Summary: Butcher makes a deal with Nina to spare Cherie and The Boys head to Russia to find something about BCL Red. Hughie finds out Butcher has been taking Compound V and wants some, but Butcher refuses. Butcher takes some as a contingency. Kimiko is forced to do a hit for Nina, and after it's done she expresses to Frenchie that she wants to leave and he agrees. The Boys check out the lab and are attacked. Butcher fights them off with his powers and Hughie reveals he injected some Compound V as well. They open a tank and find Soldier Boy, who has been modified. He deals a life-threatening injury to Kimiko before leaving. Edgar asks Neuman to speak against Homelander in public, but she betrays him instead. Homelander takes control of Vought, but Edgar still has the final word with him on the way out. Homelander gives Compound V to Neuman as payment, and she injects her daughter Zoe with it. Starlight is uncomfortable with her new role but grits her teeth through it. She tells Supersonic about the plan to kill Homelander. A-Train tries to bring up Blue Hawk but is shut down by Homelander and Deep. A-Train fights with Deep afterwards, angry that he sided with Homelander. Supersonic sees this and tells A-Train about the plan to kill Homelander. A-Train tells Homelander and Homelander kills him, showing Starlight the body and threatening her to comply and give up on any resistance against him.
The Good: This was an eventful episode, which is what I've come to expect from "The Boys". It's always enjoyable to follow the twists and turns that happen in the middle of the season, and this episode had plenty of good ones. While I personally prefer character-centric episodes, a plot-centric episode that features a lot of excitement is still something I enjoy. Look at how I enjoyed episodes like "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men" and "The Bloody Doors Off" in season 2. This episode feels like it is in a similar vein as those two with fewer storylines to cut between, tons of exciting action, and some exhilarating twists and turns. The Russian storyline is the centrepiece of the episode and it is consistently entertaining. At the emotional heart of the story, we have Hughie and Butcher's debate regarding taking the V24. Butcher continues to take it, but he understands that it is doing awful things to him and wants to spare HUghie from using it. But Hughie is going through a dangerous character arc right now. He has grown increasingly frustrated and jaded, so his own desire to get some power to fight with is superceding every other aspect of his character. So of course he injects V24 and revels in the rush of his newfound powers to the point of alienating himself from everyone else on the team. It's sad stuff. The episode built up to its climax in the lab when Butcher and Hughie use their powers, and everyone's reactions make it clear that this feels like a betrayal. It's crushingly sad to see how this added power has created such a rift within The Boys, and MM sadly remarking that they are no longer a team that he can hold together is very sad. Kimiko has been getting some focus this season and she deserves it. I just hope that she survives this ordeal so we can get more from her. She and Frenchie have gradually become disillusion with Butcher and everyone around them. It quickly becomes apparent that the only way for them to achieve the freedom that they have desired for so long is to leave everything else behind and live together peacefully. Kimiko being forced to do a hit for Butcher is what opens their eyes to the reality that they will never be able to live a life that they are happy with if they stay with The Boys; it will always be a case where they are forced to do awful things that they don't want to do, perpetuating the cycle that creates broken people like them. By leaving The Boys, these two would finally be able to find their inner peace and their happy ending. But as it always happens in TV shows, when characters find their inner peace there is always something bad coming their way. Kimiko's life is in serious danger after the encounter with Soldier Boy and we don't know if she's going to survive long enough to have this happy ending with Frenchie. It's sad, but this is a show that specializes in showing the horrors of this superhero-ridden world, so I never expected to see a happy ending with these two. Also, Kimiko killing someone with dildos made me chuckle. Homelander had a huge episode. After being second to Edgar for a long time, we finally see Homelander make his move and unseat the big fish definitively. Considering how Edgar's plan was coming along perfectly, I didn't see this coming at all and it caught me completely off guard to see Neuman betray him and side with Homelander. Of course, Edgar was not a supe and sooner or later he was going to find himself in trouble, but I did not expect it to happen so suddenly, and this was a great twist to start the episode. But in a fantastic moment, Edgar does not go down as passively as you would expect. As Homelander arrives to gloat, Edgar refuses to give him any satisfaction and takes pleasure in his early retirement, continuing to disrespect Homelander and acknowledging that it's only a matter of time before he will come to regret his actions. This was another fantastic scene between two fascinating characters that felt like Edgar leaving behind a curse that will haunt Homelander for however long he will maintain control of Vought. Starlight's naivety continues to be her undoing. We can see that she's getting better at playing the game and utilizing her power to her advantage; just look at how she has stood up to Homelander in recent episodes. Plus, she has the wherewithal to play music to disrupt his super-hearing, which is an excellent idea. But she is still naive, and that shows when she tells her plan to kill Homelander to Supersonic, somebody who does not understand exactly what kind of situation he is in. Supersonic believes that the members of The Seven are all heroes, when in reality they will not hesitate to sacrifice integrity to further their own desires. So as expected, Supersonic tells the secret plan to someone he shouldn't, and the result is a terrifying moment that ends up being the best scene of the episode (see: Best Moment). Deep and A-Train continue to be thoroughly entertaining as side characters. It felt like A-Train was turning a corner by focusing on Blue Hawk and trying to bring some love to the black community, something he really should have been doing this whole time. But of course, all it takes is the opportunity for him to get back in Homelander's good graces to immediately give up his newfound integrity and continue to be an awful person in a position of power. But you still can't help but feel bad for him. He was the one who took all the risks for Homelander to help with his supervillain plan, to the point of murdering his own girlfriend; he did all this just to watch Homelander side with Deep over him. It's brutal trying to retain power within The Seven. Speaking of Deep, he has become a hilarious beta male in between seasons. He's just a puppet to his wife's whim, and it's amusing to see him speak up against A-Train just because Cassandra understands how to play this game better than he does. Everyone's surprise at Deep actually making a good point is really funny, and this move set up a fantastic argument scene between Deep and A-Train which was written and filmed beautifully to feel venomous and personal. Great stuff. I appreciate the attention to detail with the Russian graffiti. There were a lot of clever creations on the buildings involving The Seven. The Bad: Nothing outright bad. This episode is action-packed and eventful but it is lacking in the emotion that made the last two episodes so good. As such, this episode is not on a higher level than those episodes like it aspired to be. This is just another consistent episode in what has been a consistent season that is yet to taste greatness. The Unknown: How will Homelander do as the new leader at Vought? How long will it take for him to run himself and the company into the ground? It's a matter of when, not if. Will Neuman be able to help him run the company? Or will his pride not allow for help from a woman who he believes is inferior? How much does Homelander know about Starlight's plan? Does he know that Maeve is involved? What else will he do to her to keep her in line? Will this mess everything up? Will Kimiko survive her injuries? Can she and Frenchie make it out like they want to? Will Zoe be able to handle the Compound V? She's too old to be getting injections right now. What happened to Soldier Boy? How did he end up in Russia? What happened in Nicaragua that led to this? Is there even a BCL Red since he is still alive? What new powers does he have? How was he able to cancel out Kimiko's regeneration? How will Homelander cover up Supersonic's death? Is A-Train back in his good books after telling him about Starlight's plan? Best Moment: Homelander showing Supersonic to Starlight was a terrifying moment. It goes from an unwanted joyride from a villain who can't afford to harm her into something much darker in the blink of an eye. Showing us Supersonic's mangled body was a major shock, and Homelander comes off an intimidating and terrifying with how he conducted himself while Starlight revels in her grief and guilt over what happened to him. This is exactly what makes Homelander such a great villain: his complete lack of empathy and humanity in situations like these coupled with his fake charming demeanour. Antony Starr and Erin Moriarty kill it, and you can't help but feel like Starlight is trapped in a cage of her own making with no way out at all. This is pure despair, written perfectly into the story. Character of the Episode: Homelander. Conclusion: This was an eventful episode with several twists and turns, and some intense moments. Season 3 has been very consistent in its storytelling, and while it hasn't hit that next level just yet, we've had very good stuff throughout these first four episodes. Hopefully the season's second half can deliver a stellar climax. Score: 69
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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