Soldier Boy Wasn’t Nearly As Evil As He Should’ve Been In The Boys S3
The show portrayed him as some kind of unleashed monster, when in fact many fans found him quite likable, which felt rather out of place.
Season 3 of The Boys TV series was jam-packed with events and characters, providing us with an unforgettable thrill ride.
But while Karl Urban and Antony Starr were as brilliant as ever in portraying Billy Butcher and Homelander respectively, even they paled in comparison to one of the newcomers.
We are, of course, talking about Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy, who was the crown jewel of the season, earning the love of countless fans and even becoming a favorite character on the show for some of them.
With Jensen's charisma and acting talent, Soldier Boy served as a sympathetic antihero in stark contrast to many of the show's other troubled superheroes.
However, he may have been a bit too likable, as it ultimately hurt the show's narrative a bit.
After the Boys free him from captivity and recruit him as an ally to bring down Homelander for good, the show constantly treats it as a deal with the devil himself.
We are constantly told how awful he is, with MM hating Soldier Boy for destroying his family, Gunpowder and Black Noir remembering being beaten up by him, and Crimson Countess stating that the whole team was afraid of him.
Meanwhile, Soldier Boy comes across as a likable bastard who doesn't actually commit any horrible atrocities on screen (at least not willingly).
Yes, he is misogynistic, homophobic and possibly racist, but not 100% evil, not even close to, say, Stormfront from season 2, or Homelander.
So when The Boys finally realize what they have unleashed in the season finale and unite with Homelander to defeat Soldier Boy, it seems rather odd and out of place.
The problem could have been easily solved by showing us more of his evil deeds instead of telling us about them.
The whole storyline with MM's family could have shown his more racist side, or a few flashbacks (instead of a single animated one) could have shown how terrible and violent he was to his comrades.
Jensen Ackles undoubtedly did a fantastic job playing the character, so hopefully in future seasons we will finally see how horrible and disgusting Soldier Boy can actually be.