Since its premiere in 2019, the Amazon series The Boys has established a reputation for being a television series unlike any other. Focusing on a young man named Hughie who gets recruited into an organization called The Boys, it focuses on his efforts, and those of his associates, to bring down the malevolent superheroes known as Supes. The latter are led by the charismatic but sociopathic Homelander, and almost without exception they show themselves to be callous, destructive, and nihilistic.

The Boys, based on the original comic book series, repeatedly pushes the envelope in terms of what can be shown on screen, with plenty of gross moments, such as the whale scene or the “Herogasm” episode. Information about the making of The Boys and behind-the-scenes stories reveal a lot about the grossest moments to emerge during the series’ first three seasons.

The Bursting Heads In The Congressional Hearing Were Filled With Fake Blood And Bananas

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During Season 2, tensions continue to escalate, and things seem to reach a climax when Dr. Vogelbaum, who is one of those most responsible for the creation of The Supes, agrees to testify to Congress. Unfortunately, as he prepares to do so, his head spontaneously explodes, as do those of several of those gathered for the hearing. Chaos ensues, and the hearing is derailed indefinitely.

Unsurprisingly, a lot of work went into making sure the scene appeared as realistic as possible. While many of the shattered heads were rendered with CGI, the two most important – Vogelbaum and the chairman – were rendered using dummies, which were then covered with fake blood and fake blood mixed with bananas. The sequence was filmed in a before-and-after fashion, VFX supervisor Stephan Fleet said, then the effects team put the two together.

Amazon Had Only One Note After Seeing The ‘Herogasm’ Episode

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The “Herogasm” episode of The Boys takes things to a whole new level, with all sorts of outlandish debauchery on display. Even though much of this is drawn from the comics, it’s still a shock to see these sexual activities portrayed so explicitly in a television series.

It would have made sense if the studio heads had requested some changes, but according to the series’ showrunner, Eric Kripke, Amazon offered only one piece of commentary:

The one note we got from Amazon, which was a good note, was, “In every moment, we have to understand that this is a superhero orgy, and not just an orgy.” We actually added afterwards, a lot of new gags and visual effects. Like, I love… that floating Starlight vibrator that’s just cruising around the party. That was not originally scripted or in there. We added that in VFX later.

An 11-By-30-Foot Penis Was Built For The Termite Scene In Season 3

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The third season of The Boys begins with a Supe known as The Termite shrinking down to a smaller version of himself to enter his lover’s penis. Unfortunately, given his penchant for taking coke, he sneezes and immediately returns to normal size, killing the unfortunate other man in the process. It’s a shocking and gruesome moment, for both the characters and the viewer.

A great deal of work went into crafting this particular sequence. An actual large private part was built – the series often uses practical effects – and the crew had to take special care to make sure it was clearly flaccid (it is still taboo to show erect penises in mainstream television). When it was finished, it was 11 feet high and 30 feet long.

Robin’s Death From The First Episode Took Eight Months To Visualize

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From the beginning of the series, Hughie’s life is blighted by tragedy. It starts very soon after the first episode begins, when his girlfriend Robin is slain after the very speedy character A-Train runs through her, and she perishes in Hughie’s arms. It’s arguably the most important death in the entire series, as it sets Hughie down his path of vengeance.

Given how important the scene is to both Hughie and the series as a whole, it took the effects team eight months to visualize it. They focused on shooting it so the audience wouldn’t fully realize what had happened until the camera moves to show Hughie holding only Robin’s arms. The team gave a great deal of thought to just how much blood to show, and the final scene required filming at 500 frames per second (far faster than the standard speed). VFX supervisor Stephan Fleet recalled:

At one point, we were even experimenting with seeing Robin’s face in it and having her face crumble to bits. But it can become borderline comical in the wrong kind of way and it would also be too telling, and at some point it dawned on us that really the startling part of the scene is the tilt-down to the hand.

Frenchie Was Originally Going To Take A Bite Out Of The ‘Love Sausage’

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Frenchie (played by Tomer Capone), one of the more sympathetic members of The Boys, has a dark past (in one of his first conversations, he relates how he has terminated many people.) But he slowly softens as the series progresses, particularly once he comes into contact and falls in love with Kimiko. He also has a friendly rivalry with fellow Boys member Mother’s Milk, and the two are constantly both saving one another and giving each other a hard time as they encounter the malevolent Supes and their powers.

In one notable scene, Mother’s Milk is being strangled by the “Love Sausage,” one of The Supes who has the ability to grow his penis out and use it as a tentacle. Actor Capone actually filmed a scene in which Frenchie attacks the appendage with his teeth. He ended up tearing it apart, however, so the footage couldn’t be used.

The Final Homelander Scene In Season 2 Was Axed From Season 1

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Of all the Supes who appear in The Boys, Homelander is arguably the most terrifying. Charismatic and tremendously powerful, he is also devoid of almost all human feeling. Time and again, he shows how he truly has come to believe his own hype. His powers, in his own estimation, give him carte blanche to do whatever he wants. In the Season 2 finale, this includes self-gratification on the top of Vought Tower, while looking out over the city he owns.

Originally, this scene was intended to be included in Season 1. However, Amazon felt even this was a step too far for the series, so it was axed. When executives saw the original ending to Season 2, they wanted something harder-hitting, so series showrunner Eric Kripke included the scene from the first season and sent it for approval. The executives liked what they saw, and the scene stayed in.

Kimiko’s Russian Hit Scene Uses Actual Kali Martial Arts Techniques

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Kimiko, one of the more enigmatic characters in The Boys, can communicate with her own form of sign language, and tends to keep mostly to herself. However, as the series progresses, she grows closer to Frenchie, who loves her for who she is, not her superpowers.

In one of Kimiko’s most noteworthy scenes, she carries out a hit against a Russian enemy who keeps his own harem of enslaved women. Kimiko uses the man’s own collection of dildos to bring down both him and his henchman. The scene follows the rules of the martial arts technique kali, except with the dildos swapped in for the traditional sticks. Actress Karen Fukuhara, who portrays Kimiko, has said it was her favorite fight of the season.

An Animatronic Whale Was Built And Filled With Biologically Accurate Organs

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When Billy Butcher, confronted with The Deep and a whale, decides to drive his boat right through the latter, a lot of whale viscera goes everywhere, with poor Hughie ending up in the belly of the beast. As with so many other moments on The Boys, the scene is remarkably realistic, which is likely because filmmakers built an animatronic whale complete with accurate organs.

VFX supervisor Stephan Fleet told Entertainment Weekly:

We had a whole show-and-tell on whale guts ’cause they made all these guts, too, for the inside. They did all their research. They had them on a table and they’d walk us down. It’s like we’re sampling food for a restaurant. ‘This is a whale spleen!'”

While the scene is, in part, played for laughs, it is a remarkably bleak one, especially as the whale in question seems to be still alive while all this is taking place. The scene was apparently miserable for actor Jack Quaid who, as Hughie, had to spend a significant amount of time inside the creature, all while slathered in fake blood.

The Live-Octopus Meal Scene Ruined Breakfast For Chace Crawford

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In The Boys, few characters are more ruthless than Homelander. He is also one of the most intelligent, and likes to make a point of humiliating those who challenge his authority. To make this point as clear as possible, he strong-arms The Deep into eating his octopus friend/love alive, in one of the third season’s most viscerally disturbing sequences.

Viewers weren’t the only ones who felt uncomfortable during this scene. Though the octopus was rendered through CGI, actor Chace Crawford still had to practice by eating fake tentacles to make sure his responses were as authentic as possible. Among other things, the fake octopus included substitute ink, which was made of dye and maple syrup. Ever since, the actor hasn’t had much of a taste for pancakes.

Translucent’s Demise Was Played For Drama, Not Realism

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When The Boys begins, it’s unclear whether the title characters will ever gain the ability to overtake The Supes, given just how much power they wield. When the superhero Translucent falls into their hands, however, they begin to see possibilities open up. Frenchie, in particular, plays a key role in developing the technology that can exploit one of the superhero’s weaknesses, implanting an incendiary device inside him to get around his impenetrable skin.

Ultimately, Hughie detonates the device, splattering Translucent all over the walls of their hideout. Technically speaking, this flouts the rules already established for the universe, but showrunner Eric Kripke explained the demise was meant to be dramatic, not necessarily realistic, even by the series’ own standards. He described “one solid writer’s room rule”:

Keep Your Rules in Mind but Never Logic Yourself Out of Entertainment.

 

A 40-Pound Rig Was Used For The Octopus Encounter In ‘Herogasm’

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During one memorable scene in Season 3, The Deep, who has repeatedly shown a deep – and often intimate – relationship with marine wildlife, has actual intercourse with an octopus.

The scene in question takes place during a debauched romp known as Herogasm. It was, according to actor Chace Crawford, a physical ordeal, because a 40-pound rig was used to simulate the presence of the octopus. The rig was apparently quite heavy, so a crew member cut off several of the contraption’s limbs (then added them back later in post).

Crawford told Men’s Health the scene shook him up emotionally, as well:

…I did have one scene this episode [the octopus scene] that made me wake up at night in a panic. The next morning I was like, “I need to know what all the camera angles are. What are we doing? Can we not do this [scene]? How will I sleep at night?” And [showrunner Eric] Kripke started laughing and said, “We’re never gonna make you do anything you don’t want to do, so let’s talk about this.” So that was the only one of those emotional breakdowns I had.

 

Real Protests Were Going On At The Same Time As The Filming Of A Riot Scene

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The Supes are often worshiped almost as gods by the general populace, thanks in no small part to the efforts of the corporation Vought and its tremendous control of media. However, as the series goes on, more people become disenchanted with The Supes and their antics. They begin protesting, some in favor and some against.

For one scene, protests were taking place in downtown Toronto at the same time The Boys was filming a similar sequence of events in the series. The real protests were in response to Premier Doug Ford’s announcement of mandatory vaccine certifications.