THE BOYS (S1E3) “Get Some”: Speed Demons

Well, well, well, if it isn’t a pretty damn solid episode of The Boys. After some false starts, “Get Some” solidifies the mission statement of the show, pushes our established characters in new directions and broadens the scope of the world. It still falls victim to some of the show’s less favorable qualities, but after the credits rolled, I found myself genuinely intrigued and, dare I say it, excited to see where this goes next.

The Big Race

The major storyline’s of this episode all converge at one point—the race between disgraced A-Train and newcomer Shockwave (Mishka Thébaud). It’s here that all the main players sync up and The Boys actually starts to settle into a groove. For A-Train, his future in the Seven rests upon winning this race. After all, the second-fastest man alive doesn’t exactly have the same ring to it and his loss will likely result in his replacement on the team.

For the titular Boys, now joined by retired Supe hunter Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), the race is where they plan to steal Compound V from A-Train, revealed here to be a performance-enhancing drug. No less, the same one the speedster was loaded up on when he killed Robin. While for Starlight, it’s the unveiling of her new look, one she feels uncomfortable in but her bosses assure her is empowering. And finally, it’s where Homelander and Billy glance one another in the crowd, each assuring the other that it’s on.

Cleaning Up the Mess

We open the episode though, on the extensive clean up that follows Translucent’s murder. It’s appropriately gruesome, with his blood and guts adorning the walls of Frenchie’s hideout (and Hughie’s face). But they’re still faced with a problem—the dead Supe was invulnerable, meaning his remains are too, making the disposal of them particularly difficult. Homelander will be on their tales soon enough, says Billy, but at least they can stall him for the time being.

Long enough to form a team capable of taking out the whole lot of them—from the Seven to Vought’s upper management. Which is where Mother’s Milk, a former Supe hunter, comes in. He’s yet another of Billy’s old friends, now working as a prison guard and harboring some resentment towards the lovable rogue. But as Billy tells him of Hughie, the kid who took out a Supe, Mother’s Milk becomes interested.

If it wasn’t already apparent, it’s here that we get a strong sense of how much Billy is stringing Hughie along, opportunistically taking advantage of his situation to add another weapon to his arsenal. He also neglects to tell Mother’s Milk how exactly Hughie managed to off Translucent, which I’m sure will have no repercussions down the line. Just like his offhand lie about Frenchie not being involved will surely get him into no immediate trouble…

Assembling the Team

This, of course, immediately backfires when the two reunite and get into a scrap in the back of the van. There’s a vague reference to a Mallory, whose kids Frenchie perhaps killed or brought harm to, which appears to have caused this rift. But Billy calms the situation, getting them to set their differences aside and focus on the mission at hand.

After the revelation in “Cherry” that A-Train was with Popclaw before killing Robin, the Boys formulate a plan to bug her apartment. Hughie and Mother’s Milk pose as tech support, hacking into her computer to gain access to her devices, allowing them to spy on her every move. But when he opens up the computer, Hughie sees a familiar face, momentarily throwing him off.

But that’s nothing compared to what happens as they leave. Having completed their mission, Hughie and Mother’s Milk walk out, only to pass A-Train himself in the hallway. Hughie’s stopped dead in his tracks. He asks if they’ve met before, but the speedster doesn’t even remember him.

Jack Quaid‘s face tells us everything we need to know at this moment, and director Philip Sgriccia holds on the moment for what feels like an eternity, before Mother’s Milk drags Hughie away. It’s perhaps questionable why we needed both these moments to get the same point across—that Hughie is all over the place, ready to boil over at the mere sight of his enemy—but the scene is impactful all the same.

The Truth Comes Out

The Boys sit patiently, watching A-Train and Popclaw, until all is revealed. He asks her for more Compound V, but she’s hesitant. See, he got too “amped up” last time, resulting in Robin’s death. But he’s able to convince her, revealing his concerns about the race and saying he needs it to win. Seeds of doubt are also planted here, since he’s ashamed to publically announce their relationship—possibly because of her status as a D-list superhero or because of her second career as an adult film star. Billy takes note of this, for future reference.

And so our heroes get to work, devising a plan to steal the V at the race and expose A-Train. Hughie forges press credentials to get close to the action, Frenchie stakes out the dressing room, while Billy and Mother’s Milk keep an eye on the race. But they aren’t the only ones there, meaning we must go back and talk about…

Starlight’s New Look

Starlight fears the worst when she’s called into Madelyn’s office at the beginning of the episode. She prepares for another dressing down, but soon finds it’s a very different story. Because actually, the woman she saved in “Cherry” has come forward to thank her. Starlight is polling through the roof, and Vought are (of course) keen to take advantage of that.

They bring in Seth and Evan from marketing (ha!) to “capitalize on the buzz” of her recent act of heroism, which means giving her a new costume. Specifically, a significantly more revealing costume that she’s not entirely comfortable wearing. They claim it’s “empowering” and package it along with “what she’s going through,” causing winces from her and the viewer.

It’s a smart commentary on the corporate packaging of feminism and empowerment narratives, offered up with a tidy bow for liberal audiences. It matters not that this major corporation couldn’t hope to understand her experiences, just that they can sell it at a decent price. And after conversations about the ‘female Avengers’ sequence in Endgame and the framing of Wonder Woman in Justice League, this storyline has a refreshing amount of bite to it. While it’s true that this is an Amazon-produced show that’s certainly not immune to similar criticisms, it’s the type of commentary you’d hope to see from a show like The Boys.

We pick up with this storyline later, but before then, it’s time to check in with…

Queen Maeve and Homelander

Having sat out much of the show so far, we catch up with Queen Maeve in a training session, before Homelander pops in for a chat. He recruits her to help stop an active shooter, but what he really wants is to talk about Translucent. She suspects he’s on some extended bender, but it’s been days now and Homelander doesn’t buy it. He’s unhappy with Madelyn and Vought’s inaction over their missing teammate and is uninterested in towing the party line at the race..

They take down the shooter, with Homelander delivering a crippling final blow by plunging his fist into his chest. Maeve is less comfortable with this level of brutality, but goes along with his plot to frame it as self-defense anyway. The scene is a nice illustration of how Homelander constantly upstages her, while also revealing the two have a romantic past. We also get a chilling rant from Anthony Starr about how their bosses are “just people”, demonstrating how easily he could turn on them, were it not for the fact that they sign the cheques.

It’s hard to know exactly where Maeve is coming from, as the character is pretty vaguely sketched at point—she doesn’t strongly oppose his bloody methods or the shady corporate stuff, but she’s not 100% comfortable with it either. And her history with Homelander provides even more wrinkles, which I hope are explored in the coming episodes.

The Day of the Race

Everything converges here. Homelander crashes down into the stadium, interrupting Maeve’s interview and later attempts to flirt with his former flame. A-Train shoots up his entire supply of V and cruises through the race, retaining his title as the fastest man alive. Meanwhile, Starlight becomes sick of being objectified in her new costume, and upon meeting a young fan, tells her to stick with the old one. She bumps into Hughie, posing as a “mild-mannered reporter”, who recognizes her as Annie from their prior meeting. Billy tells him to distract her to buy Frenchie some time, so the two share a drink upstairs.

They discuss her secret identity and her frustrations over how the Seven operate. The two share noticeable chemistry, while she remarks that it’s nice to speak to someone outside the world of the Supes. There’s a nice acknowledgment of her struggles in the Seven here too, which may not entirely justify what came before but does contextualize it in a more meaningful way than we’d seen before. They exchange numbers, but while Hughie is occupied, the heist goes to hell. The V is all gone, meaning the heist is a bust and the Boys are left empty-handed. But Billy has a trick up his sleeve.

After his stare-down with Homelander, he returns to the van and formulates a plan B. They return to see Popclaw, whom Billy suspects has more of the Compound V. He’s right, but in her frustration with A-Train’s pigheadedness, Popclaw shoots it up herself. As the Boys watch on, she seduces and kills her leering landlord, hilariously sitting on his face until his head explodes.

Hughie is horrified, not only by what they just saw but because they chose not to intervene. Despite his declaration that he’ll do whatever it takes, Hughie is clearly not as ingrained in the Boys’ world as he’d like to think. Billy tells him this represents an opportunity, as he heads inside to proposition the loaded up Popclaw. He tells her they’ll help cover up the murder, in exchange for info on Compound V, allowing Karl Urban to show off every ounce of Billy’s slimy charm.

Waging War

But before the hour is up, The Deep has made a discovery. With the help of a porpoise, he’s found a zinc case full of Translucent’s remains. Homelander tells Madelyn that since he can’t see through zinc, this was a stunt to buy the Boys some time. But they knew he wouldn’t far on their tail, he suggests, revealing the message inside and telling her that “they just declared war”. He opens the case, which bears the words “coming for you”…

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