Yahoo News The Boys finale recap: It's supe father against supe son in a big, bloody newsroom battle
While the season 3 finale isn't the most outlandish episode (that title goes to episode 6: "Herogasm"), I appreciate the fact that it's really the emotional arcs driving the bus this week, taking us on a wild ride to some truly unexpected and moving places.
The episode opens with Homelander (Antony Starr) tracking down his son Ryan (Cameron Crovetti), who's had a rough go of it lately. After being rebuffed by Butcher (Karl Urban) earlier in the season, Ryan's desperate for the love of a legitimate parent. So naturally, when Homelander appeals to that fractured part of Ryan, he folds, leaving his caretaker Mallory (Laila Robbins) behind and flying off with his sociopathic bio-dad.
Unbeknownst to Ryan, the rest of the world ain't too happy with his daddy. After Starlight (Erin Moriarty) broadcasted Homelander's threatening rant at the end of the last episode, Vaught's stock plummeted, and a throng of protesters set up camp outside Vaught Tower to demand the return of the imprisoned Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott.)
Fearing what could happen if Maeve is allowed to speak her truth, Vaught CEO Ashley (Colby Minifie) and The Deep (Chace Crawford) decide to move her to a secure location. Leave it to the show's resident idiots to pull a move as dumb as that — Maeve easily overpowers her escorts and escapes.
Back with our supe-hunters — Butcher, Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) make their way back to the city after last episode's woodland battle with Mindstorm (Ryan Blakely). But as the trio stops at a gas station, Butcher knocks Hughie unconscious and drives off. It's cold as hell, but also sorta sweet — it's Butcher's way of protecting Hughie, his surrogate little brother, after learning that Temp-V is fatal.
Later, Starlight picks up Hughie from the gas station and tells him the truth about the Temp-V. Hughie apologizes for acting like a jerk, and Starlight forgives him. They're not exactly back together, but it seems there's hope for #HughLight in the future (yay!).
Upon arriving in New York, Hughie and Starlight strategize with the remainder of their team — Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso). Lending some much needed muscle to the crew is Maeve, who finds her way to their hideout and offers a helping hand… sort of.
Frenchie has obtained a dose of "novichock" — a nerve agent the Russians created to subdue Soldier Boy — and the Boys plan on using it to take him down, even if that means letting Homelander walk free. But Maeve is dead set on using Soldier Boy to eliminate Homelander — so she throws the novichock out the window.
The team's argument is cut short by the arrival of Butcher and Soldier Boy, who make clear their intent to head to Vaught Tower and destroy Homelander. Starlight, Hughie, and pretty much everyone else vehemently oppose this idea as there are thousands of innocent people in that tower that would become collateral damage to Soldier Boy.
With Maeve's help, Soldier Boy and Butcher trap Hughie, Starlight, MM, Kimiko, and Frenchie in a locked safe and head to Vaught. Eventually, Starlight is able to blast her way out of the safe, so the Boys race to the tower with a Hail-Mary of a plan to create more novichock in the Vaught lab and eliminate Soldier Boy.
As the Boys jet across town, Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell) returns to Homelander's side, ready to face Soldier Boy… but he'll have to deal with one supe at a time. Homelander confronts Noir about Soldier Boy being his father, and Noir admits that he knew about it all along… so Homelander responds by killing him.
It's not the smartest move on Homelander's part, as he soon comes face-to-face with Soldier Boy and a V'd up Butcher with no backup. Homelander appeals to Soldier Boy's fatherly instincts — begging him to fight by his side, and introducing him to his grandson, Ryan. For a beat, it seems like Soldier Boy might just join his family… but upon seeing Homelander cry, Soldier Boy chastises him for being "a pussy," and resolves to put him down.
With diplomacy off the table, they do battle, father and son clashing beneath the bright lights of the Vaught newsroom. Soldier Boy gains an edge on Homelander, powering up to blast away his powers for good… but there's a complication: Ryan is in the room.
Butcher has a choice — let Ryan die to fulfill his quest for revenge, or save Ryan and let Homelander walk free. Butcher chooses the light — using his laser eyes to knock Soldier Boy off Homelander just in time for Starlight and Maeve to join the fray, while Hughie slips into the control room and evacuates the building.
Homelander and Maeve proceed to beat the living crap out of each other while Starlight, Butcher, MM and Kimiko take on Soldier Boy. But Soldier Boy is simply too strong… and as he charges up to kill Starlight, Hughie watches from the control room, faced with a dilemma of his own. Earlier in the episode, he found a vial of Temp-V in the safe-house. So does he risk his life by shooting up and teleporting in to save Starlight, or does he put his ego aside and help Starlight save herself?
Like Butcher, Hughie chooses the light… literally — cranking up every light source in the newsroom, thereby giving Starlight the power to hold her own against Soldier Boy. Starlight, Butcher, MM, and Kimiko restrain Soldier Boy and dose him with the novichock Frenchie just finished brewing… but time is running out, as Soldier Boy fights back and prepares to blow them all to kingdom come…
And just as he's about to do it, Maeve makes a difficult decision of her own — putting aside her vendetta against Homelander to tackle Soldier Boy, she sends them both tumbling out the window as Soldier Boy explodes into a giant mushroom cloud. Homelander escapes with Ryan, while Maeve and Soldier Boy are presumed dead.
We catch up with the Boys some time later, where we learn that Maeve didn't die in the explosion; she just lost her powers. Reunited with her girlfriend Elena (Nicola Correia-Damude), Maeve plans on skipping town and living a quiet life, away from Vaught. Good for her! I'm sure that'll work out. Also still alive is Soldier Boy, who's been returned to captivity, watched over by a bitter and broken Agent Mallory.
The final act of this episode teases a major storyline for season 4 — earlier, Homelander ordered The Deep to show his loyalty by executing the American Vice Presidential candidate. It wasn't clear at the time why that was important, but a news broadcast now brings everything into focus… as we see Homelander ally Neuman (Claudia Doumit) selected as the new VP candidate. One can only assume that once she wins the election, some sort of "presidential accident" will usher her into the Oval Office in short order.
The finale ends with a disturbing scene outside Vaught, where Homelander introduces Ryan to the world. When a liberal protester calls Homelander out, hitting Ryan in the process, the supe lasers the protester on the spot. After a beat of silence, the crowd erupts in applause. Poor little Ryan basks in the adoration of the Homelander fanatics, succumbing to his father's indoctrination and shattering my heart into a million pieces.
The season 3 finale tosses a whole bunch of balls in the air, and I will probably spend the next year staring up at the sky, waiting for them to come down in season 4.
Stray Observations:
No line of dialogue sums up Frenchie's personality better than: "I once took a Spaniard's ear for jabbering at a screening of 27 Dresses." Now that is a hero.
In an episode full of blood and guts, I think the most gruesome image was the reveal of Ashley's nearly bald head, a byproduct of the immense stresses of her job. Yikes…
The Deep continues to provide an ocean of comedic relief – crying his eyes out, binging cool ranch Doritos while watching his ex-wife on a talk show advertising her new memoir: In 2 Deep. This is peak TV.
Although something tells me we haven't seen the last of Maeve, it's really nice to see someone get a happy ending in this show. I just hope it sticks. But probs not.
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