Season 2 of The Boys arrived on Amazon Prime on September 4th but why do the new episodes have such a fascination with the drink, Fresca?
The Boys completely turned the superhero genre on its head when season 1 arrived in 2019 so it was no surprise that a second season was quickly ordered up by Amazon.
In September 2020, that second season finally arrived and the hanging story threads left dangling at the end of the first season were picked back up once again.
One of the key plot points of season 1 was the Deep’s expulsion from the Seven after a nefarious sexual act with Annie (Starlight), upon her joining the Seven, came to light.
We pick up the Deep’s story in season 2 but his reappearance in the series also coincides with a suspiciously large amount of Fresca soda.
The Boys season 2 on Amazon Prime Video
Season 2 of The Boys starts releasing on Amazon Prime Video on September 4th.
The new instalment continues the story of Billy Butcher and the Boys as their conflict with the Seven and Vought International cranks up a few more notches.
Season 1 ended on the dramatic revelation that Billy’s wife, Becca, who he thought had disappeared at the hands of Homelander, the leader of the Seven, was actually alive and well and has been secretly raising her and Homelander’s son.
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The Boys has a curious fascination with Fresca
In the opening few episodes of season 2, we are reintroduced to the Deep, who was kicked out of the Seven after his sexual misconduct towards Annie came to light.
Deep has hit rock bottom in season 2 and after we see him drinking alone in a bar and getting agitated, he is arrested by police after a mental breakdown sees him yelling at children at a waterpark.
He’s not in the cells for long, however, as Deep is bailed out by Eagle the Archer (definitely not a copy of Marvel’s Hawkeye), who offers Deep a can of Fresca, the fruity soda made by the Coca-Cola company since the 1960s.
What’s strange about the scene, however, is how long and purposeful the shot of the Fresca can is.
The next scene introduces Deep to Carol, an associate of Eagle who also offers Deep a can of Fresca, again the camera hanging on the can for a suspiciously large amount of time.
And once more in episode 2, Eagle can be seen placing a whole two six-packs of Fresca onto the apartment’s kitchen table.
What is the significance of Fresca in The Boys?
After the opening three episodes, the presence of the Fresca soda would suggest a very obvious bout of product placement.
However, given the suspiciously large amount of time the camera holds on the Fresca cans, it would appear to be something more.
In episode 2, we can see that Carol has a clipboard that reads Church of the Collective which just screams that she’s a member of a cult.
Seemingly, and without realising, Deep looks to have got himself tangled up in a cult of some description who has a strange fascination with the drink, Fresca.
From what we’ve seen so far, it isn’t clear if the cans of Fresca have had anything added to them, drugging Deep, or if Carol and Eagle are just huge fans of the drink.
Speaking to Cinemablend, The Boys showrunner explained:
“Then Fresca just came from…honestly, I wish there was a deeper thought than it just became this running joke.
“We were laughing because we were thinking about like, ‘Okay, what does Eagle the Archer serve him to drink? Was it alcohol? No, no, he’s in this cult, and they don’t drink alcohol. What do they drink?’
“And I don’t know who said it, but someone was like, ‘Fresca! They drink Fresca!’ And we just started laughing, because for some reason, it seems like the drink of cult members, which I think is going to be their new advertising slogan next year: The Drink of Cult Members.
“It just seemed like something they drink, and so we just started putting it in more and more.
“You’ll see once you see the whole season, we keep that joke rolling all season long. That Fresca joke does not stop. It is right up until the very, very end of the show, we had Church of the Collective members drinking Fresca.”
Well, there you have it. According to The Boys’ showrunner, the Fresca soda is there as a running joke but we’ll have to wait to see episodes 4-8 to determine whether there’s anything more sinister at play with the drink or if the Church of the Collective cult are just huge Fresca fans.
The Boys season 2 began streaming on Amazon Prime Video on September 4th, 2020 with new episodes releasing weekly on Fridays.
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