Amazon TV series "The Boys" introduces the Church of the Collective, a Scientology doppelgänger

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Screen Rant: The Boys Theory: Vought & The Church Of The Collective Are Working Together

Season 2 of The Boys has introduced the Church of the Collective, and now episode 7 hints at the possibility that the Church is working with Vought.

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The Boys season 2 introduced the Church of the Collective, a parody of Scientology and The Deep’s storyline for the season - but it's possible they're working with Vought. So far, The Deep and the Church have been kept separated from the main plot, but episode 7 might’ve hinted that Vought and the Church of the Collective are, in fact, working together. And their plans involve The Deep, A-Train, and Vought’s Compound V experiments on adults discovered by the Boys in episode 6, “The Bloody Doors Off”.

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Gamespot: The Boys Season 2 Episode 7: 34 Easter Eggs And Comics References You Might Have Missed

The Boys Season 2 Episode 7: 34 Easter Eggs And Comics References You Might Have Missed - GameSpot

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20. Toxic personality

Alistair informs The Deep and A-Train that Eagle the Archer, who appeared in episodes earlier this season, is now a "toxic personality" as far as the Church of the Collective is concerned. This is a play on the Scientology concept of a "suppressive person," which is what Scientologists label anyone who leaves the cult or speaks out against it.

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Oh, please dear Xenu no, please don't let this be real world foreshadowing.

Vulture: The Boys Season-Finale Recap: Thoughts and Prayers


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Stan Edgar, the head of Vought, is meeting with Alastair Adana, the leader of the Church of the Collective, revealing the connection between the most powerful corporation in this world and the show’s version of Scientology
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Space Spores!

Gamespot: The Boys Season 2 Finale: Everything You Might Have Missed In Episode 8

The Boys Season 2 Finale: Everything You Might Have Missed In Episode 8 - GameSpot

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27. Space spores

The Deep references part of the Church of the Collective's beliefs during his rant to Alistair, relating to humanity being born from "space spores." This is a reference to Scientology's core belief tenets, which involve aliens and are pretty far out

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The phrase "pretty far out" links to:

The Most Ridiculous Things Scientologists Really Believe

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The Mary Sue: We Need To Talk About That Twist Reveal on The Boys’ Season Two Finale

We Need To Talk About That Twist Reveal on The Boys’ Season Two Finale

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In the last few minutes of The Boys, we see Goran Visnjic’s Alistair Adana—a sort of David Miscavige string-puller figure in the show’s version of Scientology—on the phone with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit).

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Starloggers: The Boys’ Second Season Beats The Sophomore Curse

The Boys’ Second Season Beats The Sophomore Curse

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There is another percolating subplot concerning a cult, called the Church of the Collective, modeled on Scientology, that has strong sociopolitical ties. Two former members of the Seven, A-Train (Jesse T. Usher) and the Deep (Chace Crawford) become members of the church and through them we see its hypocrisy and corruptive influence. It is clear the Church of the Collective will have more screen time in the next season as will Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit), an anti-superhero politician with her own agenda.

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In season three of the Amazon TV series "The Boys," the character The Deep is "gonna be like Leah Remini in fighting back against the cult."

IGN: The Boys Season 3 Will See The Deep Fight Back Against the Cult

"He’s gonna be like Leah Remini..."

https://www.ign.com/articles/the-boys-season-3-will-see-the-deep-fight-back-against-the-cult

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Kripke likened The Deep to "the Forrest Gump of Hollywood trends" in that he always seems to be caught up in something newsworthy. "In Season 1, he was embroiled in a #MeToo moment. And in Season 2, we’re like, 'All right — he should be like Allison Mack and go join a cult,'" said Kripke.

"And then in season three he’s gonna be like Leah Remini in fighting back against the cult," Kripke added, referencing Remini's series depicting her fight against Scientology. "He’s just going to keep blowing through these different Hollywood points. The idea of him trying to self-realize when he’s just such an idiot was entertaining to us."

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The Hollywood Reporter: "We’re Living in the Dumbest Dystopia": 'The Boys' Boss on His Superhero Hit


"Superheroes Are Inherently MAGA": 'The Boys' Boss on His Zeitgeisty Hit | Hollywood Reporter


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The Hollywood Reporter caught up with the show's 46-year-old creator, Eric Kripke (also creator of the long-running CW hit Supernatural), to explore the show's anti-fascist underpinnings, its jabs at Hollywood cults like Scientology and NXIVM and why Marvel movies led to a leader like Donald Trump. [Some season two spoilers follow.]

[SNIP]

There’s a few things that resonated with me this season that I’d like to talk about: First is the Church of the Collective. Is that something from the comics or your own creation?

We came up with it. It’s a combination of a couple different Hollywood fringe religions or cults. There’s a little bit of NXIVM in there. Everyone says, "Oh, that’s Scientology." It’s actually a smoothie of a bunch of different ones.
It mostly came about because we love writing for The Deep. For us, The Deep is the Forrest Gump of Hollywood trends. So in season one, he was embroiled in a #MeToo moment. And in season two, we’re like, "All right — he should be like Allison Mack and go join a cult." And then in season three he’s gonna be like Leah Remini in fighting back against the cult. He’s just going to keep blowing through these different Hollywood points. The idea of him trying to self-realize when he’s just such an idiot was entertaining to us
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Business Insider NL: What we know so far about season 3 of ‘The Boys’




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The Deep will fight the Church of the Collective, similar to a real-life celebrity

The Deep’s (Chace Crawford) season two journey centered on him joining the Church of the Collective after reaching rock-bottom in Sandusky, Ohio. The church, which is more like a cult, promised the supe that he’d be able to earn his spot back in The Seven if he followed their teachings.

By the end of the season, The Deep was left disgruntled with the church after learning that A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) would be reinstated in The Seven instead of him. Plus, he signed over his bank accounts to the church and married a woman they selected for him.

[Showrunner Eric ] Kripke told The Hollywood Reporter that next season, The Deep is “gonna be like Leah Remini in fighting back against the cult.”

Remini left Scientology in 2013 and has since slammed the organization in her 2015 memoir, “Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology,” and her Emmy-winning docuseries, “Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath.”

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CBR: The Boys Season 2: 10 Biggest Changes From The Comics


https://www.cbr.com/the-boys-season-2-biggest-changes-comics/


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The Church is obviously supposed to be similar to the Church of Scientology, which is also known to be a controversial "religion" that persecutes and discredits members who leave, similar to what happened to Eagle the Archer in the show. Deep also makes a reference to Scientology's story of Xenu, saying "And when I found out we're all just space spores, I didn't laugh."

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Filmpocalypse: 7 Easter Eggs and references in The Boys Season 2


7 Easter Eggs and references in The Boys Season 2


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3. Scientology?

The Church of the Collective seems to be their version of the Scientologists.

Here is a comparison on their similarities:

Scientology


The Church of the Collective


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National Review: The Brilliant, Scabrous Satire of The Boys


The Brilliant, Scabrous Satire of The Boys | National Review


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That wife-auditioning sequence, and many others, call to mind the Church of Scientology’s influence over the industry; in the show, the “Church of the Collective” is deeply ingrained in the workings of Vought International just as Scientology exercises influence in Hollywood. On the surface it seems harmless, but behind the scenes it deploys weird control techniques and keeps files on the dirty secrets of its members.

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I have regularly posted stories recognizing that The Church of the Collective in the Amazon TV series "The Boys" is a parody or satire of Scientology.

Scientology apologist Massimo Introvigne, the founder of CESNUR, has responded to these stories.

Bitter Winter: From Charlie Hebdo to “The Boys”: “Freedom of Expression” vs. Religious Liberty

Where exactly lies the limit between free speech and hate speech that offends members of a religion? Many discuss Charlie Hebdo—but it is not the only case. The Boys is another pop culture example.

by Massimo Introvigne

StackPath

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There is one paradigmatic case illustrating these problems. It concerns the American TV series “The Boys,” airing since 2019 through Amazon Prime Video.

[SNIP]

Mainline religion is protected by its being mainline, which is not a reason to gratuitously offend it. It is much worse when religious minorities are attacked. “The Boys” TV series has a subplot involving something called Church of the Collective, a manipulative “cult” that manages to lure two of the superheroes. Eventually, the Church’s leader dies when his head explodes in an incident caused by a congresswoman, and former CIA agent’s, own superpowers.

[SNIP]

As for the Church of the Collective, Kripke publicly stated that any similarity between this fictional religion and the Church of Scientology “may be entirely coincidental and have nothing to do with satirizing (or condemning) the practices of Scientology.”

This statement notwithstanding, a quick Google search would lead to the conclusion that media have interpreted the Church of the Collective as a parody of Scientology. Those hostile to Scientology also used “The Boys” as a tool to promote a negative image of this new religion.

It would appear that the problem here lies with certain media, yet the scriptwriters, directors, and producers of “The Boys” are not entirely innocent. Just as they did with respect to Christian Evangelical large events with their fictional Believe Expo, with the Church of the Collective, they incorporated a number of anti-Scientology myths into story lines about a fictional religion. Those even only vaguely familiar with anti-Scientology literature would recognize it for what it is, and could easily view the hate speech against Scientology as vindicated and validated by a popular TV show.

Some may object that, unlike in other instances where hate speech has resulted in violence against religious minorities, nobody has been killed because of “The Boys.” Maybe, but in recent years there have been several violent incidents where members of the Church of Scientology have been attacked by individuals who had been persuaded by television shows and extreme websites that Scientology is an evil that should be stopped.

On January 3, 2019, a teenager broke into the premises of the Church of Scientology in Sydney, Australia, believing that his mother, who was participating in Church activities there, was in danger and had to be “rescued.” While he was being escorted out of the building, he stabbed a Scientologist to death, and seriously wounded another. There is little doubt that TV and web accounts of Scientology played a role in motivating the violent actions of this youth.

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