The Boys star Aya Cash shares why she chose to remove herself from fan conversations during the majority of season 2. Adapted from a comic book of the same name, the Amazon Prime show premiered in 2019 to critical acclaim. Many viewers and critics appreciated its brutal and satirical repositioning of the superhero genre, especially regarding the ways it integrated and re-imagined real-world events. According to Nielsen, The Boys garnered 8 million total views during its first ten days of streaming, establishing the series as one of the most popular shows on Amazon Prime. A third season is currently in development, as well as a spin-off series exploring life at a superhero college.

The Boys follows the titular group of vigilantes as they attempt to topple Vought International, a ruthless, power-hungry corporation that markets the abilities of a select few superheroes for massive profit. During this time, the Boys uncover dark truths surrounding the hidden agendas of these beloved superheroes. In season 2, they discover that fan-favorite Stormfront (Aya Cash) is secretly a white supremacist. While appearing to embrace an ethos of social equality for the public, she is actually a Nazi working to perpetuate violent racist ideology. In a climactic moment, it is revealed that Stormfront was originally born in Germany in 1919 and married to Frederick Vought, a Nazi and founder of the corporation. She was the first human successfully injected with Compound V, a serum that transformed her into the "superhero" she is today.

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While speaking to Collider, Aya Cash, who plays Stormfront, explained why she did not engage with fans during the run of season 2. She broke down her reasoning, noting the controversial build-up to her character:

“I had to sort of step away from the conversation because I couldn’t talk about what was happening and what was going to happen. I definitely had moments where I felt terrible that people might have been hurt by this character and seeing this character. I mean, let’s be honest, 2020 was an incredibly intense year for many, many reasons with the pandemic but also with a racial reckoning in America and I’m playing a white supremacist. So a lot of feelings were coming up and I wanted to be like, ‘Don’t worry! She’s going to get hers. There’s no way that this is okay! No one is saying this is okay!” You know, I hadn’t seen them either! So trust that everything was going to come together and that people were going to feel satisfied, and maybe there’d even be some catharsis around it and spark some discussions.”

Aya Cash as Stormfront in The Boys vertical

As a result, Cash chose to remain silent in order to avoid potentially revealing any key plot points for The Boys season 2. At the same time, she discussed the significance of the genre’s ability to offer nuanced observations. According to Cash, she appreciated the ways in which sci-fi and fantasy leaned into real-life issues and deconstructed them, allowing for audiences to step back and re-assess topics more clearly. While knowing this, she also had to grapple with the realities of her character’s actions. She said, “And it sucks to hurt people. There’s no enjoyment that I get out of like, ‘Just wait until I kill that [family]!’ She’s bad. And there are fun moments of bad, but there are also just, she’s disgusting.”

Overall, Cash’s portrayal of Stormfront offered a merciless deconstruction of the far-right and its attempts to co-opt progressive language in order to reach larger audiences. Like many politicians in an increasingly polarized administration, Stormfront wielded her internal agenda like a jackhammer, promising systemic change only to perpetuate violent acts of racism. Stormfront's fate remains unknown, but it will be intriguing to witness how the ramifications of her exploits play out in season three of The Boys.

More: How The Boys Season 2 Critiques Far-Right Politics

Source: Collider