History Recap / TheBoysS0204NothingLikeItInTheWorld

* BuyThemOff: Feeling that no-one would ever do anything about her brother's murder, Valerie took a [[DisproportionateRestitution $2000 payoff]] from Vought. She's understandably guilty about doing so.

* HistoryRepeats: Valerie's tale is almost identical to Hughie's, beat for beat; a loved one is killed by a Supe, their attempts at whistleblowing are silenced, family members are unwilling to fight, and finally Vought comes and covers up the scandal with hush money. By the end of her recounting, Hughie is just grimacing at how overly familiar her story is.

** Frenchie finds Kimoko [[CornerOfWoe sitting under the table]] watching television like how he first found her in "The Female of the Species".

** Frenchie gets high on cocaine and kisses a grieving Kimoko, who's understandably furious.

* EthicalSlut: When Cherie is told by her boyfriend that he kissed Kimoko she doesn't act jealous, only remonstrating Frenchie for thinking that would help Kimoko.

* ComicallyMissingThePoint: Homelander is an in-universe case of MisaimedFandom, believing that [[Film/TaxiDriver Travis Bickle's]] shooting spree in the finale is a justified response to being "disrespected over and over and over", rather than the culmination of a mental breakdown.

* CantLiveWithThemCantLiveWithoutThem: She enjoys her roadtrip NotADate with Hughie, but admits to Homelander that she also wanted to kill him for breaking her heart--this is when she's speaking the truth to fool his LivingLieDetector abilities.

* OlderThanTheyLook: Assuming that Liberty is indeed Stormfront, she must be at least in her seventies. Annie speculates this could be a side effect of Compound V slowing down her aging.

** Billy Butcher wants Becca to climb over the wall to escape, like he did to get in. When Becca points out that Ryan couldn't make the climb, Billy is thrown for a moment and tries to cover it by asking why the boy can't fly over the wall with his superpowers. This tips off Becca that her husband never had any intention of bringing Ryan with them.

* BuyThemOff: Feeling that no-one would ever do anything about her brother's murder, Valerie took a $2000 payoff from Vought. She's understandably guilty about doing so.

* BlatantLies: Ashley tells A-Train that Shockwave’s visit was for a marketing opportunity. Seconds later, Homelander tells him that he’s out of the Seven.

* IKnowYoureWatchingMe: Black Noir spends the episode using FacialRecognitionSoftware to track down Butcher. They finally catch him climbing over the wall at the Vought facility, whereupon he turns and defiantly [[FlippingTheBird flips the bird]] at the camera.

* ShapeshiftingSquick: Homelander is lying in Madelyn's LapPillow when 'she' suddenly changes into Doppelganger, who's having trouble maintaining his shape. Homelander is ''not'' pleased and demands he change back at once.

* GenerationXerox: Mother's Milk is carrying on his father's crusade against Vought, but thinks of it more of a curse that has been passed on to him that he would rather not infect his own daughter.

* WhamShot: Valerie shows a picture of Liberty as she appears in the present day; it's none other than Stormfront.

* TheAgeless: The Boys are surprised when a witness identifies 1970's superhero Liberty as Stormfront. Annie points out that they don't know everything that Compound V can do.

* ShapeshifterSquick: Homelander is lying in Madelyn's LapPillow when 'she' suddenly changes into Doppelganger, who's having trouble maintaining his shape. Homelander is ''not'' pleased and demands he change back at once.

* FantasticRacism: Billy denounces Ryan as a Supe freak just when he's in trying desperately to get Becca to leave with him. Becca previously voiced concern for [[HalfBreedDiscrimination how he'd feel about him before]].

* TheAtoner: Even though Butcher failed to hand over the Supe terrorist, Grace Mallory gives him Becca's location anyway, because she was the one who convinced him that Becca was dead, so he'd stop searching for her and become her weapon against the Supes.

** Becca went to Vought to prevent Billy from going down a violent path in the name of vengeance due to his preexisting anger-issues. Life for him since her disappearance still led him down a warpath, one that she cannot bear to witness.
* TheAtoner: Even though Butcher failed to hand over the Supe terrorist, Grace Mallory gives him Becca's location anyway, because she was the one who convinced him that Becca was dead, causing Butcher to stop searching for her.

** It is revealed the main reason that Becca chose to go to Vought instead of Billy, was that she hoped to prevent Billy finding out that Homelander had raped her. Therefore stopping Billy from dying in a useless attempt to avenge her. Unfortunately, Becca's attempt to prevent Billy from going after Homelander failed, because Mallory revealed her rape in order to recruit him -- making everything [[AllForNothing she did to protect him a moot point]].

* CoverBlowingSuperpower: Defied. When Annie witnesses a car crash nearby, she is tempted to jump into her Starlight persona in order to help out but Mother's Milk and Hughie tell her off.

* {{Determinator}}: Mother's Milk's father, who fought as hard as he could as a lawyer to tear Vought down until his declining health caught up to him. MM recalls falling asleep to his father clacking away at his typewriter only to wake up to the next day with him still writing.

** Publicity images of Liberty always show her InTheHood with her face obscured. Which would be handy if you planned to come BackFromTheDead years later as a young publicity-hungry superhero.

** After it's suggested that Liberty and Stormfront are the same person, Homelander barges in on her and starts shouting, "Who the fuck do you think you are? What, you think I don't see it?" We see Stormfront tense up for a moment before Homelander makes it clear he's angry about her undermining his popularity.

* FantasticRacism: Billy denounces Ryan as he's in trying desperately to get Becca to leave with him. Becca previously voiced concern for [[HalfBreedDiscrimination how he'd feel about him before]].

* HiddenAgendaVillain: Rather than just being TheRival for leadership of The Seven, Stormfront appears to be setting herself up as a demagogue, and trying to entice Homelander to her side.

* RecurringCharacter: Cherie returns for a booty call with Frenchie. Doppelganger likewise reappears.

** Stormfront is likely Liberty, a superhero who disappeared from the public eye in 1979, likely after her murder of a young black man.

* RevealShot: Thoughout the episode we see various women being interviewed about their views on relationships. It's only at the end we discover The Deep is auditioning members of the Church of the Collective for a wife.

* ShamMarriage: The Church of the Collective is setting one up for The Deep. The Deep wants the sultry brunette who promises to give her all to her husband, but Carol prefers Cassandra as this is about improving Deep's image, not catering to his base desires.

* ShrineToTheFallen: The wall covered in commemorations to those who died in the apartment block destroyed in the Stormfront/Kenji fight is a reminder to Grace Mallory and Billy Butcher of all the people they failed to protect from superheroes.

* BuyThemOff: Feeling that no-one would ever do anything about her brother's murder, his sister took a $2000 payoff from Vought. She's understandably guilty about doing so.

* RevealShot: Thoughout the episode we see various women being interviewed about their views on relationships. It's only at the end we discover The Deep is interviewing members of the Church of the Collective, who want him to take a wife to improve his image.

* ShamMarriage: The Church of the Collective is setting one up for The Deep.

* CruelAndUnusualDeath: Liberty punched Myron so hard that it visibly crushed half of his face, then left him to die on the hood of his car in the rain.