The Boys practically came out of nowhere to become one of the most-watched Amazon Original Series last summer, ending up scoring record audiences for the platform. It’s one of the highlights of an excellent year for superheroes on TV, with this, Watchmen and the impending “Crisis on Infinite Earths” crossover all pleasing longtime fans. Season 2 shoot has just finished shooting and now, the stars of the show have begun to trickle out information about what’s going to happen next summer.
Jack Quaid, who plays traumatized everyman Hughie, spoke about season 2 recently and may have hinted at a key incoming plot development.
“Oh man, no one is ready for Season 2. It’s just absolutely bonkers. I’ll just put it this way, the scale is a lot bigger. I think we’ve topped season one, in terms of insane moments that make you say ‘What the hell?’ I’ve done things this season that are definite firsts for me in my career, and I probably won’t do them again since. Definitely a moment… I can’t give it away, but when you see it, you’ll know what I’m talking about.
I think we’ve gotten way deeper with every single character on the show. It’s bigger, but it’s a lot deeper with everyone and I think that that’s what’s important about Season 2 is not that you just go bigger and have more fights – which we totally have – but that you really delve into the characters and understand what makes them tick. And I know from Hughie’s perspective, we get into a lot of that. So yeah. I’m just really excited for people to see season two. I think it’s even better than season one, in my opinion.”
This may be a hint that season 2’s set to follow the plotline from Garth Ennis’ original comics a little more closely. If you care a lot about spoilers you might want to look away now.
Still with us? Good, because I think Quaid’s hints are that season 2 will see Billy Butcher and the Boys realizing that the only way they can bring the fight to The Seven is to inject Compound V into themselves, giving them superpowers. In the comics, Butcher injects Hughie with Compound V before their very first mission, so we’re not following them precisely. However, it’s difficult to see how any of the Boys can take down the invincible Homelander without leveling the playing field in some way.
Showrunner Eric Kripke has also hinted that Compound V will remain a major part of the story, saying:
“If it’s a secret, if it’s nothing the world knows about yet, then it becomes a secret that everyone will kill for, and it gives you an object that everybody wants, and it does all the great things a McGuffin does To me, all the best science fiction, fantasy is 90 percent reality. The only magic that you’re allowed in the show is this vaccine called Compound V and it happens to give people unpredictable superheroes, and that’s all you get… Anything that comes out of this drug is viable, and anything that doesn’t we’re not allowed to do.”
The Boys season 2 will air in summer 2020, and frankly, we can’t wait.