Payback

Finally content that is consistent, socially critical, brutal and a good story. This is what entertainment is about. Not this watered down Disney BS. I watched the boys Season 3 with a buddy and after watching Halo and lots of subpar Star Wars content we just felt reinvigorated.

If any company went through as much public scrutiny as Vought, it would surely be closed down or had some sort of legal ramification in real life. Maybe not, actually, as this show has done a great job of using social commentary as a tool of appeal, so this may not be that far away from the truth. In fact, the show has increased its social commentary over the last few seasons, and it feels like it's only going to continue upwards throughout this season. If this episode is anything to tell, this show is still going strong and showing no signs of slowing down.

The violence in this show has been the subject of much debate, and some felt that it was starting to find its way into the show simply for shock value alone. This episode certainly has a lot of graphic violence, and while some of its does feel earned and feels like a continuation of other things set up in the show, there are some things that are simply too much. A scene towards the beginning is probably a good example of that, despite being absolutely hilarious to watch. However, the show is luckily able to find its way outside of its violence and actually have some good storytelling. There are a lot of storylines in this episode, and it does a good job of setting up the state of peace that the world finds itself in, and showcasing where everyone is in life. Some have found a more peaceful existence than others, but it's clear that the show will not keep them in those safe frames for very long. Homelander has definitely not found that, though, and his arc is continuing to bring him down a spiraling pact and showing that he is growing more and more unhinged as time goes on. Hopefully it means that there are some deeper explorations of his character on the way, even though a full "redemption" arc may not be in the books. It also has a great ending which sets a few things back on its right course and finds our favorite hero in a very tricky situation.

"Payback" is a nice reintroduction to a world that is not as chaotic as it once was, but still has plenty of character drama. The storylines are all working great simultaneously and while it's definitely peacetime, there are still a lot of things going on and a lot of biting satire to go around.

ANTONY STARR WAS BORN TO PLAY HOMELANDER!!! His performance is insane, it makes me feel like he's going to come out the screen and laser me! This season is already to an insane great start! The visuals are crazy! I can't wait to see what the rest of the season has to show us!!!!

I'm just gonna say, that 11:42 is the best and most amazing scene in TV history.

Since the review needs more characters, I gotta say Homelander is as terrifying as ever and is becoming more of a bratty child with each episode.

The plots are progression naturally and other than the first scene, mostly nothing was surprising or a twist and it was obvious the ending scene is gonna happen from the beginning. And I'm not saying that as if it's a bad thing in this episode, no, I'm just saying that it's the first episode and it's ok. They have to set up new plots and storylines, so I don't mind if the first episode is slower, even though I didn't feel like it was slow or boring at any point, enjoyed all of it.

The only thing that I think needed a little more work was the dialogue especially in the beginning and between Hughie and Starlight in the trailer. Kinda didn't feel like natural dialogue.

Other than that, they did a good job of reestablishing every character and setting up new plot lines for the upcoming episodes.

Seeing as we're jumping forward a year and facing down the barrel of a massive status quo shift, this episode had some heavy lifting to do. However, it passed the test with flying colours. Not only did it provide us a well-paced catch-up to where everyone stands as-is, the episode provides some very fun and interesting new relationships to be explored over the season.

The ending of the episode provides some great tension, gore and sets up a solid plot thread and character building for a main cast member while also adding depth to a previously slightly two-dimensional character.

Overall, very, VERY good opening to the season. At this moment in time, my favourite in the series.