After the tremendous offering that Herogasm was to the world of The Boys, showrunners had a high bar to reach with their follow-up. Whilst it didn’t quite reach the dizzying heights of its predecessor, the penultimate episode of Season 3 still managed to impress thanks to some rich storytelling and, a twist that left everybody’s jaws on the floor.
With Starlight telling her legions of fans that she is giving up her role in The Seven, along with her moniker, Vought News Network is going into overdrive to throw their former leading lady under the bus. Meanwhile, Soldier Boy is making the likes of Wayne Rooney proud with his escapades at the home of his former producer, The Legend. Proving to be a hard man to keep under control, he’s determined to finish the job of eliminated his former teammates, no matter the cost.
Then there’s Homelander, who’s feeling more vulnerable than ever after his tussle with Soldier Boy, and a V-24 Suped-up Butcher and Hughie. Now completely aware of what his adversary is capable of, he’s on the backfoot for the first time in his life and so, takes a moment to try and beat up on Maeve who is being held captive at Vought Tower. Here, he tells her that she will be kept alive so that her eggs can be harvested and he can have them fertilised to produce Supe-kids. Just when you think he can’t go lower, he does.
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Antony Starr is excelling in his role here. With just small flickers of movement, he is able to convey a vast array of emotions with subtle facial expressions. There’s no doubt he is one of the finest talents of this current generation and The Boys is lucky to have him. Let’s just hope his fellow castmates were joking when they all said he was the actor most like his on-screen character!
We’ve also got to mention just how multi-faceted a performer Karl Urban has proven to be throughout this series and especially here, reliving some of the darkest moments of his life and one stage in particular, which culminated in his younger brother taking his own life. Throughout the majority of episodes to-date, Butcher has maintained a steely sense of self, only letting those walls fall down when those he loves are threatened. Seeing his emotions boil over after having to go through his past trauma all over again due to Mindstorm’s torture was a real showcase of the vulnerability that lurks beneath Butcher’s surface.
What didn’t really work this episode, was the use of the animated characters to help tell Black Noir’s backstory. We were always going to need another party to help us understand exactly why the Supe has ended up how he is, but portraying him as having a childlike state of mind and a need for acceptance by imaginary friends really doesn’t match up with the macho youngster we saw in past flashbacks to his time as part of Soldier Boy’s original Supe team.
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It's clear that the story is heading in a massively chaotic direction. The country is divided on whether or not they believe the Supes really have their best interests at heart, reflecting much of the real situation in the United States right now when it comes to their warring political factions. Homelander does everything in his power to smear Annie, even accusing her of human trafficking, whilst insisting that the mainstream media is lying about Vought and refuses to report the truth. It’s all very Trumpian stuff and at times, hard to stomach.
Then came the mother of all twists. Back in the early 80s, Soldier Boy was called into the lab to give a semen deposit and, with that, Homelander was created. Yup, despite being frozen in time and not looking nearly old enough, Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father.
"You know what the bitch of it is? If they had just kept me around, I would have let you take the spotlight," says Soldier Boy. "What father wouldn't want that for his son?"
Jaws are on the floor. What will this complicated new dynamic mean for the pair’s relationship moving forward? Is there hope for a joyous family reunion? Can Kimiko cope with regaining her powers? And will Hughie continue taking V-24, putting his risk at life, after Butcher refused to tell him the truth about Annie’s discovery? Hopefully, next week’s season finale will have some answers for us!
Oh, and that blossoming relationship between Kimiko and Frenchie remains one of the sweetest television events of all time. Long may it last!
The Boys Season 3 concludes next Friday, July 8th, 2022 on Prime Video. All episodes of Seasons 1-3 (bar the S3 finale) are available to stream now exclusively on the Amazon platform.