The Boys is a brutal, ugly, and arguably sick and twisted series about superhumans as celebrities. It’s also remarkably well written, with a lot of detail and some great interlocking plots. I didn’t expect to enjoy this anywhere near as much as I am, so I’m very impressed with the writing and production values. The war of Butcher and his crew against the Supes takes some bizarre turns in “Get Some.”

Picking up in the aftermath of Translucent’s spectacularly messy death, Hugh is once again covered in blood and gore. He and the team spend a considerable amount of time cleaning up what’s left of Translucent. Fortunately, his invisibility power was apparently only skin deep. Hugh decides he has to run home, and Butcher gives him a very few options as to how to do that, then does a very dramatic job of finishing the cleaning and dealing with the body, such as it is. At Vought, Starlight gets called in for a meeting with Madeline. It’s a very uneven meeting, as she goes in nervous, gets some good news, meets some new people, and then gets hit with a new threat. She has a lot of pressure being put on her, and she’s clearly the best person involved with The Seven, which is something of a liability in this world.

As the news once again hypes up the race between A-Train and Shockwave, Hugh gets home and asks his companion to wait in the hall. In his room, Hugh gets a much- needed change of clothes, then sees his own room through new eyes and does some abrupt redecorating. His dad comes in during all this and they have a very tense conversation. Hugh is going through a lot of changes, and his father isn’t keeping up. As he leaves, Frenchie offers a very odd conversation about his own childhood. Having done his errand, Butcher pays a call on someone who is trying to make a difference in a different way. The man goes by the odd name of Mother’s Milk, and is clearly not happy to see Butcher. They have some shared history and it’s not good. Bucher does get him interested in what they’re doing now, although he lies a lot along the way.

As the news covers Senator Calhoun’s change of heart about Supes in the military, Madeline and Homelander have a meeting. Among the things we learn are that Homelander doesn’t like babies, is worried about Translucent when no one else seems to be, and that he apparently fears the mysterious Mr. Edgar who is apparently higher up in Vought than Madeline. Mother’s Milk, Butcher, Hugh, and Frenchie all meet up in their surveillance truck, and some of them aren’t happy to see each other. Calmer heads step in enough to prevent actual bloodshed, and there are allusions to their shared past that both Hugh and we in the audience don’t know about. Butcher has a plan that’s not exactly cutting edge, and Hugh has some surprising suggestions to make.

While he’s no one’s idea of a hero, Hugh once again shows he’s actually quite brave as he and Milk pay a call on Popclaw, a lower-level supe that’s romantically involved with A-Train. They talk their way inside and Hugh shows he has a “particular set of skills.” They manage to accomplish their mission and get out, although they have a close encounter in the hallway that Hugh almost completely screws up. Queen Maeve gets some screen time as she trains, showing some of her powers and skills. Her time to shine gets interrupted by Homelander, which appears to be a recurring theme. The two of them have a very casual talk that’s at odds with what they’re actually doing. Homelander presses his concerns about Translucent, and Maeve doesn’t really care. Their conversation doesn’t really get resolved, their outing ends in an unexpected manner that shows they’ve done this before, and we learn something about their past.

Butcher’s team enjoys the results of their earlier success, and learns a few things. Some are awkward at best, some are slices of domestic drama, but one thing stands out as a possible weakness to exploit and an explanation about what A-Train was doing when Robin died. Popclaw even refers to this in passing, angering Hugh. If nothing else, the team has several more leads to explore. Their next stop is the big race we’ve been hearing about, which is getting all the hype of a major sporting event. Milk corners Hugh for an intense conversation, and Hugh says some surprising things. Also in attendance are Starlight and Black Noir, who we still haven’t heard utter a word on the series. Or do anything, really. Starlight has made some of the changes pushed on her, and she’s very unhappy about it. As the Maeve gets upstaged by Homelander once again, Starlight gets put in an awkward situation and walks off, despite Ashley, her minder’s, best efforts.

Homelander and Maeve play for the crowd with big waves and smiles as they have a discussion that’s very different. A-Train gets his big intro, confides some worries to his brother, and comes out to walk-on music like a pro wrestler. As he and Shockwave get set up, Frenchie goes on a stealth mission. This almost gets blown before it even starts, but Hugh makes a fortunate connection, and is surprised to learn the woman he chatted with on a bench the other day is actually Starlight, which also surprises the rest of the team on coms. The banter between these two is warm, and funny, and some of the most human moments of the episode. I’m sure that’s going to go tragically later; it’s that kind of show.

The race is finally about to start, and A-Train ducks out to do something extremely questionable. Milk goes to run an errand while Popclaw watches the big event on tv and is displeased with her lover. Butcher gets into an unwise staring contest, but is gone before things can escalate.

While the team grills Hugh about his connection to Starlight, they keep tabs on Popclaw and are surprised at what she’s up to. Milk offers some unique insights based on his experiences to explain some of what’s going on in her apartment. She has a run-in with her landlord that goes very much off the rails, and adds another graphic death to the series’ body count. Hugh feels bad about not doing more, and Butcher points out some very harsh truths and simple facts before Milk takes some action. Homelander calls Madeline in for a meeting, which is a bit of a reversal from how it usually works. The Deep made a discovery which sounds remarkably unlikely, but it moves the story along. Madeline gets grossed out and then worried as she sees the note that accompanied the find. Homelander seems happy to have been proven right, and is more than ready to take things to the next level.

What I liked: The detail they work in to make this a believable world is very well done. The “heroes” aren’t admirable, but they come across as more real people than some comic book characters. Hugh has the potential to be a very dangerous adversary. His scene with Starlight was fantastic. The Popclaw scenes were ugly, but well done. I don’t like Homelander at all, but he does take at least parts of his job seriously.

What I didn’t: The Deep’s big find didn’t make a lot of sense. A-Train is getting less likeable the more we see him, and I usually like speedsters. Aside from Hugh and Starlight, it’s hard to find someone in here to root for.

Despite the tone being something that I’m not usually a fan of, they’re doing this series very well. I’ll give this a 3.5 out of 5.