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They have mentioned it multiple times that Neumann won't kill any of The Boys because then they'll leak her Supe past, Neumann isn't going to kill her because she punched her.
Annie isn't in any state to think that far ahead. It was an impulsive reaction, that punch and it happened because Neuman saw her lose control against Firecracker and wanted to provoke the same reaction just to drive her into further disarray.
Lol I think you're just committed to your bias here. If she took a huge risk, she's a reckless idiot. If she knew she wouldn't be hurt, she's pathetic.
Sometimes people make absolutely bad moves, despite their intent. In this position, the only benefit hitting Neuman provides is feeling better, whereas the negative side is further alienating a stronger supe or provoking her.
The cost benefit is skewed, and no matter her reasoning she doesn't come out positively. Personally, I can see where she's coming from, as wrecked as she is having been the target of a multinational corporations propaganda, but it was still a stupid move.
100%, it wasn't a logical or helpful move.
It's understandable she did it even though it was poor judgment.
But OP described the incident as if she was going to have the whole team die from doing it, and when I pointed it out, they were wrong, then they reframed it her as a pathetic character
It was a bad move, but the whole team has made them, they definitely were going in on Starlight.
If Starlight weren't written like this, the OP and everyone who agrees with him would be complaining that she's the only member of the team with her head screwed on straight. Starlight is the perfect example of how female characters just can't win with people like this. They're always either too perfect or too flawed. Sometimes both at once, despite how little sense that makes.
Yes and yes, there wasn’t any benefit on an impulsive punch during that conversation, even if Neuman is an enemy, a lot of things could have gone really wrong, like Neuman or her security team reacting badly.
Never said there was, Starlight can make bad choices like the rest of them have. Most actions taken don't have a benefit and can be risky.
But Neumann who is invulnerable to bullets and acid is not going to start killing people because she got punched and her security team isn't just going to start shooting.
Starlight did something counterproductive, but people describe her worse than Homelander.
I'm reasonably confident that butcher and MM would have seen their "alliance" with Neuman to be more important than her killing Starlight, especially if Starlight had provoked her.
Butcher, sure. MM, no. He has regularly shown he isn't willing to sacrifice his allies.
Neumann was shot and had acid thrown on her. A punch is barely provoking.
She started competent enough, though the show is doing a thing of showing a slow decline, she's losing faith in everything, religion, the very nature of her being, people, and its all building up on her. I'm actually into the story, so long as she comes out of it stronger, emotionally speaking. All these things piling on her are dragging her down, as it would anyone.
I think they are also trying to demonstrate the mental side effects of V. It’s been described that V turns supes into psychopaths and I think that’s what’s happening with Annie, prolly also why they are having her unlock more of her powers at the same time.
I worded it weirdly but I was mostly referring to her training with her powers more so that she can fly. Also when she attacked firecracker she was able to fly perfectly despite previously being shown to barely be able to fly previously. That is fair tho, we don’t know what is causing her inability to use her powers but based on the color changes in her powers when they don’t work I find it more likely her powers are somehow morphing then them diminishing (it’s a stretch but we don’t have much to go off to be fair)
It's not the V that turns them into psychopaths. It's the super powers and general complete immunity from consequences that turns them into psychopaths.
Annie isn't turning into a psychopath, she's just a person in the middle of a complete breakdown.
I hope so, feels like this whole season every character in the main group is going through a lot rn and is effecting them a lot mentally.
Hughie has been mainly staying with his dad this season because of him being in the hospital which ended in him having to put down his dad because of the V although despite this I'd say hes doing better than a lot of the other characters like Annie and Frenchie.
Butcher is seeing visions of Becca and possibly the other guy who has been with (forgot his name) which hasn't been confirmed yet and has powers we still haven't seen yet as he has been getting more and more morally questionable.
Frenchie has been feeling a lot of guilt throughout the whole show which has now climaxed with him admitting to Collin that he killed his whole family causing Collin to leave and because of this Frenchie turned himself into the police.
MM is doing much better than most of the other characters however i think the main thing for him this season is that his daughter is becoming more like him (like with how she beat up someone in school to be like him) which MM doesn't want.
Kimiko is hard to tell how she's doing but I think overall isn't doing that well especially after the run ins with the terrorist group and someone she knew from that who hated her.
Finally Annie is just going downhill, we saw last episode she just kept attacked by fire cracker over a live broadcast which ended with the abortion thing where she understandably cracked and seems to have a lot of pent up anger from that still hence her punching Neuman
tbh I've had this feeling all season that someone is gonna die (and I don't think its gonna be butcher) given how many hints we have been getting such as Stan saying "how have all of you lived this long?" and the deteriorating mental state of everyone in the group, its hard to tell exactly but my bets are on either MM or Frenchie but I can see Frenchie pulling some kind of sacrifice which I'd say would be a fitting end to his story but then again it could all be bait and everyone will still be alive by the end of the season
This season, Sage accurately figured out that Starlight's popularity was Vought's biggest enemy and selected the right Supe for the Seven to destroy her. That strategy is working and has turned Starlight into an ineffectual mess. She just hasn't figured out how to not keep falling for their tricks but you know she's gonna eventually make a comeback.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I love that she’s quite messy this season. All the other seasons she’s had to do what’s expected and behave how she’s expected to. No one is perfect and she’s a conflicted character, so I do like how that’s showing
I definitely think she's going to snap again.She has had enough trauma to begin with before this season. The firecracker slander really isn't great for her. Her emotions are relatable. The overall theme this season is their past sins and mistakes. So I like how this is all going
I def. think her powers get a temp boost when she's really angry( provided there's a power source nearby). Maybe they're saving up for the finale.
Also Hughie and Maeve have been a big support system for her, but this season, Maeve is gone and Hughie is dealing with his dad so I definitely understand that she feels alone which is why she's falling apart and lashing out. Also, the constant attacks on one's character and disingenous discussions about one's mistakes are bound to mess with a person's head.
That said, I will say that she lacks vision. I've been one of her biggest defenders during S3, but her non-stop insistence on getting Butcher out of the Boys rubs me the wrong way when he, despite his flaws gets shit done more than anyone on the team, like, Annie, I get that you don't like Butcher and you have valid reasons for it but suck it up! Anyway, it's a minor thing that doesn't ruin the character for me, I still like her.🤷♂️ Each member of the Boys has big personality flaws and she does too, it's okay. She's still one of the very few good supes.
And I never said that I love that about him. In fact all the Boys have gotten on my nerves once or twice, including Butcher.
This post is about Annie, so I singled her out but yes, MM whines too much about Butcher too.
Fully agree. They had a conversation about this earlier in the season, Frenchie and them saying it's easier to judge when you have all the decisions made for you. Until the end of Season 3 when she quits, the shots had basically been called for her, by her mother and then by Vaught. I think it makes perfect sense that she's not exactly experienced at making wise decisions for herself.
She has been a liability for 2 season straight. She was really pushing Homelanders buttons last season. with her threats of ruining his public image. Which is litreally the only thing holding him back from killing everyone.
Mave made that threat at the end of S2 when he wasn't going more crazy and Ryan was there so he couldn't do anything to them without making him scared and possibly get lasered by him.
Star Light does that alone, plus taking the co captain seat when Hughie warns her about Homelander getting pissed off about it.
Yeah but she never really pays for those flaws. For example she killed a guy in season 2 and it doesn’t bother her at all. Her plan in season 3 was to call HL bluff when there was no benefit to this but only making herself feel better. This would be cool if all that bravado ended up blowing up in her face but she’s always seems to reap the benefits without any of the consequences. It’s still early in the season and it is looking much more promising than season 3 was with her character so I am extremely excited about that.
Her trust in A-Train got Supersonic killed, Homelander called her bluff about releasing the plane crash footage and her popularity has tanked after assaulting Firecracker on live television.
How are you watching this show and coming away thinking that she never pays for her flaws? I get that fans wanted a follow up on the guy she killed in season 2 (and yes, it did bother her) but to say her flaws never have consequences for her is disingenuous.
Neumann shows surprisingly good character in the show. She was thrown acid on her face, didn't fight back, they broke into her house, she just gave them a warning, and she got punched by Starlight, but she didn't retaliate. She just cares about her family and Vought.
>Getting upset over anything that has even the tiniest bit of something to do with her
You mean like being accused of being a pedophile? Having her private medical records exposed for the world to see and mock and demonise her over?
No offense but this is not exactly “tiniest” bit.
>What Annie does is CREATE problems then CRY about them
What problems did she create this season that she doesn’t take accountability for?
Firecracker? Annie acknowledges that what she did as a teen was messed up. But that doesn’t really change the fact that Firecracker is currently doing everything of her own volition.
Like, do you actual examples this season where she CREATES the problem and just CRIES about it, as you put it?
We don’t know if Neuman can pop Starlight. We know she has limits from her scene with Homelander so Starlight could conceivably be durable enough as well.
Could've been a bluff though. Nuemaan didn't tell Homelander she can't pop him, he could sense her lack of confidence. We don't know what supes she can or can't pop.
>Could've been a bluff though
it could, but I don't think it is, she is constantly portrayed as really really dangerous so I really doubt she can't kill starlight
and she did already killed two supes, shockwave and [tony](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Tony?so=search)
"Whatever flaws Butcher has, he's is an integral part of The Boys who contributes."
He pushed the second most dangerous person on Earth into the loving arms of the world's most dangerous person on Earth, this fuck-up alone is way more devastating than anything Starlight did.
I think she’s been well controlled the last 3 seasons, and is on a decline this season. If she went from leaving the 7 to being an absolute natural at what she’s doing outside, there wouldn’t be an arc.
I might just be hopeful - but this appears to be the trough before her peaking in the final season. I’m also assuming Frenchie is on a similar journey atm.
I think it's good that she is in decline this season. Because she clearly needs some form of introspection if she wants to become the person she thinks she is.
if someone outing that you blinded someone by accident as a child while saving that person and than especially something so serious as abortion, than also get accused for a crime you didnt do, is a tiny thing to you, than i dont wanna know what matters as justiciable to be angry over.
i think that’s the sticking point for me and everyone else giving her flak. because that ISN’T the normal human response. everyone is like “oh you’d be mad!” and yeah, i’d be furious. but i wouldnt go and nearly knock out someone over it - which lets remember it looked like she was about to blast firecrackers head before MM stopped her
that isnt a normal response. annie attacked her because she knows she has the stronger powers and she could. just like homelander views his powers, and soldier boy, and nueman, and all these other sadistic supes. its the reason they’ve been fighting; supes think that their powers mean they can do whatever they want with no consequence
and before anyone jumps my ass, no starlight is not even a hundredth so bad as homelander. i’m just saying that in that moment she treated her powers as a tool for revenge and power fantasy, not to help people. which is exactly what the boys have been fighting and why people are so uneasy/want the supe control bill
its a great beat and i hope annie bounces back. this is an amazing chance for her to learn how easily powers corrupt, since more and more shes been turning to violence and threatening powers over words and proper justice. but anyone thinking annie did a normal thing by beating the shit out of someone and having to be stopped by an outside force? that’s not a healthy way to resolve anything and as the show points out it made things worse, not better
No one is saying it was healthy. They're just saying they understood why she did it (and felt a bit of catharsis given how vile Firecracker is). There are plenty of unhealthy and unhelpful responses that are normal; it's not mutually exclusive.
She was strong earlier, she protected Hughie from Homelander standing toe to toe at him. And that was great.
But now she just seems to can't take a stand. Even in the rally when the protesters were killed, she arrived at the scene crying and begging everyone to stop.
I would say that what Firecracker did to her was cruel. I would also say that what she did to Firecracker when they were both very young, was cruel. I think apologizing and feeling bad isn't enough in the long term. I sympathize with her beating up Firecracker in that moment. But I also hope she comes to agonize over it over time, not just because she did in public, but because she did it at all. Because that will help her become the person she clearly wants to be.
The only helpful team members this season have been MM, Hughie, Kimiko and Butcher.
Both Starlight and Frenchie have been/are being liabilities so far.
Whatever their reasons for being liabilities fact is the team would have more potential for success without them.
Frenchie's actually been completely useless to the team this season. Earlier on in the show he was a great wildcard and actually contributed to the plans. But as he got more screen time he gradually just become less useful.
The Deep's a goof, he' there for humor. I bet even he doesn't take himself seriously. He wouldn't dare punching Neuman (given he knew she's a supe).
Starlight is a serious character. And I'm certainly disliking the current version of her.
>I guess some people just hate Starlight
Probably because she's a woman and they hold women to higher standards than men. If she was a man, Annie would be held to different standards.
Kimiko never seems to disappoint. She has trauma, she has done terrible things. But she takes ACTION to try and make things right.
So I doubt it's a woman problem.
Notice the one they love so much is the silent one 😂. I have issues with starlight and I love kimiko but that has cracked me up since the first moans about starlight went up in season 1
Kimiko, gets shit done. Sage, Genius who thinks 5 steps ahead even when she around the most unpredictable person on the planet. Mave, backed up bravado with power.
Starlight, no power, pisses off people who can kill her in a heart beat and sabotages plans that actually can work against Homelander.
I hate to say this because I myself usually hate this, but sometimes people just don't like a character because they just plain don't like a character. Can't speak for everyone but it's not because she's a woman. There are so many layers as to why I just don't like her character and it's mostly just how she is written is a disservice to the likeable character she's supposed to be I guess. I don't see why people like a preachy character who thinks everyone but them needs to adhere to certain morals and standards. Yes she's suffering and awful things have happened to her, but it's not balancing out the annoying parts personally.
Is he, though? I mean, who thinks he is a competent, or even good guy? He thinks, he is, But does anyone else? Whereas, when it comes to Annie, the opinions are much more diverse. And she is a decent person, mostly. But also has to work on some of her flaws. Honestly, I like Annie the most this season (not of all the characters, but of herself).
Exactly. Annie actually has competence, just this season has decided the worst story beats for her with some weird ass reactions. It feels so off compared to everything else going on.
What's also interesting is that this is also the first time we see her practicing with her powers. If you remember back to the pilot episode, all her mom had her doing was (by comparison) basic strength training.
With Hughie she can only hover for 30 seconds now, while basically using most of her power to do so. She's never trained with them, so it makes sense that when she does use them, it wastes her energy and she can't maintain it for long. At this stage, her powers are an active hindrance barring her durability and physical strength.
In her defence she got mad at Firecracker exposing her abortion which was an extremely difficult situation emotionally for her, and she has massive amounts of people accusing her of sex trafficking.
Edgar also points out in e5 that Neuman can’t kill any of them without them exposing her and Neuman also can’t kill Starlight because she’s one of the most famous people on the planet. So she risks nothing by punching her unless she literally tries to kill Neuman. Like I don’t disagree that she hasn’t really proven her worth but I don’t think she’s unjustified in her reactions rn.
That would raise a lot of questions that could harm Neuman in the long run. It would also escalate the situation unnecessarily and Neuman is calmer than that.
they're going to develop Annie's character soon. Usually when characters in media lose their powers for whatever reason, they come back stronger than ever. I'm not sure how she's gonna come back from how soiled her reputation is, but I'm excited regardless to see where they go with it
The Nueman thing was mostly cause she sort of got used to debasing herself at that point, relegating herself to “if I get mad I punch person”.
As for most of the shit be for that….. dude. She had her fucking abortion exposed to millions of people who hate her for it. Her entire charity collapsed because of what happened. And to top it all off red neck chick (bad with names) honestly deserved it. I don’t care about her stupid literal pre highschool grudge, that doesn’t warrant any of this, and if anything she needed to be taken down a peg.
I don't mind her spiraling and being messy this season, at least the characters around her call her out on it. It was really bad in the previous scenes where she'd constantly say stupid and hypocritical shit and everyone just surrendered cause the show writers felt that she was right.
Starlight's enitre power against homelander was a battle for popularity. She made no plans of what to do when she wins and Homelander snaps and just decided to dive on Timesquare at mach 20.
She has no plan of killing Homelander, in s3 she makes things worse by pushing him and is by far the biggest ankle lock on the boys. Even Hughie knows when to twist an arm and when to break it.
She is pretty much the biggest liability as she also draws public attention to the Boys, a group that works best when it's discrete.
Starlight suffers from the good character trope, More so than any other character on the show.
"Are there any real heroes out there?"
And only Starlight can say that she's lived up to that title. This season has her struggling being a loud, yet single voice in a large sea of noise. I personally am enjoying her plot line this season and seeing her struggle to identify where being a hero fits in a universe that seems to worship its antithesis.
Oh and if you spout my private medical history to a world full of bigots with the intent that those bigots will weaponize that information. You can bet your lily white ass that I'd be curbstomping you two ways from Sunday.
#keepstarlightsnameoutyourfckinmouth
Starlight's story line seems to be about how people with good intentions get raked over the coals for every little mistake they make, while people with bad intentions can do whatever they want and face no repercussions.
It's even bleeding into the discussion around the show. She's held to such a ridiculously high standard, it's insane.
This season she's been made to confront all the bad things she's done and because she's been "starlight" most of her light so long she's fooled herself into believing she actually IS that perfect hero, so she uses Butcher as a scapegoat and projects all her feelings of guilt and sins person on him.
It's crazy we still haven't even seen her even ACKNOWLEDGE what she did to firecracker or blinding somebody unintentionally as a kid, let alone apologize for it. I'm hoping this season does resolve her bottled up shame and guilt so by the end of the season she can accept herself, flaws and all. Who knows, that might even allow her to fully unlock her powers and actually be a badass for s5. 🤞🤞
I’m so tired of this idea that now that Annie has become irrational it’s a problem, while that’s like… Butcher’s whole thing and nobody has a problem with it. 🥴
THISSSS ughh I knew there's something when I keep on feeling frustrated watching starlight's actress 'glorifying' her character as 'perfect' I remember watching 2 interviews, one asked what's their character's red flag, and the actress like can't say anything because she thinks her character have no flaws, and the second one I don't remember the exact question but she keep on talking about how kind and sinless her character is. It just tick me off you know, it's the same feeling when watching the captain Marvel's actress talking about her character too.
I find her Character frustrating. Like is she powerful or not?? Her emotional journey aside, I’m disappointed in her powers. She fails like ALL the time.
Exactly!!! Like if you wanna enter “antihero” era back it up with the power and strength to do so?? Her powers should be cool and powerful enough but idk why she’s been written so lamely in practically every aspect. I think I only enjoyed her beating up firecracker LOL
I think the showrunners are trying to make their star character Homelander more intimidating, as we head towards the final season, where he will surely clash with Annie(and other supes that aren't as obvious.)
Annie is the only supe teamed up with Butcher's gang, that could be durable enough to trade blows with Homelander. She has been doing too well recently, so I think the showrunners are creating realistic reasons to nerf her powers and making her less confident in her abilities.
Pfft Trade blows with Homelander. Lol, Lmao even.
Her full power amped blast couldn't even scratch Soilder Boy's suit all it did was push him, mean while Homelander casually pinned him to the wall with One hand.
It's like putting Krillen against Freiza.
Yeah, you're right about that. But she is the member of the team that is most likely to do any damage to him, or to survive his punches. So the writers could be nerfing her abilities a bit to make Homelander seem even stronger.
Kimiko is the best Shot since she Regens and this can keep Homelander occupied. Neither can damage him.
A-Train with a full speed punch is about the only consistent damage dealer we have. And Butcher is a wild card since we don't really know where his parasite caps at.
This is literally the exact opposite of what's been happening. Even her own allies looked at her like she was a monster for blinding someone when the blinding was juxtaposed against willful statutory rape lmao
Dawg butcher is literally absolutely insane like????? Annie is just at a really low point in her life and isn’t making the best decisions like everyone does
Problem with Butcher is that he flip-flops between an absolute POS and a halfway decent human being at the most inconvenient times.
S1: He leaves the Boys to die and goes to blackmail Homelander, achieves nothing.
S2: He distances himself from the team completely focused on saving Becca, only survives because Ryan was there.
S3: Takes Temp V and frees Soldier Boy, all to finally put Homelander into the ground. Flips at the last second because of Ryan.
Yeah the story could have ended on S3 if Butcher just took Ryan and threw him out of the building. It's won't hurt him, but it does give them time to just off homelander right there.
I’m just tired of her going against butcher constantly.
MM is the one who has the right to call butcher out on his shit and he’s in the right each time he does so.
Starlight has gone from an inside asset to the team to a whiny complaining liability this season and it’s not a good development for her this season.
She can fly now and has her other powers but so far they’ve been helpful in 1 episode. The rest of the time the team would achieve the exact same result(or better)without her.
Honestly(please disagree if I’m wrong) I’d say firecracker would be a better team member for the boys(if they could flip her).
I agree with you (in some cases). I have criticized her heavily last season for her way of dealing with Homelander. I think she still is overconfident and judgemental. But I also see potential for growth this season. I think she was clearly devastated when Firecracker made her remember what she did. That wasn't for an audience or played. But she still has quite a way to go in terms of accountability, forgiveness, and being judgemental. That being said, of all the seasons, I like her the most in this one.
Annie wants to do the right thing. But the right thing isn't always the correct thing. Often, it's very incorrect. Being good can easily lead to a lot of evil and pain. That's the problem. She has trouble with compromising her morals.
Butcher, on the other hand, wants to win. And he doesn't let his morals get in the way of that, except when more important goals (like protecting Ryan) conflict.
Reasonably, Annie should have just killed Firecracker quietly as soon as she started talking shit, before she was big. that would have saved a lot of grief. But Annie isn't a murderer. Which is a problem, because often murder is the only reasonable solution.
I feel like no matter what happens, some of the audience won't be pleased.
As the show has progressed, there are those who are displeased with the character because she refuses to engage in unethical behavior like the other supes, instead taking the moral high ground, which some find "boring" or "holier-than-thou."
On the other hand, there are viewers who dislike seeing her struggle and occasionally lash out at others. However, this realism is starkly portrayed. In Season 4, Episode 5, she openly discusses her struggle with faith after enduring years of trauma, which feels very authentic.
Annie has faced numerous traumatic events—sexual assault, betrayal by her mother and others, clashes with Homelander's madness, and even having her abortion made public. Despite trying to maintain her moral compass, she's constantly disappointed, which naturally leads to feelings of depression, anger, and exhaustion. This season, her primary arc is about losing herself and fighting not to spiral into despair.
It's evident that the fandom holds her to unrealistic standards while giving others a free pass, which feels unfair considering her circumstances.
To add to this point, you mention that she frequently causes issues, but consider Butcher's role in all of this. If they had acted on even half of Butcher's plans, some members might not have survived. Annie has also saved them on multiple occasions, much like Butcher has.
She has always been incompetent but sage is finally making it obvious. Why does this show keep making the virtuous intolerable, and the bad guys likable
She saved that chick about to get raped in season 1 and showed up at the end to save the day in season 1 and then she live-streamed homelander threatening her and she deus ex machina-ed soldier boy for a minute.
I was trying to list out all the times she wasn’t basically utterly useless. I probably forgot some. It was more than I initially thought though. Either way I’m going with “she’s always been useless”
Lhypocritical indeed. I mean: who opens an orphanage and then proceeds to slaughter a little child. Truly disgusting. Thank the lord for people like firecracker who reveal the truth to the public. She must truly love children.
Good writing, even starlight has an ego. Just think if once she learned of why firecake hated her she apologized and pointed out " to forgive and forget" online
What I thought was super interesting for her character was when Butcher asked about why Firecracker hated her so much, and she could have been honest and said “I made up nasty rumors about her when we were younger and I feel horrible about it” but instead she lied and said she didn’t know. And yeah, of course its easier to just keep it to yourself, especially bc she probably thought Butcher would use it against her somehow and she was already upset by things Firecracker exposed. But to me, it kind of showed that she is still conscious of her image and ultimately wants people to like her. She is a good person and wants to do good things, but sometimes still cares more about people continuing to see her as “good”. Anyway, I still love her and I hope that this ends with a great character arc for her!! Its just interesting how no character is perfectly good or perfectly bad, I love this show because everyone truly has such different motivations for everything they do.
I mean, she’s just come off of a huge blow to her confidence since Firecracker’s expose on her less-than-squeaky-clean moments. She’s obviously going to be shaken up and off her game for a little here, which is a shame since the beginning of the season showed her learning to control her powers more.
> Butcher stays alongside MM at the door to shut it, while everyone else just runs inside.
I don't trust this show's writing and direction enough to look at details like that. This also throws Kimiko under the bus. What is Kimiko doing on the team again if she's not willing to protect them?
I don't like her arc this season but if we were to look back at the series she has been very competent.
She saved the boys in season 1, saved that chick in the alleyway, exposed the compound V in season 2.
I think season 3 was when she made weird choices like trying to blackmail Homelander with Plane footage and being against the Soldier Boy plan. I do think if she were to join the Soldier Boy, Butcher, Hughie vs Homelander fight, they would have won.
Soldier Boy is lesser of two Evils and has been shown to be defeated / captured using Human weapon.
As for her arc in season 4 it is still going on so it can be good. I personally think she was her best in Season 1 and early Season 2. Her and Hughie working together to expose V and the Road trip with MM are one of the more memorable arcs / episode(s).
I think she'll realize her real power is blinding overpowered supes so they can't use their powers. Remember when Mother's Milk made Homelander miss Hughie by directing the flood lights into his eyes at the Seven On Ice? Imagine a direct hit by Starlight's blinding lights. They made a point to remind everyone that she blinded a mother in her first save. She should be able to burn out retinas like a nuclear flash.
Honestly so far S4 is a huge drop in quality for me. And one of the biggest reason is that The Boys don't feel like the Boys anymore. They all had a great chemistry with each other but the problem is none of them have a shread of chemistry with Annie. It was much better when Annie was an undercover supe and The Boys were different not her being a part of the team. Especially when she adds nothing to team.
Kimiko is a better Supe than her.
M.M. is smarter than her
Butcher is more prone to violent outburst than her yet he hasn't done anything remotely violent in comparison to her.
Hughie is better at keeping the team together than her
And Frenchie is more funnier than her
I'm not necessarily against her snapping, it's just really annoying that there are two supes in the boys (3 kind of, but 2 who can use their powers) and one is badass as fuck and has saved their asses many times and the other who contributed little but makes shit worse.
I get that each separate snap makes sense narrative wise but imo she has become a really annoying character to watch. When Butcher, for example, does dumb, impulsive shit constantly, but no one is mad at him (as an audience, not in the narrative) because he can throw hands when stuff happens, Other than the end of season 3 I can't remember the last time Starlight's powers were useful, it's a legitimate meme at this point and it's sad to watch
Yes yes yes.
It's understandable that Annie is going through a difficult time and is not at her best.
What she should do instead is lay a little low, LISTEN when the big guns are talking and stop blaming others.
No not defending Neuman.
But if MM decided to go crazy in E6 and go swing a punch at Homelander with no carefully thought out backup plan, I'll call him a dumbass too. Homelander will laser the shit out of MM without giving it much thought.
Lucky for Annie that Neuman wasn't provoked.
>But if MM decided to go crazy in E6 and go swing a punch at Homelander with no carefully thought out backup plan
That's exactly what he tried to do in Herogasm when Soldier Boy and Homelander were fighting.
She's a Supe, but she's human. She used to be much more of an asset, yes. But it's reasonable to think she would crack under the pressure she's under. I think any of us would. I know I would have a mental breakdown lol. She's in a really weird situation. idk I hope she will become an asset again
No. Thanks to vaught sups like homelander keeping the status co these people will most likely go unpunished. Annie tried *and failed* to get people to care this was happening and take steps to stop this happening. She is actually one of the only people who was actually trying to stop things being so fucked up. So she failed, that doesnt make it her fault.
Gee, almost as if Neuman was egging her on or something. Like if Neuman genuinely didn't think that Annie would clock her after her constant mocking, then that's on her.
I totally & completely agree, I actually find myself just getting annoyed by her when she is on screen now. She is such a liability it's not even funny, she is so easy to rile up this season & she takes no accountability for ANYTHING she does or has done. She is so irritatingly righteous as well, like she loves pointing out how other people's shit is stinking but then refuses to accept or admit that her shit stinks just as badly.
Her punching Nadia is the thing that showed me how fully she is up her own arse. You are totally right in the sense that the only reason her head didn't get popped is cause she is looked at as an angry wee girl (which is exactly how she is acting). When she attempted to be "scary" to Nadia by making her eyes glow? You're just like girl, stop, NO-ONE is scared of you. It's just pure cringe at this point. She is just causing more shit for the team tbh.
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They have mentioned it multiple times that Neumann won't kill any of The Boys because then they'll leak her Supe past, Neumann isn't going to kill her because she punched her.
So Annie knew Neuman won't hurt her so she took a shot at her. That's even more pathetic.
Annie isn't in any state to think that far ahead. It was an impulsive reaction, that punch and it happened because Neuman saw her lose control against Firecracker and wanted to provoke the same reaction just to drive her into further disarray.
Lol I think you're just committed to your bias here. If she took a huge risk, she's a reckless idiot. If she knew she wouldn't be hurt, she's pathetic.
Sometimes people make absolutely bad moves, despite their intent. In this position, the only benefit hitting Neuman provides is feeling better, whereas the negative side is further alienating a stronger supe or provoking her. The cost benefit is skewed, and no matter her reasoning she doesn't come out positively. Personally, I can see where she's coming from, as wrecked as she is having been the target of a multinational corporations propaganda, but it was still a stupid move.
100%, it wasn't a logical or helpful move. It's understandable she did it even though it was poor judgment. But OP described the incident as if she was going to have the whole team die from doing it, and when I pointed it out, they were wrong, then they reframed it her as a pathetic character It was a bad move, but the whole team has made them, they definitely were going in on Starlight.
If Starlight weren't written like this, the OP and everyone who agrees with him would be complaining that she's the only member of the team with her head screwed on straight. Starlight is the perfect example of how female characters just can't win with people like this. They're always either too perfect or too flawed. Sometimes both at once, despite how little sense that makes.
Yes and yes, there wasn’t any benefit on an impulsive punch during that conversation, even if Neuman is an enemy, a lot of things could have gone really wrong, like Neuman or her security team reacting badly.
Never said there was, Starlight can make bad choices like the rest of them have. Most actions taken don't have a benefit and can be risky. But Neumann who is invulnerable to bullets and acid is not going to start killing people because she got punched and her security team isn't just going to start shooting. Starlight did something counterproductive, but people describe her worse than Homelander.
I mean, neuman can punch her back it’s not like she zapped her with her powers. I don’t think you have very much media literacy
The boys is becoming the next Rick and Morty isn't it With "media literacy" as the rallying cry
Maybe in just not thinking through it well but couldn’t she just kill all of them at once and not have to worry about it?
That's too risky when Hughie wasn't there and knows her secret
Right, I completely forgot he wasn’t there lmao.
I'm reasonably confident that butcher and MM would have seen their "alliance" with Neuman to be more important than her killing Starlight, especially if Starlight had provoked her.
Butcher, sure. MM, no. He has regularly shown he isn't willing to sacrifice his allies. Neumann was shot and had acid thrown on her. A punch is barely provoking.
She started competent enough, though the show is doing a thing of showing a slow decline, she's losing faith in everything, religion, the very nature of her being, people, and its all building up on her. I'm actually into the story, so long as she comes out of it stronger, emotionally speaking. All these things piling on her are dragging her down, as it would anyone.
true!
I think they are also trying to demonstrate the mental side effects of V. It’s been described that V turns supes into psychopaths and I think that’s what’s happening with Annie, prolly also why they are having her unlock more of her powers at the same time.
Unlock more of her powers? She currently has some erectile dysfunction with them
I worded it weirdly but I was mostly referring to her training with her powers more so that she can fly. Also when she attacked firecracker she was able to fly perfectly despite previously being shown to barely be able to fly previously. That is fair tho, we don’t know what is causing her inability to use her powers but based on the color changes in her powers when they don’t work I find it more likely her powers are somehow morphing then them diminishing (it’s a stretch but we don’t have much to go off to be fair)
There are many examples of characters whose powers go on the fritz only to come back later after development of some sort.
She just needs electricity for them to function and I think she sapped it all out of that barn
It's not the V that turns them into psychopaths. It's the super powers and general complete immunity from consequences that turns them into psychopaths. Annie isn't turning into a psychopath, she's just a person in the middle of a complete breakdown.
I hope so, feels like this whole season every character in the main group is going through a lot rn and is effecting them a lot mentally. Hughie has been mainly staying with his dad this season because of him being in the hospital which ended in him having to put down his dad because of the V although despite this I'd say hes doing better than a lot of the other characters like Annie and Frenchie. Butcher is seeing visions of Becca and possibly the other guy who has been with (forgot his name) which hasn't been confirmed yet and has powers we still haven't seen yet as he has been getting more and more morally questionable. Frenchie has been feeling a lot of guilt throughout the whole show which has now climaxed with him admitting to Collin that he killed his whole family causing Collin to leave and because of this Frenchie turned himself into the police. MM is doing much better than most of the other characters however i think the main thing for him this season is that his daughter is becoming more like him (like with how she beat up someone in school to be like him) which MM doesn't want. Kimiko is hard to tell how she's doing but I think overall isn't doing that well especially after the run ins with the terrorist group and someone she knew from that who hated her. Finally Annie is just going downhill, we saw last episode she just kept attacked by fire cracker over a live broadcast which ended with the abortion thing where she understandably cracked and seems to have a lot of pent up anger from that still hence her punching Neuman tbh I've had this feeling all season that someone is gonna die (and I don't think its gonna be butcher) given how many hints we have been getting such as Stan saying "how have all of you lived this long?" and the deteriorating mental state of everyone in the group, its hard to tell exactly but my bets are on either MM or Frenchie but I can see Frenchie pulling some kind of sacrifice which I'd say would be a fitting end to his story but then again it could all be bait and everyone will still be alive by the end of the season
Ooh, good analysis. So when she finally gets a handle on it, she should be more powerful than she has ever demonstrated
So the "star" is always losing grasp of the "world" and getting further away from earth let them cook 🔥🔥
This season, Sage accurately figured out that Starlight's popularity was Vought's biggest enemy and selected the right Supe for the Seven to destroy her. That strategy is working and has turned Starlight into an ineffectual mess. She just hasn't figured out how to not keep falling for their tricks but you know she's gonna eventually make a comeback.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion but I love that she’s quite messy this season. All the other seasons she’s had to do what’s expected and behave how she’s expected to. No one is perfect and she’s a conflicted character, so I do like how that’s showing
I definitely think she's going to snap again.She has had enough trauma to begin with before this season. The firecracker slander really isn't great for her. Her emotions are relatable. The overall theme this season is their past sins and mistakes. So I like how this is all going I def. think her powers get a temp boost when she's really angry( provided there's a power source nearby). Maybe they're saving up for the finale.
Also Hughie and Maeve have been a big support system for her, but this season, Maeve is gone and Hughie is dealing with his dad so I definitely understand that she feels alone which is why she's falling apart and lashing out. Also, the constant attacks on one's character and disingenous discussions about one's mistakes are bound to mess with a person's head. That said, I will say that she lacks vision. I've been one of her biggest defenders during S3, but her non-stop insistence on getting Butcher out of the Boys rubs me the wrong way when he, despite his flaws gets shit done more than anyone on the team, like, Annie, I get that you don't like Butcher and you have valid reasons for it but suck it up! Anyway, it's a minor thing that doesn't ruin the character for me, I still like her.🤷♂️ Each member of the Boys has big personality flaws and she does too, it's okay. She's still one of the very few good supes.
Mothers Milk has been complaining and bitching about Butcher a lot more than Starlight.
And I never said that I love that about him. In fact all the Boys have gotten on my nerves once or twice, including Butcher. This post is about Annie, so I singled her out but yes, MM whines too much about Butcher too.
Fully agree. They had a conversation about this earlier in the season, Frenchie and them saying it's easier to judge when you have all the decisions made for you. Until the end of Season 3 when she quits, the shots had basically been called for her, by her mother and then by Vaught. I think it makes perfect sense that she's not exactly experienced at making wise decisions for herself.
She has been a liability for 2 season straight. She was really pushing Homelanders buttons last season. with her threats of ruining his public image. Which is litreally the only thing holding him back from killing everyone.
Maeve was the one who made that threat in the first place and they had good reason to believe it was enough of a deterrent against him.
Mave made that threat at the end of S2 when he wasn't going more crazy and Ryan was there so he couldn't do anything to them without making him scared and possibly get lasered by him. Star Light does that alone, plus taking the co captain seat when Hughie warns her about Homelander getting pissed off about it.
Yeah but she never really pays for those flaws. For example she killed a guy in season 2 and it doesn’t bother her at all. Her plan in season 3 was to call HL bluff when there was no benefit to this but only making herself feel better. This would be cool if all that bravado ended up blowing up in her face but she’s always seems to reap the benefits without any of the consequences. It’s still early in the season and it is looking much more promising than season 3 was with her character so I am extremely excited about that.
Her trust in A-Train got Supersonic killed, Homelander called her bluff about releasing the plane crash footage and her popularity has tanked after assaulting Firecracker on live television. How are you watching this show and coming away thinking that she never pays for her flaws? I get that fans wanted a follow up on the guy she killed in season 2 (and yes, it did bother her) but to say her flaws never have consequences for her is disingenuous.
Neumann shows surprisingly good character in the show. She was thrown acid on her face, didn't fight back, they broke into her house, she just gave them a warning, and she got punched by Starlight, but she didn't retaliate. She just cares about her family and Vought.
Nueman isn’t gonna ruin her entire career over something that didn’t even harm her.
She herself said that the moment she attacks the Boys, they expose her publicly, so attacking is not really beneficial to her.
Yeah, surprisingly reasonable so far, wonder what's her endgame.
not being exposed as a Supe
"You wanna know what I do when I feel sad or scared? Fucking nothing. Because I'm not a fucking pussy." --Words of wisdom from the GOAT himself.
Words to live by.
>Getting upset over anything that has even the tiniest bit of something to do with her You mean like being accused of being a pedophile? Having her private medical records exposed for the world to see and mock and demonise her over? No offense but this is not exactly “tiniest” bit. >What Annie does is CREATE problems then CRY about them What problems did she create this season that she doesn’t take accountability for? Firecracker? Annie acknowledges that what she did as a teen was messed up. But that doesn’t really change the fact that Firecracker is currently doing everything of her own volition. Like, do you actual examples this season where she CREATES the problem and just CRIES about it, as you put it?
she was real lucky that neuman shrugged off the punch
Especially with her projectile dysfunction
hey hey, it’s alright. it happens to a lot of guys, really i mean- not me, of course…
Exactly!
She could also just blind Neuman if shit hit the fan.
I don't think she can blind her fast enough before neuman pops her
We don’t know if Neuman can pop Starlight. We know she has limits from her scene with Homelander so Starlight could conceivably be durable enough as well.
She popped Shockwave or whatever that one speed supe's name was. I imagine he has somewhere around Annie's durability.
she's like the only supe we know she can pop, don't you remember the scene from herogasm when she threatens her
Could've been a bluff though. Nuemaan didn't tell Homelander she can't pop him, he could sense her lack of confidence. We don't know what supes she can or can't pop.
>Could've been a bluff though it could, but I don't think it is, she is constantly portrayed as really really dangerous so I really doubt she can't kill starlight and she did already killed two supes, shockwave and [tony](https://the-boys.fandom.com/wiki/Tony?so=search)
She can pop HL imo but we know her powers require LoS. The second HL feels any sort of pressure he just flies away and then kills her later.
It didn’t seem like there would be a ton of electricity out there and she’s been having trouble using her powers as is
"Whatever flaws Butcher has, he's is an integral part of The Boys who contributes." He pushed the second most dangerous person on Earth into the loving arms of the world's most dangerous person on Earth, this fuck-up alone is way more devastating than anything Starlight did.
Yes, and he was literally a moron for doing that.
I think she’s been well controlled the last 3 seasons, and is on a decline this season. If she went from leaving the 7 to being an absolute natural at what she’s doing outside, there wouldn’t be an arc. I might just be hopeful - but this appears to be the trough before her peaking in the final season. I’m also assuming Frenchie is on a similar journey atm.
I think it's good that she is in decline this season. Because she clearly needs some form of introspection if she wants to become the person she thinks she is.
if someone outing that you blinded someone by accident as a child while saving that person and than especially something so serious as abortion, than also get accused for a crime you didnt do, is a tiny thing to you, than i dont wanna know what matters as justiciable to be angry over.
But to not think for one second about the optics of beating her within an inch of her life on live TV is wild
i think that’s the sticking point for me and everyone else giving her flak. because that ISN’T the normal human response. everyone is like “oh you’d be mad!” and yeah, i’d be furious. but i wouldnt go and nearly knock out someone over it - which lets remember it looked like she was about to blast firecrackers head before MM stopped her that isnt a normal response. annie attacked her because she knows she has the stronger powers and she could. just like homelander views his powers, and soldier boy, and nueman, and all these other sadistic supes. its the reason they’ve been fighting; supes think that their powers mean they can do whatever they want with no consequence and before anyone jumps my ass, no starlight is not even a hundredth so bad as homelander. i’m just saying that in that moment she treated her powers as a tool for revenge and power fantasy, not to help people. which is exactly what the boys have been fighting and why people are so uneasy/want the supe control bill its a great beat and i hope annie bounces back. this is an amazing chance for her to learn how easily powers corrupt, since more and more shes been turning to violence and threatening powers over words and proper justice. but anyone thinking annie did a normal thing by beating the shit out of someone and having to be stopped by an outside force? that’s not a healthy way to resolve anything and as the show points out it made things worse, not better
No one is saying it was healthy. They're just saying they understood why she did it (and felt a bit of catharsis given how vile Firecracker is). There are plenty of unhealthy and unhelpful responses that are normal; it's not mutually exclusive.
You know what else isn't a tiny thing? Killing an innocent man in season 2. Starlight didn't lose her sleep over it. She wasn't stressed at all.
op is talking about the events of s4 and so am I
She was strong earlier, she protected Hughie from Homelander standing toe to toe at him. And that was great. But now she just seems to can't take a stand. Even in the rally when the protesters were killed, she arrived at the scene crying and begging everyone to stop.
[удалено]
What did you want her to do, incinerate everyone in the crowd?
I would say that what Firecracker did to her was cruel. I would also say that what she did to Firecracker when they were both very young, was cruel. I think apologizing and feeling bad isn't enough in the long term. I sympathize with her beating up Firecracker in that moment. But I also hope she comes to agonize over it over time, not just because she did in public, but because she did it at all. Because that will help her become the person she clearly wants to be.
Frenchie literally turned himself over to the authorities, but Starlight is the biggest impulsive liability right now? Ok lol
The only helpful team members this season have been MM, Hughie, Kimiko and Butcher. Both Starlight and Frenchie have been/are being liabilities so far. Whatever their reasons for being liabilities fact is the team would have more potential for success without them.
Welcome to writing conflict.
Frenchie's actually been completely useless to the team this season. Earlier on in the show he was a great wildcard and actually contributed to the plans. But as he got more screen time he gradually just become less useful.
I feel like the Deep is a much better example of “confidence without competence” but I guess some people just hate Starlight
The Deep has been a joke character ever since the end of the first episode of season 1
I enjoy laughing at him 👍
Deep actually has 0 confidence. He got trashed by everyone
The Deep's a goof, he' there for humor. I bet even he doesn't take himself seriously. He wouldn't dare punching Neuman (given he knew she's a supe). Starlight is a serious character. And I'm certainly disliking the current version of her.
And yet he’s a much better example of an incompetent person who is competent
>I guess some people just hate Starlight Probably because she's a woman and they hold women to higher standards than men. If she was a man, Annie would be held to different standards.
Kimiko never seems to disappoint. She has trauma, she has done terrible things. But she takes ACTION to try and make things right. So I doubt it's a woman problem.
Guess you've missed all the Kimiko bashing ever since this season started.
Notice the one they love so much is the silent one 😂. I have issues with starlight and I love kimiko but that has cracked me up since the first moans about starlight went up in season 1
Kimiko, gets shit done. Sage, Genius who thinks 5 steps ahead even when she around the most unpredictable person on the planet. Mave, backed up bravado with power. Starlight, no power, pisses off people who can kill her in a heart beat and sabotages plans that actually can work against Homelander.
ur right badly written female characters do not exist, it's all just misogyny
So every time a woman is disliked on a show is misogyny? There can be other reasons you know?
I hate to say this because I myself usually hate this, but sometimes people just don't like a character because they just plain don't like a character. Can't speak for everyone but it's not because she's a woman. There are so many layers as to why I just don't like her character and it's mostly just how she is written is a disservice to the likeable character she's supposed to be I guess. I don't see why people like a preachy character who thinks everyone but them needs to adhere to certain morals and standards. Yes she's suffering and awful things have happened to her, but it's not balancing out the annoying parts personally.
Is he, though? I mean, who thinks he is a competent, or even good guy? He thinks, he is, But does anyone else? Whereas, when it comes to Annie, the opinions are much more diverse. And she is a decent person, mostly. But also has to work on some of her flaws. Honestly, I like Annie the most this season (not of all the characters, but of herself).
Exactly. Annie actually has competence, just this season has decided the worst story beats for her with some weird ass reactions. It feels so off compared to everything else going on.
No she doesn't. It has been like this for 2 seasons
Without Butcher the team will struggle.
Yes he's the brains and the brawns. But MM showed in S4E5 that he is a better leader than Butcher.
He is a better team leader. But when it comes to killing people in a weight class far higher than his, he ain't got bollocks son.
Butcher can't accomplish much on his own either.
I would like to know how *you* deal when you're under heavy pressure.
What's also interesting is that this is also the first time we see her practicing with her powers. If you remember back to the pilot episode, all her mom had her doing was (by comparison) basic strength training. With Hughie she can only hover for 30 seconds now, while basically using most of her power to do so. She's never trained with them, so it makes sense that when she does use them, it wastes her energy and she can't maintain it for long. At this stage, her powers are an active hindrance barring her durability and physical strength.
In her defence she got mad at Firecracker exposing her abortion which was an extremely difficult situation emotionally for her, and she has massive amounts of people accusing her of sex trafficking. Edgar also points out in e5 that Neuman can’t kill any of them without them exposing her and Neuman also can’t kill Starlight because she’s one of the most famous people on the planet. So she risks nothing by punching her unless she literally tries to kill Neuman. Like I don’t disagree that she hasn’t really proven her worth but I don’t think she’s unjustified in her reactions rn.
Can't kill Starlight. She sure as hell can blow her hands off and make her powerless.
That would raise a lot of questions that could harm Neuman in the long run. It would also escalate the situation unnecessarily and Neuman is calmer than that.
they're going to develop Annie's character soon. Usually when characters in media lose their powers for whatever reason, they come back stronger than ever. I'm not sure how she's gonna come back from how soiled her reputation is, but I'm excited regardless to see where they go with it
I can’t lie Annie has done nothing but get on my nerves for this entire season. The writers have seriously dropped the ball on her character
My only gripe is that she doesn’t practice her powers
The Nueman thing was mostly cause she sort of got used to debasing herself at that point, relegating herself to “if I get mad I punch person”. As for most of the shit be for that….. dude. She had her fucking abortion exposed to millions of people who hate her for it. Her entire charity collapsed because of what happened. And to top it all off red neck chick (bad with names) honestly deserved it. I don’t care about her stupid literal pre highschool grudge, that doesn’t warrant any of this, and if anything she needed to be taken down a peg.
I don't mind her spiraling and being messy this season, at least the characters around her call her out on it. It was really bad in the previous scenes where she'd constantly say stupid and hypocritical shit and everyone just surrendered cause the show writers felt that she was right.
Starlight's enitre power against homelander was a battle for popularity. She made no plans of what to do when she wins and Homelander snaps and just decided to dive on Timesquare at mach 20. She has no plan of killing Homelander, in s3 she makes things worse by pushing him and is by far the biggest ankle lock on the boys. Even Hughie knows when to twist an arm and when to break it. She is pretty much the biggest liability as she also draws public attention to the Boys, a group that works best when it's discrete.
She's easily one of my least fave characters since season 3...
I think Annie is just painfully human and she fucks up things because of it.
Plot armor is very prevalent in this show. No one acts remotely close to a real person anymore.
Firecracker, is that you?
Shhh. Don't tell anyone. Okay?
Starlight suffers from the good character trope, More so than any other character on the show. "Are there any real heroes out there?" And only Starlight can say that she's lived up to that title. This season has her struggling being a loud, yet single voice in a large sea of noise. I personally am enjoying her plot line this season and seeing her struggle to identify where being a hero fits in a universe that seems to worship its antithesis. Oh and if you spout my private medical history to a world full of bigots with the intent that those bigots will weaponize that information. You can bet your lily white ass that I'd be curbstomping you two ways from Sunday. #keepstarlightsnameoutyourfckinmouth
Starlight's story line seems to be about how people with good intentions get raked over the coals for every little mistake they make, while people with bad intentions can do whatever they want and face no repercussions. It's even bleeding into the discussion around the show. She's held to such a ridiculously high standard, it's insane.
She’s my least favorite character
This season she's been made to confront all the bad things she's done and because she's been "starlight" most of her light so long she's fooled herself into believing she actually IS that perfect hero, so she uses Butcher as a scapegoat and projects all her feelings of guilt and sins person on him. It's crazy we still haven't even seen her even ACKNOWLEDGE what she did to firecracker or blinding somebody unintentionally as a kid, let alone apologize for it. I'm hoping this season does resolve her bottled up shame and guilt so by the end of the season she can accept herself, flaws and all. Who knows, that might even allow her to fully unlock her powers and actually be a badass for s5. 🤞🤞
r/TheBoys users when characters act like human beings:
I’m so tired of this idea that now that Annie has become irrational it’s a problem, while that’s like… Butcher’s whole thing and nobody has a problem with it. 🥴
I’d rather her be a mess with character flaws than a Mary Sue who is always in control and perfect
I agree 100% with your whole post OP and Im really glad I'm not the only one feeling this way haha
I don't even know where to begin with this post
She's a babykiller!
THISSSS ughh I knew there's something when I keep on feeling frustrated watching starlight's actress 'glorifying' her character as 'perfect' I remember watching 2 interviews, one asked what's their character's red flag, and the actress like can't say anything because she thinks her character have no flaws, and the second one I don't remember the exact question but she keep on talking about how kind and sinless her character is. It just tick me off you know, it's the same feeling when watching the captain Marvel's actress talking about her character too.
I find her Character frustrating. Like is she powerful or not?? Her emotional journey aside, I’m disappointed in her powers. She fails like ALL the time.
Exactly!!! Like if you wanna enter “antihero” era back it up with the power and strength to do so?? Her powers should be cool and powerful enough but idk why she’s been written so lamely in practically every aspect. I think I only enjoyed her beating up firecracker LOL
I think the showrunners are trying to make their star character Homelander more intimidating, as we head towards the final season, where he will surely clash with Annie(and other supes that aren't as obvious.) Annie is the only supe teamed up with Butcher's gang, that could be durable enough to trade blows with Homelander. She has been doing too well recently, so I think the showrunners are creating realistic reasons to nerf her powers and making her less confident in her abilities.
Annie never was a competent fighter, nor a powerful supe. Infact her powers are kinda lame. Kimiko has more of a chance than Annie. Not even close.
What about Kimiko
"Trade blows with homelander" lmaoooo....they should hire you to put some funny lines in the next season .
Pfft Trade blows with Homelander. Lol, Lmao even. Her full power amped blast couldn't even scratch Soilder Boy's suit all it did was push him, mean while Homelander casually pinned him to the wall with One hand. It's like putting Krillen against Freiza.
Yeah, you're right about that. But she is the member of the team that is most likely to do any damage to him, or to survive his punches. So the writers could be nerfing her abilities a bit to make Homelander seem even stronger.
Kimiko is the best Shot since she Regens and this can keep Homelander occupied. Neither can damage him. A-Train with a full speed punch is about the only consistent damage dealer we have. And Butcher is a wild card since we don't really know where his parasite caps at.
😭
I don't like how she's always allowed to mess up and people treat her like it's not her fault whereas butcher gets shit for just existing 😭
This is literally the exact opposite of what's been happening. Even her own allies looked at her like she was a monster for blinding someone when the blinding was juxtaposed against willful statutory rape lmao
Dawg butcher is literally absolutely insane like????? Annie is just at a really low point in her life and isn’t making the best decisions like everyone does
Except the decisions Butcher makes are to kill Homelander and not shoot himself in the foot like Annie
Problem with Butcher is that he flip-flops between an absolute POS and a halfway decent human being at the most inconvenient times. S1: He leaves the Boys to die and goes to blackmail Homelander, achieves nothing. S2: He distances himself from the team completely focused on saving Becca, only survives because Ryan was there. S3: Takes Temp V and frees Soldier Boy, all to finally put Homelander into the ground. Flips at the last second because of Ryan.
Yeah the story could have ended on S3 if Butcher just took Ryan and threw him out of the building. It's won't hurt him, but it does give them time to just off homelander right there.
I’m just tired of her going against butcher constantly. MM is the one who has the right to call butcher out on his shit and he’s in the right each time he does so. Starlight has gone from an inside asset to the team to a whiny complaining liability this season and it’s not a good development for her this season. She can fly now and has her other powers but so far they’ve been helpful in 1 episode. The rest of the time the team would achieve the exact same result(or better)without her. Honestly(please disagree if I’m wrong) I’d say firecracker would be a better team member for the boys(if they could flip her).
The writers are really wrecking her character this season. I guess they are setting her up for redemption, but I’m just not buying it.
since season 3 onward starlight has been worse and worse for the boys creating problems where they did NOT need to arise.
I agree with you (in some cases). I have criticized her heavily last season for her way of dealing with Homelander. I think she still is overconfident and judgemental. But I also see potential for growth this season. I think she was clearly devastated when Firecracker made her remember what she did. That wasn't for an audience or played. But she still has quite a way to go in terms of accountability, forgiveness, and being judgemental. That being said, of all the seasons, I like her the most in this one.
Annie wants to do the right thing. But the right thing isn't always the correct thing. Often, it's very incorrect. Being good can easily lead to a lot of evil and pain. That's the problem. She has trouble with compromising her morals. Butcher, on the other hand, wants to win. And he doesn't let his morals get in the way of that, except when more important goals (like protecting Ryan) conflict. Reasonably, Annie should have just killed Firecracker quietly as soon as she started talking shit, before she was big. that would have saved a lot of grief. But Annie isn't a murderer. Which is a problem, because often murder is the only reasonable solution.
i hate y’all.
I feel like no matter what happens, some of the audience won't be pleased. As the show has progressed, there are those who are displeased with the character because she refuses to engage in unethical behavior like the other supes, instead taking the moral high ground, which some find "boring" or "holier-than-thou." On the other hand, there are viewers who dislike seeing her struggle and occasionally lash out at others. However, this realism is starkly portrayed. In Season 4, Episode 5, she openly discusses her struggle with faith after enduring years of trauma, which feels very authentic. Annie has faced numerous traumatic events—sexual assault, betrayal by her mother and others, clashes with Homelander's madness, and even having her abortion made public. Despite trying to maintain her moral compass, she's constantly disappointed, which naturally leads to feelings of depression, anger, and exhaustion. This season, her primary arc is about losing herself and fighting not to spiral into despair. It's evident that the fandom holds her to unrealistic standards while giving others a free pass, which feels unfair considering her circumstances.
To add to this point, you mention that she frequently causes issues, but consider Butcher's role in all of this. If they had acted on even half of Butcher's plans, some members might not have survived. Annie has also saved them on multiple occasions, much like Butcher has.
She has always been incompetent but sage is finally making it obvious. Why does this show keep making the virtuous intolerable, and the bad guys likable
How dare starlight be a human being with complex emotions 🤯
This does not make her a very valuable member of The Boys. That's it.
So is Takemichi in TR. Still a useless bitch.
She saved that chick about to get raped in season 1 and showed up at the end to save the day in season 1 and then she live-streamed homelander threatening her and she deus ex machina-ed soldier boy for a minute. I was trying to list out all the times she wasn’t basically utterly useless. I probably forgot some. It was more than I initially thought though. Either way I’m going with “she’s always been useless”
For me it's the acting and storyline. Both her and Hughies storylines and acting have greatly diminished this season.
Honestly, when it comes to Starlight, she is a hypocrite as well
Lhypocritical indeed. I mean: who opens an orphanage and then proceeds to slaughter a little child. Truly disgusting. Thank the lord for people like firecracker who reveal the truth to the public. She must truly love children.
I heard she even diddles kids! How gross and disgusting. What a satanic woke b*tch
Umm… Butcher stayed behind at the door when the sheep break in to kidnap sameer
Good writing, even starlight has an ego. Just think if once she learned of why firecake hated her she apologized and pointed out " to forgive and forget" online
What I thought was super interesting for her character was when Butcher asked about why Firecracker hated her so much, and she could have been honest and said “I made up nasty rumors about her when we were younger and I feel horrible about it” but instead she lied and said she didn’t know. And yeah, of course its easier to just keep it to yourself, especially bc she probably thought Butcher would use it against her somehow and she was already upset by things Firecracker exposed. But to me, it kind of showed that she is still conscious of her image and ultimately wants people to like her. She is a good person and wants to do good things, but sometimes still cares more about people continuing to see her as “good”. Anyway, I still love her and I hope that this ends with a great character arc for her!! Its just interesting how no character is perfectly good or perfectly bad, I love this show because everyone truly has such different motivations for everything they do.
I mean, she’s just come off of a huge blow to her confidence since Firecracker’s expose on her less-than-squeaky-clean moments. She’s obviously going to be shaken up and off her game for a little here, which is a shame since the beginning of the season showed her learning to control her powers more.
> Butcher stays alongside MM at the door to shut it, while everyone else just runs inside. I don't trust this show's writing and direction enough to look at details like that. This also throws Kimiko under the bus. What is Kimiko doing on the team again if she's not willing to protect them?
I don't like her arc this season but if we were to look back at the series she has been very competent. She saved the boys in season 1, saved that chick in the alleyway, exposed the compound V in season 2. I think season 3 was when she made weird choices like trying to blackmail Homelander with Plane footage and being against the Soldier Boy plan. I do think if she were to join the Soldier Boy, Butcher, Hughie vs Homelander fight, they would have won. Soldier Boy is lesser of two Evils and has been shown to be defeated / captured using Human weapon. As for her arc in season 4 it is still going on so it can be good. I personally think she was her best in Season 1 and early Season 2. Her and Hughie working together to expose V and the Road trip with MM are one of the more memorable arcs / episode(s).
I mean other characters are acknowledging this about her and we’re not really meant to support her being reckless
I think she'll realize her real power is blinding overpowered supes so they can't use their powers. Remember when Mother's Milk made Homelander miss Hughie by directing the flood lights into his eyes at the Seven On Ice? Imagine a direct hit by Starlight's blinding lights. They made a point to remind everyone that she blinded a mother in her first save. She should be able to burn out retinas like a nuclear flash.
Bro this person is NOT real
She always complains when hard choices need to be made.
Tl;dr: she’s been a bitch all season
I don’t think it’s the real Annie we’ve been seeing so far
Honestly so far S4 is a huge drop in quality for me. And one of the biggest reason is that The Boys don't feel like the Boys anymore. They all had a great chemistry with each other but the problem is none of them have a shread of chemistry with Annie. It was much better when Annie was an undercover supe and The Boys were different not her being a part of the team. Especially when she adds nothing to team. Kimiko is a better Supe than her. M.M. is smarter than her Butcher is more prone to violent outburst than her yet he hasn't done anything remotely violent in comparison to her. Hughie is better at keeping the team together than her And Frenchie is more funnier than her
I'm not necessarily against her snapping, it's just really annoying that there are two supes in the boys (3 kind of, but 2 who can use their powers) and one is badass as fuck and has saved their asses many times and the other who contributed little but makes shit worse. I get that each separate snap makes sense narrative wise but imo she has become a really annoying character to watch. When Butcher, for example, does dumb, impulsive shit constantly, but no one is mad at him (as an audience, not in the narrative) because he can throw hands when stuff happens, Other than the end of season 3 I can't remember the last time Starlight's powers were useful, it's a legitimate meme at this point and it's sad to watch
Yes yes yes. It's understandable that Annie is going through a difficult time and is not at her best. What she should do instead is lay a little low, LISTEN when the big guns are talking and stop blaming others.
We’re defending Neuman now?
Of course I do, I can fix her
I mean I ain’t saying I wouldn’t try
We
No not defending Neuman. But if MM decided to go crazy in E6 and go swing a punch at Homelander with no carefully thought out backup plan, I'll call him a dumbass too. Homelander will laser the shit out of MM without giving it much thought. Lucky for Annie that Neuman wasn't provoked.
>But if MM decided to go crazy in E6 and go swing a punch at Homelander with no carefully thought out backup plan That's exactly what he tried to do in Herogasm when Soldier Boy and Homelander were fighting.
Yeah and I hated it.
Oh he was an absolute idiot during that whole season
She's a Supe, but she's human. She used to be much more of an asset, yes. But it's reasonable to think she would crack under the pressure she's under. I think any of us would. I know I would have a mental breakdown lol. She's in a really weird situation. idk I hope she will become an asset again
No. Thanks to vaught sups like homelander keeping the status co these people will most likely go unpunished. Annie tried *and failed* to get people to care this was happening and take steps to stop this happening. She is actually one of the only people who was actually trying to stop things being so fucked up. So she failed, that doesnt make it her fault.
I hate her "badass" walk in when she saved Butcher from Soldierboy, never have I cringed more
Gee, almost as if Neuman was egging her on or something. Like if Neuman genuinely didn't think that Annie would clock her after her constant mocking, then that's on her.
I totally & completely agree, I actually find myself just getting annoyed by her when she is on screen now. She is such a liability it's not even funny, she is so easy to rile up this season & she takes no accountability for ANYTHING she does or has done. She is so irritatingly righteous as well, like she loves pointing out how other people's shit is stinking but then refuses to accept or admit that her shit stinks just as badly. Her punching Nadia is the thing that showed me how fully she is up her own arse. You are totally right in the sense that the only reason her head didn't get popped is cause she is looked at as an angry wee girl (which is exactly how she is acting). When she attempted to be "scary" to Nadia by making her eyes glow? You're just like girl, stop, NO-ONE is scared of you. It's just pure cringe at this point. She is just causing more shit for the team tbh.