Fans of The Boys like the show for different reasons. Some like it for the absurd levels of violence, others love the unique superpowers, while others still enjoy the never-ending feud between Butcher’s team and Vought’s mannerless superheroes.
The Boys
- Release Date
- July 26, 2019
- Seasons
- 4
However, there’s one thing each viewer is likely to appreciate, and that’s the dialogue. While questions might be raised about how long The Boys and The Seven will go at each other without a clear winner, there is no shortage of interesting ways to craft dialogue.
Each episode of The Boys could have its list of great quotes, but even among these numerous great utterances, some remain memorable. Whether the characters are lamenting about random things or throwing shade at each other, they always pick the perfect words. And the best part is that there is still more to come. With the show guaranteed a Season 5 renewal, there will be more shocking things to hear.
10 “I’m the diversity hire.” – The Deep
Season 1, Episode 4 – “The Female of the Species”
The Deep hasn’t always been happy, so, early in the series, he visits a therapist. During the conversation, he complains about not being as good as other members of The Seven. He even labels himself a diversity hire, arguing that he was only selected because Vought didn’t want the public to think the organization is biased towards specific kinds of Supes.
The “Water” Guy
The Deep doesn’t feel this way because of his race or his sexual orientation. He feels that he was only hired because he is amphibious. Every other Supe is land-based. The Deep, on the other hand, is an Aquaman/Namor ripoff who never gets much to do because the action rarely happens in the sea. His greatest power involves communicating with aquatic life, and this rarely proves useful whenever The Seven has to act as a team.
9 *You are not a god. You are simply bad product.” – Stan Edgar
Season 3, Episode 4 – “Glorious Five-Year Plan”
As the boss of Vought, Stan Edgar was never afraid of any Supe, despite the danger they posed. In one of the show’s best exchanges, he cuts Homelander’s ego down to size, reminding them that he is a creation of the company… not a god as he likes to think of himself. He also insults Homelander a little more by suggesting he is bad product that should never have been released onto the market.
PR Nightmare
Ordinarily, Stan Edgar never shows disdain for his star Supe, but he feels the need to speak this time because Homelander happens to have taken a PR hit. His actions have been reckless to the point where he tells a prayerful woman that there is no god in the sky, implying that the only god is him. Perhaps insulting Homelander in his face isn’t a wise thing, but watching someone stand up to the self-absorbed Supe for once is refreshing.
8 *F*ckin’ diabolical.” – Billy Butcher
Season 1, Episode 1 – “The Name of the Game”
In the series premiere, Billy Butcher explains to a naive Hughie that things aren’t exactly as they seem regarding The Seven. He lets him know that the public has been made to believe that the Supes are wonderful beings whose only goal is to protect America, yet they do some of the most despicable things in secret. Hughie doesn’t seem to buy the accusations at first, but he soon sees it firsthand.
An Accurate Assessment
“Diabolical” is an accurate way to describe members of The Seven since they are the lords of depravity. However, the Billy Butcher quote holds more weight because it highlights his moral compass. He would never do the things they do, so his words paint him as a hero early on. Additionally, his words serve the purpose of recruiting Hughie into the team. When he learns that the superheroes aren’t who he thought they were, he considers joining the fight against them.
7 “Laser My….” – Stormfront
Season 2, Episode 5 – “We Gotta Go Now.”
The rest of Stomfront’s remark is unprintable. It involves her asking her lover, Homelander, to direct his laser towards her chest. This all counts as foreplay for her, and when The Seven leader agrees to it, she totally enjoys it. It’s a moment guaranteed to shock a casual viewer, but for fans who’ve followed the show from the start, this is all standard fare.
Weirdest Couple in Television History
Stomfront’s request isn’t surprising, considering that both she and Homelander tend to be very violent. The conversation becomes more interesting when Homelander hesitates, fearing he might hurt her. After all, his lasers have the power to cut anything into half.
Unimpressed, she asks him to stop being a coward and do it. Her confidence stems from her own abilities, as her skin cannot be damaged by any form of heat. Even better, the foreplay is followed by them making love mid-air. They could be one of the worst TV couples ever, but they sure are entertaining.
6 “I don’t think it’s Morgan Freeman up there or anything, but it all can’t be random chaos.” – Hughie
Season 1, Episode 5 – “Good for the Soul”
While Butcher and Hughie are attending the Believe Expo, an event about life and religion, they strike up a conversation about atheism. Butcher asks Hughie if he thinks God really exists, and Hughie answers in a way that suggests he has an agnostic view. Referencing Morgan Freeman’s “God” character in the movies Evan Almighty and Bruce Almighty, he argues that even though God might not exist, there is a force that’s controlling everything.
Perfect Pop Culture Reference
Hughie’s remark is perfect because whenever one thinks of actors who have played God in movies, Morgan Freeman is the first person who comes to mind. Hughie’s frame of mind in that particular scene also makes sense. In a world where Vought International has become dominant by focusing on scientific experiments, it’s understandable for him to suggest that there might not be a ‘Morgan Freeman’ up in the sky.
5 “The whole point of what we do… is that no one should have that kind of power.” – Mother’s Milk
Season 3, Episode 5 – “The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies”
It doesn’t take too long for Butcher to realize that The Seven are too powerful to beat on human strength and bravery alone. He and Hughie thus agree that each of them should take Temp V, a chemical compound that grants them superpowers for approximately 24 hours. Mother’s Milk objects to the idea, arguing that by doing so, they’ll just be like their enemies, yet their mission is to decrease the number of Supes.
A Moral Way to Look at It
Mother’s Milk thinks of the fight between The Boys and The Seven as a fight between the moral and the immoral. For that reason, he doesn’t believe they should emulate the enemy in any way. His stance is indeed an honorable one, but Butcher and Hughie are arguably the more logical ones here because they cannot head into gunfights with knives. For them to have any chance of defeating The Seven, they will need to be as powerful as them.
4 “Since when did ‘hopeful’ and ‘naïve’ become the same thing?” – Starlight
Season 1, Episode 1 – “The Name of the Game”
Starlight is quick to defend herself when she is called out for being naive. When it’s suggested that she only jumped onto the Vought bandwagon because she is uninformed about the company’s secret practices, she disagrees, claiming that she is hopeful, not stupid. Not everyone agrees with her perspective, but she has a point.
Yearning For the Best
Starlight feels that she shouldn’t be judged for her move because she never signed up for Vought’s roster out of ignorance. She did so because she wanted to use her powers to save the world. A part of her believes that ‘doing good’ was the company’s agenda, and that’s why she never turned down the opportunity. To her, it’s better to see everyone as capable of doing good, rather than treating everyone with suspicion right from the start.
3 “I can talk to fish. So what? How often do you need to be saved by a school of salmon?” – The Deep
Season 1, Episode 4 – “The Female of the Species”
Early in the series, The Deep goes a step further to remind viewers just how unimportant he is. In yet another conversation with the therapist, he agrees that the ability to talk to fish is cool, but he doesn’t get many opportunities to make use of it. He is right, since he is only shown commanding a whale once during a battle against The Boys.
Grappling with Insignificance
As pitiful as The Deep’s situation is, his description of his woes makes it easier to laugh at him, than to sympathize with him. He doesn’t get to do much, but that’s something that can also be blamed on the show’s writers. As someone who can command sharks and crocodiles, there is a lot that The Deep could do if granted a chance. Regrettably, there are rarely any water-related storylines to enable him to demonstrate his worth.
2 “Sometimes it’s hard, Ryan… being superior to every single other person on the planet.” – Homelander
Season 2, Episode 2 – “Proper Preparation and Planning”
At first, this Homelander line feels like a boast, but when he expounds further, fans get to understand what he truly means. During a conversation with his son, Ryan, he explains that being more powerful than everyone else comes with consequences. For him, there are only a few other individuals he can relate to on a personal level, hence he often has a hard time finding the right people to interact with.
Lonely at the Top
Homelander’s utterance on this occasion makes him likable. He is not only letting out what is in his heart, but is also preparing Ryan for the difficult life ahead. Ryan has superpowers too, meaning he, too, will find himself in situations where he has no one to interact with. Generally, father-son moments tend to be heartwarming. For once, it’s refreshing to hear Homelander making a statement that doesn’t have a condescending tone attached to it.
1 “With great power comes the absolute certainty you’ll turn into a right c***.” – Billy Butcher
Season 3, Episode 5 – “The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies”
While discussing the V with his colleagues, Billy Butcher agrees that anybody is capable of turning into an evil person if they are given too much power. He says this shortly after it’s implied that he and a few other members of The Boys began acting irrationally when they started taking Temp V. But even though there is some truth to it, Butcher doesn’t believe they should all switch back to their usual weaker selves.
A Necessary Side Effect
In the quote sampled from Spider-Man lore, Butcher acknowledges that being an unbearable person isn’t something anyone should be proud of, but he also sees it as a necessary side effect. To him, Temp V has to be consumed for The Boys to have any chance of defeating The Seven. All that matters in the end, is which c*** is more deserving of people’s love. He knows he might act irrationally, but he will never become a murderer like Homelander.
