There’s no doubt that everyone saw something amazing on the latest episode of The Boys, Homelander is rattled. It would appear that his encounter with Soldier Boy in the previous episode shook him a little more than the supe is willing to admit. The hallucination he suffers while speaking to a group of people, or rather, during his latest spew of lies about Starlight, suggests that he didn’t forget that he was nearly taken out by his fellow supe. But it’s even better when Soldier Boy finds out something about Homelander that fans of the comics might have known, but the rest of us had to learn. Should I let that spoiler go? Or maybe it would be better if fans watched and learned for themselves. In any case, it’s not too hard to sit through this episode since it moves along at a pace that’s easy to follow and is still insane as Soldier Boy is still seeking to take out his former team for setting him up, which means that he’s going after Mindstorm since already took out the TNT Twins, were utterly useless at the end.
But as one would imagine, being hunted leaves one a bit desperate, and Mindstorm appears to be well-versed in how to make traps and keep himself off the radar, save for the fact that he still needs to receive medication for whatever’s wrong with him. It’s kind of surprising to see Butcher go down so easily, but being a supe doesn’t make one immune to everything, especially when Butcher has such a dark past. His foray into his nightmares, of when he and his brother were beaten by their fathers, is all kinds of depressing, but it does give a better explanation of why Butcher is the way he is. The fact that he could have easily died in his dreams, thanks to Mindstorm’s control, is a bit terrifying since as Soldier Boy explains it, Butcher could have been stuck inside his own head until his body gave out from lack of food and water.
Despite Hughie’s attempts to keep Mindstorm alive though, it was kind of predictable that spending too much time hemming and hawing would allow Soldier Boy to catch up and finish the job. It is worth noting though that the audience couldn’t hear the entire exchange between Soldier Boy and Mindstorm. But it is obvious that Soldier Boy didn’t like what he heard, as his shield made short work of Mindstorm’s covered face as it soon became a spongy red mess. It was already established that Soldier Boy is every bit the maniac that Homelander is, just in a different way, since this character has seen different things, experienced different battles, and endured a different era than Homelander. But otherwise, they’re not too different since they’re both insanely arrogant and think that the world needs to revolve around them. Homelander’s strange obsession with milk is still very much in effect, but that’s the least of anyone’s problems since he’s still bent on ruining Starlight and keeping Vought at the top, and he’s not the only one. Ashley, in all her sniveling glory and false bravado, is working things as much as she can to make sure the whole mess doesn’t come crumbling down. Her meeting with A-Train, whose still alive, makes it clear that she knows how to work a sensitive situation, but that she’s no better than the supes.
Black Noir’s full-on descent (or is it a return?) into madness comes complete with a cartoon-laden explanation of how he came to be the way he is, even as it explains how and why Soldier Boy was betrayed by his team. It’s not as though he’s a decent individual, but it does make sense why he would feel a certain way about being set up and betrayed. In a world where supes and humans continue to struggle for the moral high ground and miss it entirely at times, it’s easy to think that no one is ever completely innocent unless they’re helpless to stop anything from changing. That’s kind of depressing, but those that have the power aren’t exactly possessed of the strongest moral compasses in the show.
Things are changing for The Deep since it would appear that he prefers an octopus to his wife, who can’t hang with the weird coupling, and it’s easy to say that while Starlight doesn’t agree with the use of Compound V, she’s gained a bit more of an understanding as to why it’s important to some folks. The return of Kimiko’s powers could mean that a shift is happening in the story. But with the revelation that Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father, well, the coming episode is anyone’s game, especially since one has to question where certain loyalties are going to lie after this. Oh yes, the next episode is going to be epic.
Follow Us
