The Boys: 'Herogasm' is insane but Amazon overhyped it

The web has been ablaze with excitement for this week's episode of The Boys and the blockbuster NSFW (or anyone as Amazon says) event known as Herogasm. That's right, a superhero orgy! 

Warning: spoilers for The Boys season three, episode six alongside all prior episodes

Ever since debuting on Amazon Prime Video back in July 2019, The Boys has pushed the boundary for what you can get away with, whether that be Butcher and the gang all drenched in whale guts, The Deep holding a duet with his own gills or a laser-shooting baby being used to brutally slaughter security guards. There's no holding back. You're either out or in for the weirdest and wildest ride in Hollywood today.

The Boys season three is no different. It just continues to turn the insanity up from a 10 to a level so crazed that it's hard to put into words just what actually unfolded in front of my eyes. 11 and a half minutes into episode one, a superhero known as Termite (essentially Ant-Man) shrinks down and climbs inside his partner's penis, only to accidentally sneeze and tear the man horrifically in half. Two episodes later, The Deep is forced to eat his friend/lover Timothy, a live octopus at a dinner meeting with Homelander, Ashley and his wife Cassandra, all staring intently for the mollusc to be swallowed. These are words I never thought I would write. 

Episode 6, known as Herogasm, has been hyped up for weeks. One of the biggest moments in The Boys comics is from the 2009 six-issue run where Homelander, Soldier Boy and friends attend an annual party for Vought-sponsored superheroes to unwind, sexually. Many people believed this would never be adapted for TV. They thought wrong.

Debauchery as far as the eye can see, as Starlight and MM are welcomed by Love Sausage and his giant member that has been scorched into my brain since first appearing in season two. The pair enter the house where Herogasm is taking place, naturally aghast by the many, many (and I mean many) sex acts taking place. Flying vibrating toys, mind-powers to pleasure multiple women, electrifying nipple clamps, The Deep getting friendly with an octopus – oh yes, this is The Boys. 

The concept is brought to screen well because it's not the full focus. That might be disappointing for some considering build-up in promotional material from Amazon, yet it lets the actual narrative shine better with Homelander and Solider Boy confronting one another in the middle of this sex party, ultimately destroying the building and many of its voyeurs. We still get fantastically funny payoffs with multiple people mentioning that "Frenchie is going to be heartbroken that he missed this" and a rather unfortunate dousing for MM and his favourite jacket. It's the comedy that shines, and that's probably the best outcome you can hope for from taking this material on.

Also, let's just take a moment to appreciate the genius 'Imagine' inspired video in the opening minutes with cameos from Ashton Kutcher, Mila Kunis, Kumail Nanjiani and more. I'm not sure Gal Gadot will ever live that down.

One of the more shocking aspects of the episode comes from Blue Hawk's gruesome death at the hand of A-Train, only to suffer a heart attack. Sweet vengeance. And this is the thing, in that respect, Herogasm consequently comes across as overhyped. Maybe it's because I'm desensitized to all of the crazy things that have happened prior, it's just when the The Boys promo's say things like: "Please allow 3 to 5 business days to recover, maybe more," it made me believe this was going to be something a cut above. A tall order indeed, considering the ludicrous heights the show has reached, I just had faith that the show could surpass them once again, and it didn't.

It's still a fantastic show and this was still a fantastic episode. It's just this felt like it was going to be on the scale of the "Red Wedding" from Game of Thrones. A scene so unforgettable that you talk about it for weeks on end. It wasn't. It was relatively tame by The Boys' standards. That's a shame. Still, the story didn't suffer so it's hard to be mad with a show that continues to be the best thing on steaming right now. Just in future, maybe hype more responsibly. 

The Boys stars Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Antony Starr, Erin Moriarty, Dominique McElligott, Jessie T. Usher, Laz Alonso, Chace Crawford, Tomer Capone, Karen Fukuhara, Nathan Mitchell, Colby Minifie, Claudia Doumit, and Jensen Ackles. The first two seasons and six episodes of The Boys are now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.