‘The Boys’ Jack Quaid and Erin Moriarty Discuss Hughie and Annie’s New, More Mature Relationship

After two seasons of hooking up, breaking up, and repeating the cycle again and again, Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Annie (Erin Moriarty) are finally together when The Boys Season 3 begins. Though there are plenty of hiccups ahead (as anyone who has seen the first three episodes that premiered today knows), having a relatively stable, adult couple was fresh and exciting for the actors.

“I love every time that [showrunner Eric] Kripke shakes up a dynamic and makes it new again,” Quaid told Decider. “I just thought it was so cool that in the beginning of the season, we get to see them as an actual couple, and in other seasons it’s been a lot of, ‘Will they become a couple? When will they become a couple?’ There’s so much chaos happening around them, there’s no time for that, but just to see them, at least in the beginning, happy and in a real relationship was a really cool new wrench to throw into the works. And then it only gets more complicated from there.”

When we open up on the duo in Season 3, Hughie is working for the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs, along with Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), and is finally in control of his own life. That includes an open, public relationship with Annie, who is better known as Starlight, one of the superheroes who anchors Justice League-style team The Seven. But even stability causes problems of its own.

“It’s great because it kind of allows us to infuse flavors into it, that we haven’t seen before,” Moriarty noted. “There are complications in their relationship due to the extreme circumstances of the world that they’re in, that is the world of The Boys. But also, they’re going through issues within the relationship that parallel what would happen in real life.”

Very mild spoilers past this point, but that includes something the audience knows, that Hughie and Starlight don’t as we begin Season 3: Neuman is the head-popper, a Supe who killed a large chunk of congress (among other people) last season. Also entering the mix is Supersonic (Miles Gaston Villanueva), Starlight’s ex-boyfriend, and the ever-present threat of Homelander (Antony Starr), the show’s uber-bad who was effectively neutered last season, but obviously won’t be minimized as a threat for long.

“You see Hughie and his masculinity being threatened,” Moriarty continued. “And that kind of breaking Annie’s heart, because I think that she always felt empowered by him… It was interesting to see that new side of Hughie, and to react to that and play with that new dynamic. As they get further into their relationship and learn more about each other, this is something that Annie never expected to encounter. Her having to encounter it and deal with it was great. It was interesting and surprising as well.”

As for Quaid, it’s nothing new from the acting perspective, because he’s been having fun playing opposite Moriarty since Season 1. “I just love Erin so much as a scene partner,” Quaid said. ” I loved exploring these new aspects of these characters with her. It was such a joy this season.”

The Boys streams new episodes Fridays on Prime Video.