When it comes to riveting dramas centered around complex characters, few series have accomplished as much as The Boys. This may shock people who aren’t too familiar with the show; created by Eric Kripke, this gritty, visceral approach to the superhero genre has gained acclaim largely for the inventively gory scenes it features throughout each season. Yet long-time viewers recognize that the carnage only reinforces the tense interpersonal conflicts, with so much of the show spotlighting how powers aren’t inherently evil, but rather it’s the treatment of a cruel world that causes Supes and their handlers to use them in atrocious ways.

This is reflected in the show’s core cast, a group of characters who have evolved alongside the series’ nuanced narrative — well, most of them. Because despite this series being built by these characters, there’s one who’s never really gotten to reveal what an overwhelmingly strong force she is. In fact, the series seems intent on showing the opposite, undercutting her power (literally and figuratively) at every moment and often stealing what could be huge character moments and giving them to the men who surround her. It’s always unfortunate when a character isn’t recognized for how astounding they truly are, and when it comes to Annie (Erin Moriarty), aka Starlight, The Boys seems focused on making her weak rather than letting her be the powerhouse she could so easily be.

Starlight Has Experienced Some of the Most Growth on ‘The Boys’

For all of its powers and violence, it’s how The Boys builds out its wide cast of characters that genuinely makes it so great. Whether it be Kimiko’s (Karen Fukuhara) path to recovery after surviving life as a child soldier or Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) healing generational scars, the show creates authentic characters audiences can root for. It often punctuates these emotional journeys with exciting moments of external strength, these characters showing that, along with mental fortitude, they have the battle prowess to defeat any enemy. It’s a perfect synthesis of the series’ core aspects, a fusion of the hyperviolence that gained its initial popularity and the nuanced narratives that have allowed it to become the interrogation of capitalism it is today.

Most of the cast have secured themselves some of these exhilarating moments, each one having their moment to shine in the titular vigilante group’s battles against Homelander (Antony Starr) and the insidious megacorporation Vought that creates empowered narcissists like him. Their journeys are thrilling to watch, getting to see each person embrace their true power and fight back…though, one seems to have gotten left behind.

Thematically, few characters have experienced as much character growth as Annie January. A virtuous superhero with the ability to drain electricity and emit it in literally blinding lights and concussive blasts, the series opened with this hopeful young woman being welcomed into The Seven, the world’s premier superhero squad. This team only welcomes the absolute strongest (and most marketable) superhumans, so she’s excited to use this new platform to save as many people possible. Which is what makes her immediately being sexually assaulted by fellow member of The Seven, The Deep (Chace Crawford), so devastating.

Not only because of the horrific act of violence itself, but because audiences see this overwhelmingly good person realize that the entire world she’d committed herself to is a lie, that “superheroes” are the ultimate marketing strategy and the empowered individuals she once idolized are actually terrifying villains. This leads her to begin a relationship with The Boys’ Hughie (Jack Quaid), and eventually leave The Seven, providing direct aid to civilians by running her own nonprofit and joining up with the team to bring Vought, Homelander, and other monsters down.

Annie Is ‘The Boys’ Thematic Punching Bag

It’s become a running gag on The Boys how little of a threat people see Annie as. Whether it be shady politician Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) disarming the former member of The Seven with a single threat or Homelander literally rolling his eyes at her powers, audiences have only really seen Starlight’s villains react to her like a superpowered speedbump, never a genuine threat. This started out as a funny Easter egg, but its persistence has begun to hurt the character overall, as she never has much of an impact. It’s often rationalized that, because Supes in this world have widely different power levels, Annie unfortunately has a weaker ability than most — except that she was recruited into The Seven, the world’s strongest superhero team. She was welcomed into the group for having an immensely strong power and spending her entire life learning how to fight crime, yet despite this wealth of expertise, the series seems intent on showing her only as a physical non-threat who can occasionally make her eyes glow.

This not only damages the character’s perception, but with the penultimate episode, it’s begun to hurt the overall narrative as well. This installment saw Annie and Butcher (Karl Urban) face The Deep and Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell), with The Deep cruelly mocking Annie for his assault on her before the two begin a years-in-the-making fight. They square off, and… The Deep starts to win. Despite the immature man constantly being mocked for how useless his aquatic abilities are and the series showing that Annie has spent years learning to fight and has a level of super-strength, viewers are forced to watch this embattled hero once again lose to the despicable, water-based character. She is saved by A-Train (Jesse T. Usher) — Annie only surviving with the aid of a man — and is robbed of the cathartic storytelling moment that her reasonable win against The Deep would grant.

This is terrible enough, but the reveal that she was (easily) kidnapped by a shapeshifting Supe only further displays how inefficient the series establishes her compared to her capable contemporaries. However, the season finale saw her escape captivity and have a cliché power-up scene where she kills the shapeshifter, with her last moment onscreen actually seeing her heroically fly away, escaping the imprisonment the rest of The Boys suffer. Hopefully this gives her some much-needed scenes of strength in the coming season.

Starlight Has Earned More Than ‘The Boys’ Is Willing To Give Her

Even with the many moments where she’s not taken seriously, Annie has secured some genuinely great fight scenes throughout The Boys. It’s hard to forget the iconic time she, Kimiko, and Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) beat up the immortal villain Stormfront (Aya Cash), and last season’s finale saw her damage the unshakable Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Yet not only are these moments much too rare, there’s a subliminal message running through each one: Starlight can’t do anything on her own. Stormfront beat her initially, Soldier Boy was knocked down but not seriously injured, and every other major fight she’s been a part of has seen the character only serve as a momentary obstacle before the “real” strong characters can join.

Hey, at least the show let her beat up Firecracker (Valorie Curry), a Supe whose name ends up being quite on the nose, with powers that don’t amount to much more than a firework show. The Boys refuses to give Annie a chance to be the powerful character her intriguing backstory sets her up to be, and even though it tries to show her strength through random, forgettable moments, by refusing to give her the respect she deserves, the series undermine the entire story it’s worked so hard to tell.

The Boys is available to stream on Prime Video in the U.S.