The Boys are on a yacht sailing in the ocean. Kimiko sits with her brother and tells him that she will protect him if needed. A writer pitches the plot of the new "Dawn of the Seven" movie and Stormfront rips him apart for his sexist portrayals of women. Starlight watches the news happily and A-Train comes to confront her, knowing that she is up to something.
Frenchie talks to Kimiko’s brother and asks him to help him understand her. He explains that her sign language is their own special language. The Boys are being chased in the yacht by sharks, who are being directed by The Deep. They approach the shore, where The Deep is waiting on top of a whale. Butcher drives his boat into a whale, throwing The Deep to the ground and knocking him out.
A-Train runs ahead to find The Boys, but he gets dizzy as his heart starts pounding harder and needs to stop. Starlight goes down a different tunnel and runs into Hughie. She knocks him down with her light as Homelander comes up behind her and commands her to kill him to prove her allegiance. Kimiko runs to save her brother and throws Stormfront down. Stormfront then kills Kenji, slowly and painfully.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Anchors Away: Kenji's Dynamic Entry is commenced by their anchor suddenly flying out of the water at them.
- Awesome, but Impractical: While it looks really cool for a whale to rise out of the ocean blocking a boat, whales aren't tough enough to block boats going at high speed.
- Bait-and-Switch Comment: Used by A-Train to troll Starlight when it looks like he's going to denounce her to Mr. Edgar, but instead goes on to claim that none of them knew of Compound V.
- Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Stormfront kills Kenji, avoiding the problem of Kimiko's brother being a Supe terrorist.
- Beneath the Mask: In the previous episode, Stormfront told Starlight it was OK to drop the mask and be a bitch from time to time. Here Stormfront drops her cheery façade and it's not a pretty sight.
- Beware the Silly Ones: The Deep, who up to now has been played as either a jerk or a joke, shows when this is a job for Aquaman he can draw on some impressive resources. If Butcher hadn't been as crazy as he is, The Deep might well have been the hero of the hour.
- Big Brother Instinct: Little brother, rather, but after managing to escape, Kenji returns to help Kimiko against Stormfront.
- Blessed with Suck: The Deep talks of how as a child he could hear goldfish begging for their lives in a pet store, despite being told that his powers were a gift.
- Bloody Hilarious: Speedboat meets whale, played for laughs.
- Conscience Makes You Go Back: Kenji was ready to run off and abandon Kimiko, but seeing Stormfront about to kill her causes him to head back to help her.
- Conveniently Placed Sharp Thing: Kenji uses his chains to scrape off enough duct tape to free a finger, which enables him to direct enough telekinetic power to crumple a drink can so he can cut the rest off with a sharp piece of metal.
- Covered in Gunge: Poor Hughie gets splattered in blood and guts again! No wonder he goes to pieces.
- Death Glare: Both Homelander and Kimiko stare menacingly at Stormfront at the end of the episode, with Stormfront having undermined Homelander's leadership with the Seven and having killed Kimiko's brother.
- Death Seeker: When Homelander orders Starlight to Shoot Your Mate, threatening to kill them both if she doesn't, Hughie just gives a slight nod and closes his eyes as Starlight powers up her Glowing Eyes of Doom.
- Deceased Fall-Guy Gambit: The Vought CEO accuses the late Madelyn Stillwell of being responsible for the Compound V scandal.
- Destination Defenestration: Stormfront tossed a bystander out of an apartment window.
- Die or Fly: Homelander tries to awake his son's superpowers by tossing him off a roof. When it doesn't work, Homelander turns to mishandle the mother to invoke a Traumatic Superpower Awakening in his son, this time successfully.
- Due to the Dead: While the rest of The Seven are bemused by The Deep mourning 'Lucy', Black Noir gives a solemn salute to the dead whale.
- Evil All Along: Stormfront turns out to be the worst supe to date, killing bystanders out of racism. While the other members of the Seven aren't above using excessive force when no one is looking, none have ever been shown killing just for the hell of it.
- Evil Is Petty: When Stormfront hunts down Kenji and Kimiko, she deliberately kills several black people en route. She killed a black girl because she couldn't stand the sound of her screaming and killed several black men just for being in her line of vision.
- Evil Gloating: On meeting Butcher again, Homelander enjoys telling him how he had pancakes with his wife recently. Butcher gleefully responds, "Eat this!" and lets Kenji pancake Homelander under a ton of rubble.
- Family of Choice: After being rejected by his son, Homelander tries to invoke this with The Seven, saying they are his real family. It doesn't work because—contrary to what the Origin Story movie being storyboarded shows—they're not Fire-Forged Friends but have been assembled by Vought's marketing division.
- Fire-Forged Friends:
- Attempted by Homelander to bring together The Seven under his leadership in opposition to the Vought management. It backfires when Stormfront turns out to be The Rival, an alternate superhero that Mr. Edgar can now use to challenge him.
- Played straight with Hughie and Butcher, after the latter comes back to save him and Annie from Homelander.
- Foreshadowing:
- Kenji and Kimiko reminisce about their childhood, with Kenji remembering a time where he covered for Kimiko's stealing of food by claiming that he did it, resulting in the adults breaking his hands as punishment. When he saves Kimiko from Stormfront, she breaks his hands before killing him.
- Mallory asks Butcher about an old Supe called Liberty, whom The Boys investigate in the next episode.
- When A-Train appears at the press event in the previous episode, Stormfront does not shake his hand. Her racism is on full display in this episode.
- Game of Chicken: The Deep assumes the Boys will stop if he blocks their path with a whale. Too bad he didn't take into account it's Billy Butcher behind the steering wheel, who simply speeds up to kill the poor animal.
- Genghis Gambit: With Vought on the ropes, Mr. Edgar sends The Seven after Kenji who has just downed a police helicopter. Despite some early hiccups, things work out well for him.
- Godzilla Threshold: With Hughie either about to be killed by Starlight, or along with Starlight by Homelander, Butcher unbinds Kenji so that he can deal with Homelander for them.
- Good is Not Nice: After the police helicopter crashes, Butcher pilots the boat away instead of looking for survivors as they have to Run or Die. Hughie can only throw a life ring overboard in a likely futile gesture.
- Heroic BSoD: After being pushed inside of a whale, Hughie is clearly shell-shocked by what just happened and chooses to remain still for a while more, saying he'll catch up with the others later. He only moves when Milk sits down next to him and refuses to budge until he does.
- Hidden Depths: As the news breaks that Vought has been turning children into supes for decades, we see Black Noir, who has otherwise only been an Ax-Crazy Psycho Knife Nut, watching the news on his phone and crying.
- Homoerotic Subtext: More like full-on text with all the letters spelled out. When the Boys find that Hughie's girlfriend leaked the existence of Compound V to the media, Hughie is glomped by Mother's Milk and mouth-kissed by Frenchie. When Hughie is annoyed that Butcher seems unwilling to grant him any praise, Butcher mockingly promises to buy Hughie a family-size tube of lube and tickle his balls until he begs him to stop. And he won't stop even then!
- Hope Spot: Lampshaded with Hughie talking of how things go to pieces just when you think they're going well.
- While The Boys are waiting to deliver Kenji to the CIA they discover that the story of Compound V has broken and Vought is burned! Then a police helicopter turns up just as Kenji escapes and things go From Bad to Worse.
- Hughie hears boots walking towards him in the storm drain, but then realises it's Starlight—she got his phone call and has come to save him again! Instead Starlight zaps him because Homelander is right behind her. Homelander then insists that Starlight prove her loyalties by killing Hughie.
- Stormfront appears to be a kindred spirit to Starlight who won't put up with Vought's BS. She turns out to be a racist mass murderer.
- Idiot Ball:
- Seesawing between exaltation and despair, Hughie endangers Starlight by leaving voice messages on her phone which may well be tapped, and failing to check if any other members of The Seven are around before greeting her.
- Frenchie leaving the drink can in the room with Kenji, and Butcher stealing the boat they're using.
- If You're So Evil, Eat This Kitten!: Homelander demands Starlight kill Hughie to prove that she is fully committed to the Seven, threatening to kill both of them if she doesn't. She would have too, if Butcher and Kenji hadn't intervened.
- Internal Reveal: The world, including several supes such as the Deep and Black Noir, find out about the origins of their powers through Compound-V.
- Ironic Echo:
- In "The Big Ride", Homelander went up to Mr. Edgar's office and claimed "I am Vought" only to get told why he wasn't. When Edgar turns up in their conference room asking for help from The Seven, Homelander responds, "We are not Vought!" and refuses to help.
- Stormfront gives The Real Heroes speech just like Homelander.
- Irony: Stormfront calls Homelander "gramps". She's later revealed to be just over a hundred years old.
- Jerkass Has a Point: Butcher is right when he says celebrations over the fall of Vought Industries are premature and they need to focus on the job they're doing now. Kenji escapes due to Frenchie's carelessness and Vought isn't finished by a long way.
- Kick the Dog:
- Ryan is terrified while on the roof with Homelander, even calling him Dad when he begs him not make him jump. Dad is pleased...then shoves him off anyway.
- After all the work The Deep has done regarding his 'gills' issues, Homelander tells him to cover up his gills like you would someone who's left his fly open.
- Rather than the usual Collateral Damage due to carelessness or indifference, Stormfront is shown deliberately killing Innocent Bystanders out of racism.
- Leave No Witnesses: Stormfront makes sure there are no survivors of her rampage through the housing estate, so she can blame all their deaths on the Supe Terrorist.
- Locked Out of the Loop: Homelander doesn't find out about the Compound V hitting the news because he's with his son in the isolated Vought facility, until Maeve tells him on his return.
- The Lost Lenore: A beautiful woman in the nightclub slips A-Train her phone number. Still grieving over Popclaw, he throws it away.
- Mass "Oh, Crap!": The Boys and the Deep when they realise Butcher is crazy enough to ram a whale with a speedboat.
- Meaningful Name: Invoked earlier with the introduction of Stormfront (also the name of an openly racist website), but seemingly averted at the time since she was being presented as a millennial activist. However, it is more firmly hinted at when she takes the opportunity to murder a black father and others of probably similar demographics; at first we wonder if it's because he's a man, but clearly that is only part of her motivation. Her immediate use of a racial slur while killing Kimiko's brother in this episode finally confirms it.
- Mood Whiplash
- A-Train leaves the nightclub only to have a mild heart attack the moment he walks out the door.
- Ashley is geeking out over the movie being planned, when she gets a phone call informing her about the Compound V story breaking and goes into panic mode.
- Moment Killer: Of a non-romantic variety. MM and Frenchie are ecstatic in congratulating Hughie for getting the truth about Compound V leaked to the press. Butcher couldn't give two shits. Just says "nice one" and walks out.
- Morality Chain: Milk describes Hughie as this for Butcher, saying Butcher needs him more than anyone else.
- Music for Courage: Hughie starts the episode watching the music video to Billy Joel's You're Only Human to try and get his spirits up. It doesn't work.
- My Fist Forgives You: Subverted; Butcher tries to apologise for hitting Hughie in the previous episode. Hughie takes a wild swing at him, then just keeps on hitting in a rage until he's pulled off by Mother's Milk. It's not until Butcher saves his life that Hughie actually does forgive him.
- Neck Snap: How Stormfront kills Kimiko's brother.
- Negated Moment of Awesome: The Deep uses a whale to block the path of the Boys, looking all smug about finally being competent at something. Billy doesn't even blink when he decides to simply ram the whale and kill it.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
- Grace Mallory tells Butcher that if there's a way to screw this up, he'll find it. Sure enough it turns out Butcher stole the boat they're on, bringing an NYPD police helicopter down on them.
- Frenchie brings Kenji a power drink can and leaves it in the cabin when he leaves. Having freed a single finger, Kenji is able to crumple it and use the shards to cut himself free.
- When Kenji tries to strike at the Boys, Kimiko knocks him aside. Unfortunately this causes his telekinetic burst to hit the police helicopter instead, crashing it into the ocean with no apparent survivors, but not before transmitting a camera image of Kenji that lets everyone know a Supe terrorist is in US waters.
- Not-So-Harmless Villain: Turns out the Deep could be very effective; he takes down Butcher's yacht almost immediately and beaching a whale in front of the speedboat would have worked if Butcher weren't a psycho. Deep's real problem is that he's stupid, not that he's weak or useless.
- Not So Stoic: After the news about Compound V breaks, Black Noir is shown sitting on the floor weeping.
- Ominous Walk: Stormfront does this walk when she has Kimiko's brother at her mercy and he is trying to crawl away from her in the corridor.
- The Only One Allowed to Defeat You: Invoked by Homelander re Kenji, but Stormfront steals the kill from him.
- Pet the Dog: Butcher attempts to make up with Hughie after his actions in the last episode.
- Politically Incorrect Villain: Stormfront, dropping an ethnic slur before she kills Kenji.
- Possessive Wrist Grab: Homelander to Becca.
- Ramming Always Works: The sharks sent by The Deep ram the boat and hole it below the waterline, forcing The Boys to Abandon Ship and take to the launch, which Butcher then uses to ram the sperm whale when Deep tries to block their escape route.
- Reformed, but Rejected: Played With as The Deep may not have changed much and began doing so for selfish reasons, but he tries to make amends with Starlight and claims that he's going to do his best to compensate for what he's done. She angrily tells him that he cannot come back. Using the word "long and hard" during his apology was probably counter-productive.
- The Reveal: Jonah Vogelbaum was crippled, likely by Homelander, but is still alive. This episode also shows Stormfront's true nature.
- Right Behind Me:
- Butcher says if Kimiko causes any trouble about her brother, he'll neutralise her. He turns round and sees Frenchie behind him, and then Kimiko comes down the stairs from the upper deck and gives him a Death Glare.
- Maeve is talking to her girlfriend on the phone when Homelander walks in. Fortunately he doesn't appear to suspect someone called Elena could be a love rival.
- Rousing Speech: Homelander actually comes up with a good one, when telling The Seven that it doesn't matter if they were born or made, the world needs superheroes.
- Rule of Drama: The sharks move a lot faster than they could in real life.
- Scream Discretion Shot: Stormfront murdering the children.
- Shark Fin of Doom: Mass "Oh, Crap!" when The Boys see a swarm of shark fins slicing through the water towards their boat like wire-guided torpedoes.
- Shout-Out: Of all the racial slurs Stormfront could have uttered before killing Kenji, she goes with "Yellow bastard".
- Sink or Swim Mentor: Homelander's favored approach to getting Ryan's powers to work.
- Take a Third Option: Mr. Edgar is presented with two options by his staff. Option One is deny everything about Compound V, but that only works if there are no more leaks—they could all get prison time if the authorities find a whistleblower. Option Two is to admit fault. While these options are being presented, Mr. Edgar is busy looking at the image of Kenji knocking down the helicopter. He sends the Seven after Kenji, and after their success announces that the Compound V was produced by a renegade faction inside Vought, lead by the conveniently deceased Stillwell.
- Take My Hand!: Done twice by Butcher to Hughie, and only accepted the second time.
- Take That!: Stormfront says that the female characters in the movie spec script are all "unknowable Hitchcock bitches or Michael Bay fuck dolls".
- Tastes Like Friendship: Attempted by Frenchie. Kenji not only tells him to F-off, he uses the can to free himself. I guess soft drink and a packet of potato chips aren't as effective as your usual French cooking, mon ami.
- This Looks Like a Job for Aquaman: A more villainous example since this is The Boys, but since the team is based in the water during this episode, The Deep gets encouraged by Carol to go stop them. He actually manages to act as a bit of a nuisance for them, though it doesn't last too long.
- Titled After the Song: From "Swords of a Thousand Men" by Tenpole Tudor, specifically the line, Over the hill went the swords of a thousand men.
- True Companions: Butcher told Hughie he'd kill him if he got in the way of his quest to rescue Becca, but even though Kenji is his guarantee of CIA assistance, he releases Kenji to save Hughie's life.
- Villain with Good Publicity: Stormfront massacres bystanders (most of them black) on the way to killing Kenji, and then Vought makes it look as if he was the one responsible. It's entirely possible she knew this would happen and used it as an excuse to enjoy herself.
- Wardrobe Malfunction: Deep's vest gets ripped when Butcher rams the whale, exposing one of his gills.
- We Care: After bringing down the dangerous Super Terrorist who killed over fifty people, The Seven are shown on television caring for the injured civilians. They, of course, are The Real Heroes.
- Weaksauce Weakness: If he can't use his hands, Kenji can't use his telekinesis. The Boys are able to keep him contained by gloving him with duct tape, and Stormfront shuts him down by almost ripping his hands off.
- What the Hell, Hero?: A-Train points out that Starlight blowing the whistle on Compound V has put their high-paying jobs in danger. He's not impressed by her saying that money isn't everything, as only people who've never been poor say that.
- You're Not My Father: Ryan's reaction to Homelander physically threatening Becca is to shove him to the ground with his super-strength and make it clear that he wants nothing to do with him, despite his parentage.
