The Boys Season 3 Finale, it's common criticisms, and my response

This post was taken directly from my post on Reddit, and there will be full spoilers for season, 3 of this show in this post. I'm working on points for a comprehensive review of The Boys, so if you are interested in the points of worship and praise that I want to fully express about this show, keep an eye out. For now however, if you don't want spoilers for season 3 of The Boys, please click away.

Before jumping into the finale, I was concerned because the general reception to it seemed so negative, with some people even comparing it to Game of Thrones' season 8. But I ended up genuinely enjoying it, and a lot of the general criticisms I was seeing people make were choices that made sense to me. This post is intended to be my response to these points. 

Firstly, 

1) Starlight's whole power up scene. Look, I love Starlight. Her character conflict of fighting for her personal values and ideals in a world where everything she fights for is discouraged is an inspiring act. I wanted her to have her badass moment during that scene with Soldier Boy, and after all that buildup I see why one might be disappointed. 

But thing is, Soldier Boy's been made out to be kinda invulnerable. He was stuck in a Russian lab for 40 years, where they actively did everything imaginable to try and hurt him. None of it worked. They couldn't even pierce through his corneas. So with that in mind, I found the results of Starlight's power up to be realistic because they've established Soldier Boy to be this dude who could take Homelander down, and it would be inconsistent for Starlight to damage him deeply, in my humble opinion. Which leads slightly to my next point.

2) Hughie choosing to empower Starlight rather than teleport in and save her himself. I really don't understand the criticism here. It's like people don't understand how character arcs work. Hughie's character arc throughout season 3 essentially dismantles the traditional stigma that men should be strong and powerful to be strong, replacing that notion by promoting emotional strength and being there for your loved ones as strength of its own kind. It's an important theme and message that's do much more important in today's climate. 

So how would Hughie choosing to go back to Temp V work out for the character arc the writers have set up for him throughout this season? I'll help you answer that; it'll completely destroy his progress. This point did not bother me at all, and during the moment I was even rooting for him to not take the V. 

3) Queen Maeve managing to damage Homelander's ear drum. She's been made out to be the second strongest supe on the planet, and she's been training for MONTHS to beat Homelander. What was Homelander doing during that time? Sulking in the mirror and jerking off while musing and sulking over his loss of control and the lack of love in his life. This subtle point helped balance the power levels between them both, but since it wasn't a point made prominent it flew over many people's heads. 

And even then it's not like she did a lot of damage. She held her own, she lost an eye, she landed some hits. It wasn't as imbalanced as one would make it out to be. The ear drum hit made sense because body entrances and holes are weak spots, as they literally open up a way into the inner body. Translucent was a victim of this. So was Termite's victim. And with that in mind, Maeve plunging the weapon into Homelander's ear made sense, and she definitely has the strength, experience, and precision required to make that hit. 

As for her remaining alive after Soldier Boy, that was a plot inconsistency. But if anyone deserves a farm break, it's Maeve. 

4) Butcher's sudden change of heart against Soldier Boy. It could have been executed a bit better, so that Butcher's actions here were portrayed with more clarity. But I get the message they were trying to send; that Butcher's slowly becoming more human. This is part of his character arc throughout the season; struggling between the temporary V, which embodies his descent into sheer hate and vengeance, or his people in Ryan, Hughie and the Boys, embodying his humanity. And the more I think about it, the more I see Butcher choosing to fight Soldier Boy as the writers saying that he's taking steps towards being more human again. 

This post is intended to be nothing more than my perspective and response towards common criticisms of the finale. I do not mean to be condescending and I apologize if that's how I came across. I just want to provide my view and perspective on the writers' intention and their thematic aims, and how that translated into the finale which made me love it so much more. I hope this will provide an insightful frame for discussion!