What Herogasm lacks in obscenity and I can't believe-Amazon-agreed-to-this shocks, the episode more than makes up for in seismic character moments, huge plot twists, and movie-worthy superhero action.
Everyone would be forgiven for walking into The Boys season 3's "Herogasm" episode expecting 50 minutes of crazy television. The Boys season 3's "Herogasm" isn't a letdown by any means, but neither does it hit the comic party's heights, and nor is it the absolute insult to humanity implied by the hype. If all that wasn't enough, A-Train kills a guy by dragging him along a road at super-speed, and if all that wasn't enough, Starlight has thrown her lot in with the Boys, leaving no path back to the Seven. "Herogasm" is a house party compared to The Boys' original comics.
Audiences let slip a collective gasp when Eric Kripke announced the live-action Amazon series would be adapting the "Herogasm" comic. The Boys will never be the same again after Herogasm because there are so many long-awaited showdowns in a 30-minute period.
The Boys season 3's Herogasm party was quite tame considering the hype, but avoids disappointment for entirely unexpected reasons. The Red Wedding is a centerpiece event that ties off multiple major plot threads at once and completely defines the show's next chapter.
The Herogasm after-party is almost as big as the sex soiree itself but, once again, not for the reasons most would've expected. Soldier Boy goes head-to-head against Homelander in a brief but brutal fight that far exceeds any superhero battle in The Boys thus far. The Boys has given "Herogasm" an awful lot to live up to. The Boys' "Herogasm" gives a run for its money in terms of breasts-per-minute.
Every single bean is spilled in a landscape-shifting revelation that The Boys has worked towards since episode 1. The bubbling romantic trouble between Starlight and Hughie erupts, with both sides spilling their guts in a clothes-free row that digs right to the heart of their relationship. Herogasm is an unforgettably uncomfortable viewing experience, but The Boys' promotional machine hasn't been shy about building it.
Billy Butcher finally gets his hands on Homelander when he juiced up on Compound-V. Robin's death from The Boys' very first scene was paid off by a tense and emotional confrontation between Hughie and A-Train. They did not disappoint despite two-and-a-half seasons of waiting. The premiere has a close-up view of a man's giant penis head. There's smut by the shovel-load, but nothing like the penile explosion of Termite's season premiere. MM's shower or the "butt-CAM" would be hard for the stomach to resist.
Live-action Herogasm isn't shocking for the fainthearted. As Soldier Boy left a trail of corpses in his wake, Starlight decided to go public about everything. Every major plot point in The Boys season 3 suddenly becomes a hub.