Psychiatric centers/hospitals have always been a great way to push different and strange storylines and in “The Bloody Doors Off”, The Boys deep dive into this wealth of fun and chaos. However, there is a sense of been there, done that with not only this part of the episode but others as well. Thankfully, the jokes are numerous and great, keeping the episode moving, and reminding us that again, this show will go places no other show would even dream about.
The problem with Sage Grove Psychiatric Center is not the characters, or who is being ‘treated’ here. It’s the whole mutant vibe, the feeling that we’re watching parts of a less than average comic book movie who’s footage was left on the cutting room floor. Shawn Ashmore is great as Lamplighter and jumps in head first to the cross over jokes flying all over the place. However, it gets old quickly, and while it offers a bit in terms of advancing the story it is really nothing new.
The flashbacks are actually a welcome sight as the episode feels like its treading water most of the time. There are some great one on one moments between Frenchie and Lamplighter, Frenchie and Kimiko, and surprisingly, Butcher and Annie. The Boys are slowing drawing lines in the sand in terms of who is on whose side, making some interesting connections, but with the characters in this show, those with a complete lack of morals and empathy of any kind, all that can go out the window at a moment’s notice.
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However, the great jokes and flashbacks are not enough to push this episode into the great category. Homelander and Stormfront are still dancing around each other like jackals, A-Train and The Deep have a storyline that seems more throw away than anything and Vought is still the big baddie of the show, hovering overall in many different ways, pulling the strings and reveling in the very dangerous game it is playing inter terms of Compound V and creating supes. (See the end of the episode for an exclamation mark on this point.)
With only two episodes left, “The Bloody Doors Off” is more of a status quo episode, teasing the viewer with some solid flashbacks but at the same time, enhancing or progressing the current storylines very little. Hey, at the very least, The Boys gets bonus points for managing to work in The Golden Girls to a storyline. Well done.
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