It’s fair to say that The Boys isn’t afraid to splash out on graphic content, from over-the-top violence to explicit sexuality, as well as more disturbing material. In the latest episode, “We Gotta Go Now,” Antony Starr’s Homelander and Aya Cash’s Stormfront have a pretty crazy sex scene that involves laser vision foreplay, room destruction and aerial coitus. Suffice it to say, putting this all together was a challenge for the cast and crew, with Starr recently explaining what it took to happen.
To begin with, the actor described how the physical extent of the sequence forced an unusual scenario where he had to rely on body armor for protection.
“That’s probably one of the more interesting romantic things I’ve ever done. Let me put it this way: Whenever I’ve done a love scene in the past, I’ve never had to talk to the stunts team and get body armor put on and elbow and knee pads. I can say that was a whopping great first.”
In addition, Starr notes that the Homelander and Stormfront coupling is just another example of how The Boys makes the bizarre work so well, commenting as so:
“It’s insane. F-k, I don’t even know what to say about that scene. It’s just so bonkers. But the parameters of this show and the scope of what we can actually get away with and what we can do in this show is just… I don’t know where the parameters are, to be honest. I think if we do it in the right way, we can get away with anything, and that’s one of those things. Superheroes having sex in mid-air is pretty bananas.”
The introduction of Stormfront in season 2 has given Homelander an antagonist and, more recently, a partner who appears to rival his own disregard for non-powered people. However, Stormfront, who has been revealed to be a new version of a superhero that has been shifted around by Vought Industries for decades, also brings a nasty alt-right angle to her character. Furthermore, Stomfront is using her social media talents to lure in the psychotic Homelander to her side, in exchange for boosts to his flagging popularity.
Homelander rarely responds to negativity in a balanced way, and has even been used to take a sly dig at the review bombing of the Amazon program. It’s credit to Starr that he’s still finding new ways to embody the many psychological issues around the role, even to the point where audiences might feel some sympathy for how he ended up becoming a monster. Well, something close to sympathy, anyway.
Even with the show’s second run spread over consecutive weeks, rather than being dropped all in one go, we’ve been enjoying The Boys‘ commitment to its messed up world. There isn’t really much else like it at the moment, and as last episode’s action demonstrated, the series is still finding ways to surprise its fans.