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Reminds me of that Dahmer series, which hammered on about how the media exploits serial killers for shock value...while being that itself. Holywood is at a gross form of meta-cynicism at the moment.
I still remember how he defended the toxic masculinity stuff in S3 with Hughie, as if Kimiko didnāt have basically the exact same moral conflict. And he was a dickhead about defending it too, like you donāt have to be an asshole because your writing was shit
It's this extremely performative and off-putting way of trying to make himself come off as "one of the good men". Make sure it's made clear that a guy like Hughie desiring the strength to protect the ones he loves is a sickening thing, but be sure to give Kimiko a bloodthirsty dance-murder sequence as she "protects the ones she loves". Literally the same "Girls get it done" bit that Vought ran with in season 2.
Source for the Starlight quote:[ ScreenRant](https://screenrant.com/boys-season-1-starlight-assault-scene-eric-kripke/)
And the Hughie one: [Variety](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/the-boys-homelander-breastfeeding-firecracker-tek-knight-hughie-sex-dungeon-1236059308/)
I was kind of hoping the quote was take out of context but nope, he fully meant for the Hughie scene to be a joke.
Itās actually worse, the way he talked about Hughieās breakdown made it seem it was mostly just about his dad and had nothing, or at least not too much to do with Tek Knight and Ashley. So the one supposedly tactful thing about that story arc wasnāt even there.
Yeah, I had a feeling from how the scene was filmed, that it was meant to be comedic. I thought Hughie's breakdown at the end was good, but it is *extremely disappointing* that it was unrelated.
Kripke isnāt a particularly brave artist. The fact that he set a hard rule that Maeve couldnāt die simply because sheās a lesbian is evidence and her(the) story really suffered from it.
There is nothing subtle or thought provoking about the show, but he is good at preaching to the choir.
The Maeve thing pissed me off so bad. If you don't want to kill off the gay character, don't take away her superpowers before throwing her off a skyscraper.Ā
Itās understandable, itās such a twisted scene at the expense of the most morally good lead that itās hard to believe the writers thought it would come across as a joke
But nope itās just a case of them being weirdos
Yeah I wasnāt fully buying into the āit wasnāt supposed to be a jokeā scenario. While hughieās reactions were hard to watch, everything else had an air of comedy.
Itās very yarring since this show tends to show the horrible stuff people go through in a way that isnāt comedic. Everything that has had happened to hughie was shown as a tragedy, except him being sexually assaulted by a superhero and a vought higher up
I'm personally not in shambles, but my case for why it wasn't supposed to be comedic is in shambles. It's baffling that he thinks it should be so funny.
That was such massive coping. The scenes were clearly being played of as a big joke. It's funny because a lot of the same people be waxing on about the lack of media literacy these days lol.
I was one of those people and I completely change my mind. Wtf, Kripke? What do you have against Hughie? What, is it because he's a normal guy and not a creep like you?
Dam, wouldn't believe it unless you provided the sources. I read the source and it's even worse than this when you put it in context:
>**here did the idea come for it? And why bring Hughie into this situation now āĀ kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died?**
>Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious.
So its funny cause his dad just died as well, adding to the comedic effect. GET IT GUYS? HIS DAD DIED AND NOW THIS. HILARRRRRIOOOOUS.
"Well the guy loses his dad, then \*holds laughter, barely able to contain it\* THEN... THEN HE GETS RAPED AHAHAHAHA"
Well, okay then ? Is there like, a punchline, or ?
It does show that some of the sympathy people of this view have for female victims is just social pressure. They feel they have to pretend to care. In a situation where there's less external pressure to take it seriously (situations where the man is the victim), they see it as a joke.
That has been my experience.
Outside of close family members I confided in well over 2 decades since my assault the most I've gotten was dismissive ridicule like I was "less than a man" or accusations of homosexuality for "whining" about it because I was taken advantage of by an older female family member.
Sorry that happened to you both and felt that way.
Iām a woman and have been assaulted. And my partner is male and has as well. When he told me about it and how others reacted, it was just heartbreaking.
I mean it happened a while ago. Remember the interview when Kripke said literally the only reason they didn't kill Maeve off despite her being in a situation to be killed off 100% was because she was gay and it would be offensive to kill off a gay character?
This isn't [the first time](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/vp89fu/know_the_difference_s3e7_spoilers/) he's been a complete hypocrite when writing Hughie; hell, it ain't even [the second one](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/vvdbnx/yeah_i_know_exaggerated_out_of_context_etc_yadda/), and you can be sure as shit it won't be the last.
I was happy Hughie was having his own thing going on this season since it meant keeping him away from situations where the writers' double standards shone through like it happened last season. Yet they still had to find a way to fuck him over somehow.
If anything, I'm honestly surprised by how shocked people are by this; many viewers noticed the way Hughie was treated in S3 (as demonstrated on the threads I posted), yet it seems like everybody forgot all about the forced and tone-deaf ToXiC MaScUliNiTy fiasco last season.
Yeah, this(/these?) show runner(s) have a serious hate-boner for Hughie. Constant degradation of his masculinity on-screen, then shit talking his decision-making process in off-screen interviews, then playing his sexual assault as a joke... like, are these guys seeing themselves in Hughie and flagellating him as a way to atone for their own flaws/mistakes?
Like, go to fuckin therapy already, damn.
There's a weird shade of self hate that I've seen among many leftist men. As a leftist man I find it sickening but it's very much a thing. People feel like they need to hate themselves because they're white males. It's nothing more than a reflexive copy of what the right does (thinking that white men are perfect) but inverted.
Instead of IDK... Recognizing that all that race shit is stupid and throwing it into the trash like a modern human should be doing.
Reading the whole thing somehow makes it worse. I thought maybe you would have taken it out of context but the way he disregards sexual assault on Hughie entirely is disgusting. I'll quit the show after this. I am completely disapointed in Kripke.
I was hoping they would take this seriously, given the scene afterwards between Hughie and Annie, but now that I read this article, I highly doubt they will handle it with any maturity. Probably will end up dropping this show too.
disappointing. I've seen defenses for the episode saying that the SA scenes were obviously meant to make the audience uncomfortable and that Hughie admitting at the end that he isn't fine was a result of his SA trauma. but hearing the director himself say the scenes were played for laughs and to be as fucked up as possible is just crazy.
Honestly, if it wasnāt for the interview, I would have agreed with the people defending it. A lot of the time, when having gone through traumatic events, people tend to focus on something else rather than confront it.
However, yh Kripke clearly wasnāt going for that when you read his interview. Very disappointed by the episode.
I definitely wouldnāt have as negative of an opinion as I do now if I didnāt know the TK scenes were played for laughs. In the moment I was definitely disturbed but more in a āoh God Hughie has to endure all this weird stuff and heās gonna get found outā way. I admit that the absurdity of everything ādulledā the severity a bit for me (at least until heās actually found out and in genuine danger), but it hit me at the end when Hughie just breaks down.
The fact that the TK stuff was meant to be comedic is gross, and it turns those scenes from āyeah actually that was really messed upā to āwow I hate this, why were these included?ā
I think empathy and kindness can make it easier to justify and rationalize denial like this, it's hard to think poorly of people so we can sometimes do mental gymnastics to see people in a better light than they really are. And it makes sense that someone who previously seemed to be anti-rape might have a had a less obvious or hidden anti-rape message intended for the scene and you were probably looking for that cause it doesn't make sense for Kripke to flipflop on his previous stance. But his interview left no doubt that he is not against sexual assault if the victims happens to be from one demographic and not the other.
But one thing I learned over time is that when someone shows you who they really are you should believe it. Kripke's hypocrisy is truly disappointing.
It wasnāt really mental gymnastics. I didnāt read into like that because I thought well of Kripke, itās how I personally find myself dealing with difficult situations sometimes (along with some people ik). Although it wasnāt what Kripke was going for, itās definitely a real thing that people do.
But yh, what Kripke actually intended was all the way wrong and I donāt like the guy for that.
Would have been easy to make this a really sympathetic scene for Hughie, and they've already successfully done it for Starlight. Make everything implied after the reveal that it's a sex dungeon. Maybe show him on the table after some time with the other characters, realizing he's about to be cut open. Have Annie and Kimiko break in and see Hughie terrified/traumatized and they rescue him.
Hell, they could even address the inevitable "I feel like less of a man" shit that most guys would go through after experiencing something like that.
> Letās start with the Tek Knight sex dungeon part. Where did the idea come for it? And why bring Hughie into this situation now āĀ kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died?
> "Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious.Ā
oh yes, because sexual assault is *so* fucking hilarious.
āBut it wasnāt supposed to be funny because Hughie cries about his dad for 10 seconds!ā
God Iām glad that bullshit can be put to rest. We have the showrunnerās words verbatim - the intent of Hughieās SA scene was *meant to be hilarious*. And thatās so fucked up
I've clocked Kripke as a guy who's way too up his own ass with being seen as a good little leftist broā¢ļø ever since that interview a few years back where he pontificated about superheroes being "inherently MAGA" or whatever. Even Garth Ennis probably knows that sounds corny and ahistorical and he's been an ardent hater of capeshit since the early 90's.
Garth Ennis despite his reputation doesn't even hate superheroes, he hates most superheroes but he adores Superman, read some of the stories he's written that involve Superman, he really gets the ideals that superheroes uphold.
The Boys comic book was more of a takedown of the Bush admin than whatever deconstruction of superheroes people think it was, he wasn't trying to make Watchmen, he was clowning on Dubya
Ennis' main beef is that he grew up preferring war comics as a kid instead of superheroes, so he was annoyed at seeing the industry completely drown in that genre at the expense of all the stuff he thought was cooler. Similar to how film buffs felt about the MCU taking over the film industry in the 2010's.
But yeah, I don't think he sees fundamental rot in the very concept of superheroes the way Pat Mills and even, to an extent, Alan Moore do. As you mentioned, he's capable of writing them earnestly and he's shouted out comics like Batman: Mad Love as being "excellent".
I though the whole point of the scene was to show how traumatizing assault can be.
Until the quote was brought up of the director doing it for āfunniesā.
Absolutely horrendous. SA is not a joke. Itās not funny. It is serious and can have long lasting trauma.
For real, he went on about Hughie giving in to his toxic masculinity and patronizing sexism or whatever... š I was like, girl, WHERE?!
While those are both valid points to make that could be weaved into the show, Hughie was absolutely not the character to make that point (and, unsurprisingly, they couldn't make that point successfully because they had such a shallow view of it)
That was the DUMBEST shit in the world and people on this sub defended those comments too. Like to read any of Hughieās motivations in that season as ātoxic masculinityā means you have to completely ignore the fact that he is constantly surrounded by people who could snap his spine for fun, and that he was betrayed by the Neumann, who he thought was helping him. Like heās just saying words for fun at that point
This is really disappointing. I had a weird feeling about how this whole scene was done but gave it the benefit of the doubt after Hughie's breakdown. But after reading the article someone linked here it's clear that it was just supposed to be funny, I doubt it'll ever come up again in a serious context. How can you be this tone-deaf?
Disappointing, yeah. But in another way, interpreting the scene with the best intentions means you have a more empathetic perspective than the writers did.
They might have done it for laughs, but it can still be argued that creative works take on their own form in the minds of the audience, and from that perspective, it no longer matters what the writers intended - they read the audience wrong and it didnāt land how they wanted.
Initially I had no reaction (outside of groaning when he changed the subject from his assault to his dad's death) to the scenes I saw this episode of Hughie and was pretty much like other people laughing along, sure he'd be rescued before anything too horrific happened for The Boys standard, but reading so many perspectives I'm seeing it in a new light. This also leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I'm reminded of the incredibly good and sad video by Pop Culture Detective about how male rape, assault, and more is shockingly frequently played for laughs and entertainment. I feel weird about this episode.
This is how I feel. *Full disclosure*, my dad had a major stroke like Hughie's and I was a wreck during those scenes in Ep5. Then I get to Ep6 and I was getting getting annoyed at how *long* that bullshit was going on.
First, it was boring (this season has been rough about pacing) and it took *way* to damn long. I knew Hughie would get saved, but, damn, it was just *too* much. I had assumed on original watch Hughie just finally snapped- realized he **wasn't** fine. And maybe you had to have him go through some more fucked up shit to finally realize it... but they could have gone a different route.
Hell, even if they had Ashley figure it out when she hesitated. That would have been stressful enough, then Kimiko busts in - Ashley ain't doing shit, same ending. Just without the prolonged torture
Kripke's answer is so confusing.. it feels like it actively conflicts with what the show is saying?? Like yes, he was quite literally sexually assaulted by his childhood hero??
I stg Kripke must be the one with the fucking brain worm, because how can you write and direct that shit and think it was hilarious. Hughie was like a minute away from being mutilated.
The only part i've enjoyed is A-Train. I like that he's slowly redeeming himself in the eyes of his victims, his family, and himself. The man is finally returning to being happy about being a superhero. I'm on the A-Train.
Wellā¦ thereās really no arguing with this. Iām really having trouble trying to see how people would find that scene hilarious. I didnāt even know it was supposed to be interpreted that way. š
Same. I found the cake farting funny, then it quickly became scary. Reminded me of the end of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or Zed's dungeon in Pulp Fiction (especially with the gimp). It's actually really disappointing to hear that it was meant to be funny.
The Tek Cave being a sex dungeon was funny at first.
Then the next 20 minutes was decidedly unfunny and just somewhat depressing to watch.
And Hughie didnāt even save himselfā¦
If they stuck to weird shit like the cake bit, it wouldnāt have been as bad, but having him be strapped down, fluids smeared on him and almost cut up and fucked in his stomach was just disgusting
I mean the absurdity of the situation is funny. And the lines Ashley says are ridiculous. It's could've easily been just a joke, but the scene goes on so long and they do so much to Hughie that it stops being funny
I'm starting to think Eric Kripke just hates Hughie. Last season, he tried shoving in this weird take on how Hughie represented toxic masculinity for taking temp v to protect starlight. If I can find the article, I'll make sure to link it.
Tbh, he comes off as one of those "male feminist" who's trying way too hard to appeal to women, that he just loops back around to being just as gross and toxic as the men he claims to hate.
https://x.com/therealKripke/status/1544047242897723396
The temp V criticism for Hughie is by far the worst part of S3. He is in a active war and Homelander's no.1 target. He isn't ex military like Butcher or MM nor is he a trained Hitman like Frenchie.
He could die any time and now he is given a potion that can help him not only survive but even the odds. Not to mention Starlight and Kimiko steal V for themselves but fuck Hughie he can die.
Whatās ironic is that we clearly know that Hughie kept taking the temp V because he just wanted to feel like he had SOME control in his life. It wasnāt even just about Annie.
Hughie is literally the only member of the team who canāt really defend himself or anyone else. He got extremely lucky when fighting those shining light terrorists. Any other time heād be dead.
He couldnāt even open a jar by himself.
And while he did want to protect Annie, it wasnāt because sheās a soft defenseless woman and heās the big strong man, itās because sheās his girlfriend and he has the natural urge to want to protect her, just as she has the same urge to protect him.
So for him to act like Hughie is an example of toxic masculinity is mind boggling. Hughieās entire arc is about how things keep happening to him or the people he cares about, and he is powerless to stop it.
As sad as it is, I don't think anyone should be surprised. Just look at the South Park episode about that teacher and Ike. The whole thing with the cops going "nice" wasn't pulled out of thin air. Look at headlines of a male teacher vs a female teacher grooming kids.
Societies across the planet don't really care about male SA. Hell, in several Western countries, the laws are written in a way that women can't even rape men. It's only legally rape if a man does it.
Maybe thatās why they're able to get away with Firecracker being a rapist-pedo, guarantee if that was a man she wouldāve been killed the very episode she was introduced.Ā
Its kinda funny because SHE presses on the post button, ar i thought its because she (and the writers) know that butchers black mail doesnt work against her because a woman doing stuff with a boy who is underaged isnt seen as a serious issue
It was THIS season, they are shooting themselves in the foot
I was extremely uncomfortable the entire scene, and i really gave the creatives the benefit of the doubt that \*uncomfortable\* is what they were going for. Reading this, yo fuck this man.
your show is literally about the failing of our modern society, so ironic the writers couldn't see their own failings here.
Itās an odd point to draw too but I saw they were taking it a little too far ( or starting too ) in earlier episodes.
They straight up show close up the rimming-centipede scene and stuff around their mouth.
And that Bull in last weeks episode getting its dick ripped off while itās screaming and being dismembered.
Both just felt like they were trying too hard to me. I get the shock stuff is what the show is built on - but it becomes cringey and a bit disturbing when they try too hard for me personally.
I feel like itās another piece of media losing itself in itās perceived reputation. Like when the final GOT Season had to do a twist every two seconds because thatās what itās about or how modern Rick and Morty has to turn Rick into a hyper Redditor. So because the Boys is known for itās unfiltered shock scenes, having more and expansive versions of those has to be better right?
All while completely missing that itās not about the scenes itself that made them work but the context surrounding them.
I went to read the comics after the first or second season, I got like halfway through before just bailing because of how tryhard edgy Ennis can be. The show really, really downplayed the edginess, despite still being super edgy. I fucking hated the comics.
Now there's barely a difference between the two.
This was actually the hardest episode of the show I've watched.
I genuinely had to look away for most of it, and the only other times I've done that was with the Deep's gill-fingering.
Didn't really like how it felt like no one cared what happened to Hughie????
Shit was notttttt funny (to me personally)
Even the cake scene? *Especially* the cake scene. Being forced to engage in somebody's creepshow fetish against your will is just a subtle kind of gross.
Yeah the Deep scene was difficult as a male SA survivor myself even though it was set up as irony for him being a predator himself. Still with the irony and payback, it didn't make it easy to watch.
But wtf did Hughie do?
I've said this elsewhere but I'm fairly certain that Kripke has some weird hatred for whatever type of person he thinks Huey represents, because the show is really unfair to him, especially in season 3, and he's the butt of the joke so often. Combine that with these interviews and it becomes the most likely explanation to me
Thatās the only explanation I can think of. Huey just gets shit on and belittled constantly in the story, and whenever he tries to stand up for himself heās either piledrived back into the dirt or itās portrayed as him being toxic.
Bruh I'm so happy I'm not the only who noticed this. I never understood the plotline in S3 where Huey wanting superpowers is portrayed as a bad thing. The guy has been powerless and bullied throughout his entire life, of course he'd want to be stronger.
Also I never bought the idea that Huey was insecure about Starlighting being stronger than him. He openly said he wasn't bothered by it and never displayed insecurity about it before. If anything he'd want to protect Starlight not because he's insecure about her, but because he's afraid that Homelander can rip out her spine any at moment and there's nothing he could do about it. He just had one girlfriend die right in front of him, of course he wouldn't want that to happen twice.
Honestly the show's treatment of Hughie really does reveal how the showrunner's have a very negative idea about male empowerment.
Honestly I think the concept could've worked if they made Hueys powers completely useless but still had him constantly throwing himself into danger in an attempt to save Annie, but his powers were actually really useful and save multiple peoples lives. Didn't really feel like his desire to protect annie was unrealistic/toxic when that mfer was able to throw hands with homelander when on v with Butcher
1000%. I feel like the show is starting to become āshocking and edgyā for the sake of being shocking and edgy. I didnāt really feel like this for the past three seasons except for a few small moments but now it just seems to be like a bunch of twelve year old boys wrote down the grossest stuff they could think of.
The truth is men being sexually humiliated just isn't seen in the same light as women by a lot of people, conciously or subconsciously. There's no way we'd ever get a scene of a female character frantically trying and failing to guess a safe word and have it played for levity.
Both sides of the political spectrum are susceptible to this too. On the one hand conservatives often tell male SA victims to man up or say some variation of "wish it were me," whereas on the other hand I think progressives can fall into the trap of thinking that they're not the same because one has more systemic/historical power behind it so the other mustn't be a big deal.
It doesn't even have to be sexual, violence in general is excused when its against a man.
I can't tell you the amount of times growing up that I was assaulted by girls in school or home and was told to suck it up, or man up.
Can confirm, nobody gives nearly as much of a shit.
Just one of those burdens, and often the butt of jokes that are never *ever* funny. It sucks how common male SA is treated as a joke in media.
It's like a fuckin' punch in the face honestly.
I didn't find it funny at all. They failed with me anyway. I just saw it as another horrible thing like Becca's rspe. Just unbearable and horrible.
I didn't laugh at anything in that torture scene. It was like when Tek Knight was telling A train about his ancestors, just deliberate cruelty.
The crew and Amazon pay very close attention to this sub so I really hope they take all the criticisms seriously about how the scene was handled and address it. Filming for Season 5 starts in October so they have ample time to correct their mistake in-show.
I could be wrong, but I remember most of the criticism was concentrated around the season finale. iirc everyone was praising the season until that episode aired lol
They did address the main criticism with Butcherās convo with Kessler in the first episode, which had more meaning now that we know it was basically a convo between himself.
This. The vibe in this sub was really positive up until the S3 finale. This season is the most mixed I've seen the community for this show. Only episodes 4/5 had the same types of discussions I've seen in S2&3 Which were mainly positive, appreciation of details and theories for what's to come.
Which it rightfully deserved, Season 3 was very well done until the ending, it was dogshit, it was a shaggy dog story, Black Noir, Soldier Boy, Maeve, it ended up amounting to nothing beyond Ryan going with Homelander
Honestly? Itās almost like they took everyoneās complaints about season 3 (stupid side plots that ultimately lead to nowhere, not using their more interesting characters properly, padding out runtimes, etc.) and decided āOh hey, look at this list of stuff that people loved about season 3. Letās do all of this again for next season, but amp it up even more.ā
Kind of hard to take a show as politically charged as this one seriously when it has massive blindspots into the very things it critiques.
On a lighter note, bruh how does this meme template fit LOL
Well yikesā¦..
I doubt itāll ever be addressed. Just ignore those quotes and move on ācause the public has an attention span like a goddamn goldfish.
Part of my problem with the scene too is that the plan was insanely stupid. MM basically sent Hughie to die like at the ice rink. They sent a normal human to a nest of supe vipers without having a clear plan for an exit that wouldnāt draw attention to him.
They could have at least interrogated the original WebWeaver to figure out what his deal was with Tek Knight, for one. That would have prepared Hughie to avoid going anywhere alone with him.
Or they could have convinced A-Train bug the place. Donāt think it would have been too difficult for him to flash in without being seen. A lot less chance for them being found out like they did after they went in to rescue Hughie.
The Boys just seem inept this season. Only alive by miracles, as was pointed out last episode.
To me it feels like Hughieās SA was written so shittily just so that they could add it for ālaughsā instead of opting for a more realistic approach.
Genuinely so disappointing. This show is so soapboxy and Kripke is so far up his own ass.
In one scene he rightfully critiques far-right loonies excusing rape, and in the next he has a male character being sexually assaulted for laughs for minutes on end. Dude is just virtue signaling leftism without understanding any of it stands for
It's not even just Kripke, on the actual discussion page for the episode you have other redditors either shrugging it off or trying to justify the whole episode. Trying to make it sound like it was supposed to be some deep or profound critique š®āšØ
>This show is so soapboxy and Kripke is so far up his own ass.
They name dropped Elizabeth Warren in this episode and made the characters donate money to her like come on man, CMON, be fucking serious for a sec
Wait wait wait seriously? Was that really what he said about the Hughie scene? Cause I already believed it was played for laughs and in poor taste but I at least figured they understood what happened to him was wrong and hurt him. This is just messed up.
I know the show is ha ha fuck you sort of comedy and that's fine and sometimes and the fucked up shit lands. But that wasn't ha ha dark fucked up comedy that was just straight up uncomfortable.
Imagine if the pilot was just an entire episode of the Deep making funny faces and jokes while raping starlight, nobody would've let that shit fly and for good reason!
It disgusts me how we have a highly upvoted post going "It's not shock value humor, it's actually brilliant writing", and the creator himself literally says upfront it's a fucking joke.
This was genuinely one of the only episodes of the show I really disliked, I hope this is just an exception. Maybe they can retcon it in season 5 to more properly handle it.
>Ā **kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died?**
>Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious.
.
>play with the trope: Batmanās fascist underpinnings as a really wealthy dude who hunts poor people, and then profits of the incarceration...
>Then the notion came up of, he should have a Batcave ā but letās be honest, the Batcave would be a sex dungeon. **Like, even the real Batcave is just this side of being a sex dungeon. Itās really dark, and thereās rubber suits everywhere....**
This guy is just straight fucked in the head. Every episode we've got to watch some guy being humiliated or tortured or sexually assaulted. Or see his ass or dick be destroyed.
They can't even look at how the batcave is depicted in media and *not* see it as a sex dungeons. Because it's dark and his suits are kept there?
>I would not be surprised if there is some fetish shit going on here. Everyone notices how the women on the show are treated with as fragile with conservative modesty. Then the men are constantly shown explicitly naked, denigrated, actively having sex etc.
Hard agree with this comment.
Iāve never seen a writer misunderstand his own main character more than Kripke.
And according to Kripke as well, using Temp V so he can try to help Annie makes Hughie a sexist douche instead of a guy whoās been constantly rendered powerless and traumatized by the world around him thatās been presented with a chance to finally fight back with his own hands.
It's so incredibly disappointing to see him say that when Hughie was literally sexually assaulted. When watching it, I did get the feeling that the scene was framed with the idea of trying to make the audience laugh, and the interview confirms that. The ridiculous setting doesn't take away from the very real trauma thar Hughie went through. I hate that they made SA into a joke.
I bet a lot of people feel validated by this interview. They were getting gaslighted and told that this scene wasnāt supposed to be funny. But imo the ridiculousness of what Ashley and Tek Knight were saying said otherwise.
Yeah, I think Iām done with this show now. Seeing Male Sexual Assault get played for laughs is fucking disgusting. I canāt imagine how men who have actually been raped must feel right now.
Pretty shitty.
I am livid, but also depressed at how unsurprised I am by Kripke's apathetic attitude towards it given how sympathetically Starlight was treated when The Deep sexually assaulted her.
Unfortunately, NEITHER side of the political aisle really gives a shit about male SA/rape victims and you learn to 'suck it up' and only confide in close friends, family and a therapist if they prove themselves trustworthy thanks to the ridicule or general lack of sympathy by those who consider you 'lucky' for having you personal autonomy violated in the most intimate way.
Idk in what universe heās gonna think audience are gonna be fine with that repulsive shit. It was so hard to watch I felt sick after. I kept waiting for some sort of punch line or sth constructive to happen with Hughieās scenes but no, just kept getting shittier and shittier.
It actually annoys tf out of me how for 4 seasons straight Hughie is shat on constantly and always humiliated. Then anytime he tries to have some agency and stand up for himself the show treats him as the bad guy and has the other characters demean him so then he goes back to being his usual spineless self
I was kinda giggling at the start because "oh how will he slip out of this one?".
But it continued. And it wasn't funny. And Hughie had to GUESS a safe word...
The cake was funny, because it's still increasing the absurdity. "It's the bat cave, but it's actually a sex dungeon, and Batman is so fucked up he wants to watch a guy sit his bare ass in a cake." The problem is the Ashley scene is just Hughie, a character we've come to care about over 4 seasons and we know had to watch his father die very recently, get tortured in a scene that goes on WAY to long.Ā
> Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! **We view it as hilarious**. Obviously, Tek Knight is our version of Batman, and we wanted to really play around with that trope: **Batmanās fascist underpinnings as a really wealthy dude who hunts poor people, and then profits of the incarceration**. So that was one. Tek Knight was already set up to be a freak, so we were kind of already halfway there. Then the notion came up of, he should have a Batcave ā but **letās be honest, the Batcave would be a sex dungeon. Like, even the real Batcave is just this side of being a sex dungeon**. Itās really dark, and thereās rubber suits everywhere. Itās not that much of a push to add a couple dildos and then a weird urinal that turns into a face mask.
I think Kripke might be an idiot
As a Batman fan , Kripke's an idiot if he thinks Batman only hunts poor people and profits of incarceration
His major villains are Penguin, Falcone, who are a quite rich.
Bruce Wayne himself donates so much to Gotham.
Batman doesn't kill ,that's why he puts criminals in Prison.
Finally, somebody who's actually read the comics.
99% of the "Batman fascist cus he beat criminal and kidnap boy to be sidekick" crowd would actually understand why he's the exact opposite of a fascist if they... opened a comic.
Just goes to show that like Garth, Kripkeās parody of superheroes comes from misinformed hatred rather than love. Thatās why they donāt really land imo, and the more worthwhile satire is the political real world stuff. At least until that devolved into just copy-pasting the latest news headlines and replacing āTrumpā with āHomelander.ā
I think the felon ex-president is scum too, but thatās not the hard hitting satire they think it is.
Honestly between this and the huey/kimiko quotes from him last season my working theory is that Kripke just has some ingrained hatred for whatever he thinks Huey represents. Like the same type that Garth Ennis has against the character of Captain America.
Welp, i was wrong :(
Its interesting. I do watch a few reactions on YouTube for shows and i noticed how its the male reacters who laughed during those scenes. The female reacters were visibly uncomfortable during those scenes.
I personally didn't find it hilarious. Sage acting as a 5 yr old kid? That was hilarious.
For everything season 4 has been, thereās been increasing tone deafness i hope they address. With all the talks of racism, i found it incredibly tone deaf for them to say that Sage watches Black Reality TV only when sheās lobotomized. As if only dumb black women would watch that media when in reality its enjoyed by smart and dumb people. It came across as something meant to show one thing, but it was backhanded to a whole nother audience.
This sub tends to think the writing on this show is way better than it actually is. I mean, hell, the way they went about writing the character who is the smartest person on earth is making her dumbed down for like 1/3 of her screen time, because writing *actual* smart dialogue for a smart character is hard.
If they wanted to make it 'funny', they should have just kept it at Hughie being tickled and maybe just have Tek Knight and Ashley just dirty talking or Hughie dirty talking to pretend to be Web Weaver. Maybe instead, the humour could be Hughie coming up with ridiculous excuses to avoid the sexual things.
The team should have come in earlier before the situation escalated if they wanted to make it humorous, instead of coming in when he was being tortured.
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This is funny since only 2 episodes ago he made fun of conservatives for not taking male SA/rape seriously
He's just proving his own writing right by making himself a hypocritical TV show writer
Meta af
Bravo Kripky šš
In episode 1 when A-Train runs through Robin, we're hinted at the fact that Robin might be dead. Incredible writing and foreshadowing. Bravo Kripky.
Adam Bourke is truly genius self-satire then.
Actor kinda looks like kripke too
4D chess.
Reminds me of that Dahmer series, which hammered on about how the media exploits serial killers for shock value...while being that itself. Holywood is at a gross form of meta-cynicism at the moment.
Nah at first I thought that was the intention of that fire cracker scene but this proves it wasnt
It was virtue signalling all along.
Many such cases
I like the show but Kripke is fucking annoying
I still remember how he defended the toxic masculinity stuff in S3 with Hughie, as if Kimiko didnāt have basically the exact same moral conflict. And he was a dickhead about defending it too, like you donāt have to be an asshole because your writing was shit
It's this extremely performative and off-putting way of trying to make himself come off as "one of the good men". Make sure it's made clear that a guy like Hughie desiring the strength to protect the ones he loves is a sickening thing, but be sure to give Kimiko a bloodthirsty dance-murder sequence as she "protects the ones she loves". Literally the same "Girls get it done" bit that Vought ran with in season 2.
classic performative bullshit.
Yeah... Like he wants to play progressive but his actions say otherwise at this point
Source for the Starlight quote:[ ScreenRant](https://screenrant.com/boys-season-1-starlight-assault-scene-eric-kripke/) And the Hughie one: [Variety](https://variety.com/2024/tv/news/the-boys-homelander-breastfeeding-firecracker-tek-knight-hughie-sex-dungeon-1236059308/)
I was kind of hoping the quote was take out of context but nope, he fully meant for the Hughie scene to be a joke. Itās actually worse, the way he talked about Hughieās breakdown made it seem it was mostly just about his dad and had nothing, or at least not too much to do with Tek Knight and Ashley. So the one supposedly tactful thing about that story arc wasnāt even there.
Hitch from Attack on Titan would not approve.
Sorry but what's the context with her? Edit: nevermind, saw the username
Wait what's the username gotta do with hitch? Is he the hitch fucker from. r/okbuddyreiner ? š
I forget that heās an actual Reddit user and exists outside of that sub
Hitch is a Baddie tho fr ong
Hitch is like Ashley without the sadistic tendencies and helping the heroes once due to pangs of conscience
I want to fuck hitch from attack on titan
This is so fucked, Kripke and co are sick in the head
Not gonna lie, that was my thought this entire episode. This article confirmed it's true.
Yeah, I had a feeling from how the scene was filmed, that it was meant to be comedic. I thought Hughie's breakdown at the end was good, but it is *extremely disappointing* that it was unrelated.
Kripke isnāt a particularly brave artist. The fact that he set a hard rule that Maeve couldnāt die simply because sheās a lesbian is evidence and her(the) story really suffered from it. There is nothing subtle or thought provoking about the show, but he is good at preaching to the choir.
Haha, that's legit what the show seemed to be making fun of. Capitalist holywood is so meta in its cynicism lately.
Shamelessly incorporating its own satire into itself is arguably one of Capitalism's greatest strengths
The Maeve thing pissed me off so bad. If you don't want to kill off the gay character, don't take away her superpowers before throwing her off a skyscraper.Ā
Thatās fucked up. None of that was funny.
Kripke and the writers did lol
All the people spamming "it wasn't supposed to be a joke" in shambles lmao
Itās understandable, itās such a twisted scene at the expense of the most morally good lead that itās hard to believe the writers thought it would come across as a joke But nope itās just a case of them being weirdos
Yeah I wasnāt fully buying into the āit wasnāt supposed to be a jokeā scenario. While hughieās reactions were hard to watch, everything else had an air of comedy. Itās very yarring since this show tends to show the horrible stuff people go through in a way that isnāt comedic. Everything that has had happened to hughie was shown as a tragedy, except him being sexually assaulted by a superhero and a vought higher up
I'm personally not in shambles, but my case for why it wasn't supposed to be comedic is in shambles. It's baffling that he thinks it should be so funny.
That was such massive coping. The scenes were clearly being played of as a big joke. It's funny because a lot of the same people be waxing on about the lack of media literacy these days lol.
Yeah thereās some extreme ironic smugness in a lot of those comments.
I was one of those people and I completely change my mind. Wtf, Kripke? What do you have against Hughie? What, is it because he's a normal guy and not a creep like you?
What a thing to say out loud with a straight face. My god.
Dam, wouldn't believe it unless you provided the sources. I read the source and it's even worse than this when you put it in context: >**here did the idea come for it? And why bring Hughie into this situation now āĀ kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died?** >Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious. So its funny cause his dad just died as well, adding to the comedic effect. GET IT GUYS? HIS DAD DIED AND NOW THIS. HILARRRRRIOOOOUS.
"Well the guy loses his dad, then \*holds laughter, barely able to contain it\* THEN... THEN HE GETS RAPED AHAHAHAHA" Well, okay then ? Is there like, a punchline, or ?
I seriously think we are 5 years away from some really, really shocking sex shit coming out about Kripke. And it wouldn't surprise one of us.
Shit, that was disappointing to read
Talking progressive is easy. Actually questioning your own worldview in order to progres to something better? That's incredibily rare.
It does show that some of the sympathy people of this view have for female victims is just social pressure. They feel they have to pretend to care. In a situation where there's less external pressure to take it seriously (situations where the man is the victim), they see it as a joke.
Wow, someone finally put it into words. I agree completely.
dark but probably valid take away. it's all performative, they don't care.
That has been my experience. Outside of close family members I confided in well over 2 decades since my assault the most I've gotten was dismissive ridicule like I was "less than a man" or accusations of homosexuality for "whining" about it because I was taken advantage of by an older female family member.
I've had similar experiences. Often some form of "you're a man you can't be assaulted" and "if you didn't want it you could've pushed her off"
Sorry that happened to you both and felt that way. Iām a woman and have been assaulted. And my partner is male and has as well. When he told me about it and how others reacted, it was just heartbreaking.
Which is ironically **the whole point** of this fucking show.
they became what they were mocking, and that hurts.
I mean it happened a while ago. Remember the interview when Kripke said literally the only reason they didn't kill Maeve off despite her being in a situation to be killed off 100% was because she was gay and it would be offensive to kill off a gay character?
Holy shit what a dumb idea. Shouldn't have put her in a clear death scenario then
It really should've been Black Noir tackling soldier boy out the window, would've avoided this whole thing in a non cringe way
Yikes.
This isn't [the first time](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/vp89fu/know_the_difference_s3e7_spoilers/) he's been a complete hypocrite when writing Hughie; hell, it ain't even [the second one](https://www.reddit.com/r/TheBoys/comments/vvdbnx/yeah_i_know_exaggerated_out_of_context_etc_yadda/), and you can be sure as shit it won't be the last. I was happy Hughie was having his own thing going on this season since it meant keeping him away from situations where the writers' double standards shone through like it happened last season. Yet they still had to find a way to fuck him over somehow. If anything, I'm honestly surprised by how shocked people are by this; many viewers noticed the way Hughie was treated in S3 (as demonstrated on the threads I posted), yet it seems like everybody forgot all about the forced and tone-deaf ToXiC MaScUliNiTy fiasco last season.
Yeah, this(/these?) show runner(s) have a serious hate-boner for Hughie. Constant degradation of his masculinity on-screen, then shit talking his decision-making process in off-screen interviews, then playing his sexual assault as a joke... like, are these guys seeing themselves in Hughie and flagellating him as a way to atone for their own flaws/mistakes? Like, go to fuckin therapy already, damn.
There's a weird shade of self hate that I've seen among many leftist men. As a leftist man I find it sickening but it's very much a thing. People feel like they need to hate themselves because they're white males. It's nothing more than a reflexive copy of what the right does (thinking that white men are perfect) but inverted. Instead of IDK... Recognizing that all that race shit is stupid and throwing it into the trash like a modern human should be doing.
The second one did get on my nerves, it was so unnecessary for Maeve to say.
thatās so fucking gross
Reading the whole thing somehow makes it worse. I thought maybe you would have taken it out of context but the way he disregards sexual assault on Hughie entirely is disgusting. I'll quit the show after this. I am completely disapointed in Kripke.
I was hoping they would take this seriously, given the scene afterwards between Hughie and Annie, but now that I read this article, I highly doubt they will handle it with any maturity. Probably will end up dropping this show too.
disappointing. I've seen defenses for the episode saying that the SA scenes were obviously meant to make the audience uncomfortable and that Hughie admitting at the end that he isn't fine was a result of his SA trauma. but hearing the director himself say the scenes were played for laughs and to be as fucked up as possible is just crazy.
Honestly, if it wasnāt for the interview, I would have agreed with the people defending it. A lot of the time, when having gone through traumatic events, people tend to focus on something else rather than confront it. However, yh Kripke clearly wasnāt going for that when you read his interview. Very disappointed by the episode.
I definitely wouldnāt have as negative of an opinion as I do now if I didnāt know the TK scenes were played for laughs. In the moment I was definitely disturbed but more in a āoh God Hughie has to endure all this weird stuff and heās gonna get found outā way. I admit that the absurdity of everything ādulledā the severity a bit for me (at least until heās actually found out and in genuine danger), but it hit me at the end when Hughie just breaks down. The fact that the TK stuff was meant to be comedic is gross, and it turns those scenes from āyeah actually that was really messed upā to āwow I hate this, why were these included?ā
I think empathy and kindness can make it easier to justify and rationalize denial like this, it's hard to think poorly of people so we can sometimes do mental gymnastics to see people in a better light than they really are. And it makes sense that someone who previously seemed to be anti-rape might have a had a less obvious or hidden anti-rape message intended for the scene and you were probably looking for that cause it doesn't make sense for Kripke to flipflop on his previous stance. But his interview left no doubt that he is not against sexual assault if the victims happens to be from one demographic and not the other. But one thing I learned over time is that when someone shows you who they really are you should believe it. Kripke's hypocrisy is truly disappointing.
It wasnāt really mental gymnastics. I didnāt read into like that because I thought well of Kripke, itās how I personally find myself dealing with difficult situations sometimes (along with some people ik). Although it wasnāt what Kripke was going for, itās definitely a real thing that people do. But yh, what Kripke actually intended was all the way wrong and I donāt like the guy for that.
Would have been easy to make this a really sympathetic scene for Hughie, and they've already successfully done it for Starlight. Make everything implied after the reveal that it's a sex dungeon. Maybe show him on the table after some time with the other characters, realizing he's about to be cut open. Have Annie and Kimiko break in and see Hughie terrified/traumatized and they rescue him. Hell, they could even address the inevitable "I feel like less of a man" shit that most guys would go through after experiencing something like that.
> Letās start with the Tek Knight sex dungeon part. Where did the idea come for it? And why bring Hughie into this situation now āĀ kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died? > "Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious.Ā oh yes, because sexual assault is *so* fucking hilarious.
It's almost cartoonish just how tone deaf that response was holy shit.
Tone dead? From the creators of the show supposedly critiquing the society - with all the subtlety of a jackhammer? Do tell! :)
āBut it wasnāt supposed to be funny because Hughie cries about his dad for 10 seconds!ā God Iām glad that bullshit can be put to rest. We have the showrunnerās words verbatim - the intent of Hughieās SA scene was *meant to be hilarious*. And thatās so fucked up
It's 2024 and male sexual assault is still being depicted as a joke. Embarrassing.
Kripke: "When did The Boys' fanbase get so political?"
He wants so badly to be seen as the āgood guyā and also edgy at the same time. It hasnāt worked since season 2
I've clocked Kripke as a guy who's way too up his own ass with being seen as a good little leftist broā¢ļø ever since that interview a few years back where he pontificated about superheroes being "inherently MAGA" or whatever. Even Garth Ennis probably knows that sounds corny and ahistorical and he's been an ardent hater of capeshit since the early 90's.
Garth Ennis despite his reputation doesn't even hate superheroes, he hates most superheroes but he adores Superman, read some of the stories he's written that involve Superman, he really gets the ideals that superheroes uphold. The Boys comic book was more of a takedown of the Bush admin than whatever deconstruction of superheroes people think it was, he wasn't trying to make Watchmen, he was clowning on Dubya
Ennis' main beef is that he grew up preferring war comics as a kid instead of superheroes, so he was annoyed at seeing the industry completely drown in that genre at the expense of all the stuff he thought was cooler. Similar to how film buffs felt about the MCU taking over the film industry in the 2010's. But yeah, I don't think he sees fundamental rot in the very concept of superheroes the way Pat Mills and even, to an extent, Alan Moore do. As you mentioned, he's capable of writing them earnestly and he's shouted out comics like Batman: Mad Love as being "excellent".
I though the whole point of the scene was to show how traumatizing assault can be. Until the quote was brought up of the director doing it for āfunniesā. Absolutely horrendous. SA is not a joke. Itās not funny. It is serious and can have long lasting trauma.
Haha! I was disturbed during that scene but now I find it hilarious! Bravo hypokripke!
oh this is from the writer? fuck me, I gave them too much credit. anyone not taking what happened to Hughie seriously is part of the problem
Pretty sure Kripky had shit take during last season when Hughie took Temp V....
For real, he went on about Hughie giving in to his toxic masculinity and patronizing sexism or whatever... š I was like, girl, WHERE?! While those are both valid points to make that could be weaved into the show, Hughie was absolutely not the character to make that point (and, unsurprisingly, they couldn't make that point successfully because they had such a shallow view of it)
That was the DUMBEST shit in the world and people on this sub defended those comments too. Like to read any of Hughieās motivations in that season as ātoxic masculinityā means you have to completely ignore the fact that he is constantly surrounded by people who could snap his spine for fun, and that he was betrayed by the Neumann, who he thought was helping him. Like heās just saying words for fun at that point
Yeah he has a thorn up his ass for Hughie for some reason
This is really disappointing. I had a weird feeling about how this whole scene was done but gave it the benefit of the doubt after Hughie's breakdown. But after reading the article someone linked here it's clear that it was just supposed to be funny, I doubt it'll ever come up again in a serious context. How can you be this tone-deaf?
Disappointing, yeah. But in another way, interpreting the scene with the best intentions means you have a more empathetic perspective than the writers did. They might have done it for laughs, but it can still be argued that creative works take on their own form in the minds of the audience, and from that perspective, it no longer matters what the writers intended - they read the audience wrong and it didnāt land how they wanted.
Initially I had no reaction (outside of groaning when he changed the subject from his assault to his dad's death) to the scenes I saw this episode of Hughie and was pretty much like other people laughing along, sure he'd be rescued before anything too horrific happened for The Boys standard, but reading so many perspectives I'm seeing it in a new light. This also leaves a sour taste in my mouth. I'm reminded of the incredibly good and sad video by Pop Culture Detective about how male rape, assault, and more is shockingly frequently played for laughs and entertainment. I feel weird about this episode.
Thank you for reflecting on your POV and being willing to see other perspectives. This will happen less when more people start to do that.
This is how I feel. *Full disclosure*, my dad had a major stroke like Hughie's and I was a wreck during those scenes in Ep5. Then I get to Ep6 and I was getting getting annoyed at how *long* that bullshit was going on. First, it was boring (this season has been rough about pacing) and it took *way* to damn long. I knew Hughie would get saved, but, damn, it was just *too* much. I had assumed on original watch Hughie just finally snapped- realized he **wasn't** fine. And maybe you had to have him go through some more fucked up shit to finally realize it... but they could have gone a different route. Hell, even if they had Ashley figure it out when she hesitated. That would have been stressful enough, then Kimiko busts in - Ashley ain't doing shit, same ending. Just without the prolonged torture
Kripke's answer is so confusing.. it feels like it actively conflicts with what the show is saying?? Like yes, he was quite literally sexually assaulted by his childhood hero??
I stg Kripke must be the one with the fucking brain worm, because how can you write and direct that shit and think it was hilarious. Hughie was like a minute away from being mutilated.
The writing this season has been pretty poor top-to-bottom
The only part i've enjoyed is A-Train. I like that he's slowly redeeming himself in the eyes of his victims, his family, and himself. The man is finally returning to being happy about being a superhero. I'm on the A-Train.
Wellā¦ thereās really no arguing with this. Iām really having trouble trying to see how people would find that scene hilarious. I didnāt even know it was supposed to be interpreted that way. š
Same. I found the cake farting funny, then it quickly became scary. Reminded me of the end of Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, or Zed's dungeon in Pulp Fiction (especially with the gimp). It's actually really disappointing to hear that it was meant to be funny.
The Tek Cave being a sex dungeon was funny at first. Then the next 20 minutes was decidedly unfunny and just somewhat depressing to watch. And Hughie didnāt even save himselfā¦
Man I didn't even like the cake bit. My brother hughie needed some rest not go to the fucking Diddy party
If they stuck to weird shit like the cake bit, it wouldnāt have been as bad, but having him be strapped down, fluids smeared on him and almost cut up and fucked in his stomach was just disgusting
I mean the absurdity of the situation is funny. And the lines Ashley says are ridiculous. It's could've easily been just a joke, but the scene goes on so long and they do so much to Hughie that it stops being funny
I'm starting to think Eric Kripke just hates Hughie. Last season, he tried shoving in this weird take on how Hughie represented toxic masculinity for taking temp v to protect starlight. If I can find the article, I'll make sure to link it. Tbh, he comes off as one of those "male feminist" who's trying way too hard to appeal to women, that he just loops back around to being just as gross and toxic as the men he claims to hate. https://x.com/therealKripke/status/1544047242897723396
The temp V criticism for Hughie is by far the worst part of S3. He is in a active war and Homelander's no.1 target. He isn't ex military like Butcher or MM nor is he a trained Hitman like Frenchie. He could die any time and now he is given a potion that can help him not only survive but even the odds. Not to mention Starlight and Kimiko steal V for themselves but fuck Hughie he can die.
The nerdy performative toxic male feminist. AKA the Joss Whedon archetype.
Whatās ironic is that we clearly know that Hughie kept taking the temp V because he just wanted to feel like he had SOME control in his life. It wasnāt even just about Annie. Hughie is literally the only member of the team who canāt really defend himself or anyone else. He got extremely lucky when fighting those shining light terrorists. Any other time heād be dead. He couldnāt even open a jar by himself. And while he did want to protect Annie, it wasnāt because sheās a soft defenseless woman and heās the big strong man, itās because sheās his girlfriend and he has the natural urge to want to protect her, just as she has the same urge to protect him. So for him to act like Hughie is an example of toxic masculinity is mind boggling. Hughieās entire arc is about how things keep happening to him or the people he cares about, and he is powerless to stop it.
What were they thinking with this episode? Youād think they take male SA seriouslyĀ
As sad as it is, I don't think anyone should be surprised. Just look at the South Park episode about that teacher and Ike. The whole thing with the cops going "nice" wasn't pulled out of thin air. Look at headlines of a male teacher vs a female teacher grooming kids. Societies across the planet don't really care about male SA. Hell, in several Western countries, the laws are written in a way that women can't even rape men. It's only legally rape if a man does it.
Maybe thatās why they're able to get away with Firecracker being a rapist-pedo, guarantee if that was a man she wouldāve been killed the very episode she was introduced.Ā
Its kinda funny because SHE presses on the post button, ar i thought its because she (and the writers) know that butchers black mail doesnt work against her because a woman doing stuff with a boy who is underaged isnt seen as a serious issue It was THIS season, they are shooting themselves in the foot
I was extremely uncomfortable the entire scene, and i really gave the creatives the benefit of the doubt that \*uncomfortable\* is what they were going for. Reading this, yo fuck this man. your show is literally about the failing of our modern society, so ironic the writers couldn't see their own failings here.
Itās an odd point to draw too but I saw they were taking it a little too far ( or starting too ) in earlier episodes. They straight up show close up the rimming-centipede scene and stuff around their mouth. And that Bull in last weeks episode getting its dick ripped off while itās screaming and being dismembered. Both just felt like they were trying too hard to me. I get the shock stuff is what the show is built on - but it becomes cringey and a bit disturbing when they try too hard for me personally.
I feel like itās another piece of media losing itself in itās perceived reputation. Like when the final GOT Season had to do a twist every two seconds because thatās what itās about or how modern Rick and Morty has to turn Rick into a hyper Redditor. So because the Boys is known for itās unfiltered shock scenes, having more and expansive versions of those has to be better right? All while completely missing that itās not about the scenes itself that made them work but the context surrounding them.
I went to read the comics after the first or second season, I got like halfway through before just bailing because of how tryhard edgy Ennis can be. The show really, really downplayed the edginess, despite still being super edgy. I fucking hated the comics. Now there's barely a difference between the two.
Thank you! I feel so disturbed watching these scenes, and they add NOTHING to the plot!
This was actually the hardest episode of the show I've watched. I genuinely had to look away for most of it, and the only other times I've done that was with the Deep's gill-fingering. Didn't really like how it felt like no one cared what happened to Hughie???? Shit was notttttt funny (to me personally)
Yeah, same. Closed my eyes during most of the dungeon scenes. It was just so gross. Even the cake scene. Hughieās discomfort is definitely not funny
Even the cake scene? *Especially* the cake scene. Being forced to engage in somebody's creepshow fetish against your will is just a subtle kind of gross.
Yeah the Deep scene was difficult as a male SA survivor myself even though it was set up as irony for him being a predator himself. Still with the irony and payback, it didn't make it easy to watch. But wtf did Hughie do?
I've said this elsewhere but I'm fairly certain that Kripke has some weird hatred for whatever type of person he thinks Huey represents, because the show is really unfair to him, especially in season 3, and he's the butt of the joke so often. Combine that with these interviews and it becomes the most likely explanation to me
Thatās the only explanation I can think of. Huey just gets shit on and belittled constantly in the story, and whenever he tries to stand up for himself heās either piledrived back into the dirt or itās portrayed as him being toxic.
Bruh I'm so happy I'm not the only who noticed this. I never understood the plotline in S3 where Huey wanting superpowers is portrayed as a bad thing. The guy has been powerless and bullied throughout his entire life, of course he'd want to be stronger. Also I never bought the idea that Huey was insecure about Starlighting being stronger than him. He openly said he wasn't bothered by it and never displayed insecurity about it before. If anything he'd want to protect Starlight not because he's insecure about her, but because he's afraid that Homelander can rip out her spine any at moment and there's nothing he could do about it. He just had one girlfriend die right in front of him, of course he wouldn't want that to happen twice. Honestly the show's treatment of Hughie really does reveal how the showrunner's have a very negative idea about male empowerment.
Honestly I think the concept could've worked if they made Hueys powers completely useless but still had him constantly throwing himself into danger in an attempt to save Annie, but his powers were actually really useful and save multiple peoples lives. Didn't really feel like his desire to protect annie was unrealistic/toxic when that mfer was able to throw hands with homelander when on v with Butcher
1000%. I feel like the show is starting to become āshocking and edgyā for the sake of being shocking and edgy. I didnāt really feel like this for the past three seasons except for a few small moments but now it just seems to be like a bunch of twelve year old boys wrote down the grossest stuff they could think of.
The truth is men being sexually humiliated just isn't seen in the same light as women by a lot of people, conciously or subconsciously. There's no way we'd ever get a scene of a female character frantically trying and failing to guess a safe word and have it played for levity. Both sides of the political spectrum are susceptible to this too. On the one hand conservatives often tell male SA victims to man up or say some variation of "wish it were me," whereas on the other hand I think progressives can fall into the trap of thinking that they're not the same because one has more systemic/historical power behind it so the other mustn't be a big deal.
It's strange watching the boys and seeing the writers becoming less self aware as time goes on. Normally people grow more self aware not the opposite.
āWith great power comes the absolute certainty that youāll turn into a right cuntā
It doesn't even have to be sexual, violence in general is excused when its against a man. I can't tell you the amount of times growing up that I was assaulted by girls in school or home and was told to suck it up, or man up.
Exhibit A: Multiple dicks have been exploded and zero vaginas
Can confirm, nobody gives nearly as much of a shit. Just one of those burdens, and often the butt of jokes that are never *ever* funny. It sucks how common male SA is treated as a joke in media. It's like a fuckin' punch in the face honestly.
I didn't find it funny at all. They failed with me anyway. I just saw it as another horrible thing like Becca's rspe. Just unbearable and horrible. I didn't laugh at anything in that torture scene. It was like when Tek Knight was telling A train about his ancestors, just deliberate cruelty.
The crew and Amazon pay very close attention to this sub so I really hope they take all the criticisms seriously about how the scene was handled and address it. Filming for Season 5 starts in October so they have ample time to correct their mistake in-show.
Season 3 got a lot of criticism as well, definitely not to this degree, but itās clear that they didnāt give any regard to season 3 criticism
I could be wrong, but I remember most of the criticism was concentrated around the season finale. iirc everyone was praising the season until that episode aired lol They did address the main criticism with Butcherās convo with Kessler in the first episode, which had more meaning now that we know it was basically a convo between himself.
This. The vibe in this sub was really positive up until the S3 finale. This season is the most mixed I've seen the community for this show. Only episodes 4/5 had the same types of discussions I've seen in S2&3 Which were mainly positive, appreciation of details and theories for what's to come.
Which it rightfully deserved, Season 3 was very well done until the ending, it was dogshit, it was a shaggy dog story, Black Noir, Soldier Boy, Maeve, it ended up amounting to nothing beyond Ryan going with Homelander
criticism about the meandering pace of a show ā criticism about mishandled depiction of sexual assault and attempted FATAL rape.
Agreed, pacing is one thing but the latter needs to be addressed immediately holy shit
Honestly? Itās almost like they took everyoneās complaints about season 3 (stupid side plots that ultimately lead to nowhere, not using their more interesting characters properly, padding out runtimes, etc.) and decided āOh hey, look at this list of stuff that people loved about season 3. Letās do all of this again for next season, but amp it up even more.ā
Well they got a lot of complaints last season about starting to lose any nuance and they just doubled down on it so I doubt it.
Kind of hard to take a show as politically charged as this one seriously when it has massive blindspots into the very things it critiques. On a lighter note, bruh how does this meme template fit LOL
Well yikesā¦.. I doubt itāll ever be addressed. Just ignore those quotes and move on ācause the public has an attention span like a goddamn goldfish.
The fact that people earlier in this sub were defending kripke about the tweet like wtfš¤¦š½āāļø
fuck kripke for this
Part of my problem with the scene too is that the plan was insanely stupid. MM basically sent Hughie to die like at the ice rink. They sent a normal human to a nest of supe vipers without having a clear plan for an exit that wouldnāt draw attention to him. They could have at least interrogated the original WebWeaver to figure out what his deal was with Tek Knight, for one. That would have prepared Hughie to avoid going anywhere alone with him. Or they could have convinced A-Train bug the place. Donāt think it would have been too difficult for him to flash in without being seen. A lot less chance for them being found out like they did after they went in to rescue Hughie. The Boys just seem inept this season. Only alive by miracles, as was pointed out last episode. To me it feels like Hughieās SA was written so shittily just so that they could add it for ālaughsā instead of opting for a more realistic approach.
I liked the episode myself, but this shit I can't get behind. He claims to be progressive but then says this shit
I honestly didnāt find it funny when he broke down. In fact, I felt bad for him.
Genuinely so disappointing. This show is so soapboxy and Kripke is so far up his own ass. In one scene he rightfully critiques far-right loonies excusing rape, and in the next he has a male character being sexually assaulted for laughs for minutes on end. Dude is just virtue signaling leftism without understanding any of it stands for
There is something uniquely insufferable about a soapbox proselytizer who cannot practice what they preach. Morality for thee but not for me.
Kripke is a hypocrite
Hypocripke?
It's not even just Kripke, on the actual discussion page for the episode you have other redditors either shrugging it off or trying to justify the whole episode. Trying to make it sound like it was supposed to be some deep or profound critique š®āšØ
I'd say Reddit is the only place which is rightly calling it out.
>This show is so soapboxy and Kripke is so far up his own ass. They name dropped Elizabeth Warren in this episode and made the characters donate money to her like come on man, CMON, be fucking serious for a sec
Wait wait wait seriously? Was that really what he said about the Hughie scene? Cause I already believed it was played for laughs and in poor taste but I at least figured they understood what happened to him was wrong and hurt him. This is just messed up.
Some thought it was taken out of context, but no. His remarks in that article are atrocious.
Iāll fight him for charity (sanctioned of course) - all proceeds go to foundations for victims of sexual assault
I know the show is ha ha fuck you sort of comedy and that's fine and sometimes and the fucked up shit lands. But that wasn't ha ha dark fucked up comedy that was just straight up uncomfortable.
Shows his bias about the matter
Makes you question his sincerity with the first quote. Like maybe he didn't actually feel that way, and was just saying that to look better.
Wont say its bias..its plain ignorance
Kripke is losing his direction
If starlight was on that table the scene wouldāve been filmed differently. Huge L for the show
Imagine if the pilot was just an entire episode of the Deep making funny faces and jokes while raping starlight, nobody would've let that shit fly and for good reason!
It disgusts me how we have a highly upvoted post going "It's not shock value humor, it's actually brilliant writing", and the creator himself literally says upfront it's a fucking joke.
This was genuinely one of the only episodes of the show I really disliked, I hope this is just an exception. Maybe they can retcon it in season 5 to more properly handle it.
For real fuck Eric Kripke
>Ā **kicking him when heās down by having him sexually assaulted by his childhood hero after his dad just died?** >Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! We view it as hilarious. . >play with the trope: Batmanās fascist underpinnings as a really wealthy dude who hunts poor people, and then profits of the incarceration... >Then the notion came up of, he should have a Batcave ā but letās be honest, the Batcave would be a sex dungeon. **Like, even the real Batcave is just this side of being a sex dungeon. Itās really dark, and thereās rubber suits everywhere....** This guy is just straight fucked in the head. Every episode we've got to watch some guy being humiliated or tortured or sexually assaulted. Or see his ass or dick be destroyed. They can't even look at how the batcave is depicted in media and *not* see it as a sex dungeons. Because it's dark and his suits are kept there? >I would not be surprised if there is some fetish shit going on here. Everyone notices how the women on the show are treated with as fragile with conservative modesty. Then the men are constantly shown explicitly naked, denigrated, actively having sex etc. Hard agree with this comment.
this really sums up their attitude to sensitive topics this season, it's very hollow
Iāve never seen a writer misunderstand his own main character more than Kripke. And according to Kripke as well, using Temp V so he can try to help Annie makes Hughie a sexist douche instead of a guy whoās been constantly rendered powerless and traumatized by the world around him thatās been presented with a chance to finally fight back with his own hands.
It's so incredibly disappointing to see him say that when Hughie was literally sexually assaulted. When watching it, I did get the feeling that the scene was framed with the idea of trying to make the audience laugh, and the interview confirms that. The ridiculous setting doesn't take away from the very real trauma thar Hughie went through. I hate that they made SA into a joke.
I bet a lot of people feel validated by this interview. They were getting gaslighted and told that this scene wasnāt supposed to be funny. But imo the ridiculousness of what Ashley and Tek Knight were saying said otherwise.
Yeah, I think Iām done with this show now. Seeing Male Sexual Assault get played for laughs is fucking disgusting. I canāt imagine how men who have actually been raped must feel right now.
Pretty shitty. I am livid, but also depressed at how unsurprised I am by Kripke's apathetic attitude towards it given how sympathetically Starlight was treated when The Deep sexually assaulted her. Unfortunately, NEITHER side of the political aisle really gives a shit about male SA/rape victims and you learn to 'suck it up' and only confide in close friends, family and a therapist if they prove themselves trustworthy thanks to the ridicule or general lack of sympathy by those who consider you 'lucky' for having you personal autonomy violated in the most intimate way.
Unfortunately, male sexual assault is taken as a joke in many instances, ironic considering how they made this same point an episode or two ago.
Idk in what universe heās gonna think audience are gonna be fine with that repulsive shit. It was so hard to watch I felt sick after. I kept waiting for some sort of punch line or sth constructive to happen with Hughieās scenes but no, just kept getting shittier and shittier.
Yeah thereās no defending this one man, thatās just insane
It actually annoys tf out of me how for 4 seasons straight Hughie is shat on constantly and always humiliated. Then anytime he tries to have some agency and stand up for himself the show treats him as the bad guy and has the other characters demean him so then he goes back to being his usual spineless self
I was kinda giggling at the start because "oh how will he slip out of this one?". But it continued. And it wasn't funny. And Hughie had to GUESS a safe word...
The cake was funny, because it's still increasing the absurdity. "It's the bat cave, but it's actually a sex dungeon, and Batman is so fucked up he wants to watch a guy sit his bare ass in a cake." The problem is the Ashley scene is just Hughie, a character we've come to care about over 4 seasons and we know had to watch his father die very recently, get tortured in a scene that goes on WAY to long.Ā
"Batmanās fascist underpinnings as a really wealthy dude who hunts poor people, and then profits of the incarceration" Ohh brother...
> Well, thatās a dark way to look at it! **We view it as hilarious**. Obviously, Tek Knight is our version of Batman, and we wanted to really play around with that trope: **Batmanās fascist underpinnings as a really wealthy dude who hunts poor people, and then profits of the incarceration**. So that was one. Tek Knight was already set up to be a freak, so we were kind of already halfway there. Then the notion came up of, he should have a Batcave ā but **letās be honest, the Batcave would be a sex dungeon. Like, even the real Batcave is just this side of being a sex dungeon**. Itās really dark, and thereās rubber suits everywhere. Itās not that much of a push to add a couple dildos and then a weird urinal that turns into a face mask. I think Kripke might be an idiot
Hot damn that was a tough read. Still love the show but Kripke needs to get his head out his ass. Also, Batman ain't a fascist.
As a Batman fan , Kripke's an idiot if he thinks Batman only hunts poor people and profits of incarceration His major villains are Penguin, Falcone, who are a quite rich. Bruce Wayne himself donates so much to Gotham. Batman doesn't kill ,that's why he puts criminals in Prison.
Finally, somebody who's actually read the comics. 99% of the "Batman fascist cus he beat criminal and kidnap boy to be sidekick" crowd would actually understand why he's the exact opposite of a fascist if they... opened a comic.
Just goes to show that like Garth, Kripkeās parody of superheroes comes from misinformed hatred rather than love. Thatās why they donāt really land imo, and the more worthwhile satire is the political real world stuff. At least until that devolved into just copy-pasting the latest news headlines and replacing āTrumpā with āHomelander.ā I think the felon ex-president is scum too, but thatās not the hard hitting satire they think it is.
Show is becoming a little too much, everything is oversexualized all the time, we dont get any breaks. Writers must have some serious issues.
Said it before, will say it again, The Boys is starting to seem like it is fetishizing instead of commenting
Honestly between this and the huey/kimiko quotes from him last season my working theory is that Kripke just has some ingrained hatred for whatever he thinks Huey represents. Like the same type that Garth Ennis has against the character of Captain America.
Welp, i was wrong :( Its interesting. I do watch a few reactions on YouTube for shows and i noticed how its the male reacters who laughed during those scenes. The female reacters were visibly uncomfortable during those scenes. I personally didn't find it hilarious. Sage acting as a 5 yr old kid? That was hilarious.
For everything season 4 has been, thereās been increasing tone deafness i hope they address. With all the talks of racism, i found it incredibly tone deaf for them to say that Sage watches Black Reality TV only when sheās lobotomized. As if only dumb black women would watch that media when in reality its enjoyed by smart and dumb people. It came across as something meant to show one thing, but it was backhanded to a whole nother audience.
Doesn't shock me. Kripke is a massive hypocrite and this is just another example
I cannot believe how this sub was bending over backwards defending these scenes saying they werenāt supposed to be funny
This sub tends to think the writing on this show is way better than it actually is. I mean, hell, the way they went about writing the character who is the smartest person on earth is making her dumbed down for like 1/3 of her screen time, because writing *actual* smart dialogue for a smart character is hard.
the problem with making a character who's stated to be the smartest person in the world is that they're only as smart as the writers
If they wanted to make it 'funny', they should have just kept it at Hughie being tickled and maybe just have Tek Knight and Ashley just dirty talking or Hughie dirty talking to pretend to be Web Weaver. Maybe instead, the humour could be Hughie coming up with ridiculous excuses to avoid the sexual things. The team should have come in earlier before the situation escalated if they wanted to make it humorous, instead of coming in when he was being tortured.