History Recap / TheBoysS03E08TheInstantWhiteHotWild

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: The Starlight supporter that attacks Ryan gets killed by Homelander. However, his death in front of Homelander's crowd, who still cheer for him despite committing murder, makes John realize that his fanbase will let him get away with literally anything. In other words, he really can do "whatever the fuck he wants" now.

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: A happier and more joyful (Though no less horrific) take on the trope than normal, but this is very much Homelander's reaction when he kills a Starlight supporter at a public rally and the crowd actually ''applaud'' him for it, realizing that he can actually get away with murder in broad daylight.

* YouHaveGotToBeKiddingMe: A happier and more joyful take on the trope than normal, but this is very much Homelander's reaction when he kills a Starlight supporter at a public rally and the crowd actually ''applaud'' him for it, realizing that he can actually get away with murder in broad daylight.

* AlasPoorVillain:
** A-Train asks his brother to be his trainer again and promises he'll make it up to him for getting crippled. However, Nate tells Reggie to get out of his house and never come back when he reveals he murdered Blue Hawk while claiming no matter what he does to make things up, Reggie will make things worse.
** It's impossible not to feel bad for Black Noir as he bleeds out from the stomach wound Homelander gave him, as his cartoon animals reassure him he's going to heaven.
** The Deep can only watch from his TV as his ex-wife, Cassandra, comes out with her book on live news, telling the "abuse" she went through while they were married. The poor guy looks like he's about to cry as he's stuffing his face with junk food as his life falls apart (again). While you could say Kevin deserved it for being a kiss-up to Homelander and becoming an arrogant jerk again, you can't help but feel bad for him.

* AlasPoorVillain: It's impossible not to feel bad for Black Noir as he bleeds out from the stomach wound Homelander gave him, as his cartoon animals reassure him he's going to heaven.

* TooDumbToLive: A Starlight fanatic throws a water bottle at Ryan in the presence of his father. For Homelander, who had been a SlaveToPR for three seasons straight, [[PapaWolf this proves to be the final straw,]] and he blows the guy's brains out with his EyeBeams in full view of dozens of onlookers.

** All the work The Deep endured to restore his stature and get back in the Seven is all for naught after Kevin cheats on Cassandra [[ItMakesSenseInContext with an octopus]], and she comes out with a book telling how he "abused" her on the news. Kevin is back to square one as his life is (one again) ruined by another woman he wronged.

* AllForNothing: Butcher spent most of the season trying to find something that can kill Homelander and he found it in the form of Soldier Boy. But after all the multiple deaths and infighting amongst the Boys, Soldier Boy was prevented from killing Homelander because Ryan got involved and Butcher didn't want him hurt, so he gives up on the idea of using Soldier Boy. To add insult to injury, Butcher taking too many Temp V ends up giving him 12-18 months to live and he loses Ryan to Homelander who starts to take to Homelander's way of thinking.

* PostStressOvereating: The Deep gobbles down lots of junk food as Cassandra comes out with her book, telling the "abuse" she endured under him. Kevin can only watch this from his TV as his life (once again) crumbles.

* BetterToDieThanBeKilled: Soldier Boy tries to kill himself and [[TakingYouWithMe everyone else in the building]] by charging a nuclear blast rather then let himself be captured again. Maeve stops him by tackling him out the window, redirecting the explosion into open air.

* BetterToDieThenBeKilled: Soldier Boy tries to kill himself and [[TakingYouWithMe everyone else in the building]] by charging a nuclear blast rather then let himself be captured again. Maeve stops him by tackling him out the window, redirecting the explosion into open air.

* EyePatchOfPower: Discussed by Maeve when she asks Annie if she should get a pirate patch or a glass eye for her gouged-out eye.
* EyeScream: Maeve has her eye gouged out by Homelander during their fight at Vought Tower

* DrowningMySorrows: A non-alcoholic example. The Deep gobbles down lots of junk food as Cassandra comes out with her book, telling the "abuse" she endured under him. Kevin can only watch this from his TV as his life (once again) crumbles.

* DrowningMySorrows: A non-alcoholic example. The Deep gobbles down tons of junk food as Cassandra comes out with her book, exposing the "abuse" she endured under The Deep. Kevin can only watch this from his TV as his life (once again) falls apart.

* GroinAttack: Maeve does this to Homelander as he's gouging her eye out.

* CurbStompCushion: Queen Maeve's battle with Homelander is this. While she's strong enough to stagger him and even give him a bloody nose, being the first character in the series to actually make him bleed, she ultimately stands no chance against him. The reason why she even got a few hits in was because Homelander was more focused on protecting Ryan than on her, and when he decides to fight seriously, Maeve loses an eye.

* HeartbreakAndIceCream: At the end, we see the Deep treating himself to some sweets while watching his ex on TV.

* MagicAIsMagicA: Starlights powers are based redirecting electricity and light into energy pulses, and in the second season she was largely powerless when the group was stranded in a remote forest. In the climactic fight Hughie was able to give her a power-up by blasting studio lights to maximum intensity, which [[PowerFloats causes her to float in the air]].
* MinorInjuryOverreaction: Ryan's eye beam gives Soldier Boy [[FirstBlood his first genuine injury]] of the fight in a small cut, this prompts him to change targets from Homelander to Ryan charging him with his shield and going in for a Nuclear Pulse right after.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: By choosing to protect Ryan by fighting Soldier Boy instead of simply moving the boy to safety, Butcher completely blows their chances of beating Homelander.

* DePowered: Maeve rescues everyone at Vought Tower, but in doing so absorbs Soldier Boy's blast and loses her powers. [[IJustWantToBeNormal She isn't complaining.]]

* RemovedAchillesHeel: In prior seasons, Homelander's obsessive need to [[IJustWantToBeLoved be adored and praised in the public eye]] was one of the only fetters actually keeping him in check from using his powers to do whatever he wanted and going on unstoppable rampages if ever the mood took him. By season's end, he accidentally kills a Starlight supporter in broad daylight at a public rally as an impulsive reaction to them hitting Ryan with a water bottle, and discovers his popularity and public image have become strong enough that he now has crowds of supporters who are willing to literally applaud him for committing murder. His ear-to-ear smile shows that he's fully willing to embrace the fact that he doesn't need to fear public scrutiny and criticism for his actions anymore.

** Soldier Boy is furious that Butcher convinced Soldier Boy to kill his own son when the latter was initially hesitant but stops the whole operation to save his "stepson" Ryan, who isn't even biologically related to him.

* SpannerInTheWorks: The plan to have Soldier Boy kill Homelander falls apart because Homelander brought Ryan with him to Vought Tower to show Soldier Boy he has a grandson. When Soldier Boy tries to blast Homelander, Ryan stops him with his laser vision, and when Soldier Boy hits Ryan for interfering, Butcher fights back against him and they lost their chance to take down Homelander for good.

* AllForNothing: Butcher spent most of the season trying to find something that can kill Homelander and he found it in the form of Soldier Boy. But after all the multiple deaths and infighting amongst the Boys, Soldier Boy was prevented from killing Homelander because Ryan got involved and Butcher didn't want him hurt so he gives up on the idea of using Soldier Boy. To add insult to injury, Butcher taking too many Temp V ends up giving him 12-18 months to live and he loses Ryan to Homelander who starts to take to Homelander's way of thinking.

* HeroicSacrifice: Queen Maeve gave up her life to defeat Soldier Boy.....is what the news says. She survived but was [[DePower de-powered]]...[[IJustWantToBeNormal not that she minds]].

* WeCanRuleTogether: Homelander tries to win over Soldier Boy but the latter is not interesting.

* WreckedWeapon: Soldier Boy's shield gets shattered due to Butcher lasering it until it was malleable enough to break with a single punch.