Bucking Stereotypes: Reviewing Seasons One of NOS4A2 and The Boys

For better or worse, I’ve been bingeing a lot of television lately. Not all of it is speculative fiction: I could drone on for hours about how absolutely amazing HBO’s mini-series Chernobyl is, or how refreshing it was to see True Detective get back on track in season three, but that’s not what you’re here for. I’ve already discussed the third season of Stranger Things, and you can read my thoughts on the first two seasons of Dark in August’s Roundtable. But wait! There’s more! I’ve finished two more shows that also fall under the Speculative Fiction umbrella. Don’t worry, there’s no spoilers!

First up, NOS4A2. Adapted from the Joe Hill book of the same name, the first thing you need to know is this is not a show about vampires. Not in the strictest sense, anyway, though one can easily make the argument that what Charlie Manx does to children is absolutely vampiric in its own way. While I haven’t yet read the source material the show is based on, I was super-excited to get my hands on it because I’m a fan of Zachary Quinto, and I’m a fan of Joe Hill’s work. My husband and I caught the first episode for free, and then we immediately purchased the full season on iTunes.

What’s it about? Charlie Manx, played by Quinto, is a Creative who abducts small children (oh, excuse me, “rescues” small children) from troubled homes and takes them to a place where they’ll always be happy. A place called Christmasland, where every day is cookies and hot cocoa and presents and friends and… you get the idea. Never mind the fact that half the time, Manx looks like the creepiest old due that ever did creep, and no child in their right mind should be charmed by him, no matter what he’s promising. Yet, they are, which is part of his magic, and he’s able to achieve a kind of immortality by collecting these children in his Rolls Royce Wraith, another magic specific to him. It gives him immortality, and it makes him younger, while the children grow to look like the very monster he appeared to be when he first meets them.

Yet there’s another Creative named Vic McQueen, a leather jacket-wearing, motorbike-riding artist who has the BEST NAME EVER, who’s discovered a magic of her own called The Shorter Way. It’s a bridge that takes Vic to whatever she’s looking for, so when her young neighbor goes missing, finding the little girl becomes the most important thing, and leads Vic into a world she never imagined and frankly, doesn’t want.

I found NOS4A2 to be pretty addictive, especially at the start. The show drags a little bit towards the end as we’re learning the rules of how the magic for Creatives does and does not work, and there’s also the fact that our heroines (Vic and another Creative named Maggie) suffer from serious setbacks and spiral into habits that aren’t that great. I’ve still got questions about the worldbuilding, and how the show handles sex and purity bothers me, because there’s a subtle way to write it, and the script is as subtle as a bag of hammers.

All that said, NOS4A2 has been renewed for a second season, and while the arc feels complete for season one, I’ve learned the show has only covered roughly the first third of the book, which means there’s plenty of material to mine for future seasons. The show also checks my adaptation box for inspiring me to finally pick up the source material (as well as the stand-alone comic Wraith) and read it before the second season releases.

Next up, The Boys, which is available in its entirety on Amazon Prime. The Boys is an interesting case for me, because I almost didn’t watch it. When the Garth Ennis comic first came out, I know I read the first few issues, but stopped for reasons I can’t remember. What I do remember are some broad strokes, and I wasn’t all that excited to be revisiting some of the same in-your-face and over-the-top violence (let alone sexual assault) those pages were full of.

But I was curious. And while certain storylines are true to what little I remember from the comics, I actually found myself enjoying the show overall.

The premise is pretty straight-forward: superheroes are real, and they’re pretty much terrible people. Why? Because they’re treated like celebrities who are never held accountable for their actions, even if those actions hurt innocent people. Why? Because the corporation that manages them covers everything up by throwing a lot of money at the problem.

It’s a cynical take on superheroes, but one that makes sense, especially in this day and age. The Boys focuses on two characters: the first is Hughie, who’s got a beef with superheroes, specifically A-Train (The Boys’ take on The Flash), and he wants revenge. He meets a man named Butcher, who promises he can help make things right, but Butcher has his own agenda, a specific beef against the biggest, most powerful superhero of them all, Homelander (their version of Superman).

The second character focus is Annie, aka Starlight, who has just been selected to become the final member of The Seven (The Boys’ version of the Justice League). She comes from a small town, grew up religious, and really wants to help people, so coming to the big city, joining The Seven, has a lot of surprises for her, and not all of them good. Because, remember, I said that this is a cynical take on superheroes, and they’re basically all terrible people (and just how terrible they are becomes more and more frightening as the season goes on).

The first season, which is only eight episodes, is pretty strong. There’s lots of shout-outs to what the show (and source material) is riffing off of, and finding those Easter Eggs are a lot of fun. I don’t want to get into spoilers, but some of the things that turned me off of the comic are reframed for the show, and while those moments still aren’t great, at least the show is trying to be relevant in this day and age. So there are moments that are a miss (I really couldn’t care less about The Deep, aka their version of Aquaman), but overall, I was pretty engaged. The acting is solid with special shout-outs to Karl Urban, who rocks it as Butcher, and Anthony Starr’s portrayal of Homelander is terrifyingly good. All of the characters are pretty fascinating in their own damaged ways. Also, major props to the finale, which packs quite a punch and has a payoff I wasn’t fully expecting.

And that’s it! Have you watched NOS4A2 and/or The Boys? What are your thoughts? Will you be joining me in watching the second season? Are you inspired to pick up the source material? Comment below and let’s chat!