Editors note: This review contains spoilers from season 3 and previous seasons of “The Boys.”

After an almost two-year-long wait, Amazon Prime’s standout series “The Boys” has returned. The much anticipated third season which aired on June 3 arrived with more blood, action, comedy and drama. 

Season 3 begins about a year after the tragic end of season 2, many of the characters still dealing with the conflicts that Homelander brought onto them. 

The show follows the characters of Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), Hughie, (Jack Quaid), Frenchie (Tomer Capone),  Mother’s Milk aka M.M. (Laz Alonso) and Unspeakable Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara). Other characters include Homelander (Anthony Starr), Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), Starlight (Erin Moriarty), A-Train (Jessie T. Usher), The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), who make up “The Seven.”

Billy Butcher is caring for his adopted son Ryan after his mother’s accidental death. At the same time, some members of the Seven and the Boys are trying to stop Homelander from going insane and bringing about global destruction.

The characters are tasked with a plan to find a way to kill Homelander. To do that they look into the original leader of the Seven, Soldier Boy who was presumed dead and considered to be as strong as Homelander.

The group soon discovers Soldier Boy is still alive and being kept prisoner by the Russians. The Boys devise a plan to work with Soldier Boy in their mission to take down Homelander, but ultimately their teamwork leads to the creation of more problems. 

In addition, this season marks the first time members of the Boys have had superpowers. Billy Butcher and Hughie Campbell take Temporary V, which gives a normal person superpowers for twenty-four hours.

There are multiple plot lines for the audience to follow throughout season 3, some believing viewers could get lost in all the action. However, having multiple plots occur at the same time allows for the show to move at a steady pace without each moment and character development feeling rushed. In addition, the show answers long-awaited questions while developing characters’ backstories from previous seasons, including the troubled childhood of Billy Butcher and Black Noir’s backstory. 

The cast is the biggest triumph of this season. Karl Urban continues to be a force with his performance of Billy Butcher as he disappears into his anger and hate for Homelander. Anthony Starr once again serves scary yet fantastic acting as Homelander, growing more insane throughout the episodes. Tomer Capone and Karen Fukhara build their strange yet romantic relationship as Frenchie and Kimiko. Erin Moriarty and Dominique McElligott remain bold and brave in going against their superhero colleagues as Starlight and Queen Maeve.

However, the true standout of the cast is Jensen Ackles who delivers a comedic and serious performance as Soldier Boy. Ackles takes on his role expertly, his character proving to the supes and Homelander that they should fear and respect him.

“The Boys” season 3 continues to offer more bloody, violent, plot-twisting moments than most superhero media, while still bringing the same amount of  superhero action and fun. “The Boys” season 3 cements itself with great character and story development, delivering haunting references to political and social problems in today’s world culminating in an epic season finale giving audiences what is no doubt the best season of the entire show.

Grade: A+