Heartwarming / The Boys (2019)

As a Moments subpage, all spoilers are unmarked as per policy. You Have Been Warned.

The Boys (2019) is known for its graphic violence and cynical sense of humor. But there are plenty of sweet and tender moments as well.

The Boys (2019)

General

• Hughie and Starlight's relationship in its entirety. They're just so good for each other, being such positive influences in each other's life, and it's delightful to watch. The way Annie smiles at Hughie like he's the only man in the world and the way she gives him hope that the Supes and the world can be better gives the show a hopeful vibe the comics sorely lacked.
• Frenchie’s relationship with The Female, AKA Kimiko. The Female is violent, aggressive, and has a tendency to brutally murder anyone who touches her. Frenchie, however, realizes that this is due to the horrific abuse and conditioning that she has received for years, and sticks with her even as she attempts to kill him multiple times. He’s the only person to treat her as a human instead of as a monster or weapon. Eventually, he breaks through to her, and she regains some of her humanity as a result, saving him from Black Noir.
  • Even better, in the comics there's a slightly different vibe to their relationship, where it's still a close one but he could at times be viewed as her 'Keeper'. The show has gone out of its way both in dialogue and action to try and keep the relationship on an even keel. Frenchie is himself a victim of abduction and physical abuse and it's clear he and Kimiko are helping each other mutually. He frequently proclaims he is not Kimiko's keeper, encourages others to speak directly to her (though he still answers for her as she's mute) and reminds them that she's her own person (and that she saved him from Black Noir). He also makes it abundantly clear that while the team needs her help with the Supes, he will take her home to find her brother the very second she asks him to and she's under no obligation to stay for him, or The Boys.
• The fact that Becca has been nothing but a loving mother to her son, and Ryan himself is a kind and sweet kid, which creates hope that he can be a true hero unlike his father. Moreover, it is later revealed that Homelander did in fact rape her and despite the trauma, she still devotes herself to being a loving role model to Ryan and never held his origins against him.
• Unlike in the comics, Marvin/Mother's Milk is Happily Married to Monique and they're Sickeningly Sweethearts, on top him being a sweet and devoted Doting Parent to their daughter.
• The comradeship between the members of the Boys counts. Despite all the disagreements the team has over the series, at the end of the day, the team still comes together and works as a united team. This is a sharp contrast to the Seven who are suffering from drama and infighting throughout the series.

Season 1

Episode 1 - "The Name Of The Game"

• Robin invites Hughie to move in with her. She says that she wants him to be brave, but if he needs her for that, then she'll be brave for both of them. Hughie was about to say yes, if not for A-Train...
• Hughie's dad telling him not to fight Vought. While it's a bit cruel, you can see why; Vought is a corporation that silences oppressors. He tries his best to comfort Hughie, knowing what happened wasn't fair.
• Butcher initially only uses Hughie as a pawn to plant a bug in Vought Tower. But it's clear he becomes very fond of him once he sees Hughie tear up the check Vought gave him.
  Butcher: Hughie... you're a good lad.
• One could even interpret that Butcher is trying to keep Hughie out of the criminal element of the Boys. He doesn't want an innocent person getting in over his head. When Translucent attacks Hughie and interrogates him, Butcher doesn't hesitate to ram a car through the electronics store. He screams at Hughie to run while preparing to take on Translucent solo.

Episode 3 - "Get Some"

• Hughie's dad has worries that his son hasn't answered his calls for a day and trashed his room. He says that he knows he can't help, but he has the name of a therapist that he got from Hughie's pediatrician.
• Crosses over with Tear Jerker, but after yelling at his dad, Hughie stops and says he's sorry before he leaves. It's good that Hughie didn't want to leave it like that and let his dad know he's not actually angry at him.
• Frenchie's admittedly disturbing attempt to bond and sympathize with Hughie by sharing a story of his own obscenely abusive father could warm the cockles of your heart, if you squint.
• Just as it seems Annie will be in legal trouble, the girl she saved from a date rape came forward. The girl confirmed that Starlight rescued her, and thanked Starlight for doing that.
• Annie is touched when Hughie calls out to her; owing to being AWOL, he didn't know she was Starlight. Starlight is flattered that he asks about her, and isn't being an ass.

Episode 4 - "The Female Of The Species"

• In it's own broken, damaged sort of way, Frenchie's immediate, unilateral decision to free the imprisoned Kimiko is sort of sweet. Especially as it follows two and a half episodes of Frenchie being a capable, deadly mercenary.
• Butcher lets Frenchie try to reason with Kimiko one last time. When it doesn't work, Butcher quickly knocks them both out with the gas before Frenchie loses his head.
• In a twisted sense, the Deep shows that he has some standards: he cares about dolphins and porpoises. He asks Stillwell permission to rescue abused ones from Oceanland and goes to break one out anyway when she reminds him he's the face of the theme park. If not for what he had done to Starlight, he would be almost sympathetic.

Episode 5 - "Good For The Soul"

• Frenchie making dinner for Kimiko, brushing off her initially aggressive reactions to him and lingering to release her when Black Noir is coming for him.

Episode 6 - "The Innocents"

• Frenchie stressing to MM that he does not control Kimiko (which might be a response to some criticism that in the comic, Frenchie is more like Kimiko's handler, or keeper, than a real companion).
• Frenchie risking their whole mission, and lives, to seek out Mesmer so they can learn who Kimiko is and where she's from. His relentless defense of her until they get the full picture about her past could double as a tearjerker moment since Frenchie has already expressed fears that Billy similarly views Frenchie as a weapon he can wind up and let go.
• When he says her name for the first time, and the scene towards the end when he offers to take her to an airport and send her home if that's what she wants.
  • And of course, when she grabs his hand, making it clear she intends to stay.

Episode 7 - "The Self-Preservation Society"

• Hughie and Annie’s romantic rendezvous at the beginning. After the previous episodes had the other characters engaging in more carnal sex that was either related to unpleasantness or manipulation, the sex they have is loving and sweet, and displays how much they’ve grown to care for one another.
• Frenchie teaching Kimiko to bake.
• Homelander telling Noir he's been doing great at his job, perhaps the only genuine compliment he's ever given out.
• Maeve coming to Starlight's defense when Homelander ruthlessly cuts into her for being "involved" with Hughie, saying that the only thing she's guilty of is being stupid and hasn't done anything to intentionally compromise The Seven. Even more so given Homelander was probably going to do something worse to Starlight had Maeve not intervened.
• A-Train holds Mr. Campbell hostage and calls Hughie to come back to the house, alone. When Hughie (seemingly) honors his word, A-Train is impressed. He also goes through Hughie's merchandise and seems to realize the implications of what he did running through Robin, and why it broke Hughie so badly since he was Hughie's favorite.
• Mr. Campbell refuses to leave when Hughie bargains with A-Train to let him go. He can tell that A-Train is going to hurt his son, and doesn't want to leave him. Hughie promises that he's not going to do anything stupid. It turns out he didn't; Kimiko was waiting to break A-Train's leg.
• M.M. begs Butcher to call Raynor and take the deal. Raynor honors her word, getting the innocent family members to safety before taking Compound V. She promises M.M. that his wife and daughter will be safe.
• Hughie's father telling him that he is proud of him standing up for himself and fighting for what he believes is right, even saying Hughie shouldn't apologize for inadvertently putting his father in harm's way while doing so. In hindsight this makes Hugh Senior trying to talk Hughie out of fighting Vought at the start of the series seem less like abject cowardice and more like he was genuinely worried Hughie would only get himself hurt rushing off to a crusade he was ill-equipped to handle.
• Despite the fact that she believes him when he reveals that Compound V makes Supes, Annie is still going to take in Hughie. She tells him the police will keep him alive, which is more than she can say for Homelander, so he can stand trial. Hughie starts telling her about the conspiracy, only for Butcher to shoot when he thinks that Annie is overpowering Hughie. He shouts at Hughie to run and save himself.

Episode 8 - "You Found Me"

• Raynor tries to buy time for Butcher and the Boys when realizing the DOJ overruled her and ordered a manhunt on them. She warns Butcher that they'll be coming, after having set them up in a nondescript motel, and says that she'll do her best to stall.
• Butcher deduces that during their trip to Mallory, black ops Feds captured the Boys. He wants to go after Stillwell. Hughie says nuts to that. He says if Butcher won't help him rescue their friends, he'll do it alone.
• Hughie decides to try and save A-Train's life, being the better man and choosing to believe in hope for the future instead of vengeance for the past.
  • While it ends up being in vain, Hughie refuses to leave Starlight alone to save himself, and promises he won’t abandon her. This is the defining moment that separates A-Train from Hughie. A-Train refused to stand by Popclaw for his own sake and killed her when threatened when he could’ve saved her. Hughie is powerless, a fugitive, and has a strained relationship with Starlight because of his affiliation, but his love for her is stronger than any threat from a superhero. This dedication and the aforementioned CPR helps repair some of the damage.
  • Starlight might be mad and distrusting of Hughie after all that’s happened, but she still encourages him to save himself, and is horrified when A-Train prepares to kill him.
• The split second before he's shot, when Frenchie sees a sedated Kimiko and just looks so happy to see her alive.
• Looking back, with the knowledge of how Frenchie is seen as responsible for the deaths of Mallory's grandchildren by MM and even Mallory herself when Butcher leaves Mallory's place to go after Stillwell, she implores him not to drag the others down with him, Frenchie included.

Season 2

Episode 2 - "Proper Preparation and Planning"

• While ridiculous (and hilarious), the Deep hallucinating getting some much-needed tough love from his gills is kind of sweet in what it shows about him. Somewhere inside of that loathsome mess of a man there is actually something that wants to be better.

Episode 3 - "Over The Hill With The Swords Of A Thousand Men"

• When it's revealed that Hughie and Annie have successfully leaked info about Compound V to the press, Mother's Milk immediately wraps Hughie in a huge hug and begins singing his praises. After several episodes where M.M. was just barely tolerating Hughie's presence, it's very sweet to see. Made even better by Frenchie being so happy that he kisses Hughie on the lips. Butcher even congratulates Hughie for his success in damaging Vought's reputation.
• Slightly downplayed, but the way Butcher goes back to save Hughie shows that he hasn't written Hughie off as much as he acted. What's more, his decision in turning Kenji loose against Homelander to save Hughie ultimately gets Kenji killed by Stormfront, costing him his only bargaining chip in getting Mallory to find Becca. After slugging Hughie in the previous episode and threatening to kill him if he gets in the way of his search for Becca, it's actually quite sweet to see Butcher at the end of the episode silently acknowledge to Hughie that it's fine, and what happened wasn't Hughie's fault.
• Milk refusing to leave without Hughie, knowing that even at his lowest point, Hughie won't let any of his friends die.

Episode 4 - "Nothing Like It In The World"

• Mallory manages to find Becca, and despite Butcher not coming through with his end of the deal in turning Kenji over to the CIA (which he even acknowledges), she gives him the location anyway, wanting to make amends for the fact that she used Becca's disappearance to mold and egg Billy on into becoming her own personal anti-Supe weapon.
• Annie turns on the radio in the car and eventually finds a station playing Billy Joel's "We Didn't Start the Fire". Hughie begins singing along, and when Annie joins in, Hughie falls silent and stares at her with a big happy smile on his face. You can see him thinking "She knows Billy Joel?^note This being a fast-paced List Song, you'd really have to know it to sing along without stumbling; there are hardcore Billy Joel fans who can't do that and it can give the man himself trouble. I'm the luckiest bastard on Earth." When Annie turns towards Hughie, singing with a big smile, Hughie joins in the singing now, much more enthusiastically than before.
  • After almost half a season apart and constantly surrounded by dangers to their lives, Annie and Hughie finally get a chance to be with each other on a long-term basis. Its a moment of levity after a long series of violence.
• Milk and Annie bonding in the coffee shop over their dads while having doughnuts.
  To fathers and sugar.
• Even in the Crapsack World of this show, a bad car accident brings several people running out to help, which even convinces Starlight to stick to her low profile as she can see she's not needed. For Starlight's part, she genuinely does want to help, knows she could do so more effectively than the crowd of people and the first responders who are on their way, and it tears her up that doing so would endanger their mission, along with Hughie and MM. She really is too good for Vought and The Seven.

Episode 6 - "The Bloody Doors Off"

• When Starlight meets Kimiko again in The Boys' lair, she's nervous about the latter and asks if she remembers her. Kimiko responds by giving Annie a hug. Kimiko, who hates human contact, initiated a hug.
• Frenchie was caught during one of his criminal escapades by Mallory, who offered him a position in The Boys. He refused until she threatened to send his friends away to a serious prison, following under the condition that they go free.
• Mother's Milk comforting Kimiko when she's unsettled by seeing Stormfront on a security monitor.
• Lamplighter and Frenchie confront each other about the night that Mallory's grandchildren were burned. Lamplighter reveals that it was an attack meant for Mallory herself and that he's been living with serious guilt ever since. Frenchie revealing what he went through prompts Mother's Milk to tell him that The Boys would have let him leave after the experience. He then responds, "What makes you think I want to be left off the hook, huh?".
  • Later, Lamplighter is willing to die at Mallory's hands if The Boys plan on it, showing that he truly does regret his actions.
• Billy and Annie, after having spent much of the episode at each other's throats, bond over and laugh about Hughie's choice of hygiene products, then add that he's such a Morality Pet for the both of them. They agree that he's too good for them, as earlier they were willing to work together to escort him to safety.
• A young M.M. showing off his engagement ring for Monique to Frenchie and Mallory, the guy's glowing with excitement while Frenchie and Mallory couldn't be happier for him. Butcher is off in the distance and looks like he's trying not to smile.
• While it naturally doesn't last long thanks to Homelander later burning down the trailer, it is kind of sweet that he got Stormfront a bouquet of flowers and appeared quite excited about giving them to her. Considering who Homelander is, such a gesture was completely unnecessary, but it demonstrates that he does actually care for her, albeit in his own twisted way.
  • This leads to her telling him the whole truth about herself, strengthening their Unholy Matrimony.

Episode 7 - "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker"

• After Elena breaks up with Maeve, Maeve spirals into misery, engaging in hedonistic sex with random men and indulging in drugs. Ashley starts talking to her about her image and whatnot, but when Maeve begs her to act like a human for once, Ashley sincerely apologizes.
• Kimiko finally begins to teach Frenchie the sign language she created with her brother, the first word he learns being "Gun".
• Donna hugging Annie once the two are freed from their Vought prison.
• Annie's face upon realizing Hughie came all the way to the Vought Tower to rescue her. She incredulously asks him what he'd doing there. He replies with a grin and a shrug, communicating clearly through one of his trademark dopey expressions "Well, you know me. I heard you were in trouble so went and did something really, really stupid." Then Annie smiles, understanding exactly what he's saying, and you can see her heart melt for the big goofball.
• Homelander notices Stormfront gazing forlornly at a mother and baby, clearly missing her own daughter. So he introduces her to his son Ryan to cheer her up.

Episode 8 - "What I Know"

• Homelander and Stormfront take Ryan to a restaurant, where they are immediately surrounded by fans. Ryan starts having a panic attack and Homelander immediately gets him out, and for the first time, Homelander actually behaves like a good father here, empathizing with Ryan about being anxious around other people after having been raised in isolation his whole life and recounting his own experiences of dealing with people after having been isolated as a child.
• Kimiko, Frenchie, and MM making Becca feel at home. Frenchie makes her a sandwich, while MM gets her a coke with limes, the implication is that at one point, Billy talked to his teammates about his wife to such a degree that they're aware of what kind of soft drink she likes.
  • When Billy promises to get Ryan back safely, he and Becca share a kiss. All of The Boys, including Kimiko have the biggest grins on their faces while Butcher says "fuck you lot" in response, sounding a bit embarrassed.
  • Hughie, who wasn't there at the time, had a chance to meet her off-screen, and is shown to really like her as well, thinking she's amazing.
• Becca telling Billy that she likes his friends, especially Hughie, stating that he is good for Billy.
• Butcher cuts a deal with Edgar, he'll get Ryan away from Homelander and Stormfront then call Vought to pick him up and raise him away from Becca. When he sees Becca and Ryan together, though, he has a Heel Realization and realizes mother and son must stay together. He reneges on the deal and tells Becca everything; including that he'd be a terrible father and she's better off without him. She protests, but ultimately decides her son's safety and well-being are the most important thing... and appreciates that Billy is willing to sacrifice what he's been fighting for for eight years in order for his wife to be safe with her son.
• Ryan siding with Billy rather than Homelander.
• MM gets reunited with Janine.
• Despite the look of murderous rage he gives Ryan after the latter accidentally kills Becca, Billy decides to fulfill his promise to her and protects him from Homelander. Later on, he hands Ryan over to Mallory to ensure that he’ll have a better life than Homelander can ever give him.
  • Their final moments were also heartwarming, as Billy hands Ryan a necklace given to him by Becca, saying that it will keep him safe. Their final words also reflect some sort of odd bonding moment.
    Billy: You remember what I told you?
    Ryan: "Don't be a cunt".
• Kimiko and Frenchie going for a dance.
• Hughie finally declaring his feelings for Annie, in his trademark Adorkable way.

Season 3

Episode 1 - "Payback"

• Billy choosing to spare Termite. It shows how far he's come from his Season 1 self that he's able to resist his Fantastic Racism so that Termite can receive proper justice for his crimes.
• Despite the horrible truth about who Victoria is, the scenes between her and Hughie are pretty endearing. They have a genuine friendship, and treat each other almost like siblings. It's clear that Hughie really loves working for her, which just makes it more tragic when he witnesses her murder her former best friend, completely breaking this illusion.
• Seeing Hughie and Annie as an open couple is adorable. He comes to the movie premiere with her and she joins the phone chat with his dad.
• While Monique has divorced Marvin, they remain close, and he still has an active presence in his daughter's life.
• Billy has become a Parental Substitute and father figure to Ryan. While he can't visit the boy too often, he manages, and unlike Homelander, Billy is able to bond with him and act like a true father. He may not have completely shed his Fantastic Racism or totally come to terms with Becca's death, but Billy is heading in the right direction.

Episode 2 - "The Only Man In The Sky"

• The reason why Neuman serves Edgar? She's his adoptive daughter, and they have mutually loving relationship.

Episode 3 - "Barbary Coast"

• Kimiko and Ryan empathizing with each other while talking about their powers.
• The segments in the '80s reveal that Edgar had a sincere friendship with Black Noir when they were younger. Noir had no problem voicing his concerns and wants to Edgar. It's clear this is why Black Noir was Edgar's chosen member of the Seven — he trusts him to do what is needed.
• After the attack in Nicaragua, we can see the members of Payback tending to one another’s injuries. We even see Mindstorm helping Gunpowder drink out of a bottle of water. They might be annoying and sometimes incompetent, but they care about each other.

Episode 4 - "Glorious Five Year Plan"

• In this episode, Homelander convinces or threatens Victoria Neuman into publicly exposing Stan Edgar's crimes. When Homelander tries to apologise to Edgar, the man interrupts him and seems proud, stating that he "taught her to play both sides" and smiling when he says she's more like him than he realised.
• Hughie reassuring Annie he’s not angry about what happened with Homelander.

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

• Kimiko is overjoyed to find that she's lost her powers, as she no longer sees herself as a monster. Then her vocal chords start working and she croaks out "I... have... rhythm." The scene cuts to an impromptu musical number that's very clearly an Imagine Spot, only instead of cutting back to a disappointing reality, it shows Kimiko and Frenchie sharing a kiss.
• Even while high on V24 and basking in his newfound powers, one of Hughie's driving reasons is to finally protect Annie for once. He also doesn't lie to her about the temporary V and makes it clear that he loves and trusts her... which makes it all the more Heartbreaking when he does lie to her on regards of what Butcher intends to do with Soldier Boy.
• Maeve shows up on Billy's doorstep to give him more V24, with the latter getting hammered. Maeve joins him and in the midst of their drunken states, they decide to hook up. Whether or not this truly is one-time thing, it's hard not to think the two of them make a good pair.

Episode 6 - "Herogasm"

• Despite MM attacking him, Soldier Boy only needs minimal prodding from Butcher to leave Milk alone. Even if Soldier Boy killed MM's family, he clearly doesn't have anything personal against Marvin.
• When he sees Hughie at Herogasm, A-Train finally offers him a sincere apology for Robin's death and owns up to it. After two and a half seasons of being an Entitled Jerkass, A-Train is finally on the path to redemption... even if his next choice of action cuts it short.
• When Marvin tries to hit Butcher with a baseball bat, Butcher let's him. It's clear that while he wants Marvin to drop the issue for now, Butcher empathizes with his friend's need to avenge his family.
  • When the two get knocked out from Soldier Boy’s powers, Billy immediately checks MM’s pulse and sighs in relief when he feels it.
• After learning from the TNT Twins that Black Noir was the one who sold him out to the Russians, Soldier Boy is willing to leave them in peace. While they end up dying anyway due to Power Incontinence on Soldier Boy's part, it shows that he is at least able to move past the need for vengeance.
• After some prodding from Annie, MM forgoes Revenge Before Reason and helps out those injured by Billy's power. Even if he wants revenge, he knows that others need help more than he needs his vengeance.
• When Soldier Boy is about to use his power on Homelander while the latter is pinned down by Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie, Billy tells Hughie to run. However much he wants vengeance on Homelander, Billy doesn't want to sacrifice Hughie to get it.
  • In turn, Hughie refuses to abandon Butcher, because the latter needs someone to stick with him to keep him from going too far. Undying Loyalty at its finest, and it is reciprocated.

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

• Kimiko and Frenchie's slow dance in MM's apartment to "Dream A Little Dream of Me." She takes the chance to marvel at how his skin feels on her hands^contextEarly on, she had mentioned that while on V, she could not really feel his arms, comparing the sensation to "bendy straws". because she's resolved to take Compound V once more so she can protect the man she loves.
  Frenchie: Enjoy them before they feel like bendy straws again.
• Hughie tearfully telling Mindstorm that Butcher is 'his family', even though he's a total bastard, and stating that he won't be 'a man who leaves his friends behind.'
  • And in turn, during his nightmare, it's made clear that Butcher cares for Hughie just as much as he did his brother Lennie, and genuinely wants to change himself for the better for Hughie's sake.
• Buster Beaver assures Black Noir that he and his friends still care for him.
• In Black Noir's flashback, Crimson Countess can be seen checking on and helping Gunpowder after Soldier Boy beat him. Shortly after during Black Noir and Soldier Boy’s argument, she (briefly) defends Black Noir when she overheard that Soldier Boy robbed Black Noir of his chances of getting into “Beverly Hills Cop” before Soldier Boy shut her down.
• When Soldier Boy and Black Noir's argument turns into a brutal beating for the latter, the entire team is heard pleading for Soldier Boy to lay off the poor guy. As seen in Nicaragua, Payback might be a team of annoying and rude people, but they do genuinely care about each other’s safety.
• When Hughie figures out how to track down Mindstorm's location, Butcher is impressed and comes as close to gushing over Hughie's talent as an older brother would.
• Although this is Homelander we're talking about, Soldier Boy saying he'd gladly allow his son to take over as the most powerful and iconic superhero in the world is touching. You can tell that beneath his toxic attitude, Soldier Boy is capable of feeling love for friends and family. And even though Homelander is a monster, it's nice to see him finally meet one of his parents after a cold childhood where he was deprived of an affectionate and healthy family. Mind you, this is also Soldier Boy we're talking about.

Episode 8 - "The Instant White Hot Wild"

• Billy knocking out Hughie before going to confront Homelander. He's not going to make the same mistakes he made with Lenny. Later when Annie tells him that Temp V is fatal, she starts to call Butcher an asshole for not telling Hughie; the latter points out that he [Butcher] saved the young man's life by leaving him.
  • The thing Butcher says to Hughie, possibly intending it to be the last time they spoke? "You really are the spitting image of my little brother."
• Hughie apologizing to Annie for what an asshole he's been the last few episodes, regardless if it was Temp V or not, which she thanks him for saying. The end of the episode implies that their relationship is still going and they've become stronger from the experience.
  • Hughie fully regains his position as The Heart of the team when he insists they save Butcher along with everyone else when The Boys plus Annie and Maeve are all for cutting him loose.
    Hughie: We save everyone. Even if they don't deserve it. Especially if they don't deserve it.
• During the climactic brawl at the top of Vought Tower, Hughie is in the control room when he sees Starlight on camera as the last person standing against Soldier Boy. Knowing she stands no chance against him in a direct fight, he briefly considers taking a likely lethal dose of Temp V to save her. Hughie instead decides to put his faith in Annie and not let Butcher's attempt to save him go to waste, turning the electricity in the room all the way up to give her enough power to fight back against Soldier Boy. His faith in Annie pays off, as her attack stuns Soldier Boy long enough for herself, MM, and Kimiko to administer the nerve agent and take him out.
• While MM is still mad at Butcher for everything he did to him and the Boys, when Soldier Boy knocks Butcher out during the fight, MM goes to check on him to see if he's alright, because deep down, he sorta still cares about him.
• Maeve's very much Earn Your Happy Ending. After surviving Soldier Boy’s explosion, no-one outside of The Boys know she's alive which is just fine by her as Maeve gets everything she wants. She's free of Homelander, Soldier Boy's powers have stripped Maeve of her own, she's reunited with Elena and the two are going off to find a nice quiet place to live theirs life in peace.
  • Her goodbye to Annie where the latter thanks the Maeve for saving her:
    Maeve: First time your prissy ass showed up at the tower, crying in that bathroom, you saved me. Truth is you don't need me anymore. I could jump, you can fucking fly.
  • Related to this, Ashley is shown the CCTV footage of Maeve surviving Soldier Boy's blast. She immediately deletes the footage, ensuring that Homelander can never find Maeve or Elena.
• It does more harm than good, but in a twisted way, Homelander reassuring Ryan that he's not angry at him for lasering Stormfront, that Becca's death wasn't his fault, and telling him that he'll always love him no matter what.
• After Ryan attacks Soldier Boy to save Homelander, Homelander's first reaction is to quickly tell Ryan to get upstairs for his own safety. For as twisted and warped as Homelander's perception is, his love for his son is entirely genuine.
  • Also, Soldier Boy attacking Ryan immediately turns Butcher against him, resulting in him attacking the former alongside Homelander to protect the boy.
  • And if there was any doubt, when Soldier Boy tackles Ryan and critically injuries him, Homelander immediately forgoes everything to protect his son, even his own well-being to prepare to take Soldier Boy's blast aimed at Ryan, affirming that for as much of a bastard as he is, he does genuinely love his son with all of his heart.
• Frenchie encourages MM to be honest with his daughter about his life. He concludes his speech by telling MM he's a flawed, broken, fucked up man but he's also the best man Frenchie's ever known. MM actually sheds a tear.
• MM opening up to Janine about how Soldier Boy destroyed their family, and how traumatized it made him. After telling her that her grandfather was a hero for trying to get justice, she smiles up at him and says he is her hero. D'aww...
• When Black Noir hugs Homelander, he sees cartoon images of hearts, proving that he does care about Homelander.
• While Black Noir's death at Homelander's hands is utterly tragic, the last thing he sees are his imaginary friends reassuring him that he did great and comforting him in his final moments.
• The Boys (sans Butcher) officially welcoming Annie into the team, going from what was essentially enemies in the first season to now Fire-Forged Friends and True Companions.
  • The "sans Butcher" part is because he doesn't say anything during the scene until Victoria Neuman is revealed to have been named as the running mate for Robert Singer's presidential race. Implying he's not going against the team on this.
  • Also Annie's reaction isn't to question wether she should join or even shock at being asked, its point out what Butcher's reaction would be. She doesn't hesitate for a minute to join up: Annie has gone from a Celebrity Superhero part of a team of Smug Super Jerkasses to an actual member of a team dedicated to justice and improving the world.
• In a twisted way, Homelander killing a protester who threw a bottle at Ryan. While killing the guy was definitely not right, it shows that Homelander is willing to risk his reputation for his son.
  • The crowd cheers when Homelander introduces Ryan as his son, possibly because this makes him even more relatable than before.