History Recap / TheBoysS01E05GoodForTheSoul

* MissingMom: Turns out Homelander wasn't spying on Madelyn because of a lactation kink, it's because he has ''severe'' mommy issues, and she's aware of this and more than happy to use it to control him.

* MetaphoricallyTrue: Hughie gets out of a couple of snags this way; when his mobile phone holding the video of Ezekiel having gay sex is busted, he claims that he was one of the men Ezekiel had sex with in the club. When Starlight is furious with Hughie using her to get the ticket to see Ezekiel, he admits that his girlfriend died recently and that he's looking for answers on how to deal with it.

** Starlight having to tell people that they shouldn't have sex before marriage, when in reality she believes that it is perfectly natural and normal, causes Starlight to go OffTheRails with her speech.

* TakeThat: Homelander's RousingSpeech to the audience at Believe Expo is basically a giant middle finger to everyone in the Bush administration

* ArmoredClosedGay: The Christian supe Ezekiel, who espouses right-wing religious fundamentalist rhetoric is the same guy that Hughie and Butcher saw having a threeway with two men at the club they visit in the first episode.

* HalfTruth: Hughie gets out of a couple of snags this way; when his mobile phone holding the video of Ezekiel having gay sex is busted, he claims that he was one of the men Ezekiel had sex with in the club. When Starlight is furious with Hughie using her to get the ticket to see Ezekiel, he admits that his girlfriend died recently and that he's looking for answers on how to deal with it.

* CrucifiedHeroShot: Invoked twice at the (appropriately enough) "Believe Expo." Ezekiel does it UpToEleven thanks to his stretchy arms, and Homelander appears this way hovering over the crowd. All part of selling the "Capes for Christ" angle to the conservative base.

* ImprovisedWeapon: UpToEleven with Butcher using a Supe baby with EyeBeams to take out three men armed with machine guns. Diabolical!

Popclaw is hiding in Havana when A-Train zips in to reveal that Stillwell has allowed them to go public about their relationship; the only condition is that Popclaw admits who she told about Compound V. Popclaw reveals that she doesn't know their names, but describes them to A-Train. After telling her he loves her, A-Train injects her with multiple doses of heroin, killing her. A-Train later reveals to Homelander at Seven Tower that Popclaw has died from a heroin overdose. Homelander questions A-Train's use of Compound V, with A-Train trying to convince Homelander that he isn't using anymore. A-Train promises to find The Female on prompt from Homelander.

Frenchie cooks a meal for The Female, trying to engage in conversation with her. The Female, however, is unwilling to talk and lunges at Frenchie, who's only saved by the fact that she's chained to the wall.

At the Believe Expo, Annie and Hughie continue to get to know each other. The Expo is being headed by the famous Christian supe Ezekiel, who is secretly hiding the fact that he's gay and is the Boys' next lead. Mother's Milk and Butcher survey the area for CCTV and security. Butcher shows Hughie a video from the club where Ezekiel was engaging in sexual acts with males. He tells Hughie that he must blackmail Ezekiel into revealing information about Compound V.

While Homelander gives a remembrance speech about those they couldn't save aboard Flight 37, Queen Maeve is angered, and leaves the speech early. Homelander tries to convince her that they did what they had to do, though Maeve is hesitant to agree.

Throughout her time in the Expo, Starlight feels increasingly uncomfortable with having to push Vought's agenda and lie about sex in the teen roundtable session she's made to head. Annie is left wondering if either the festival has changed or she's changed. Hughie asks her if she can get him a special pass to see Ezekiel; she reluctantly agrees. Homelander arrives at the festival, asking to see Stillwell; however, Ashley reveals that she isn't at the festival. Instantly, Homelander flies away, confronting Stillwell about the speech he has been given. Stillwell admits that the speech is geared towards getting The Seven into the military, which annoys Homelander, who is conscious of the fact that her son, Teddy, is getting in his way.

Butcher is visibly angry as he goes to visit Rachel, the sister of his wife Rebecca, who had gone missing several years ago. He is angry that they have purchased a headstone and a grave for Becca, despite never having found her body. Rachel says that their mother got it because she wants a way to talk to Becca. Butcher destroys the headstone.

Distraught after Popclaw's death, A-Train watches a movie of hers, and then switches to their sex tape. However, he is shocked to find that it has been overwritten by footage of Popclaw accidently killing her landlord. A-Train is able to see Butcher and Frenchie blackmailing her, and takes a still of Frenchie's face to Vought Crime Analytics. They reveal to A-Train and Black Noir that Frenchie is a man with a dozen aliases and 34 addresses. A-Train tells Trevor, the tech guy, not to get involved.

At Ezekiel's meet, Homelander questions how Hughie knows Starlight. They hold a baptizing, in which Homelander uses this opportunity to hold Hughie underwater for an extended period of time, presumably as a threat. Once Homelander leaves, Hughie tries to show Ezekiel the video, but finds his phone has suffered water damage and no longer works. Hughie improvises, pretending to be one of the men Ezekiel had sex with at the supe sex club. Initially, Ezekiel denies this and tries to choke Hughie, only stopping when Hughie tells him that he has friends ready to post videos of their hookup online. Hughie blackmails Ezekiel into revealing everything he knows about Compound V. Hughie reveals what he has found to Mother's Milk and Butcher, including the location of the latest shipment.

Homelander gives a speech at the end of the festival, however, much to Stillwell's dismay — who watches from Seven Tower — Homelander strays from the script, admitting that he answers to a higher power and will not wait for Congress's approval to protect America.

Distraught and experiencing guilt over the deaths of those aboard Flight 37, Maeve visits her ex-girlfriend, Elena. She breaks down, admitting that she can no longer deal with the guilt and has returned to drinking. When Elena asks her to explain, however, Maeve tries to kiss her instead. After Elena refuses, Maeve realizes this was a bad idea and leaves suddenly.

Cherie calls Frenchie, revealing that Black Noir was just outside of her apartment. Realizing Vought is onto him, Frenchie asks which location they have, to which she responds that they more than likely have them all.

At the hospital, Mother's Milk and Butcher try to intercept the shipment of Compound V. They receive a call from Frenchie, who admits that he has been compromised and needs to take off. Butcher tells him to leave The Female, which leaves Frenchie worried about what Black Noir and A-Train will do if they find her. He decides to at least undo her chains, and she leaves quickly.

Starlight is forced to go onstage despite her reservations and reads from a teleprompter script. The script talks about her acceptance of God, but as it goes on, she becomes visibly annoyed and asks for the music to be stopped. She reveals to the audience that she doesn't believe the script she's been given and admits to having been sexually assaulted, feeling her faith has been shaken as a result.

Following the shipment address, Butcher and M.M. find a hospital injecting newborns with Compound V through an intravenous line. They are shocked to find that Supes are engineered in a lab, not born the way they are.

Starlight and Hughie enter into a heated argument, with Starlight admitting that she didn't appreciate him using her to get to Ezekiel. Hughie apologizes, confessing to her about how Robin died and he is just looking for a way out.

Butcher extracts some of the Compound V from the IV bag, when they are interrupted by men shooting at them with assault rifles. Billy grabs a baby with laser eye beam powers and uses the baby to kill all of the guards before he and M.M. make their escape.

On CCTV, Stillwell notices Homelander watching her through the wall. She invites him in, mockingly asking if he is lonely. She warns about the speech he gave and has him lie on the couch.

On the run, Frenchie encounters Black Noir, but is saved by The Female, who uses her super speed to knock Black Noir over. The two fight, and Black Noir is able to get the upper hand, leaving The Female lying in the road, eviscerated. Frenchie returns to find The Female, apparently dead. Suddenly, she breathes and her body starts healing itself.

* KnifeNut: Black Noir carries a lot of knives and is happy to use them to kill people.