Awesome / The Boys (2019)

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"Scorched earth!"

As a cynical and violent R-rated deconstruction of the superhero genre, The Boys (2019) is filled with awesome moments.

The Boys (2019)

Season One

Episode 1 - "The Name Of The Game"

• Our introduction to this world. Two teens talk about which superhero movie they're more excited for (Invisible Force 2 starring Translucent, or Rising Tide starring The Deep), and which hero could kick the other's ass when a hijacked armored truck starts careening down the street. We get a few quick glimpses of someone in pursuit, leaping off tumbling, wrecked cars and running along the sides of buildings. The kids are down, the armored truck barreling straight towards them, and Queen Maeve lands between them and it, stopping it with her body... which cuts halfway through the truck before it comes to a stop (and she looks gorgeous doing it, too). She finishes with one of the robbers in the back, but two in the front are holding the boys hostage. She just smiles... and Homelander melts one gun with his heat vision, then strolls casually toward the other robber as he empties his sub-machine gun at his bulletproof chest. Homelander picks the last robber up with one hand, then hurls him straight up. He lands several seconds later a block away.
• Hughie, through sheer force of will, chokes down a panic attack on seeing A-Train in Vought Tower, shakes his hand, graciously accepts his apology, and proceeds with the mission (he bungles it later, but that had absolutely nothing to do with the giant brass balls he demonstrates in this moment).
• Butcher having a lovely Guile Hero moment as he's getting his ass kicked by Translucent. Butcher spits his own blood onto him, making Translucent visible. Once he can be seen, it almost becomes a Curb-Stomp Battle in Butcher's favor.
• Hughie remembering Translucent's invisibility works via a carbon metamaterial on his skin, and that carbon is very conductive, allowing Hughie to subdue Translucent via electrical shock to the ass.
  • Butcher, to his credit, immediately realizes what Hughie's trying to do with the short power cable and kicks the distracted Translucent into the exposed wiring.

Episode 2 - "Cherry"

• Frenchie lying to Homelander's face. Made retroactively more awesome when a later episode confirms Homelander's enhanced senses mean he can literally detect when people are stressed and lying. Frenchie, in a high stress situation, with Translucent 100 feet away, Billy in the back and Homelander directly in front of him? Doesn't break a sweat.
  • The way he lies to Homelander also shows how clever Frenchie is. He pretends to be a star-struck Homelander fan. Homelander thinks all his followers are dumb and easy to manipulate, and because he’s trying to find Translucent, he clearly isn’t in the mood to sign any autographs. Frenchie used Homelander’s own narcissism against him.
• After silently listening to the Deep's complaining about his position in the Seven and making light of the sexual assault he made on her when he finally notices she's upset, Starlight gets fed up and gives him the verbal putdown he deserves.
  Deep: [about Starlight's silence] Is this about the other night? Jesus christ. Cry me a fucking river, all right? I took my share of shit when I first got here okay? Besides, you had had a crush on me, remember-?
  Starlight: That gives you no right- zero right - to do what you did, you pathetic asshole!
  Deep: Hey, you shut your fucking mouth.
  Starlight: Or what? You'll sic a grouper on me?
  Deep: I'll tell everyone you're a psycho. I'll go to Homelander.
  Starlight: No, you won't. See I asked around; you're not number two around here. You're just the fish guy. Everyone thinks you're a joke. Me most of all. I cannot believe I fell for your crap.
  Deep: You stuck-up, little-
  Starlight: You ever touch me again, (Glowing Eyes of Doom) I will burn your eyes out. Understand me?
• After appearing to convince Hughie to spare him and let him go, Translucent walks off, looking pretty cocky and sure of himself... and then Hughie blows him up.

Episode 3 - "Get Some"

• Queen Maeve sparring with three big, burly guys, and wiping the floor with them. One of them lands hit on her face with an aluminum baseball bat, and she doesn't get so much as a fat lip.
• Billy staring down Homelander during the A-Train vs. Shockwave race. It’s like seeing a Greek citizen threaten Zeus. Homelander even seems a bit unnerved by it. Epic.
  • It’s also a MOA for the writers because we still don’t know the history between these two characters at this point in the show, so it’s great foreshadowing of what’s to come.

Episode 4 - "The Female Of The Species"

• The plane scene. Not only is it a fairly faithful recreation of the kinda-sorta failure to stop the 9/11 attacks from the comics, but it actually goes much better here... if Homelander hadn't been quite so trigger happy with his heat vision, they could have pulled it off. And the scene itself is brilliantly executed, well worth the price of admission on its own. Special note to the performances of both Antony Starr as Homelander and Dominique McElligott as Maeve, making the whole thing Nightmare Fuel and Tear Jerker respectively.
• Frenchie piecing together clues to get inside The Female's head and figure out her motivation. Shows some Batman-level deductive reasoning, as well as a keen gut instinct.
  • Not to mention it's the third time (including mouthing off to Translucent and easily lying to Homelander) he's shown a complete lack of anything like fear for the Supes and their ability to tear him limb from limb. Even the maniacal Billy has a few moments of recognising he's outmatched and reacting accordingly but Frenchie doesn't seem to be afraid of anything. This includes his second attempt to just approach Kimiko and speak with her in the tunnel, approaching her completely alone, without even the sedative gas bomb to hand. He's shown some fear of Black Noir, but then, who wouldn't?
• A villainous one for Homelander, managing to spin the horribly botched rescue of Flight 37 (which was entirely his fault, mind) into a win for Vought by spinning the story that, because Homelander and Maeve weren't apprised of the situation, they arrived too late to do anything about it, and if they had been officially in the loop. . . say, by being contracted for national defense. . . then no one would have died. Quite the impressive bit of improv, complete with Crocodile Tears.

Episode 5 - "Good For The Soul"

• Butcher sends Hughie to blackmail Ezekiel, the first step of which is getting Starlight to pull strings to get him a $15,000 ticket to his VIP event pro bono. They have some footage of "Pray The Gay Away" Ezekiel banging dudes three at a time in a private Supe club. When the time comes, the phone won't load the video (thanks to getting waterlogged due to an unanticipated baptism by Homelander), but Hughie improvises, remembering what he saw that night and pretending he was one of the guys Ezekiel was diddling. Hughie gets exactly what he came for. Ezekiel's stretchy powers may not be the most impressive among Supes, but he was still more than capable of taking Hughie out... and Hughie walks away intact, and with the information.
  Hughie: Here's how this is gonna go. You're gonna tell me, or that video, trends, number one on Twitter. Tonight. And you're also gonna stop the fucking "pray the gay away" shit. Anyway, it's your choice.
  • Hughie follows that up with a speech to Starlight to get her to not be mad at him when she calls him out for using her to get in to see Ezekiel. He tells her the truth; his girlfriend died and he's looking for answers.
• Starlight's speech at the Believe Expo, beginning to end. Starting to read her prepared, pithy little script about accepting Jesus as her personal savior, she goes Off the Rails hard, letting out pretty much everything that's been bubbling up inside all season. Notably, she doesn't even really question her own faith, just the evangelical savior line Ezekiel has been selling (and selling is very much the operative word). Mostly, she's just saying something Socrates figured out a long time ago: that true wisdom consists of knowing that you know nothing. And she caps it off by revealing she was sexually abused on live TV; the Deep (her abuser) has a spectacular Oh, Crap! moment.
  Starlight: You want me to just suck it up and do this for you? Hmm? You have no idea what you're really asking. You have no idea what I've been through. Every single word that I say up here, I'm reading from a script. I didn't write any of these words. I don't even know if I believe in them. I mean, I believe in God, I love God so much, but...honestly, it's...it's just how goddamn certain everyone is around here. I mean, tickets start at, what, 170 bucks, so that these people can tell you how to get to heaven? How do they know? How does anybody know? When the Bible was written, life expectancy was 30 years old. I mean, I'm not so sure you're supposed to take it literally. It also says that it's a sin to eat shrimp. What, if you're gay or if you're Gandhi, you're going to Hell? I mean...And if you have sex before marriage, that's, that's not immoral. That's human. What's immoral is the guy who shoved his dick in my face! [startled gasps from the crowd] Here's the truth. Anyone who tells you they know the answers is lying. And I know, I know, I'm supposed to be this hero-idol-symbol-whatever, but I don't know what the hell I'm doing. I'm just as scared and confused as the rest of you. I'm done pretending, and I'm done taking any more shit. Thank you.
• Butcher takes Improvised Weapon to a whole new level, using a baby Supe with Eye Beams to kill three guys armed with machine guns. It's exactly as insane as it sounds.
• The Female versus Black Noir. A fast-paced, frenetic fight, the combatants almost evenly matched, and both playing for keeps. It's brutal. And against expectations Black Noir wins and disembowels his opponent and leaves her for dead. Thank goodness for her Healing Factor.

Episode 6 - "The Innocents"

• Starlight mercilessly cuts the legs out from under Stillwell when the latter attempts to get her to play ball with Vought's media strategy. Stillwell starts the conversation by making a pretty good "The Reason You Suck" Speech, explaining to Starlight that if she wants to be a superhero, she has to toe the company line. Starlight flat-out refuses, saying she's done doing PR events and wearing her stripperiffic costume. When Stillwell attempts to counter this by threatening to terminate her, Starlight drops the humdinger: that it would be corporate suicide to fire her right after she went public about being sexual assaulted, and she's got a strong suspicion that Stillwell has covered for the Deep when he's done this to others in the past. Realizing she's well and truly over a barrel, Stillwell backs down.
  Stillwell: The truth is, dozens of people in this company spent hundreds of hours to create the thing that is you.
  Starlight: I never asked for that.
  Stillwell: Then why don't you burn the sparkly outfit and become a cop? You want to be a superhero. You want to be famous. But nobody's famous alone. So, why don't you cut the petulant diva shit, show a little fucking gratitude, and let us do our job?
  [Starlight thinks it over for a moment]
  Starlight: [shakes her head] No.
  Stillwell: I'm sorry?
  Starlight: I mean, I don't mean to be ungrateful. But... no red carpets, no reality TV, and no Noxzema commercials. And I want my old uniform back. I'm gonna save people.
  Stillwell: Then I think we may need to reconsider your position in the Seven.
  Starlight: And I think that firing an employee after she reported sexual assault on live TV might tank your stock price.
  Stillwell: [falters] Well, I hope we can count on your discretion.
  Starlight: I'm sorry, I don't do discretion anymore. If anyone asks me who did it, I'm gonna answer honestly.
  Stillwell: Well, I think it's great that you want to tell the truth. I just don't know to whom you're referring.
  Starlight: Oh, I think you know. I think you've known for a long time.
  • Making it more awesome is that Stillwell underestimated Starlight. Up to this point, Stillwell has always been the one in control, with the ability to get exactly what she wants by blackmailing influential people and loose cannon employees with the threat of ruining their careers or reputations. With Starlight, Stillwell (and everyone else at Vought) assumes her to be like every other Supe, in other words someone who is only in it for the fame and money, and that her persona as someone who wants to do good is fabricated. So Stillwell tries her usual playbook on Starlight, but because Starlight is someone who really wants to do good, she's able to cut through Stillwell's threats and reverse blackmail her...and Stillwell can't do a thing about it.
  • Followed up quickly by Maeve implying that Starlight's lying about the assault for the attention. Annie is quick to shoot back with "The Reason You Suck" Speech about how Maeve's own heroism is manufactured, implying back that her own focus on honesty was inspired on the person Maeve never was. Maeve doesn't visibly react, but its a key reminder for her that she can't ignore the Flight 37 incident.
    Starlight: When I was younger, I read your autobiography so many times that I wore it out. I had to buy a second one. I wanted to live my life exactly like yours. Because you didn't just break all the bones in your right arm stopping that school bus from falling off of a bridge, but you also went to every kid's physical therapy afterwards. Just to show the world that they were heroes, too. You really stood for something. But now, I'm pretty sure that was just written by the marketing guys.

Episode 7 - "The Self-Preservation Society"

• Homelander is going apeshit over finally being able to put faces (particularly Hughie's) to the people who've been giving the Seven trouble for so long now... and jumps to the conclusion that Starlight is on it, since she is "going steady" with him. He's at his most terrifyingly sociopathic, behaving like an overly stern father seconds away from going abusive, Starlight is trembling in abject terror... and Black Noir is watching the whole thing with a body posture that states "This is mildly interesting." Then Maeve comes to Starlight's defense, realizing that Starlight was not actively helping the Boys, but at worst was just guilty of being played for information. Homelander is impressed enough at Maeve's intervention to let Starlight off the hook and make her Maeve's problem. To reiterate: Maeve got the poster boy for Beware the Superman to back down.
• Hughie standing up to Butcher over his relationship with Starlight. Butcher insists that Starlight is playing him but he's too blind to see it, and Hughie fires back with a statement that probably would have gotten his skull caved in if not for outside forces: "Right, so better to be loyal to a dead woman who doesn't know and doesn't care? How's that working out for you?" A bit later, convinced that Starlight gave up the entire team to Vought and the Seven, Butcher says he'll "fucking do her in," Hughie's response is "The hell you will!" and looks quite prepared to enforce Go Through Me right then and there.
• Hughie's balls grow bigger and harder every single episode. A-Train visits Hughie's father at his apartment, takes him hostage, then calls Hughie and demands that he come to meet him, alone. Hughie shows up, and A-Train does a quick recon, confirming he did come alone, and promptly berates him for not having some kind of ace up his sleeve. Ah, but Hughie does... a dose of Compound V in a syringe, which he squirts on the floor when A-Train pretends not to know what it is. Hughie barters a larger dose he has stashed nearby for his father's safety. Once Hughie's father leaves, Hughie keeps A-Train talking, triggering a mini-Villainous Breakdown, so that he doesn't notice Kimiko emerging from the ceiling hatch, until she suddenly sneaks up on him and whacks him in the leg with a lead pipe, breaking his leg horrifically.
  Hughie: [smugly] You know, you're right. It would have been stupid to come alone.
• Butcher's Big Damn Heroes moment freeing Hughie from Starlight's grasp would have been incredibly awesome had it been any super other than Annie and also come at the cost of Hughie and Annie's relationship. Likewise, it also shows off how strong Starlight is, with her taking two .50 cal bullets with barely more than a bruise.

Episode 8 - "You Found Me"

• The Boys' entire escape is one long extended Awesome. Hughie has the smarts and courage to allow himself be captured while wearing his old retainer, so Frenchie can break them out. They find Kimiko and come under fire resulting in Frenchie being shot and them getting pinned down. Frenchie fucking loses it, thinking they'll have to escape without Kimiko so MM, who openly hates both Frenchie and Kimiko, sprints into about six lines of automatic gunfire to go back for her. Bonus points for Hughie providing cover fire, actually hitting a few guys in the process, while shrieking "SORRY SORRY SORRY!" the entire time. Plus the two man clip change between the wounded Frenchie and clueless Hughie. And then the real badass appears.
• Starlight's Big Damn Heroes moment, lighting up the Elite Mooks holding the Boys captive.
  Hughie: You came!
  Starlight: Like you said. I'm a fսcking superhero.
• Starlight versus A-Train. He's the fastest man alive, but he's not faster than light... but he is faster than Starlight's ability to aim at him. Cue A-Train delivering a Curb-Stomp Battle in glorious Bullet Time.
• As A-Train advances on Hughie and tries to choke him, he suddenly goes into cardiac arrest. Hughie makes the prompt decision to perform CPR on him and attempt to save his life. He may hate the man for what he's done, he knows A-Train isn't going to forgive and forget, but Hughie decides to be the better man. Between this and Starlight deciding to be a superhero on her own terms, the pair officially become the Hope Bringer for this 'Verse.
• Butcher’s stand-off with Homelander. Homelander even admits that he's impressed by Butcher’s Nerves of Steel. It’s also a MOA for Homelander at the end for saving him before a C4 explosion could kill him. He’s really, really fast.

Season Two

Episode 1 - "The Big Ride"

• The season opens with Black Noir casually, stealthily, tearing his way through Naqib's compound. And when he gets to Naqib himself he lets the supe terrorist trigger his explosion power, which obliterates the room they're in... and leaving Black Noir standing calmly in front of him, only slightly scorched from the experience.
• Homelander barges into Stan Edgar's office to voice his displeasure at not being consulted over Stormfront being added to the Seven, and threatens to leave Vought when his contract is up at the end of the year, thinking that the company's shareholders won't be happy with Edgar if that happens. To this, Edgar stares down Homelander for a solid ten seconds, showing that he isn’t fazed by the threats, and proceeds to put Homelander in his place about how he's actually not as valuable to Vought as he thinks he is, while reprimanding him for the damage control Edgar has been forced to perform to clean up the mess that he made (going so far as calling him a "manchild" to his face) in creating the Super-Terrorists and putting Compound V out in the open. Seeing Homelander being brought down a peg is so satisfying after he's talked down and bullied others just because he has the power to.
  Stan Edgar: What do you know about Frederick Vought?
  Homelander: Excuse me?
  Stan Edgar: [gestures to a portrait of Vought] Frederick. Vought. Our esteemed founder.
  Homelander: Well, I don't know, um, not a lot, probably. I only read his autobiography...five times?
  Stan Edgar: Not the self-serving bullshit that we peddle to the shareholders. The real story.
  Homelander: Enlighten me.
  Stan Edgar: Got his doctorate from Munich. Ahead of his time in genetics. Such the rising young star that in '39, Hitler appointed him chief physician at Dachau, where he enjoyed a ready supply of human subjects on which to test his earliest iterations of Compound V. For which we condemn in the strongest of possible terms. Early in '44, he felt the winds change, got spirited away to the Allies. When Oppenheimer was flailing with the bomb, Dr. Vought already had practical applications of Compound V tested in the field. Heroes like Soldier Boy, killing Germans by the dozen. So, Roosevelt pardoned him, and he became as "Wonder Bread American" as Disney and Edison.
  Homelander: Well, this is a truly fascinating, if not slightly condescending lecture, but, um... I don't think I see the point, Stan.
  Stan Edgar: The point is... that you are under a misconception that we are a superhero company. We are not. What we are, really, is a pharmaceutical company. And you are not our most valuable asset. That would be our confidential formula for Compound V. Which you, manchild that you are, released into the wild.
  Homelander: [sputtering] I don't know what you're talking about.
  Stan Edgar: Well, let me remind you. You slipped Compound V to terrorists all over the globe to get you and your cronies into national defense. But maybe at the cost of destroying the whole company.
  Homelander: [stands up and gets in Stan's face] I don't think I appreciate your tone, sir. Not much at all.
  Stan Edgar: [unfazed] And I don't appreciate that the FDA now knows about Compound V, or... that it's only a matter of time before the public finds out. While you're preening at the Golden Globes, we're busy running around like maniacs trying to clean up the mess you made. I don't have to consult you about Stormfront or anything else. Now... I believe you have a premiere of Tek-Knight Lives to go to?
• Homelander himself gets one mixed with CMOH when its revealed that he saved Madelyn's baby. Despite hating and being jealous of the baby and gaining nothing from doing so, the baby was safe and unharmed.

Episode 2 - "Proper Preparation and Planning"

• Annie successfully leverages A-Train's self-preservation and guilt over killing Popclaw in order to keep him from ratting her out for obtaining a sample of Compound V.
  A-Train: You know, I just want you to think about me when you're getting the skin peeled off your face [by Homelander], bitch. [beat]
  Starlight: You're not gonna tell anyone anything.
  A-Train: Who says that I haven't already?
  Starlight: 'Cause then I'd already be dead. You're not gonna do shit.
  A-Train: Why is that?
  Starlight: 'Cause you killed your fսcking girlfriend. That's what you told Hughie, right? That you killed Popclaw?
  A-Train: You can't prove anything.
  Starlight: Did she suffer? Did you look into her big, sad eyes while you did it?
  A-Train: Fuck you.
  Starlight: Yeah, see, I looked at the Vought forensics report, and... [exhales] wow. All those needles jammed into her arm at the same time? I mean, one of them actually shattered the bone. Did you know that? Would someone really do that to themselves? I mean, doesn't look like an accident to me. I mean, Vought's happy to bury it, but, you know, say, if Sports Illustrated found out...
  A-Train: If you do that, I'm gonna take you down right with me. And then we'll both be dead.
  Starlight: [scoffs] Go ahead. Fucking try it. I don't give a shit.
• Butcher enjoys rubbing Hughie's face in the fact that the Boys have invited him back to be The Leader, but when he tries to expel Hughie from the team because he stopped Butcher from shooting Kimiko and her brother, Frenchie and Mother's Milk simply refuse to follow Butcher.

Episode 3 - "Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men"

• After watching Homelander remorselessly torment everyone around him for his own sadistic amusement it is pretty satisfying when his victims fight back:
  • Ryan soundly rejects him as his father after pushing him off the roof to test his powers and manhandling Becca, who tells him to stay away from them. It is satisfying to watch his smug smile vanish. Also Ryan shoving Homelander to the ground, being quite possibly the only person to ever do that to him.
  • After smugly retelling Butcher about his morning with Becca, he gets several tons of concrete crashing on his head by Kimiko’s brother, who Butcher released to teach this monster a lesson. This takes him out for quite some time, making Kenji the first one to outright beat Homelander onscreen.
    Butcher: Oi, cunt!
    Homelander: [cheerfully] William? What a surprise! You know, I had the most wonderful breakfast with your wife this morning. Pancakes... [flaps his tongue] Delicious.
    Butcher: Yeah? Eat this, motherfucker.
    [Butcher lets Kenji stroll up and pull the ground from under Homelander’s feet. The Supe grins smugly as he floats, right up until he looks up to see the bus Kenji brings down on his head.]
• Even though it doesn't end well for him or the whale, the Deep does successfully use his control over marine life to deprive the Boys of their boats and force them to proceed on foot.

Episode 4 - "Nothing Like It In The World"

• Annie manages to talk herself out of a bad situation again, channeling her anger at Hughie to trick Homelander into thinking that she's not associated with him. Essentially, Annie lied straight to the face of a Living Lie Detector who had the capacity to kill her on the spot and managed to get away with it.

Episode 5 - "We Gotta Go Now"

• Butcher manages to successfully confront Black Noir during his assault and bargains with Stan Edgar for his life with compromising info about Homelander.
  • Black Noir giving a further glimpse at how unstoppable he is, walking through gunfire and explosions with barely a hint of effort. The Boys' best attempts to stop him in a direct fight were a speedbump at best.
• When a video of Homelander causing some nasty collateral damage goes viral, he unwisely rejects Ashley's attempts to craft a contrite response to it and instead tries to hijack Congresswoman Neuman's organized protest against him. When he starts talking about America's armed forces agreeing with his actions, a soldier in the crowd shouts "You don't speak for us!", which quickly becomes a rallying cry against him from the whole crowd, while Homelander can only impotently fantasize about wiping them all out. Said soldier also flips him off.

Episode 6 - "The Bloody Doors Off"

• Frenchie's backstory reveals that he managed to defeat not one but three Supes; Cold Snap, Malchemical and Behemoth, simply with his wits.
  Mallory: Weaponized Xanax. The grenades you used on Behemoth during the bank heist. You got a Supe activated by rage, so you simply take away his rage, turn him into a cupcake. Clever.

Episode 7 - "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker"

• Maeve taking down Black Noir...with an Almond Joy (he’s allergic to tree nuts). Then she even kicks the Epi-Pen out of his hand.
  • Prior to that Noir manages to beat Starlight on two separate occasions. The first in a surprise attack, and the second being a straight No-Holds-Barred Beatdown, where he absolutely overwhelms her seemingly with little issue.

Episode 8 - "What I Know"

• The glorious beatdown that Stormfront has had coming for the whole season. Confronted by her brother's killer, Kimiko cackles and then, as translated by Frenchie, says she's gonna "stick her boot up [her] Nazi kitty". Annie and Kimiko immediately team up, Annie hitting Stormfront with light bolts so Kimiko can get in close and deliver a beatdown. The two of them start to lose the upper hand when Stormfront uses her powers, which is when Maeve pops in out of nowhere with "Hey Kraut"—and a crunchy set of punches. The three girls gang up on Stormfront and kick the ever-loving crap out of her until they're beating her into the ground! That is how you deal with Nazis.
  Frenchie: Girls do get it done.
  • Stormfront manages to get away and goes after Becca and Ryan. Becca - who has no superhuman abilities whatsoever - stabs Stormfront in the eye.
  • At one point, Kimiko is subjected to a (temporary) Neck Snap at Stormfront's hands. This causes the rest of the team to go berserk, with everyone unloading on Stormfront with every gun they have (even Hughie). It doesn't do much, but points for trying.
• Homelander's arrival at the cabin when the Vought soldiers enter is a villainous MOA. He first asks, "Did I hear you say Butcher?" before slowly closing the front door. At this point, the audience knows that all these guys are dead.
• Ryan finally unleashes his powers, focusing all of his rage on Stormfront. She's reduced to a limbless, half-dead mess babbling on about her past in German.
• Butcher's Go Through Me moment as Ryan comes to stand behind him as a blood-soaked Homelander tells him it is time for them to go. Butcher simply says "No," and raises his crowbar, despite knowing damn well he can't do a thing to stop Homelander. All the same, he promised...
• Just when Homelander has Butcher at his mercy, Maeve comes in again and puts his balls in a proverbial vise by showing him video footage from Flight 37. Maeve's silence comes at a hefty price for Homelander; he has to start treating everyone he was ever a dick towards with much more civility. Maeve also reveals that she's guessed Homelander's weakness by stating that if word got out about this, then nobody would ever love him again, which leaves Homelander totally speechless and beaten. Or, in simpler terms, Maeve is not afraid of Homelander anymore.
  Maeve: [showing Homelander the video] Let them go. You're gonna stop hunting Starlight, you're gonna leave me and Elena alone... or I release this.
  Homelander: If you do that... I'll destroy everything and everyone.
  Maeve: Great. As long as everyone sees what a fucking monster you are. As long as no one... ever loves you again.
• The season ends with the Boys being given their civilian lives back, no longer nationally-wanted criminals hiding underneath a pawnshop. On top of this, Mallory manages to get official government support for them, overseeing a department handling Supe affairs. The latter is hampered by Victoria Neuman pulling these strings, but it's still a huge step for them.

Season 3

Episode 1 - "Payback"

• Vought has successfully developed V24, Compound V that gives a normal human superpowers for 24 hours, and though it apparently still has some kinks to work out, Stan Edgar is confident in it enough to present it to presidential candidate Robert Singer.
  • Singer calls bullshit on Edgar still trying to sell Compound V due to its ties to Stormfront and the Nazis, not to mention the idea of trying to put Supes in the military. Edgar shocks him by revealing he completely agrees: he determines that the toxic superhero culture has ruined Supes too much and has a five-year plan to move Vought from the "superhero industry" to a serious pharmaceutical company.
• Billy thinks fast and manages to neutralize Termite by catching him in a baggy of coke.
• Butcher and Homelander's conversation in Butcher's apartment. It's a great back-and-forth exchange between archenemies, and Billy once again shows no fear despite staring down a man who could easily rip him apart. He even teases Homelander for how Vought's been treating him the past year.

Episode 2 - "The Only Man In The Sky"

• Gunpowder's superpower which is Improbable Aiming Skills (he can actually control how a bullet ricochets, which is just as cool). He demonstrates it by using a mirror in the garage where he ambushes Butcher as the bullet bounces off three surfaces and through a car window... to cut Butcher on the cheek, making it clear the Supe could've killed him if Gunpowder choose.
  • The Rematch. Butcher takes the V24 and ambushes Gunpowder to get information on Soldier Boy's disappearance. After two seasons where The Boys have had to be sneaky and running away when confronted with a Supe, we get the glorious scene of Butcher kicking the arrogant ass's teeth in.
• Homelander says some new quotes this episode that are pretty epic:
  "No. No God, the only man in the sky...is me."

  "I don't make mistakes, I'm not just like the rest of you. I'm stronger, I'm smarter...I'm better. I AM BETTER!"

Episode 3 - "Barbary Coast"

• Hughie rejoins the Boys, and the first order of business is finding a way to explain his absence for a few days. To everyone's shock, Hughie asks Kimiko to break his arm, since Hughie knows he's a shit liar and his boss will know that he's faking. Boy has taken a serious level in badass.
  • Before Kimiko does it, Frenchie offers Hughie opium for the pain. Hughie's response? Turn it down in part since government employees are drug tested.
• Doubles as Heartwarming; Supersonic insists on joining the Seven not because he had similar desires to most of the heroes (fame and fortune, as we've seen before), but because he understands that Annie needs a friend and ally on the team. He sees that Homelander, the most powerful Supe on the planet, is suffering a Sanity Slippage and completely understands the risks, but damn if he won't stick by Starlight and look out for her.
• Grace Mallory telling off Soldier Boy and saying he isn’t the smooth womanizer he thinks he is. It’s satisfying because you can tell this is one of the few times someone has been brave enough to stand up to Soldier Boy and tell him what they really think of him.
  Mallory: Okay, look, as an ambassador from Planet Actual Woman, I just...I gotta tell you, I know that you think these lines work, but...
  Soldier Boy: Oh, they do. Just ask Loni Anderson.
  Mallory: They don't, and they never have. The women are either humoring you, or they're scared of you, but none of them like you.

Episode 4 - "Glorious Five Year Plan"

• Hughie standing up to Homelander after he insults Starlight. The fact that Jack Quaid is also taller than Antony Starr makes Hughie look surprisingly imposing. Even Homelander is impressed by his bravery. Looks like Butcher has been rubbing off on him in some good ways.
• Despite being ousted from Vought by Homelander, Stan Edgar still remains as unflappable as ever. Homelander tries to gloat, but Stan verbally breaks him down. And as Homelander notes, his heart rate remains steady throughout, showing that for all of Homelander's power and psychotic violence, Stan Edgar is truly not afraid of him.
  Homelander: Don't blame Vicky. You-
  Edgar: I don't. If there's one thing I taught her, it was play all sides. [smiling] She's more like me than I ever imagined. But I am curious. What did you give her?
  Homelander: A little respect, Stan. Something you should've given me.
  Edgar: What good would that do? Where would it even go...but to the bottomless, gaping pit of insecurity you call a soul?
  Homelander: [shudders and laughs] Oh god! You want to know something? I used to be intimated by you! I did. And now I look at you, I-I'm just...I have no idea why! Truly, you're not even...pathetic. You...You're just nothing.
  Edgar: Then why are you still here? Looking for my approval like I'm your daddy? And even if I were, what would there be to approve of? The company is yours. No one left to stand up to you. But I think...you'll come to sorely regret that.
  Homelander: And why is that?
  Edgar: Because there's no one left to cover for you, either. Eventually, probably soon, the world will recognize you for the pitiful disappointment you are. You are not worthy of my respect. You are not a god. You are simply. Bad. Product. [Walks out slamming down the glass he was holding]
  • Pay attention to the body language in that scene. Homelander comes in while Edgar is looking out the window and having a drink. He’s all smug and cocky because he got Stan removed and thinks that now finally he’ll either be able to cower Stan or at least get him under his skin. Nope. Edgar doesn’t bother responding to Homelander and doesn’t even dignify his with a glance. Just keeps looking out the window and having his drink. Homelander gets frustrated with Edgar’s complete indifference. It really just proves Stan’s point that for all Homelander boasting about how Edgar is less than pathetic, Homelander is the one there trying to get Stan’s reaction like a child starved for attention from his daddy, but Edgar really could care less. He really thinks that low of Homelander.
  • His 'Bad Product" line echoes the final words of his comic book counterpart. There, it was the first genuine sign of a Villainous Breakdown as even after successfully avoiding the fallout of Homelander's actions, comic book Stilwell (who is represented more by Edgar than Madelyn Stilwell) was forced to face the fact that superhumans, the marketing structure upon which Vought had built its empire, were inherently flawed as a concept and a bad idea that would eventually lead to inevitable ruin, and all his efforts to keep the company afloat would eventually be All for Nothing. Here, it's Edgar admitting the same thing... but thanks to Homelander ousting him, it's a personal triumph for him, as he has a valid reason to be excised from the oncoming disaster he can see coming plain as day. He lets Homelander know that it's truly Nothing Personal on his end because Edgar's brief humiliation will be nothing compared to Homelander's upcoming downfall. Edgar walks out with the last word, powerless in name but with all the control over himself and the situation that so defines Edgar, and which bring Homelander's own lack of self-control into sharp relief.
  • Stan Edgar gets an additional MOA when Homelander admits that he legitimately found him scary. That's right, Homelander, the most powerful Supe in the world (and one of the most psychopathic), found Edgar intimidating (and probably still does). As far as we know, Stan Edgar has no powers, the badass aura he projects is simply that effective.
  • And there's the implication behind calling Homelander "bad product." What, after all, do companies do with bad products? Recall them and destroy them. The only reason that hasn't already happened to Homelander is because they can't, he's so powerful no one knows how to truly injure him. But Homelander is finally seeing the limits of his powers, that they can't get him what he really, genuinely wants. His strength, in many ways, is meaningless.
• Is it worrying and twisted? Yes, but you can't deny that Butcher and Hughie showing off their powers to eliminate the Russian soldiers is peak badass. Butcher takes the bullets without a scratch while lasering everyone in his way to pieces. Hughie meanwhile shows of his power when he seemingly teleports to a Soldier to save MM and proceeds to impale him with his previously broken arm. Beware the Nice Ones.

Episode 5 - "The Last Time To Look On This World Of Lies"

• Starlight confronts A-Train for stabbing Supersonic in the back, pointing out that in spite of his resentment towards Homelander's dick-swinging, all A-Train has really done is prove how desperate he is for his bully's approval. Forget the photokinesis, that lady's determination is a superpower in itself.
• Although it's meant to be tearjerking, the fact that the Boys now have Soldier Boy on their side (at least for the time being) is great. When you think about it, he might be the most powerful Supe on the planet. He's all but stated to be as fast and strong as Homelander, and he actually has combat skills and experience. Plus, he got an upgrade from the Russians that basically turned him into a walking nuclear reactor that can nullify the effects of Compound V.
  • And if Homelander's reaction to the news report on Soldier Boy in Manhattan is anything to go off of, it looks like he's finally met his match. Looks like we've finally found his literal kryptonite. Also, seeing Homelander legitimately be scared of the fact that someone might be more powerful than him is incredibly satisfying.
• Although it's tragic and demented, Soldier Boy executing Crimson Countess was pretty epic. Soldier Boy's face twitches with anger when CC tells him she always hated him, and then all of a sudden, we see his torso light up the entire room before we cut to Hughie and Starlight who, despite being hundreds of feet away, still feel the shockwaves from the explosion. Then Soldier Boy just walks out from the rubble like the Terminator without a scratch on him. When Butcher called Supes walking “nuclear erections”, he wasn't exaggerating.

Episode 6 - "Herogasm"

• Ashley, of all people, has her own awesome moment. When A-Train confronts her about Blue-Hawk's attack on the African-American community, particularly his brother's case, and demands justice, Ashley flat out calls him a Hypocrite. She goes on to say that he's done as much bad, if not worse, things than Blue Hawk did and that she had to clean the messes he made but has the audacity to point out another Supe's crimes when it affects himself. She promptly ends their conversation by telling A-Train to go fuck himself and he leaves quietly, with Ashley satisfied with her asserted dominance.
  • After dealing with Homelander's downward spiral to full-blown insanity, it's given Ashley enough mental fortitude (and stress) to handle any other Supe.
• When it appears that Little Nina is going to give Frenchie the Sadistic Choice of having to let either Kimiko or Cherie die while he helplessly watches, both ladies manage to break free of their handcuffs and attack their captors, with Kimiko killing the two mooks while Nina looks on in shock before making her escape.
• A-Train, deciding to take matters into his own hands, confronts Blue Hawk at Herogasm personally and kills him for what he did to his brother. It is perhaps the greatest good thing he's done in the show so far; he's willing to put his life on the line, by using his superspeed to drag Hawk to death, to avenge his community.
  • Even more awesome when one remembers the bullshit Blue Hawk spewed about "feeling threatened" and getting away with his crimes by saying he was acting in "self-defense" against ordinary, non-super-powered civilians, and then observing Blue Hawk's genuine terror and fear whenever A-Train grabs him by the throat. It was very likely the first time Hawk felt genuinely threatened and in danger, possibly in his entire life, and from a member of the community he terrorized so brutally no less.
    A-Train: You hurt a lot of people. You hurt my brother! You're not gonna get away with it. Not this time.
• The four way fight shows everyone in a good light. Soldier Boy can indeed hang with Homelander, and even weakened gives a good showing before being overpowered. Butcher does some real damage, knocking Homelander down and landing some hard blows that clearly staggered him. Even while taking punches from a pissed off Homelander that draw blood, Butcher just smiles maniacally through all of them. He even has a heat vision struggle with Homelander (as seen at the top of this page), and actually seems to match him at least for a short period of time. Soldier Boy then grabs Homelander by the American flag cape he loves so much and then slams him into the ground before throwing him like a rag doll into a nearby wall as if to say, “I’m not done with you asshole.” Hughie on the other hand Homelander can't even touch, teleporting around him as Homelander swings wildly. This just goes to show how potent V24 is. If two users of Temp V and Soldier Boy can almost kill Homelander, just imagine what a hundred users could do. And that's not to disparage Homelander, who repeatedly gains back the upper hand by just being so much faster, tougher and stronger than everyone else.
  • After 3 Seasons of being a Smug Super, the sheer Catharsis Factor of seeing Homelander finally put on his back foot during a fight, with visible fear and growing desperation, is absolutely incredible.
  • And you know what else is incredible? The impeccable teamwork between Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie despite the fact they didn’t plan this ahead of time. They’re all just that in sync. Soldier Boy was the tank, Butcher was offense, and Hughie was support. They knew their own strengths and played them off each other to a tee.
  • The dialogue exchange before the fight is also fantastic:
  Soldier Boy: "Buddy, you think you look strong? You're wearing a cape. You're just a cheap fucking knockoff."
  Homelander: "Oh no no no...I'm the upgrade."
• Victoria Neuman meets with Starlight and proceeds to reveal that she knows that Hughie and Annie are on to her as the head-sploder Supe. The Senator ties to coax Starlight into an Enemy Mine against Homelander, arguing the two could be a force for good to make the world better. Annie however has enough and tells Neuman to Get Out!, tired that everyone around, now including Hughie, are willing to cave in to survive or compromise to be straight Jerkasses to succeed.
  • At her breaking point, Annie (with help from MM) tenders her resignation from the Seven while denouncing Vought, Homelander and Soldier Boy.
    Annie: I'm in Montpelier, Vermont. Twelve heroes and civilians are dead, a lot more are wounded. Now, Homelander and Vought are going to tell you that it was the supervillain, and that they have it handled. They don't. It was Soldier Boy. I know I sound insane, but... Soldier Boy doesn't care about protecting Americans, and he probably never has. Most heroes don't care about you. They only care about their image, and... Homelander is the worst of them. He's hurt people. He's done something to Maeve. I don't know what they're gonna do to me for telling the truth, but I'm going to keep doing it, and I should've done it sooner. I'm sorry. And one more thing. I'm not Starlight anymore. My name is Annie January... and I fucking quit.
  • It should be noted that Annie is livestreaming this to her 193 million followers on Instagram. She's not just denouncing Vought and the supes they keep protecting, she's showing the whole world the scene of Soldier Boy's massacre while she's at it.

Episode 7 - "Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed"

• Starlight tricks Homelander into revealing his true nature by live-streaming their conversation secretly and getting him to confess to Supersonic's murder as well as gloat about his death threats against Hughie. Bit by bit, people are starting to realize Homelander for the monster he really is, while Starlight shows that like Stan Edgar, she no longer fears Homelander because she can see what he truly is deep down.
  Homelander: Okay. So, here's what happens now. You're gonna march into VNN Studios, and you're gonna recant everything you said. It was a tragic cocktail of heartbreak, Zoloft and despair. You regret any harm that your lies have caused Vought or me. But me in particular. Good?
  Starlight: Mm. Okay. But, um, you want to hear my counter? I stop Soldier Boy before he murders more people, and I find Maeve. If she's still alive.
  Homelander: Maeve's just learning her manners. And you should do the same. Seriously, before you throw away everything you've worked so hard for. Hmm?
  Starlight: You know what? I could give a shit.
  Homelander: Really? You sure about that? Your fame is the only thing protecting you.
  Starlight: Here's the thing: I'm not scared of you anymore. I'm not. I see who you are. I see how small you are. I saw it. [exhales] I saw it the night that you killed Supersonic.
  Homelander: You know what I remember from that night? I remember what I told you would happen to Hughie. You walk, that's next.
  Starlight: [pulls out her phone] Good luck with that, now that you've told my 190 million followers. I'm still pretty famous.
• M.M. punching Todd in the face. Should he have done it in front of his daughter? No. But did Todd deserve it? Absolutely.
• Besides the reveal that Queen Maeve is indeed alive (which shouldn’t be too surprising because Homelander likely wouldn’t kill her suddenly due to his attachment to her), Maeve’s realization that Homelander is legitimately scared of what Soldier Boy and Butcher are capable of now is priceless. She even makes fun of the fact that he’s wearing makeup to hide his bruise.
  Maeve: This is still a top three day in my life. Because today is the day I saw you scared.
• A minor one for Stan Edgar. The fact that he deliberately eats almonds in front of Noir is a subtle, but effective power move. It sends the perfect message, that despite Earving's physical abilities, Edgar is the one holding all the cards.
• Is it really messed up? Yeah. Is Soldier Boy a real piece of shit for abusing his team and permanently scarring Black Noir? Oh yeah. However, it’s awesome to see Soldier Boy hold his own against the rest of Payback despite eventually getting subdued, even if it’s animated like a children’s cartoon. Soldier Boy is shown to be the only person thus far capable of resisting Mindstorm’s control, which is very impressive since even a Temp V enhanced Butcher immediately succumbed to it. Without the Novichok and Mindstorm catching Soldier Boy off guard, there's no doubt that he would have killed all of them and escaped with only minor wounds. In other words, the only reason Payback was even able to incapacitate Soldier Boy was due to luck. He really was the most powerful Supe before Homelander.
  • Also seeing Soldier Boy finally get some karma for apparently being a lifelong asshat is very satisfying.
    Soldier Boy: What the fuck is this?
    Black Noir: Something we should've done a long time ago, you piece of shit!
• Kimiko getting her powers back. She’s finally conquered her self-loathing and has realized she can use her powers to protect those she loves, and not just for violence.
• Homelander hallucinating seeing Soldier Boy during his speech. He was beaten in a fight to the point that he was forced to retreat. And now, he’s scared shitless. Now he knows how it feels to be literally most of anyone who has ever met him.
• Hughie convincing Mindstorm to bring back Butcher from his nightmare. Considering the fact that it could’ve gone wrong in so many different ways, especially because Mindstorm is clearly very unstable, it really goes to show Hughie’s negotiation skills. That’s definitely a positive side effect of being a decent person with genuine empathy.
• The surgeons that managed to give A-Train a successful heart transplant from Blue Hawk’s mangled corpse deserve some recognition. It’s a bit of twisted irony though.

Episode 8 - "The Instant White-Hot Wild"

• MM, Kimiko, Frenchie, and Starlight all standing up to Butcher in an effort to dissuade him from continuing on with his plan to kill Homelander. There's a good chance they might have succeeded, too, if it weren't for Maeve deciding to team up with him.
• The entirety of the final fight. Everyone gets their own MOA. Butcher and Soldier Boy throw fisticuffs. Homelander and Maeve brutally injure one another. Kimiko and Starlight kick some serious ass. Frenchie makes Novichok and the device to administer it from scratch in the labs of Vought. Hughie saves the day without using Temp V. AND Maeve proves she’s willing to sacrifice herself to save those she cares about. Regardless of what she believes, she’s a hero at heart.
  • Starlight basically going Super Saiyan on Soldier Boy. This episode answers the question of what happens if Starlight absorbs a lot of electrical energy. She becomes powerful enough to knock back one of the strongest Supes EVER.
    • And the reason why Annie was able to become so powerful in that instant? Hughie amplified the power of all the lights in the room to supercharge Annie's powers and give her her second wind. Hughie finally managed to do what he started taking Temp V to do: Save Annie. And he didn't even need Temp V.
  • Maeve lives up to her name as one of the most powerful superheroes on Earth. Homelander gouges her right eye out and beats her relentlessly. What does she do in response? She punches him in the balls, charges at him like a berserker warrior, and actually manages to make him BLEED. While this is lessened by the fact that she loses her powers at the end of the episode, that’s never been seen before. She even rams a sharp object in his ear to disorient him.
    • "If you can make God bleed, then people will cease to believe in him."
    • On a similar note, the first thing to make Soldier Boy bleed? Ryan's laser vision.
  • MM being the one to put the Novichok mask on Soldier Boy is so satisfying. He’s finally overcome his fear of him because he sees Soldier Boy for what he is: a coward, a racist, and a bully. He even calls Soldier Boy out on all this asshole behavior to his face.
  • Is it tragic and horrible? Yeah. But Soldier Boy expressing his disappointment and disgust of Homelander as his kin probably hurt him more than any punch thrown during their fight at Herogasm.
    • Admit it, you enjoyed watching Soldier Boy dominate almost everyone he came up against during the final battle. He’s actually somewhat reminiscent of Doomsday in Batman v Superman. He fires immense blasts of radiation and overpowers almost everyone who comes his way. Even Butcher and Kimiko end up getting their shit kicked in when they try to attack him. Butcher’s point blank heat vision blast to Soldier Boy’s face barely makes him flinch. He also would’ve certainly killed Annie had it not been for Hughie’s intervention.
  • Homelander and Butcher working together temporarily to laser Soldier Boy in order to protect Ryan. They then look at each other oddly to process what just happened.
  • Kimiko dancing to “Maniac” by Flashdance because she knows the guards can’t hurt her is so badass. She’s no longer a monster, she’s a protector. Her listening to the song represents how she’s come to fully accept her violent nature, and has finally channeled it towards something good.
• The reveal that Maeve and Soldier Boy are still alive proves just how durable they really are.
  • Maeve finally gets her wishes granted. She’s free from Homelander, the public eye, and is now a regular person with the love of her life by her side.
  • A small one from Ashley, who deletes the footage of Maeve having survived Soldier Boy's blast to keep the fact that she is alive a secret, allowing her and Elena to escape Homelander's attention. She has finally mustered enough courage to go against Homelander, even if only in a small way.
• Ryan flying in the last scene.
• A villainous one for Victoria Neumann, who ends the season by being picked as Presidential candidate Singer's running mate, putting her on track to be in the White House with all the power that entails.
• Another villainous one. Cassandra making good on her threats to Deep, by releasing her own tell-all book that casts her as a victim escaping from her abusive marriage to Deep. This causes Deep to begin stress-eating and weep while watching a live interview where Cassandra plays the part to the hilt.
• One more villainous one for the main villain himself, Homelander. After finding out he had a son all the way back at the end of Season 1, he's been trying to get the boy on his side. Stormfront helped him come close but Ryan ultimately chose Butcher over him. Now, after Butcher had shattered the boy's faith in him and left him alone, Homelander comes in to tell Ryan exactly what he needs to hear to start seeing him as his father again. After all the controversies and betrayals he's suffered over the course of Season 3, Homelander ends the season feeling invincible. He's more popular than ever, Ryan is fully on his side and on the path to becoming his sidekick and even when a Starlight supporter heckles them and Homelander gruesomely executes him in public, he still has the support of his fans and Ryan. He's the Homelander and he can do whatever the fuck he wants.