The Boys: Why Patton Oswalt is Perfect for the Role of [SPOILER]

WARNING: There are SPOILERS ahead for The Boys season 2.

Season 2 of The Boys includes a hilarious cameo by Patton Oswalt, in a bizarre role that is perfect for the veteran voice actor. Amazon has found a hit superhero series for its Prime Video streaming service by bringing Garth Ennis’s satirical comic to life. The first season of The Boys was one of Amazon’s biggest pieces of original content and the quality lived up to the interest. The first few episodes of season 2 arrived on September 4; instead of dropping the entire installment all at one, the release format has been changed to a weekly rollout.

The first three episodes of The Boys is currently available, giving fans of the show (and source material) plenty of new material already. Following the events of season 1, the beginning of season 2 sees Billy Butcher return to The Boys, Stormfront join The Seven, Starlight expose Compound V, and much more. One of the other storylines continues to follow The Deep as he tries to redeem himself and be welcomed back onto The Seven, but this isn’t an easy journey. The Deep’s early arc is where Oswalt comes into play.

The Boys season 2 finds The Deep working with members of the Church of the Collective to regain his standing as a Super. The process includes some therapy sessions, which highlight The Deep’s insecurity about his gills after he draws a self-portrait without them. After taking a gateway drink (made with hallucinogenic mushrooms), The Deep begins to hear his gills talk. The voice used for the gills is none other than Patton Oswalt. Even though the credits on the episode don’t feature Oswalt’s name, he was previously confirmed to have a secret role in season 2 — and now viewers know what it is.

The Deep’s gills talking to him continue what has been fascinating character development. Although season 1 began with him sexually assaulting Starlight, The Deep experienced his own form of sexual assault during his station in Cleveland. His gills were involved in this incident, but that isn’t the only reason he is ashamed of them. He believes most people prefer not to see his gills, which is one of the reasons why his costume covers them up. Although he tries to become more accepting of his gills in episode 3, it doesn’t take long for others to note how “disgusting” they are to look at (namely, Homelander).

Oswalt voicing The Deep’s gills is ultimately a funny use of the actor’s talents. Oswalt has done plenty of voice-only roles in the past, but none of them quite compare to the strangeness of playing the a superhero’s subconscious communicating through their gills. Oswalt has made a career of voicing immature and/or socially-awkward characters, and there is something poetic about The Deep’s gills being such a stark contrast to his public persona. Oswalt has a unique knack for infusing his characters with both snark and kindness, while still being both likeable and dorky: a perfect choice for The Deep’s “inner voice.” After all, the conversation really wasn’t about The Deep liking his gills — it was about him learning to like himself. The hallucinations may be over for now, but it’s still possible Oswalt’s voice will be heard again as season 2 of The Boys continues on.

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Cooper Hood
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Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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