'The Boys' season 3 review: A superb season ends with a whimper of a finale

If not for that baffling, frankly weird 'The Boys' season 3 finale, titled "The Instant White-Hot Wild", that did not mark a significant change in the state of affairs from the last season, I would have heartily recommended every fan of the show to binge-watch the entire thing in one go. It is like finale brought the story back to square one. But then, there is plenty of supe-on-supe action and trademark moments in the hour-long episode that serve as chilling analogues to the real world that make 'The Boys' head and shoulders above any other superhero show at the moment. If action is one of the main reasons you are a fan of this Eric Kripke creation, you would likely have fun.

If you are yet to see the finale, do that and then come back.

If I am being honest, I had fun with the episode too but it was a far cry from the great writing in preceding episodes. The character motivations in "The Instant White-Hot Wild" were all over the place, particularly in the confrontation at Vought Tower, there were some hurried developments, and again, the status quo, more or less, remains the same. The mostly character-driven season suddenly became plot-driven at the very end. 

Jensen Ackles' radioactive and terrifying Soldier Boy, in the end proved to be something of a stand-in for Stormfront that like her, a threat that proved to be a bigger threat than Homelander. So Anthony Starr's psychopathic quasi-Superman once again emerged safe and sound (sort of). Perhaps ending the season with the outstanding 'Herogasm' episode would have been better. 

In the penultimate episode, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Soldier Boy approach the Vought Tower for their respective targets -- Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) and Homelander. Meanwhile, Hughie (Jack Quaid) joins Starlight (Erin Moriarty), Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso), Frenchie (Tomer Capone), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Maeve (Dominique McElligott) to stop Soldier Boy and Butcher. Of course, Maeve's prime target is Homelander.

Also Read: 'The Boys' Season 3 Episode 7 review: A corker of an episode sets up an exciting finale

When Butcher and Soldier Boy reach Vought HQ, Homelander has turned Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) against Butcher by just being a better father (a lesson there, Butcher). And when Soldier Boy attacked Ryan and bloodied him, both Homelander and Butcher teamed up for a while against the 'greater threat' that was Soldier Boy. 

Now, Soldier Boy targetting Ryan was not out of place, he was just protecting himself, but Butcher missing the chance to kill Homelander? That was out of place. And soon enough, the Boys and the supes all fought Soldier Boy in a well-choreographed but confusing battle in which characters were doing whatever the plot demanded. Why was Homelander not targetted by anybody other than Maeve when he was off guard? Why was Soldier Boy the prime target when Homelander has killed so many innocents in cold blood? MM did have reasons to hate him more than Homelander, but what was the excuse of Starlight and Hughie, the latter of whom spent the entire season figuring out how to end him?

Still, despite the finale, this was another strong season for 'The Boys'. In one moment towards the end, Homelander lasered a man in front of his adoring fans, and after a bit of lull, they applauded as the top half of the man's head melted to the ground. It was clearly a direct parallel to the words of a certain former US president that he could shoot somebody and not lose voters. 'The Boys' may be imperfect, but it continues to capture the zeitgeist of the times like no other show, superhero or otherwise.