1x02 Cherry

[7.6/10] A solid follow-up to the outstanding first episode. While the first hour of the series was pretty much the Annie and Hughey show, this one brings a few more perspective characters to the fore.

The biggest beneficiary of that is Ms. Stillwell. We get to see more of the (I think?) head of Vought, or at least the one who most directly manages the heroes. We see how she reassures her stars like Homelander, manages her organization with the workaday grunts, and hobnobs with or otherwise strongarms politicians to get things done. Seeing her alternately schmooze and blackmail whoever she needs to makes her seem savvy and the biggest force outside of the supes.

This is also the closest look we get at Homelander, and he has, uh...problems. For one thing, he seems to have an Oedipal complex with Stillwell. For another, he didn’t blast that plane because he was under orders. He did it because he (a.) wanted to get into Stillwell’s good graces and (b.) wants to cast off the shackles of preplanned corporate whatever and show that he can do more. It’s an interesting conundrum, a Superman type who thinks he’s doing good but is clearly a little messed up psychologically and is ready to take matters into his own hands. Literally -- his not so subtle threat to The Deep for blabbing about what he found vis-a-vis the plane, and the psychopathy behind the smile , are both unnerving. They establish the character well.

Speaking of The Deep, Homemlander isn’t the only fellow hero to threaten him this episode. Starlight continues to assert herself, not only telling The Deep to go to hell when he minimizes his sexual harassment in the first episode, but dressing him down for being a walking joke as “the fish guy.” It plays on the Aquaman tropes well.

I also like the dichotomy between the practically playacted crime-stopping she does at the direction of her bosses, one that’s sterile and full of photo-ops, and the actual crime she breaks up, a rape she disrupts Robocop-style, that gets her dressed down by her handlers. The immediate subtext is clear -- doing what you’re told helps few but looks good, but doing good gets you punished and upbraided by your bosses.

Last but not least, we have Hughey, Billy, and their new ally Frenchy all trying to figure out how to kill Translucent, who’s alternately locked in Billy’s trunk or an electrified cage. It’s a fun, albeit extreme, premise that reminds me of Pulp Fiction and Dexter in its crime-ridden creativity.

Frenchy is a neat character, a guy who specializes in killing supers and comes up with creative ways to deal with them. Him getting roped into Billy’s bullshit, waxing rhapsodic about his line of work, and figuring out the turtle-inspired way to finally kill Translucent is a hell of an introduction.

We also learn a little bit more about Billy. His, shall we say, flexible set of ethics leads him to basically force Frenchy to help him out with Translucent. We find out via a visit to an old contact that he got kicked out of the feds for investigating superheroes. And we see from the reactions of both Frenchy and his old flame that he doesn’t really have much in the way of friends.

But of course, the prime character development remains for Hughey. Despite sentiments from his dad that he’s weak and from others that he’s a child, there's a real anger lurking within him. It comes out when he punches the wall until his hands bleed. Translucent dresses him down twice, once when the superhero gives a monologue about his real power being “reading people” and another when he infantilizes Hughey for being a nobody while Translucent himself is a somebody. It’s more than Hughey can take and prompts him to push the detonator, making him a grimly comic mirror image of the safety poster with a baby covered in spaghetti, only for Hughey it’s the blood of a member of The Seven.

Dark humor is the watchword for this one. Everything from Hughey’s “that’s not marinara” moment, to a shapeshifter transforming from a winsome young lady to an overweight middle aged dude en flagrante, to the hilariously awkward interlude where a make-a-wish kid gets A-Train when he wanted Translucent, this one is going for the black comedy in a great way.

Overall, this one doesn’t have quite the intensity or focus of the first episode, but it builds out a little more of the world and the major characters, which is a good thing too.

was less invested in this than the first episode. finding it hard to care when it's the villains on screen - they're just all evil so it's like, okay, whatever. there's nothing to relate to. i thought maybe there's something else going on with homelander? like maybe his motive isn't just pure greed like the rest...? but idk. but the whole thing in the basement was very tense!

my prediction is butcher has a superpower but he's hiding it...? like some sort of "i have to restrain myself from using it or else i'll become like them" type thing. my guess comes entirely from the fact that all the superheroes have these larger-than-life personalities and a really dazzling supermodel-ish look, and he's the same way. (unlike hughie for example who is clearly cast to be a really plain guy in comparison)

i'm still sort of unsure why starlight was chosen by them. like, isn't there some lower level than "the seven" they could've put her in? they really put her in there expecting her to follow all their rules but never really explained them to her, and are shocked when she doesn't get it...? maybe there's a reason for this.

The character writing is good in this show, every person is flawed here, Hughie notably has the strongest development here with now getting his hands dirty. I also liked how the show used Translucent to explore Hughies feelings, Translucent in general was interesting. Although, it was more a kill of necessity than conviction. At the beginning he wanted to do things right, but now he is forced to commit morally questionable things. I wonder if the show either is trying to corrupt him or if he will be an anti-hero of sorts for a grander goal - But if so, then he has a long way to go. We’ll see how they will continue, I think the show is a bit on uneven ground here. At least I don’t feel like just watching an edgy show which is only about revenge. I want something to root for, but at the moment that’s not really given.

Homelander is also fucked up, it feels like Stillwell groomed him because he seems to have an Oedipus complex, which is creepy. One thing I want to mention though, Vought is not making a competent impression when they haven’t even told Starlights PR basics (check for cameras, get evidence, etc.) and now are screwed because they have to clean up things afterwards. Given how “professionally” they seem to handle things aside from that, it breaks the immersion a bit, even.