This week, The Boys finally returns after a college hiatus for another season of violent satire. You remember what happened, right?

Polygon has been watching the upcoming season of The Boys — looking forward to a lot more about it in the coming weeks — and as we studied to remember where things ended, a funny thing happened. We were a little pumped at the thought of rewatching The Boys. For all its ridiculous youth, the series remains a surprisingly thought-provoking drama, with breakneck pacing that actually rewards a re-watch. And with only a handful of eight-episode seasons, a rerun seems extremely possible.

But maybe you just have time for the new, or just want a guided meditation on things you should know. That's what this piece is here for. Consider this a quick, spoiler-free syllabus of what to brush up on, because with a show as propulsive as The Boys, it can be easy to miss the finer details in the constant rain of blood and other fluids.

Three seasons and a couple of spin-offs over five years is a lot of ground to cover, even with streaming's shortened episodes. Even if you have a good enough grasp of The Boy's big narrative arcs, the show has reached a comfortable place where it's built out its world enough that it can lean on its own story and remix it in interesting ways. Of course, the most important thing on The Boys will always be what's happening right now, so you won't be lost at sea without brushing up. It's just awesome to see how far we've come.