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Analyzing The Abilities of Characters From The Boys Pt. III

🐬The Deep🐬

The Peak Deep is such a fascinating character due to his utter pathetic excuse for being a superhero. While S4 shows off his strength, durability, and combat abilities, he’s referred to quite accurately as being “just the fish guy” by Annie.

While his abilities appear versatile, him both being able to breathe underwater and speak to aquatic life, they come at the major cost of him being robbed of his humanity by having grown gills in adolescence. This mutation is repeatedly referred to as disgusting by other people, and by his own psyche, all of this acting as a veiled metaphor for the thralls of puberty.

What I find interesting though is how he uses his ability to speak to marine life to have…relations with an octopus in a way that states he’s done this with other aquatic life before. The unfortunate, and honestly tragic aspect of his character is that he has this relationship, and it’s the most dynamic and mutually respectful he has out of every other character he interacts with in the show. This relationship with octopus-Tilda Swinton, Ambrosius, feels so organic because at his core, he believes that humans don’t get him, and I would even go so far as to say he believes this all makes him “subhuman”. He was the fish guy with freakish gills who thought the only way he could catch a date was by manipulating them or relying on his fame and connections. Despite the fact that HE’S in the Seven, he prattles on about how close he is to Homelander, implying that he never viewed his success as legitimate, especially when he has to hide the source of his abilities (his gills) from the world. Much like Noir, they both share aspects of their identity that Vought’s repulsed by, or at the very least resentful of. This may be why McDreamy Noir and him became as close as they did, and could be why Ashley felt so comfortable being verbally hostile to him; he’s so ashamed of who he is and what Compound V made him into he feels like he deserves it.

The Compound V itself gave him the ability to communicate with a world that goes unnoticed and unheard by everyone else. The most heartbreaking aspect of his character is that so many people could relate to his exact plight. When the V kicked in, he was a weird little boy who needed friends. For many of you reading this, that was in the form of internet friends, but in this world, little Kevin found fish, and was able to become part of their world.

Regardless of the origin of his character, his impulsiveness, simple mindedness, and blind devotion to Homelander borders on animalistic at times, this behavior mirroring a loyal pet subservient to a master. Once he fully embraces this role as a drone to his “owner”, he slays octopus-Tilda Swinton in a way symbolic to his own shunning of morality and conscience. His abilities tether him to nature, and yet he’s one of the most corrupt, industrialized men in the show. Any chance he has at redemption he squanders, which proves the point that it’s a fish eat fish ocean, and he understands he’s nowhere near the shark Homelander is.

The Muses

Nine goddesses who preside over inspiration, the sciences, the arts, and literature

Calliope: Muse of Epic Poetry

Calliope kids ✍️In charge ✍️Pull a concerning amount of all-nighters ✍️Will roast you to your face if necessary ✍️Cerebral

Clio: Muse of History

Clio kids 📜Bookish 📜Love a guided tour 📜Stubborn 📜Make everyone around them feel recognized and valued

Erato: Muse of Love Poetry

Erato kids 💕Masters of the wistful sigh 💕Unrealistic relationship expectations 💕Thoughtful 💕Love their local library

Euterpe: Muse of Music and Lyric Poetry

Euterpe kids 🎶Persevering 🎶“A pleasure to have in class” 🎶Don’t want to settle down in their hometown 🎶God complex

Melpomene: Muse of Tragedy

Melpomene kids 🎭Confident 🎭Can’t beat the theater kid allegations 🎭Always up for an ill-advised plan 🎭Have a great memory

Polyhymnia: Muse of Hymns and Oratory

Polyhymnia kids 🙏VERY into their special interests 🙏Serious 🙏Always know the right thing to say 🙏Self-sacrificing

Terpsichore: Muse of Dance and Choral Songs

Terpsichore kids 🩰They can groove, baby 🩰Disciplined 🩰Overly self-critical 🩰Make a new playlist for every occasion

Thalia: Muse of Comedy

Thalia kids 🤣Memes for days 🤣Deeply unserious 🤣Want their therapist to like them 🤣Cool shoes

Urania: Muse of Astronomy

Urania kids 🪐Own too many houseplants 🪐Can guess your astrological sign on sight 🪐Overthinkers 🪐Give great advice

thinking about 2.12 and how we deserved some more of evil emma gilbert

anyways

I think we’re all on the same page about the full moon not just making mermaids act differently, but making them act on some kind of “true” or subconscious desire. but I wanted to look more closely at the full moon effect on all our girlies and what it means.

cleo’s larger journey is to self-assurance from where she starts as mostly an ingenue. under the full moon she is confident and has a clear ability that makes her stand out. cleo has spent most of her life as best friends of an absolute beast star athlete, and of a science whiz. in 1x20 she speaks about helping lewis like it’s the first favor she’s ever been able to offer him. her siren power is a special talent unique to her which sets her apart from her friends. she finally commands and basks in all this positive attention, instead of being embarrassed in the limelight like she was at the start of the ep.

moonstruck emma most obviously abandons all responsibility, unburdening herself for maybe the first time in her life. she is flirtatious with byron and with rikki (even drunk I’ve never called a platonic friend baby I’m just saying). she also has a big appetite, which I only recently was thinking about. emma is a lifelong athlete with an extremely strict diet. even at a slumber party she has prepared “sensible” snacks. under the moon’s influence she gives herself freedom to literally eat whatever she wants. and of course she very adamantly wants to stay a mermaid, flying in the face of her usual cautiousness, and is just enjoying that sweet mermaid life.

and rikki has much more awareness during the full moon, not just because she is controlling the effects better but because she is not usually suppressing her impulses. she generally speaks her mind and acts on what she wants anyway, so there isn’t as much for the moon to “reveal.” instead it prompts her to self-isolate, succumbing to her existing fear of not belonging or of being some kind of liability. she acts on her attraction to zane after admitting in 1x6 that she’s insecure about being liked. and she verbalizes her fears and insecurities to somebody besides her friend’s kid brother for the first time.

the full moon eps are such a fun silly way to be like, “let’s make everyone do something crazy and then immediately retcon it” but idk, even though none of these are hot takes I just like how it reveals a lot about our besties

God I love Lucy Gray.

No ordinary girl...

Cleo / Rikki

Buffy from Buffy the Vampire Slayer please? Thanks <3

Sarah Michelle Geller you will always be famous

Buffy Summers

I kind of want to do a series going through the different abilities of The Boys/Gen V characters and analyzing how/why they have what they have…