sage's powers, I missed this but the infographic is in the show in episode 1:

XwFEnoT.jpeg
 

Dr. Claus

Banned
If you think the show is bad then don't look at the comics, imagine the show with even more descriptive violence and 2000s edge.
Oh, I am well aware. It is why I enjoyed the first season. They toned it down a bit and made it actually enjoyable. Too bad they stopped doing that as early as season 2.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
For those still confused about Sage's powers, I missed this but the infographic is in the show in episode 1:

XwFEnoT.jpeg
See, if she has a "photographic memory" then why does she need to keep books after she's read them? Her room should have been full of shipping boxes with it being clear that she is CONSTANTLY consuming and then discarding texts. I'm not even sure what "empathic accuracy" even is.

They could have set up her capabilities much better in this first episode, IMHO. "I'm super smart" is one of, if not THE hardest 'power' to pull off in a show. She can't be smarter than the writers and ain't none of those writers geniuses.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
See, if she has a "photographic memory" then why does she need to keep books after she's read them? Her room should have been full of shipping boxes with it being clear that she is CONSTANTLY consuming and then discarding texts. I'm not even sure what "empathic accuracy" even is.

They could have set up her capabilities much better in this first episode, IMHO. "I'm super smart" is one of, if not THE hardest 'power' to pull off in a show. She can't be smarter than the writers and ain't none of those writers geniuses.

The one time a writer actually showed a character to be genuinely smart was in "Legend of the Blue Marvel".... Because the writer is an actual scientist ... Reed Richards writing is just throwing together science speak word salad.
 

Mossybrew

Banned
I like Sage, I think she's probably the most interesting aspect of these first three episodes. For the most part the show kinda just feels like it's going through the motions, it's missing something I can't quite put my finger on.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
I'm not sure why some of you are so laser focused on why she has books in her home or reads books in general. There are people with photographic memory in real life who still own books.
I know folks with it as well but they are not 1000x smarter than the rest of us. My point is that having her little apartment stacked with books doesn't support her being ultra-smart, just messy and introverted. If she really is orders of magnitude smarter than the rest of us then keeping books around is kinda like having a bunch of pizza boxes at your place after you ate the pizza. She presumably absorbed the info from the book and since they were written by folks 1000x DUMBER than she is, so other than few insights the books are mostly trash. Does she need books with charts and tables of info? No, she is ONE THOUSAND TIMES SMARTER and has a photographic memory, it's literally her superpower (well, other than the regeneration they all seem to have) so she functions at the level of a supercomputer plus she also has awesome empathy.

Anyway, more my complaint with the set dresser than the character as I've only seen ep1 so far. I just think they could have set her up much more impressively had they just thought through her power and how she might act, then present that on screen. They could have had her translating ancient scrolls or comparing books in 4 different languages, rather than casually reading a book, slowly, while on the toilet of whatever.

At least she didn't beat an AI in chess* though :p

*(ATLAS reference)
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
I know folks with it as well but they are not 1000x smarter than the rest of us. My point is that having her little apartment stacked with books doesn't support her being ultra-smart, just messy and introverted. If she really is orders of magnitude smarter than the rest of us then keeping books around is kinda like having a bunch of pizza boxes at your place after you ate the pizza. She presumably absorbed the info from the book and since they were written by folks 1000x DUMBER than she is, so other than few insights the books are mostly trash. Does she need books with charts and tables of info? No, she is ONE THOUSAND TIMES SMARTER and has a photographic memory, it's literally her superpower (well, other than the regeneration they all seem to have) so she functions at the level of a supercomputer plus she also has awesome empathy.

Anyway, more my complaint with the set dresser than the character as I've only seen ep1 so far. I just think they could have set her up much more impressively had they just thought through her power and how she might act, then present that on screen. They could have had her translating ancient scrolls or comparing books in 4 different languages, rather than casually reading a book, slowly, while on the toilet of whatever.

At least she didn't beat an AI in chess* though :p

*(ATLAS reference)


Think of the smartest people in the real world. Einstein, Hawking, Kaku, Sagan, Tyson, etc. They still had to read to learn. They weren't BORN with the knowledge... That's omniscience. She's self-taught, self-trained and self-schooled.

The smartest people learn differently than the rest of us. I know for a fact (pics of their homes) that the likes of Einstein and Kaku KEPT the books they read. I think because we aren't people like them, we assume how they retain or learn new information. People with photographic memories may be able to remember perfectly everything they see and read and experience, but you still have to know how to apply or develop the skills the books present. Like maths and chemistry and physics and engineering. This requires a kind of "hyper" cognition, like Sage has (only hers is superhuman).

Also, the empathic accuracy means she can tell what someone is feeling at any given moment. Like Counselor Troi from Star Trek: TNG. She has yet to show any empathy herself... Just able to tell how someone is feeling.
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Think of the smartest people in the real world. Einstein, Hawking, Kaku, Sagan, Tyson, etc. They still had to read to learn. They weren't BORN with the knowledge... That's omniscience. She's self-taught, self-trained and self-schooled.

The smartest people learn differently than the rest of us. I know for a fact (pics of their homes) that the likes of Einstein and Kaku KEPT the books they read. I think because we aren't people like them, we assume how they retain or learn new information. People with photographic memories may be able to remember perfectly everything they see and read and experience, but you still have to know how to apply or develop the skills the books present. Like maths and chemistry and physics and engineering. This requires a kind of "hyper" cognition, like Sage has (only hers is superhuman).

Also, the empathic accuracy means she can tell what someone is feeling at any given moment. Like Counselor Troi from Star Trek: TNG. She has yet to show any empathy herself... Just able to tell how someone is feeling.
Well, if you assume Einstein is 10x smarter than the average person (Homelander, for all his flaws, isn't actually retarded), then she is self-proclaimed ONE HUNDRED TIMES smarter than that, it is literally her superpower, putting her on a level unreachable by ANY human EVER in history. The densest, most complicated, most nuanced subjects in HUMAN HISTORY ought to just be "ABC, 123" level texts to her. She has perfect recall as well, so if anything, you'd expect a few trophy texts at best, why else stack up hundreds of childrens books on your walls?

Does superman keep a bunch of 5 pound weights in the fortress of solitude to remind folks (or himself?) that he struggled to lift those for about a nanosecond after landing on earth?

Does Ironman or Reed Richards keep all their 1st grade science books lying around on the off chance they gotta reference the periodic table drawn in crayon? And even if they do, is it a flex? Absolutely not. Typically the comic ultrasmart are shown doing multiple things at once, like watching 4 screens, playing a game, and holding 3 conversations simultaneously because THEY CAN.

Anyway, its a trivial point.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Well, if you assume Einstein is 10x smarter than the average person (Homelander, for all his flaws, isn't actually retarded), then she is self-proclaimed ONE HUNDRED TIMES smarter than that, it is literally her superpower, putting her on a level unreachable by ANY human EVER in history. The densest, most complicated, most nuanced subjects in HUMAN HISTORY ought to just be "ABC, 123" level texts to her. She has perfect recall as well, so if anything, you'd expect a few trophy texts at best, why else stack up hundreds of childrens books on your walls?

Does superman keep a bunch of 5 pound weights in the fortress of solitude to remind folks (or himself?) that he struggled to lift those for about a nanosecond after landing on earth?

Does Ironman or Reed Richards keep all their 1st grade science books lying around on the off chance they gotta reference the periodic table drawn in crayon? And even if they do, is it a flex? Absolutely not. Typically the comic ultrasmart are shown doing multiple things at once, like watching 4 screens, playing a game, and holding 3 conversations simultaneously because THEY CAN.

Anyway, its a trivial point.

Trivial but I LOVE this stuff! Debating things like this makes me happy because I can really geek out! I appreciate you indulging me, bruv!
 

jason10mm

Gold Member
Trivial but I LOVE this stuff! Debating things like this makes me happy because I can really geek out! I appreciate you indulging me, bruv!
This is why we NEED GRRMs Wild Cards! He (and his collaborators, maybe it was always a Snodgrass joint?) had a much more balanced take on how superpowered folks would actually operate, away from the "hero/villain, pick one!" dichotomy. Like most comic things in the 80's, it is a riff and commentary on DC (and a bit of marvel) but I thought there was enough novelty in there it isn't a reactionary as "The Boys" and the like.
 

BigBeauford

Member
The shows has always had political commentary, and despite people saying it was firing shots at both sides it has always been pretty heavily inclined towards one side.
But there used to be more nuance and better writing, specially in the first season.

If I had to describe the first season it was basically: "What if Superheroes acted and were treated like regular movie/TV celebrities? What if they were managed by a profit focused megacorporation and basically just treated as entertainment product,? And the Justice League was full of murderous assholes led by an evil egomaniac version of Superman?"

Meanwhile Season 4 so far basically just comes across as "What if Trump had superpowers?"

This absolutely nails my thoughts
 
Anyway, more my complaint with the set dresser than the character as I've only seen ep1 so far. I just think they could have set her up much more impressively had they just thought through her power and how she might act, then present that on screen. They could have had her translating ancient scrolls or comparing books in 4 different languages, rather than casually reading a book, slowly, while on the toilet of whatever.
On one hand I guess I can kind of see what you mean here with set dressing, but on the other hand The Boys/Gen V exist in a world of open degeneracy and messiness, which is why I was not surprised that the smartest person in the world lives like a slob loser.

Every time we are introduced to a new supe there is usually a shitty catch. I actually think it would have been a little disappointing if the show made her look more impressive and clean considering her profile had no special marks on it after the time period of whatever she participated with A-train with as a teen. He exclaimed it himself that she is a know it all who doesn’t know when to shut up. That sounds like a person who is very hard to work with, and probably someone who unknowingly sabotages themself at work or at worse (and most likely in her case) knowingly doesn’t care.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Oh yeah. To J jason10mm point about being able to multitask multiple sources of information at once ... In her opening scene as she's on the toilet, she's reading a book AND listening to an audiobook at the same time.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
On Sage's apartment: I have seen the studies of many famous authors, philosophers, and scholars thanks to some subreddit who's name escapes me, and every last one save maybe two or three were messy as hell, littered with books, notes on paper, maps, and the like. Why are we even focusing on such a pointless aspect of a single scene anyways? lol

Edit: you know what, whatever, have fun. I myself have certainly went on for paragraphs about pointless shit in TV shows here before, I'm being a hypocrite
 
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DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
On Sage's apartment: I have seen the studies of many famous authors, philosophers, and scholars thanks to some subreddit who's name escapes me, and every last one save maybe two or three were messy as hell, littered with books, notes on paper, maps, and the like. Why are we even focusing on such a pointless aspect of a single scene anyways? lol

Edit: you know what, whatever, have fun. I myself have certainly went on for paragraphs about pointless shit in TV shows here before, I'm being a hypocrite


All good. Our discussion was in good fun. Neither me or Jason were angry with each other. I just found this whole thing fascinating... She was created just for the show... Not from the comics. And you added something to the discussion as well! I enjoyed reading it!
 

bitbydeath

Member
Well, if you assume Einstein is 10x smarter than the average person (Homelander, for all his flaws, isn't actually retarded), then she is self-proclaimed ONE HUNDRED TIMES smarter than that, it is literally her superpower, putting her on a level unreachable by ANY human EVER in history. The densest, most complicated, most nuanced subjects in HUMAN HISTORY ought to just be "ABC, 123" level texts to her. She has perfect recall as well, so if anything, you'd expect a few trophy texts at best, why else stack up hundreds of childrens books on your walls?

Does superman keep a bunch of 5 pound weights in the fortress of solitude to remind folks (or himself?) that he struggled to lift those for about a nanosecond after landing on earth?

Does Ironman or Reed Richards keep all their 1st grade science books lying around on the off chance they gotta reference the periodic table drawn in crayon? And even if they do, is it a flex? Absolutely not. Typically the comic ultrasmart are shown doing multiple things at once, like watching 4 screens, playing a game, and holding 3 conversations simultaneously because THEY CAN.

Anyway, its a trivial point.
As DeafTourette DeafTourette pointed out one of her powers is advanced engineering, so the Ironman comparison would be on point for how they should have shown her. She should have a suit that makes her powerful or at least a workshop in her home as opposed to a mess of old books.
 

Hypnotoad

Member
I liked the first season of the Boyz, seemed like a fresh take on the genre at the time and willing to take risks. The end of season 3 however killed all my interest in the series. Instead of subversive, it has become predictable and the very thing it tries to parody. Nothing of substance changes, the characters get mired down in boring drama. The writers seem more interested in a overt satire of the real world with edgy imagery and gratuitous violence rather than telling a compelling story. Lots of teasing and setup, barely any good payoffs.
 
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bitbydeath

Member
I liked the first season of the Boyz, seemed like a fresh take no the genre at the time and willing to take risks. The end of season 3 however killed all my interest in the series. Instead of subversive, it has become predictable and the very thing it tries to parody. Nothing of substance changes, the characters get mired down in boring drama. The writers seem more interested in a overt satire of the real world with edgy imagery and gratuitous violence rather than telling a compelling story. Lots of teasing and setup, barely any good payoffs.
Season 4 hasn’t said anything about Maeve or what exactly occurred with Soldier Boy which is disappointing since it was setup as a cliffhanger.

They also haven’t addressed the Gen V ending although I suspect that hasn’t happened yet in The Boys timeline.
 
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DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Season 4 hasn’t said anything about Maeve or what exactly occurred with Soldier Boy which is disappointing since it was setup as a cliffhanger.

They also haven’t addressed the Gen V ending although I suspect that hasn’t happened yet in The Boys timeline.

Season 4 so far has mentioned soldier boy at least twice. Once by JDM's character recalling the all hands on deck fight in the finale of season 3... And a poster at TruthCon accurately saying the CIA has Soldier Boy frozen.

As far as most are concerned, Maeve is dead... Remember Ashley hid her still being alive?

This season takes place after the events of Gen V ... When butcher and Neumann met, they talked about the supe virus...

Every point has been addressed.
 

bitbydeath

Member
Season 4 so far has mentioned soldier boy at least twice. Once by JDM's character recalling the all hands on deck fight in the finale of season 3... And a poster at TruthCon accurately saying the CIA has Soldier Boy frozen.
Would be great if they went back to the event and showed what happened though.

As far as most are concerned, Maeve is dead... Remember Ashley hid her still being alive?
Don’t recall this part, did Ashley say she hid her?

This season takes place after the events of Gen V ... When butcher and Neumann met, they talked about the supe virus...

Butcher said the virus wasn’t ready, he discovered it was ready at the end of Gen V.
 

Denton

Member
I'm quite surprised people managed to watch the first three seasons of The Boys and not see the obvious political commentary. It wasn't exactly subtle. The first episode of season 4 does ramp it up a little though.
I noticed it all right, but it was more evenhanded there. They made fun of everyone. Now it seems like they only make fun of trumpists, so part of the bite is gone.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Now that I have seen episode 3 again, Annie's face isn't that bad. I was being overly critical because of the pic she had shared. She seems to have just lost her baby fat from her face.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
She definitely lost weight, too much IMO. Her buttcheeks were nice and thick in the first few seasons. Now they're practically gone.

She's still a pretty woman, but I think she's kind of unhealthily skinny now.
 

BadBurger

Many “Whelps”! Handle It!
Decided to watch ep2

It's hilarious how Homelander's son and Black Noir can't act for shit lol

And this Truthcon - lovely satire

I need to get all of Mother's Milk's t-shirts man. He's always on point.

Edit: OK I did not need to see that scene. Holy shit
 
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Dr. Claus

Banned
mentally ill perverts...

Please, elaborate.

Do all of us a favorite with your spicy take.

Hey mate, if you think getting your jollies off to a midget man going up another man’s dickhole is quality writing and not the deranged musings of a psychopath, you do you. Just do it far away from me.
 

DeafTourette

Perpetually Offended
Hey mate, if you think getting your jollies off to a midget man going up another man’s dickhole is quality writing and not the deranged musings of a psychopath, you do you. Just do it far away from me.
Dude... The comics were just as crazy. Eric Kripke is the same dude who made supernatural... If he and Garth Ennis made tonally similar sight gags, then by YOUR definition, they're both deranged.
 
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