what makes me most sick about the ending of the boys is the engine of vought ultimately coming out as the true sole winner of it all. stan edgar is back in precisely the position he was in s1, spouting off about profit in the wake of so much blood. supes will continue to be created and abused. the gears continue to grind.
homelander was never the villain of the show. it was always vought. i was okay with homelander becoming the face of vought, i was okay with his death, i was okay with all of it so long as it meant ending the cycle. taking down the monsters that made him into what he became.
instead, we saw a victim of heinous abuse be shattered by hatred, delusion, fear, and humiliation. driven insane by the delusions that vought put in his head in the first place. he died slowly and painfully, stripped of the only security he'd ever known. he died scared and truly alone in the world, all while the company that created him happily moved on to bigger and better abuses.
i understand that this is probably in part due to the spectacular failure that is gen v's existence and subsequent cancellation. maybe if the writers hadn't been anticipating that series as a future catalyst for vought's downfall, we would have gotten more finality. instead, we're left with an absolutely dystopian ending in which victims have only three options: die as martyrs, survive to exist in compliance with the status quo, or become the scapegoat villains to be mocked, snuffed out and painted over.
my heart goes out to all the folks who're struggling with this ending. i know homelander is a polarizing character who's largely been treated as nothing more than a caricature by the show and fandom/world at large, but there is something in him that resonated with many of us. there is such tragedy in his character that deserved more respect. it makes me deeply sad for everyone who had any hope for a shred of dignity to be shown not just to his character, but to the abuse he endured, and what that turned him into.
2087
baratheonpilled
blakekathryn
izzy806
germansingergirl
