Last week’s episode of The Boys, “Herogasm,†was loosely adapted from “Herogasm,†a famous six-issue arc in Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson’s comic series. A number of long-gestating conflicts came to a head, including a face-off between Homelander (Antony Starr) and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles). Even more memorable is the episode’s setting: the 70th anniversary of the titular Herogasm, an annual orgy for superheroes (or, more accurately, “supes,†considering most of the attendees are far from heroes).
It makes for a culmination of almost three seasons of kinky supe sex ranging from the violent (Popclaw sitting on her building manager’s face and crushing his skull) to the sweet (if you can call Homelander and Stormfront’s wall-smashing midair sex “sweetâ€). Fittingly, it features some of the most full-frontal nudity since Euphoria’s trip to the boys’ locker room and the most memorable aquatic bestiality since The Shape of Water. Here are the most fun, gross, and fascinating details we learned about season three’s wildest episode.
The producing logistics were a nightmare.
Speaking to Inverse, showrunner Eric Kripke and the cast explained the hectic shooting, which featured dozens of naked extras having simulated sex. It required multiple intimacy coordinators, safety coordinators, and COVID-19 coordinators, and the cast left with quite a unique new experience under their belt. “The hardest part for me was not making eye contact,†Ackles said. But it may be Starr, whose character came in only at the tail end, who had the funniest reaction: “It sounded like it was quite the event to be a part of. I’m glad I missed it.â€
They ran out of fake sperm.
If you’re ever going to run out of fake semen on set, it’s going to be in an episode called “Herogasm.†In an interview with Digital Spy and other press, Karl Urban revealed that the glorious excess of season three resulted in some shortages. “They ran out of fake blood on episode three and sperm on episode six,†Urban said. “So it was a challenge for all involved.â€
The Deep’s octopus sex scene required a 40-pound rig around Chace Crawford’s neck.
Few of the main supes in The Boys actually got to have sex in “Herogasm.†But one hilarious exception was the Deep, whose sex scene with an octopus initially gave Amazon execs pause, as reported by TVLine. Chace Crawford told Men’s Health that the scene made him “wake up at night in a panic†and ask Kripke, “How will I sleep at night?†It required a heavy rig around Crawford’s neck, but VFX supervisor Stephan Szpak-Fleet was able to chop off some limbs and add them in post.
Showrunner Eric Kripke made a vocal cameo.
In the scene that required the aforementioned fake sperm, Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso) opens a door only to get soaked by a powerful jet of semen. Off-screen, you can hear someone yelling, “Throwing ropes! Oh, shit! Lick it up, you yummy brown bear.†In an interview with TVLine, Kripke revealed that he voiced the line — his first and so far only cameo in The Boys.
A bunch of new visual effects were added later.
Amazon reportedly gave the note, “In every moment, we have to understand that this is a superhero orgy, and not just an orgy.†That led the team to add many new gags after the fact, including the floating Starlight vibrator.
The producers had to be delicate with the “Imagine†video parody.
In its opening scene, “Herogasm†features a spoof of Gal Gadot’s “Imagine†video from early in the pandemic. In an interview with Variety, Kripke said the idea originated in the writers’ room, where they realized the Deep would totally make that type of video. Executive producers Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg called friends asking them to participate, which required some finesse since they couldn’t approach people connected to the original video. Kripke said, “We ran into a couple people we asked who were like, ‘Look, like, I would, but I’m going to be in a movie with blah, so …’â€