From the first drafts of the script for the third season boysThe writing team and Eric Kripke made one point very clear. The character who didn’t want to die. In a season that has marked before and after in history, this is a curious idea. One that makes it clear boys he knows very well which elements identify him.
From the design of the Super uniform to the look of the Butcher. There are moments in the series that in one way or another are designed to support its plot. This season, in addition, there was a line that the project participants knew that they should not cross. The character of Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) could not be hurt. Or at least his life should be spared. Cause? Its significance – or participation – in the medium term. Also show that despite the darkness, boys he can bring a happy ending – or the closest thing to it – to his characters’ stories.
The reveal, in light of the storyline just concluded, makes it clear that the show has a very clear vision of where to explore its core ideas. Especially now when boys he dared to cross several lines that completely changed his argument. Not only from the vision of the program about one’s own identity. At the same time, the state of his plot as a combination of satire, drama and something darker is just beginning to be revealed.
The broken world of The Boys
Last season boys surprised by several things. First, it upped the dose of gore, wild humor, and violence in its already powerful premise. On the other hand, it was a season of experimentation, gerogasm, and the death of the protagonist. As well as new approaches to fame, fame, recognition and political influence. Everything between burning penises, spectacular murders, and a more than complex focus on parenthood, identity dilemmas, and collective fears.
For showrunner Eric Kripke, It was the perfect time to test the limits of the show. In particular, with an eye on the fourth season. For the creator, the fact that the series took a different path than the Chapter 7 comic gives him unprecedented freedom. One that also ensures that unfilmed chapters explore new spaces and themes within the series. However, something seems to be clear. Both Kripke and his team have a set of ground rules to keep the series thematically consistent. And one of them is the character Maeve, who has become a symbol of the various transformations that the superhero team has undergone.
Heroine, power, a look into the future
As you may remember, in the final chapter of the season, Maeve faced a Soldier in the midst of some sort of heroic sacrifice. By then, the character had lost an eye, raising fears for his life. But the plot allowed the heroine to show that everything around her is more than just a convenient twist of the story. In addition, it clearly showed the weight and importance of what Maeve symbolizes in the broadest sense of Super as unstoppable. What happened towards the end of the season, moreover, emphasizes that whatever happens to the heroine, she will be interested.
Of course, it’s a tricky idea that the series won’t be dropping anytime soon. After a long and difficult journey of redemption, Maeve decided to sacrifice her powers to stop the first superhero. This might provide context for the brief fact of its survival as the boundary of certain approaches in boys.
In Kripke’s view, Maeve deserved a “good ending,” or at least one would assume it was a narrative conclusion that celebrated her moral depth. As the showrunner told Collider, the character is proof that despite the show’s dark tone, there can be “an opportunity for hope.” But also the writers table boys They decided to avoid the common cliché in productions with characters from the LGBT community. Something they found very interesting because of the way the show subverts conventional wisdom about the arguments of its nature.
“From the very beginning, we never intended to kill her. We were always going to give it a happy ending. We are well aware of the annoying tendency to kill queer characters and we are determined not to do so. So it became: Well, can we explore this in a meta way and play with audience expectations a bit? Imagine that great moment of sacrifice that happens too many times? The result was an apparent end to Queen Maeve’s story, which ensured her happiness. At least for now.
And they were happy … until the fourth season
According to Kripke, he hopes that fans will continue to be interested in the character, despite the apparent end of the story. “I am so afraid that many viewers will be very angry because of what we have done. (What they believed) that Queen Maeve was dead. I kept thinking Keep watching for another seven minutes, six minutes! We wanted to say: in reality you will get everything you wanted and deserve. I mean, she doesn’t want to be a superhero. He just wants to live a quiet life with Elena.”
Of course, Maeve’s decision to go underground and lead an anonymous life isn’t just a happy ending. This is also due to the major changes that the show has gone through in its series. With Annie January (Erin Moriarty) now in the line-up boys obviously there is interest in seeing drastic changes in characters.
“It is correct from the point of view of the narrative that [Maeve] exit stage left because it was too powerful. Also, because he solved a lot of Starlight’s problems for her. For Starlight to truly blossom into the powerful character she is, she needs to break away from her protectors. So it’s right for all these reasons. But beyond that, I was really keen from the beginning to give it a happy ending,” Kripke explained.
Will we ever see Maeve again? It is not yet clear what will happen in the fourth season of the series. boys. But something is clear, everything is not as simple as it seems in the plot, playing good and evil with such ease.
