The Boys Review: Nothing Like It in the World (Season 2 Episode 4)
Road Trip!
The Boys Season 2 Episode 4, “Nothing Like It in the World,” explores love in a series of different stories, revealing a striking revelation along the way and delving further into a character’s backstory.
“Nothing Like It in the World” is a strong and compelling episode of television, once again proving that despite its quirks, The Boys is a force to be reckoned with.
Despite the cruel world filled with Supes, murder, and corporate conspiracies, The Boys‘ strength is its characters and the way they interact and relate to each other in these traumatic and dangerous conditions.
Hughie and Annie experience a rollercoaster of emotions as they quickly move from having a night of bliss to Annie reiterating that their relationship cannot resume, much to Hughie’s dismay.
Hughie once again is emotionally vulnerable, a fish out of water within The Boys, but perhaps it is his heart that anchors them to rightful goals.
However, Hughie and Annie’s relationship is not nearly the most interesting part about this North Carolina excursion, but rather it’s the expansion of Mother Milk’s character as he opens up to Annie, and to Liberty’s victim they are sent to meet.
The two’s conversation in the diner is an unexpected moment between an unexpected pairing, but a heartwarming one, hopefully working to slowly integrate Annie further into The Boys.
Another standout moment is Hughie and Annie’s conversation near the vending machine at their motel. It’s a rare occurrence to let characters on dramas like The Boys acknowledge the consequences of their trauma — whether that be OCD, depression, or PTSD.
As dramas throw their characters through hurdle after hurdle, it’s important to show the effects of these situations, and whether it’s tapping on a steering wheel three times when changing lanes or appetite changes, this helps viewers relate to these people, and also accept their own coping mechanisms, even if it is not due to a Supe attack.
The Boys does a great job of letting Hughie and Annie talk about how their traumas have affected them, and more programs should take note of this choice and follow (super)suit.
Mother’s Milk also stands out as an MVP of the episode.
There’s a lot on his plate. Not only has he been bequeathed the leadership of The Boys, but Hughie also places pressure on him to help heal his and Annie’s psyche by letting her join the road trip, not to mention the deep dive into his past.
His story is compelling, and the idea of his children taking up his fight with Vought packs a punch, as well as illustrates his motivations. The desire of Mother’s Milk to return to his family is much more than the normal tie to loved ones: it’s desperation to protect his children from his own fate.
Just as heartbreaking is the story of Billy and Becca, two people who clearly love each other but can no longer be together.
Becca’s actions are selfless, as her motivations extend farther than just wanting to remain with her son, but wanting to ensure that the world has one less Homelander to terrorize it in the form of her son.
This means sacrificing herself and sacrificing her relationship with Billy. Even apart for years, she knows him and knows that not only does he not like children, but especially one with Supe powers, a symbol of everything that has destroyed his life.
This gives Billy closure, more than any opportunity before, and will potentially deepen the rage he feels for Vought, Homelander, and The Seven, possibly reopning the right with Hughie a band-aid has just been placed on.
And with his location found by Black Noir and that poor Vought employee, Becca is more at risk than ever, even after she has done everything in her power to protect Billy and her son. Unfortunately, it may all be for naught.
Poor Butcher. Talk about whiplash.
Homelander is perhaps the most lost out of anybody. He forces Doppelganger to morph into Madelyn and attempts to play out his mommy kink with him while being jerked around considerably by Stormfront.
Perhaps he should listen to her. After all, after the reveal that she’s somehow the superhero Liberty from decades ago (and oh so racist), her advice is sound, and she’s visibly several steps ahead of the unraveling leader of The Seven.
In the end, Doppelganger morphs into Homelander’s very own likeness which leads Homelander to the revelation that he only needs himself, which is possibly the worst revelation he could come to.
If anything, Homelander needs to learn how to relinquish some control without devolving or running to a Madelyn look-alike for stability.
It’s his search for control that breaks him. Homelander has been a lab rat as a child after all, but it’s impressive he’s made it this far with the amount of dysfunction inside him.
But if he’s going to take out Doppelganger in a rage of self-importance, at least take the blowjob first.
The Boys is filled with horrifying elements — blood, dismemberment, whale guts, assault, and more. But despite all of these gory aspects, none of them are the most horrifying part of “Nothing Like It in the World.”
Homelander publicly outing Queen Maeve on live television is terrifying, disgusting, and heart-crushing.
Nobody deserves their sexuality to be outed, especially not on their terms. The shock and horror on Maeve’s face as Homelander speaks is bound to deeply resonate with at least LGBT viewers, if not the entire audience.
This is a matter of consent. Homelander violates Maeve by doing this, just as he violates everyone around him whether it’s physically, emotionally, or sexually.
However, this moment is something that many people go through, if on a smaller scale than the entire audience of a news program. Maeve’s fear for Elena is something that many closeted LGBT people go through in situations like this.
Maeve’s experience goes to show that The Boys‘ strength lies in the very real struggles that viewers can relate to, even if our world doesn’t include Supes.
Being outed. The aftermath of trauma. The loss of a spouse or a girlfriend. The consequences of fame. The rapid growth of society.
These are all very real issues that The Boys uses to connect with its audience and tell the story of the corruption of our world in a world that actually isn’t so foreign to its audience.
What did you think of this episode of The Boys? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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The Boys airs Fridays on Amazon Prime Video.
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Amanda Reimer
In addition to working as a freelance writer, Amanda also works with animals and stage manages various live performances. She has an invested interest in the perspective and experience of fandoms as well as anything in the science-fiction genre. She also loves spoiling her cats, Drummer and Kiki.