Growing Pains Shake up Both Sides in New Clips From The Boys

We’re a little less than a month out from the premiere of season 2 of Amazon’s irreverent superhero series The Boys. And if these new clips are anything to go by, it looks like both the Boys and the Seven will undergo some serious growing pains. The first season was very much an origin story, focusing on Hughie’s recruitment into the Boys and Starlight’s journey as the newest member of the Seven.

Both characters enter their respective groups with a certain level of naivety and a sincere commitment to do good. Hughie wants to avenge the death of his girlfriend Robin at the hands of A-Train, while Starlight spent her life dreaming of joining the Seven. But once recruited, both have their eyes opened to the brutality of their respective groups.

As Hughie undergoes a blood-soaked trial by fire, Starlight is coerced into having sex with the Deep. She struggles to reconcile her religion and her desire to do good with the corporate machinations of Vought International. In one of the first season’s high points, Starlight speaks at the Believe Expo, where she deviates from Vought’s script and delivers an impassioned speech where she opens up about her sexual abuse and calls out the hypocrisy of the evangelical movement. It’s a Me Too moment for the series, as the Deep is exiled to Ohio and kicked out of the Seven.

The latest clips from the series show the Deep’s attempts to worm his way back into the superhero group. One of the first clips from the new season shows the Boys in a water chase, where the Deep is pursuing them while riding a whale. When he blocks their boat, Billy Butcher drives straight into the whale, splattering blood and guts everywhere.

The latest scene picks up in the aftermath, as the rest of the Seven find the Deep talking to his dead whale friend, Lucy.

During the meeting, the Deep begs Starlight to forgive him, saying he wants to “renew his light … for all the female people I’ve offended.” Stormfront accuses him of joining the Church of the Collective and calls him an idiot, while the Deep claims her comments are religious persecution. Starlight assures him, “there is no f-cking way you’re coming back.” Stormfront stands up for Starlight, but convinces her to let the Deep go for now so they can pursue the Boys. We see that team leader Homelander is frustrated by Stormfront taking control.

But the Seven aren’t the only group experiencing in-fighting. Hughie calls out Billy Butcher for abandoning the Boys and for nearly getting them all killed on multiple occasions.

Hughie objects to the group passively following Butcher’s orders, but doesn’t yet seem ready to step up and lead the group himself. It appears that both sides will struggle with in-fighting and drama throughout season 2 as Hughie and Starlight become more confident in their abilities.

As a bonus, the cast members of the series recorded a video reminding everyone to wear a mask, f-bombs included:

The Boys returns to Amazon Prime on September 4th.

(image: Amazon Prime)

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Chelsea Steiner

Chelsea was born and raised in New Orleans, which explains her affinity for cheesy grits and Britney Spears. An pop culture journalist since 2012, her work has appeared on Autostraddle, AfterEllen, and more. Her beats include queer popular culture, film, television, republican clownery, and the unwavering belief that 'The Long Kiss Goodnight' is the greatest movie ever made. She currently resides in sunny Los Angeles, with her husband, 2 sons, and one poorly behaved rescue dog. She is a former roller derby girl and a black belt in Judo, so she is not to be trifled with. She loves the word “Jewess” and wishes more people used it to describe her.

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