THE BOYS is an irreverent take on what happens when superheroes — as popular as celebrities, as influential as politicians, and as revered as gods — abuse their superpowers rather than use them for good. It’s the powerless against the superpowerful as The Boys embark on a heroic quest to expose the truth about “The Seven” and their formidable Vought backing.
In a more intense Season 2 of THE BOYS, Butcher, Hughie, and the team reel from their losses in Season 1. On the run from the law, they struggle to fight back against the superheroes. Meanwhile, Vought, the hero management company, cashes in on the panic over supervillains; and a new hero, Stormfront, shakes up the company and challenges an already unstable Homelander.
For in-depth thoughts on The Boys: Seasons 1 & 2, please see the extensive coverage from my colleagues here, here and various pieces here. This is a site favorite, so there are a lot of opinions.
Video Quality
The Boys: Seasons 1 & 2 arrives on Blu-Ray with a gorgeous AVC encoded 1080p transfer in its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. This framing along with the impeccable cinematography gives the show a cinematic quality that many of the standard network shows are lacking. This show has a distinct style that brings such a richness to the series where you never feel like you are watching a show made on the cheap. The levels of detail this presentation is able to eek out is eye-popping, as all of the subtle details in the production design and costumes are easily identifiable.
Skin tones appear very natural and nuanced across the entire cast throughout both seasons. The special effects employed throughout are first rate and perfectly rendered here. There are no egregious instances of aliasing or compression artifacts detectable in this transfer. The color palette runs on the cooler side with a focus on blues, but there are numerous magical instances of beautiful colors popping off the screen. Black levels are appropriately deep and give way to an excellent amount of detail in shadows. The Blu-Ray is quite stunning as it brings a meticulously crafted series to life in a gorgeous manner. For my money, this presentation trumps the compressed 4K stream on Prime.
Audio Quality
This Blu-Ray comes with an tremendously active DTS-HD 5.1 Master Audio track that creates a fully fleshed-out world. The spatial awareness of the track is pretty insane at times, and the panning techniques are used to great effect in the surround channels. Special consideration should be paid to the series music from Christopher Lennertz. His work perfectly sets the tone for the story, and it creates a wonderfully enveloping sound that draws you further into the show. Action sequences and more kinetic moments are given the appropriate power in the mix with a forceful showing in the low end. Dialogue always comes through crisp and clear without being stepped on by the score or any sound effects. Ambient sounds are also precisely placed in the rear channels. The audio presentation here is A+ on all levels. There are English, English SDH and French subtitles provided.
Special Features
Season One (Disc Three)
- Deleted Scenes: There are 16 unused scenes totaling 16 minutes provided here focusing most heavily on Butcher, Homelander and Annie. Most of these moments are fairly brief and were likely cut for pacing reasons, but what is here fans will definitely want to check out.
- Blooper Reel: A four-minute collection of flubbed and forgotten lines, joking around, malfunctioning props and more. This is always one of the best features.
Season Two (Disc Three)
- Butcher – A Short Film: A five-minute story with Billy that helps bridge the gap between season one and season two.
- Deleted Scenes: There are 14 unused scenes totaling nearly 20 minutes provided here focusing most heavily on Mother’s Milk and Kimiko. There are a couple of scenes that feature some unfinished effects such as news graphics.
- Blooper Reel: Another three-minute collection of goofing around, flubbed lines, stumbling around, malfunctioning props and more.
Final Thoughts
The Boys is the show we turn to when we need a reset on what we imagine superhero narratives can be. While we love everything from the Arrowverse shows over on the CW to the MCU fare, The Boys is the loving punch to the face that gets our blood pumping with shocking developments and unforgettable characters. Throughout these first two seasons, Eric Kripke and crew have developed an expansive narrative that always keeps us riveted and wanting more, along with performances that get us deeply invested in characters we love and love to hate. Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has released a Blu-Ray featuring a commanding A/V presentation and a few special features to sweeten the deal. If you have not given this series a shot yet, you are missing out on something special. Highly Recommended
The Boys: Seasons 1 & 2 Collection is currently available to purchase on Blu-Ray and DVD.
Note: Images presented in this review are not reflective of the image quality of the Blu-Ray.
Disclaimer: Sony Pictures Home Entertainment has supplied a copy of this set free of charge for review purposes. All opinions in this review are the honest reactions of the author.
Dillon is most comfortable sitting around in a theatre all day watching both big budget and independent movies.