Annie has revealed to the world that Vought and its heroes are frauds, Soldier Boy is still out there causing mayhem, and A-Train may or may not be dead. Noir is also still on the run from Soldier Boy, who’s hunting down all the members of his former team, and he’s only got two left, Noir being one of them.
A Cover-Up
Heroes work hard, but Vought works harder to cover up their messes. Ashley is on the defensive countering the claims of Annie that Vought are frauds and Soldier Boy is on the loose. They link her to Kimiko, a known terrorist with a human trafficking ring, effectively destroying her credibility.
Homelander begins to claim that Starlight’s house for runaway teens is actually a front for human trafficking, and even the bigwigs of Vought and Bob Singer are concerned. He’s even hallucinating Soldier Boy at the event. Which leaves him with no other option than to seek out some … milk straight from the cow (why is he like this?). Victoria confronts him for his unhinged behavior and gives him a piece of paper containing a secret Edgar was keeping from him.
Back at Vought, the cover is blown completely, as Annie gets him on camera admitting to the lies he’d been telling.
The Truth About Soldier Boy
He’s a fraud. Every major accomplishment of his was a photo op. He’s bunking up with the Legend while Butcher searches for one of the remaining two members of Payback, Mindstorm. He’s got a variety of cabins all around the country he alternates staying at, and Butcher is having trouble nailing down which one he’s currently residing in. But Hughie has a stroke of brilliance and suggests they call surrounding pharmacies to see if he’s picking up his meds at any of them recently.
Queen Maeve
She is alive, being held in a cell in Vought tower. She’s loving the bruise on his face, knowing that something is finally getting to him. He wants to know what she told Butcher but Maeve has nothing to tell him. She asks him why he’s even bothering to keep her alive, and he tells her it’s so he can harvest her eggs for him to use later. (Gross?) Maeve says despite that wonderful news, it’s still a top three day for her, as she finally got to see him scared.
The Boys (Almost) Reunited
Frenchie and Kimiko reunite with Annie and MM, ready to try and formulate a new plan of attack. Frenchie cracks the code for the gas the Russians used to knock Soldier Boy out. Kimiko asks Annie to get her a dose of Compound V; the permanent stuff. She misses having her powers, the run-in with Little Nina and almost losing Frenchie an eye-opener for her. She doesn’t want to risk it again.
MM confronts Todd for bringing Janine to a Homelander rally and Todd is completely brainwashed by the right-wing Vought propaganda. He believes Starlight is the villain and Soldier Boy doesn’t exist. So, for those objectively bad opinions, he gets a fist to the jaw, Janine looking on.
Kimiko does end up taking her permanent V again, her wounds healing immediately and no bad side effects as of yet.
Hunt for Mindstorm
Mindstorm’s current whereabouts are uncovered, and as Soldier Boy preps to search for him he warns Hughie and Butcher to not let him make eye contact with them. Because once he did, it was over. Hughie asks why Butcher keeps supplying him with an endless supply of weed, and Butcher says it’s for his PTSD. That’s what’s causing the sudden explosions from whatever the Russians did to him. Hughie and Butcher Supe up for the incoming fight.
Soldier Boy sets off a booby trap, Mindstorm catching Butcher in his gaze. Soldier Boy says he’s gone, he’ll die of dehydration within a few days, but he’s not getting out of the Mindstorm’s trap.
When Soldier Boy and Hughie corner Mindstorm, Hughie teleports him away, essentially saving his life. He tells Miindstorm that if he fixes Butcher, he’ll teleport him away from Soldier Boy to safety. Except, deliberations go on too long and Soldier Boy catches up, ending Mindstorm by bashing his brains in with the shield. But not before telling him why Vought approved of Noir’s mutinee.
One member of Payback left: Black Noir.
Black Noir’s Hideout
Noir is holing up in a very Chuck E. Cheese-esque establishment until Soldier Boy is taken care of and this guy is clearly totally fine. Nothing bizarre at all going on. Cartoon characters are chatting with him as he eats beans straight out of a can, and they re-enact what life was really like fighting alongside Soldier Boy, and it was less than pleasant. He’s actually a massive dick that beat the crap out of them all regularly. He even took a movie role from Noir, rude, telling the studio he wasn’t fit for the role and needed the spotlight to himself.
Stan Edgar made a deal with Noir, he could take out Soldier Boy because they had a replacement. A child, but a child who could fly and become more than Soldier Boy ever was. Now, he has to finish what he started.
Butcher’s Brutal Past
We get a horrific tour of Butcher’s upbringing. From his father’s brutality to him and his brother, Lenny, all the way to his brother’s suicide. It paints a clear picture of how the Butcher we know today came to be, hardened and emotionless. It all started when he was a kid, volunteering for the belt beating in place of Lenny, until he escaped and joined the military, doing anything he could to get free. But his absence put his father’s fury onto Lenny, and Lenny couldn’t handle it.
The Deep is in Deep Sh*t
Intimacy is important in every relationship, and Deep thinks his marriage is a little flat, vanilla, lacking spice. So, he suggests adding a third to their arrangement, and yeah, it’s the octopus he saved from Herogasm, Ambrosia. Cassandra is absolutely not on board like every other sane person wouldn’t be, and she leaves. It feels permanent, too.
A-Train’s New Ticker
After being on the receiving of some deadly road rash, Blue Hawk will live on. A-Train was the recipient of his heart, saving the speediest member of the Seven from his own deadly heart.
Side Effects
On her mission to get permanent V for Kimiko, Annie sees the notes on the table for the Temp V. Fatal after 3-5 doses. Starlight calls Butcher to try and relay the message to both him and Hughie. Butcher promises to tell Hughie, but he doesn’t. Instead, telling him that they’re going to go get more and finish this job.
Spring,1981, A Boy
Well, when Stan Edgar had mentioned a kid that could fly being born that kid turned out to be Homelander. Now, of course, Homelander was born in a test tube, but one of the donors was none other than Soldier Boy. So yeah, Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father. Soldier Boy calls to tell his new son the news.
The first seven episodes of the third season of The Boys are now streaming exclusively on Prime Video. Catch the final episode on Friday, July 8, and stay tuned for all of our coverage on the series, including episodic recaps and more.
