In season 3 episode 8 of The Boys, the anti-supe group, Soldier Boy and Homelander all gear up for one final battle that could change everything. The episode is now streaming on Prime Video.
Recap
Homelander has managed to figure out Ryan’s location after getting intel from Victoria in the last episode. He consoles Ryan about the death of Stormfront and Becca at the end of season 2, winning over the boy.
After Starlight’s supporters force a search warrant against Vought, the employees quickly attempt to move Queen Maeve but she wakes up midway and escapes.
Hughie is worried about Soldier Boy being Homelander’s father but Butcher feels since he didn’t raise him, he would go through with their deal.
Frenchie gets his hands on a dose of Novichok, the nerve agent that the Russians used to subdue Soldier Boy when they held him captive.
Black Noir returns with the intention to kill Soldier Boy and Homelander welcomes him back with open arms.
Not wanting him to suffer the same fate as him, Butcher tells Hughie he greatly resembles his little brother before knocking him out to save him from ingesting more of Temp V, which would be fatal.
The Boys, joined by Starlight and Queen Maeve, decide to save the innocent employees at The Vought from Soldier Boy. Hughie also manages to convince them that they need to save Butcher as well.
Before their attack, Soldier Boy tells Butcher about how his own father felt he was a disappointment and he felt he could do a better job of raising a child.
After Black Noir confesses to Homelander that he knew about Soldier Boy being his father, he kills him on the spot without a second thought as his imaginary cartoon friends bid him goodbye.
Butcher and Soldier Boy ambush The Boys and although Hughie attempts to convince Butcher, Queen Maeve actually sides with the two and throws away the Novichok. The three lock the rest up and leave for Vought.
Homelander declares he does not need A-Train or The Deep but the latter is tasked with killing the VP candidate so that Victoria can become the new VP as per their deal in the previous episode.
While there is no electricity for Starlight to power up, the rest use the torchlight on their phones to give her enough power and they break out.
Soldier Boy, Butcher and Maeve arrive but Homelander tries to appeal to Soldier Boy directly, even introducing him to his grandson, Ryan.
However, Soldier Boy thinks he turned out weak because he was not there to raise him and attacks him. As Butcher and Queen Maeve restrict him, Soldier Boy is about to unleash his deadly blast but Ryan intervenes to save his father.
Soldier Boy quickly knocks him out as a response. While Homelander’s guard is down as he tends to Ryan, Soldier Boy attempts to kill both of them but Butcher knocks him away as he does not want the kid to die.
Maeve battles Homelander while Butcher fights Soldier Boy. With Soldier Boy gaining the upper hand over his opponent, The Boys intervene.
Frenchie creates a dose of Novichok in the lab and tasks Kimiko with delivering it to The Boys. She arrives and finds a full-blown battlefield.
Starlight faces Soldier Boy directly and Hughie watches this on video. Choosing not to use more of the fatal Temp V, he saves Starlight by switching the lights to maximum capacity.
Now powered up by the electricity, Starlights gains a new form as she floats mid-air and blasts Soldier Boy away. The rest capture him and M.M. applies Novichok to subdue him.
Maeve actually gains some ground in her battle but looking at Soldier Boy escaping their grasp and about to kill Starlight, she pushes him out the window and the two are caught in a wild mid-air explosion.
In the aftermath, Ryan chooses to be with Homelander instead of Butcher, who loses consciousness due to the effects of Temp V. After he wakes up in the hospital, the doctor tells him he has 1 year or 8 months at the most to live.
Starlight finds Queen Maeve, who is alive but now a human due to the effects of Soldier Boy’s powers. She leaves the country with her girlfriend, Elena.
The Boys invite Starlight to join her. Butcher arrives at their office and all of them look at nethe ws of Victoria becoming the new VP as Butcher declares she needs to be eliminated.
Homelander introduces Ryan to his fans as his son. A hostile person in the crowd throws a can at Homelander but it hits Ryan instead. Furious, he murders him with his laser.
Shockingly, his fans seem to love him even more for this, which gives Homelander the startling realisation that he can actually kill people and his fans don’t mind.
Looking at the reaction, even Ryan gives a faint smile as he continues his transition into a spitting image of Homelander.
Review
- The episode is quite exhilarating and definitely is one of the best season finales of the show, if not the greatest outright.
- We also get the best fight of the series as multiple humans and supes battle it out with the stakes at an all-time high.
- Butcher’s character development finally hits home as he decides to save Hughie. There’s definitely some good left inside him even with his inevitable death looming.
- It feels like the show has entered its last leg with barely any members of The Seven left. A number of them were killed in the season, while Maeve and Starlight have exited.
- A highlight of the action-filled episodes is Frenchie’s rebellion against Butcher and one of the most hilarious scenes in the show so far.
Rating: 4.5/5
Also Read: The Boys season 3 episode 7 recap & review: Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed
