Everyone’s big gripe about The Boys is that it’s a relentlessly bleak watch because it hits too close to home and offers no new perspectives anymore. This show used to know how to squeeze genuine laughs and gasps out of its ridiculous and risqué storylines. Now it beckons groans and eye-rolls. Thankfully, the Judaline Neira-penned “One-Shots” ups the game, at least structurally. The whole “on a very special episode of” approach gives the show a much-needed dose of energy, with a long overdue focus on a couple of one-note Supes, along with the anticipated reunion between Supernatural‘s leading trio: Jensen Ackles, Jared Padalecki, and Misha Collins.
Eric Kripke, who created both dramas, gives the stars of his former CW series some memorable scenes together. Does it lean way more toward shock value than narrative? Absolutely. However, when paired with the celebrity-packed poker game that ends in a bloody fight, and the surprisingly emotional arcs for Firecracker (Valorie Curry) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), “One-Shots” ends up as season five’s weirdest, most entertaining hour. A part of me wishes The Boys had dug into the lives of those two members of The Seven sooner to make this more impactful. But at least Curry has a chance to shine before Homelander guts her character.
“One-Shots” doesn’t feel like a typical outing for The Boys. It takes place over one day, but depicts the POVs of various folks: Firecracker, Black Noir, Soldier Boy, Sister Sage (Susan Heyward), and even Butcher’s English bulldog, Terror. Through the canine’s eyes, we see that Kimiko and Frenchie still don’t know how to communicate effectively, MM is okay with the fact that he’s likely going to die, and Butcher agrees to save Annie and Kimiko from the V1 virus. Meanwhile, Sage reveals her endgame to Ashley: An all-out war between humans and superheroes is inevitable. She wants to survive by hiding out in a bunker in Colorado Springs. (Seriously, what’s with that state and fortified underground shelters?). Sage doesn’t want her peace to be disturbed by Homelander’s demands. It’s why she hopes that Soldier Boy will prevent his son from becoming immune and immortal. As helpful as it is to know Sage’s plans, since her superpower is intelligence and all, this feels too rudimentary for her. Is that really the best she can come up with?
The crucial aspects come via the remaining three perspectives. Let’s start with Black Noir, who is understandably fed up with The Deep (Chace Crawford). Instead of being controlled by the literal octopus lover, he’d rather pursue his true passion of acting. He even finds a cool new gig in a stage play directed by Adam Bourke (P.J. Byrne), the same guy who made Training A-Train and other movies for Vought Studios before being unceremoniously fired. Adam becomes a mentor to him, but their close bond sadly doesn’t last long. The Deep follows him to the theater and overhears the two men bitching about him, so, in truly disgusting fashion, he gets an eel to kill Adam. All that Black Noir can do after watching his friend die is accept he’s stuck in that suit with vile people. It harkens back to what A-Train experienced before his redemption began, which could mean Black Noir is about to turn on The Seven. Interestingly, The Boys gives its two Black male superheroes a similar path of realizing that they can do and deserve better. I hope Black Noir meets a better outcome than his fallen pal.
As for Firecracker, she suffers an internal crisis in “One-Shots.” A loud proponent of “Homelander is God now,” she is still trying to market him as the new Jesus Christ. It means she has to forsake the actual Jesus Christ, which is difficult considering she grew up in the Baptist Church. Her old reverend, who helped raise her, visits from Daytona and asks for her help. Vought’s lackeys have been desecrating his church because they haven’t yet aligned with Homelander’s Democratic Church Of America. It gives Firecracker, whose real name is Misty Gray, emotional heft that she hasn’t received since she joined The Seven. She briefly considers asking Homelander to pardon her old church. But when live on air during her conservative talk show, she gives in. With gritted teeth and a tear in her eye, she denounces her old church and accuses the reverend of potential sexual abuse. Unfortunately for her, her sacrifices are in vain.
There was no other way Firecracker’s story was going to end, though, right? She was sleeping with Soldier Boy and made the horrible mistake of confiding in him about her dilemma. This pillow talk came back to bite her in the end because Homie couldn’t take it that his apparently strongest believer didn’t consider him the true savior. So he fires her from The Seven. She begs him to keep her on, claiming that she loves him for who he is, unlike other devotees who only fear him. But giving up her soul and morals was for naught. In one swift move, Homelander smashes her skull against a statue. The Boys would’ve benefitted from digging into Firecracker’s backstory earlier and giving her death some weight. As much as I enjoyed learning about her upbringing and seeing Firecracker in a different light (she meets with the reverend sans makeup and the bright red wig), it comes across as The Boys tying up loose ends over developing her into a multi-dimensional figure.
We also see things from Soldier Boy’s POV in a sequence that makes way for that Supernatural reunion. First, he gets Stan Edgar to reveal that a different Supe might know where V1 is. So Soldier Boy and Homelander fly off to L.A., where Mr. Marathon (Padalecki) lives and works as an actor in bad superhero flicks produced by Sony Pictures. He wasn’t always doing this professionally. Mr. Marathon used to be a part of The Seven, but Homelander kicked him out to make room for A-Train several years ago—and we all know how badly that ended up. Now, Soldier Boy and Homelander arrive at an inconvenient time: Mr. Marathon is hosting a poker game in his mansion. His guests include another Supe, Malchemical (Collins), as well as Kumail Nanjiani, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Will Forte, Seth Rogen (an executive producer of The Boys), and Craig Robinson, who play themselves. Through their chitchat, the celebs discuss the state of the industry under Homelander’s tyrannical political and religious rule. In short, it’s bad out there.
While busy trying to figure out what to post on their social-media accounts in protest, they all still try to cozy up to Homelander and Soldier Boy. Better to be safe than sorry, huh? Mr. Marathon says that Bombsight is indeed alive and likely has V1. He asks both of them to hang around for a little longer so that he can give Bombsight a call and ask him to meet them. The sight of Homelander sitting alone in a corner on the couch like he’s a student being punished, as the celebs play poker in the background and Soldier Boy gets high with Mr. Marathon, is more fun than anything the show has done in a while. Homelander doesn’t crack a smile or try to have a bit of fun.
“One-Shots” only gets darker as it nears the end. Mr. Marathon admits to his hidden agenda of taking out Homelander, who is temporarily out of commission after Malchemical uses his powers on him. Together, Mr. Marathon and Malchemical attempt to convince Soldier Boy to help them kill his son. You can tell the three Supernatural actors are having fun playing opposite each other again. But to my surprise, Soldier Boy decides he now wants Homelander to live. I don’t buy this switch-up at all. Just last week, he locked Homelander in a poisonous room in Fort Harmony, leaving him to die an agonizingly slow death. What changed? The Boys doesn’t bother to tell us, but who believes it’s because Soldier Boy suddenly realized he loves his freak of a son? Not me.
So Soldier Boy goes on a rampage inside Mr. Marathon’s Hollywood home. When he’s being chased at super fast speed, Soldier Boy throws all the actors in front of Mr. Marathon one by one. Robinson, Forte, Nanjiani, and Mintz-Plasse get blown into bits, with their organs and blood covering Mr. Marathon. Rogen gets split in half, with Mr. Marathon mercifully snapping his neck so that he dies quickly. And then, Ackles and Padalecki, who played tight-knit demon hunter brothers in Supernatural, go at it. They bash each other up, but Soldier Boy obviously gets the upper hand; and eventually, Homelander steps on Mr. Marathon and crushes his face completely. Again, none of this progresses the plot because we already knew that Bombsight has the V1. But damn if The Boys didn’t have fun stretching all this out, which is a refreshing enough change of pace for me.
Stray observations
-
- • If you make a drinking game out of how many times the word America is uttered in this episode, you’ll be plastered based on the opening couple of minutes.
- • As part of their marketing strategy, Vought is about to introduce a Homelander Bible on Easter. Soldier Boy said it best when he muttered “what the fuck?” when Firecracker handed Homelander the new holy book.
- • Here are the celebrities who have been arrested in The Boys‘ world because they’re likely Starlight supporters: Aziz Ansari, Macaulay Culkin, Kiefer Sutherland, Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Benedict Wong, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Channing Tatum. Also, Will Forte says he’s glad Bill Hader was executed because now he’s the one getting “offer-only” projects.
- • Kumail Nanjiani: “We’re storytellers. Our superpower is that we inspire hearts and minds. Look at the characters we create: Luke Skywalker, Katniss, Gandhi.” He also goes on to defend Mark Hamill, Jennifer Lawrence, and Sir Ben Kingsley.
- • Seth Rogen says he’ll ask his friend, Lena Dunham, to pen an editorial for The Atlantic, with the rest of the actors praising her writing, which is wild timing with the release of her memoir.
- • How many times will this show remind us that they’ve got a prequel coming out soon? Soldier Boy is briefly lost in thought while holding a framed photo of Stormfront at Mr. Marathon’s house.
- • Soldier Boy: “If there is a God, sure as hell didn’t come out of my balls.”
- • Grossest scene award: Tempted as I am to give this to Terror’s horny dream about Homelander, this has to go to poor Adam’s death. When he’s taking a dump, The Deep sends an eel to go up the toilet and directly into his ass, causing him to bleed out. By the time Black Noir pulls the eel out, it’s too late.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.