Boyd in 3D

Beautiful very deep episode that does not focus much on fun but more on the plot and on the banal but valid morality that it wants to teach throughout its duration.

All the episodes of this series are presented in a distinctive style, and here we get Walt Disney, although its hard to place an exact inspiration, it could be from anywhere from the early 1960 to the late 1980. It's competently done, and heavily characterised, which is particularly important in a short piece like this.

The plot is a social commentary on social media, and the writing is tight and disciplined, cramming a surprising amount of character, nuance and arc into the short runtime. I'd peg this as the most strongly written and conceived episode of the series. The voice talent is also very appealing and well matched to the characters, so we can jump straight into their story with little preamble.

Without spoilers, it's a compressed love story between average-boy-next-door who feels that he's not good enough for average-girl-next-door, as judged by social media standards. His solution and their subsequent relationship enjoy all the consequences of social media obsession. It's a sort of Cliff Notes version of themes explored in Black Mirror episodes like Nosedive and Fifteen Million Merits.

As those are among the best episodes of Black Mirror, it's a smart choice for a theme. And the presentation here is well executed, and genuinely effecting, with a strong and sharply parabolic emotional story arc.

So dense is it, that there are actually four acts, and the fourth is... well, this is The Boys, doing Black Mirror. You should know what to expect. Whether you enjoy the inevitability of the conclusion or not - and I didn't - you're going to feel strongly about it one way or the other, and that's high praise indeed for a short one-off animation.

A story of superficial love gone wrong is soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo predictable. Neither of the millennial characters are even remotely likable, which fits in with this terrible century of crybabies.

Why did they end it like that? I was legit confused for a full minute then I realized they did the Black Mirror's Playtest thing and I really didn't care for the it.

I don't want happy endings and I know this is The Boys and it's all about exploding bodies and heads and gore, but the ending was really unnecessary and felt like they just did for the sake of subverting expectations and being unpredictable and gritty, because that's somehow "smart writing". They could've just let them get back to their old lives or just sit depressed in their apartments or commit suicide or something, but this ending was meh and made the episode less fun.

It kinda made it predictable now and I expect every other episodes end like this with some gory twist.

I wanted to give it a 7 because the episode was decent and interesting, albeit a very familiar plot that's been done multiple times before, but I didn't appreciate the ending and I'm giving it a very generous 6.

'Boyd In 3D (2022)' follows a shy young man who gets the chance to try Vaught's latest invention: a topical cream that changes the wearer into whatever they imagine their perfect self to be. Think Instagram filters in real life and you're on the right lines. The piece is a critique on the way in which society - and social media, in particular - often seems to value aesthetics over personality. It's also a commentary on the way in which pretty people are sometimes elevated to celebrity status for no reason other than the fact that they're pretty. It touches upon the concept that perhaps celebrity isn't all it's cracked up to be. The affair has a lot on its mind in terms of theme and social commentary. To its credit, it succinctly conveys all this in an aesthetically pleasing and pacy package. A lot of it is told visually, too, which is always a bonus. Sadly, though, its ending undercuts most of its success. It's really reductive, opting to deliver a final sardonic shock instead of a satisfying or poignant conclusion (it also rips off an episode of 'Black Mirror (2011 - 2019)' that I won't mention by name for fear of spoiling it). Despite going out on a sour note, it's an entertaining effort overall. Its ending dampens its overall effect, but it doesn't drench it entirely. 6/10.