Fans no longer have to wait long for Season 5 of The Boys. It continues next week. But before that, the Amazon-series released a new video featuring The Deep, showcasing a major strength of the series.
Which video is it? On YouTube (and various other platforms), Vought International released a new segment of the series Deep Thoughts with The Deep
(in English: Deep Thoughts with The Deep
). The description of the new video sets a high bar: James Cameron could never do this. But The Deep can. And could. And has done it. And will do it.
This format has been around for a while, and the Aquaman clone and superhero colleague of Homelander expresses completely absurd philosophical ideas. A few examples from the new video would be:
Why do people say “Bless you” when I sneeze, but get angry when I fart?
If God can create me, why does He also make fuglys like you?
There’s a reason why men wear the same clothes at weddings and funerals. It’s different kinds of the same death.
In short: In just under 2 minutes, The Deep does the same thing he mostly does in the series: he talks total nonsense. But that also shows why the series is so good and likely so popular, as it still is after 7 years.
Smart marketing, but not every series can do this
To explain why these videos are so good, you need to take a look at the comments on the YouTube video. Users like @tahay2004 comment: My father was at one of your stand-up performances; he said he didn’t laugh at all because it was so profound. Thanks, The Deep!
He, and many other commentators write in-universe
: They are pretending that The Deep and Co. are real and that they exist in the same world. This is also the concept of the channel Vought International, as it posts videos that exist within the world of The Boys. There was also an announcement that Sister Sage is the new CEO, promotional clips, or entire music videos to songs from the series.
An example of a music video can be seen here:
Perfect for the hype
A fake community is created within The Boys community. This is pretty smart marketing for the series and brings various advantages:
- With the weekly release of episodes, the series remains fresh because you get content in between that doesn’t just consist of trailers or new images.
- The world is further developed and feels alive, even when you had to wait.
- Characters that don’t always get the most screen time in the series still give fans something because they can still present themselves, even if it doesn’t fit into the episode right now.
- It creates an organic interplay of community and series that wouldn’t work with regular teasers.
The series The Boys is not just a superhero parody; it parodies the franchising of heroes in the form of film universes and absurd products. It also pokes fun at companies or even political events.
Through such in-universe channels, current events can be addressed without appearing too obvious, as this has already been done in the series. This keeps The Boys fresh, even when no new season is running.
This is of course something that not every series can offer. In The Boys, it works because it has already happened in the series. The superheroes are an omnipresent franchise, and the videos and posts outside the episodes carry that on.
But one must also be careful, as one could become what one parodies. Then the satirical level would only turn back into pure marketing. So far, The Boys has shown that it can handle social media creatively, which is why there should be no worries for Season 5.
The series The Boys is based on a brutal comic. However, it is quite different from the series in many respects. The parody of the X-Men also shows why not everything from the comics should be adapted: Against an evil group in The Boys, even Homelander seems as friendly as Superman
