The Boys Showrunner Says Season 3’s Darkest Moment Directly Inspired By Trump
The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke has admitted that the single darkest moment of season 3 was inspired by former President Trump.
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SPOILER ALERT FOR THE BOYS SEASON 3 FINALE
A satirical approach to real-life issues is central to the success of Amazon’s The Boys. A central theme of its three seasons has been poking fun at celebrity culture, which ensures that no moment is safe from the show’s writers. Season 3, fortunately, or unfortunately, found its way into the political sphere. There is an undebatable connection between politics and celebrity in today’s world. Celebrities use their clout and platforms to push narratives and preferences to their followers, creating support for political figures. This age-old phenomenon (Al Jolson endorsed Warren G. Harding in a song way back in 1920) lends the perfect background for The Boys to slip into political satire and, of course, Donald Trump.
In a moment in which viewers saw an all-too-real possibility of reality, the central series antagonist Homelander (Anthony Starr) murdered someone in a crowd. He still received cheers for it. The moment put fanaticism and zealotry center stage, highlighting how the center of a cult of personality can go so far as to commit the most heinous acts and still not rattle support. In an interview with Deadline, The Boys writer Eric Kripke confesses that scene took inspiration from a very specific Donald Trump moment.
In 2016, Donald Trump repeatedly pointed to his voters’ loyalty. He even once claimed that he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and not lose voters. He ended up winning the Presidential race, so clearly, his voters turned out. When asked about the Homelander scene in The Boys, Dominic Patten asked Kripke if Donald Trump’s claims inspired it. The writer felt at the time it was more “satirically pushed.” He also confesses that he believes politicians are acting more awful and still being praised by their voter base.
Donald Trump isn’t the only politician who seems to be mocked on The Boys. Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) is the daughter of Vought International CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). He has been the overarching antagonist (alongside Homelander) for the majority of The Boys’ run. After getting her father arrested, Neuman is poised to become the next Vice-President, merely a breath away from the Oval Office. The character is a secret supe with the ability to explode people’s heads and has Homelander in her pocket. While Kripke claims this is unintentional, the young political wunderkind holds a distinct resemblance to Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. Combined with the Donald Trump inspiration and the satirical rendition of “Imagine” involving numerous cameos, it seems no renowned person or incident is safe from The Boys.
The Boys season 4 has already been renewed at Amazon, so there is a lot more to look forward to. Who will be the more significant antagonist, Homelander or Head-Popper? Will it continue the obvious theme of bad fatherhood (Soldier Boy, Homelander, and Edgar are all horrible fatherly examples)? Will Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) find a way to subvert his diagnosis of 18 months to live? No matter what happens, The Boys using Donald Trump as an inspiration shows that Kripke is ready to ruffle feathers. He will push even more boundaries than he did in THAT scene in the Season 3 premiere.
