This show is a lot of things, but subtle is not one of them.
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Spoilers forThe Boysseason-three finale, The Instant White-Hot Wild,below.
The gleeful crowd holds signs and wears shirts unmistakably echoing the language and iconography of a Trump rally.
A few minutes into the rally, Homelander spots a lone protester.
Enraged,he blasts his detractorto bloody pieces as the crowd cheers wildly.
The showis a lot of things, Kripke told me, but subtle is not fucking one of them.
When did you have a sense of the seasons final scene?Reasonably late.
Im not sure we had that end point when we were in the middle of breaking the season.
In seasons one and two, we knew those cliffhangers from the start.
Well, lets see that.
Its a hint of the very clear and present danger Ryan is in.
Its whether theres a second Homelander or somebody who can actually fight Homelander.
In some ways, this scene does the same thing forThe Boysas a series.
But I would argue that society is a little less elegant and more urgent.
January 6 was happening while we were writing the season.
Were a product of the time when we write it.
And January 6 scared the shit out of me.
To have the scariest part be after he lost his election scared the shit out of me.
The wilder he acts, the more he bullies people around him, the more they love him.
Its the reason people love everyone from fucking Jesse James to Andrew Dice Clay.
You love someone whos a huge asshole because they smash society for you.
So we discussed that psychology where the worse he acts, the more fans hes going to get.
Just look at what Lauren Boebert is saying daily.
I dont know, man.
This show is a lot of things, but subtle is not fucking one of them.
Its all right to be loud and obnoxious.
Just thanks for watching.
Think whatever youre going to think.
My guess is, like everything online, its a pretty small minority.
Or for peoples overall happiness.
Hes so horrifically bad from the start!
But then this would be a short interview.
Youre supposed to be critical of the country.
Criticizing it and pointing out flaws so it can be better is a patriotic act.
They have a real PR problem.
So we point out that there are bullshit diversity initiatives or tone-deaf heroes singing Imagine.
I think its possibly the most positive thing to have come out ofSupernatural.
And in the exact same breath, let me tell you: I am afraid to cross them.
Its this force that is elemental and, mostly, benevolent.
Even with what I just said, Im sure there will be some heated opinions.
A character is gay.
A character likes to cross-dress.
There was a lot that didnt apply anymore rightfully so.
Where we landed was that the secret is hypocrisy.
The mask has to be the opposite of the real thing.
So it became about this two-faced celebrity.
If I were in that universe, itd be hard not to be fans of these guys.
I dont view the fans in the universe of the show as stupid.
Its what happens here and now.
I can only assume politics has that same machine, even bigger.
The public doesnt have a chance.
Theyre up against an entire system of capitalism.
Theyre not wrong for liking the heroes on the show.
Theyre just fucking overwhelmed.
For this one specifically, we didnt know going into the season that Soldier Boy was Homelanders dad.
But in our room, were a big believer in being able to put our fingers on the themes.
Theyre guideposts that tell you when youre headed in the right direction or not.
It was like,Boy, theres a lot of father-son shit happening this season.
So it wasnt me, for the record.
Someone said, What if Soldier Boy is Homelanders father?
You know when an idea locks into place.
Your first reaction is to be scared because its huge.
That was about mid-season.
I mean, peopledigthat shit.
Everything fromHarry PottertoStar WarstoSupernatural that Joseph Campbell stuff works every fucking time, over a thousand years now.
I could point out all the ancient myths where its the father and the son.
You dont mess with success.
Thats not aStar Warsproblem; thats a thousand-year-old structure-of-campfire-stories thing that I have zero problem plugging into.
I cant see ever going back to data pipe.
Its already aired; you threw it out the door.
We still have time to go back and shoot it for episode one and drop it back in.
That drives me fucking nuts, personally.
The critics will tell you that by episode eight, shit really hits the fan.
Or anyone who says, Well, what Im really making is a ten-hour movie.
Make a TV show.
Youre in the entertainment business.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
