If you’re about to read on, but need a quick recap of The Boys, check out FlickLuster’s recap for Season 1.
Billy Butcher, the loud-mouthed English vigilante, is back and firing on all cylinders. He’s attempting to piece together the events that ended Season 1, where he’d discovered his missing wife Becca was still alive, bring the Boys back together, and hunt down a Supe terrorist in return for information from former ally Mallory on Becca’s location.
In a rare moment of real vulnerability from Butcher, Urban tells The Boys that Becca is alive. Despite this, Karl Urban’s character will not suffer fools, unrelenting in his pursuit to save his wife.
The only problem with Butcher’s plan is that the supe terrorist in question is Kimiko’s missing brother, Kenji. Deepening our understanding of Kimiko’s story is a testament to this episode’s unique narrative structure. “Proper Preparation and Planning” focuses on its female cast, allowing these inter-personal relationships to breathe. From Maeve and Elena’s lesbian romance to Stormfront’s outspoken attitude to Starlight becoming a “bitch,”, per Stormfront’s advice.
As for Becca, she’s a very anxious woman. Living under Homelander’s shadow, and fearing for her son, she makes an attempt to escape, contacting someone called Dr. Park outside the gated walls of a community. Homelander never knew about Becca and Ryan’s location, suggesting a witness protection scheme of some kind. Of course, Homelander rumbled her disappearing act and now he’s staying for good.
Then, of course, there’s The Deep. A trippy tea-drinking experience has our aquatic superhero speaking to his gills, voiced by Ratatouille’s Patton Oswalt.
Inarguably, their duet together is as bizarre as The Deep’s interaction with last season’s dolphin to Butcher’s invisible fight with Translucent. The Deep’s gills seek to help the supe boost his self-esteem. Plus, the Fresca references remain in abundance.
“Proper Preparation and Planning” is by no means without its moments of action, from Kenji and Kimiko’s superhero antics, A-Train’s increasing suspicions over Starlight, and an inescapable feeling that things are soon enough about to go critical in a big way.
The second episode substitutes the show’s notorious gore factor for a contemplative, heartfelt narrative, all the while mounting a subtle tension that continues to simmer beneath the surface. Despite a slightly slower start to their second season, at some point very soon, things will kick off.
