In “The Boys” recap, Butcher takes the team on a road trip to Russia while Homelander makes a power move at Vought…
By Damon Martin — Editor/Lead Writer
When “The Boys” episode 3 ended, Homelander made the surprise announcement that he and Starlight were in love and now in a relationship together, which came to the surprise of just about everybody — Starlight included.
The first three episodes of “The Boys” season 3 proved just how unhinged Homelander has become, especially in the wake of the revelation that his now dead ex-girlfriend Stormfront was a 100-year-old Nazi who wanted him to become the face of a new master race. While power has always mattered to Homelander, he’s more interested in a selfish assimilation of control rather than serving as some sort of puppet for a new race war.
Regardless, Stormfront chewed off her own tongue rather than live in misery any longer and that only put Homelander on an even darker path while Vought CEO Stan Edgar fought tooth and nail to keep him in line. That battle finally comes to a head in the latest episode with Homelander and Edgar battling for control of the company.
As for The Boys — after operating as a government funded unit investigating Supe crimes and behavior, Hughie learned that Congresswoman Victoria Neuman was actually a Supe herself and working at the behest of her adopted father, Stan Edgar. That was enough for Hughie to unleash Butcher back on the world as he prepared to track down a weapon that was supposedly so powerful that it killed Soldier Boy — a hero nearly as untouchable as Homelander.
Of course, Butcher also had some extra backup thanks to a dose of V24 — a new experimental version of Compound-V that grants a user powers for 24 hours — as he killed a member of Soldier Boy’s former team to get some information on what actually happened to the former star-spangled hero.
That pretty much catches us up so with that said, let’s recap the latest episode of “The Boys” titled “Glorious Five Year Plan”…
Let’s Go to Russia
On the heels of last week’s episode that ended with a heart-to-heart just before Butcher vomited all over Hughie, the leader of The Boys finally comes clean that he took a dose of the new experimental V24 formula in order to get information about Soldier Boy from his former teammate Gunpowder.
Butcher tells Hughie it was a one-time deal to force Gunpowder to talk but he’s obviously operating under the “by any means necessary” edict moving forward. Butcher also warns Hughie to keep this quiet from the rest of the team or he’ll end up in a coma.
As for Homelander, he’s still doing the media circuit after his fiery tirade during his birthday celebration where he essentially told the world I’m the hero you need and I’m not going to be ashamed of the power I wield over all of you any longer. While a huge percentage of his base celebrated Homelander spouting off, he’s still facing plenty of criticism including a piece targeting him in the New York Times.
That requires Homelander to respond with another interview on the Cameron Coleman show where he once again hints at forces working against him behind the scenes.
Those forces are none other than Stan Edgar, who is finally ready to strike back at Homelander as he continues to push the limits against the boundaries set for him. Stan visits his pseudo-daughter Congresswoman Victoria Neuman and he tells her to hold a press conference where she will condemn Homelander’s actions and reveal that the Federal Bureau of Superhuman Affairs is keeping a close eye on him moving forward.
Even Victoria is wary about going up against Homelander — he is the most powerful person on Earth after all — but Stan promises that he’s got the situation well in hand. Of course, Victoria is also worried about the safety of her daughter Zoe, who could also end up as collateral damage if Homelander decides to strike back against her.
Still, Stan is insistent — he needs Victoria to get Homelander back in line and this is the best way to do it.
Homelander rarely follows anybody’s rules unless it gets him a bump in approval rating and he’s higher than ever now that he’s in a “relationship” with Starlight.
She’s also in damage control mode as she explains to Hughie what’s happening with Homelander as the final episode of “American Hero” prepares to debut. Hughie is understandably nervous about Starlight putting herself next to Homelander in any situation much less a faux-relationship but she knows this is the best possible way to set up a strike against him.
If Butcher and The Boys can retrieve BCL Red — the weapon supposedly used to kill Soldier Boy — then everything Starlight is doing right now will be worth it.
Before they can finish the conversation, Homelander magically appears in the room while revealing that he actually has a key to Starlight’s apartment. He always has to keep a close eye on his people and today he’s bringing Starlight to a photoshoot for Rolling Stone for a feature on their budding relationship.
Homelander can’t help himself but to poke at Hughie about the relationship he has with Starlight while mentioning that it’s only for the cameras — but that’s also exactly how things started with Maeve back in the day before things got more physical. According to Homelander, Maeve can bend a pipe without using her arms.
“What’s she like? She a good fuck?”
~ Homelander to Hughie
The comment has Hughie puffing out his chest, going nose-to-nose with Homelander but Starlight intervenes by promising to walk away along with her percentage points if he harms her boyfriend or anybody close to him. Homelander then breaks with his steely gaze and bursts out in laughter that he’s only kidding before whisking Starlight away for the photoshoot.
With Homelander calling the shots, Starlight knows she’s basically all alone right now so she starts gathering the troops who might help her. She calls on Maeve, who has secretly been training and staying alcohol free in anticipation of battle against Homelander.
Maeve knows she can’t stop him for long but hopefully it’s enough to slow Homelander down so Butcher and The Boys can use the Supe killing weapon against him. Starlight then recruits her ex-boyfriend Supersonic, who is now poised to become the latest member of The Seven.
He already stuck around to watch her back but now Supersonic has agreed to work with Starlight to stop Homelander by doing whatever it takes.
Speaking of photoshoots — A-Train has taken up a socially conscious persona in stark contrast to the one similar to Homelander where being loved mattered more than anything else. Thanks to some timely advice from his brother, A-Train has decided to take up the cause against a superhero named Blue Hawk, who has been disproportionately targeting Black neighborhoods in his rounds.
While Ashley can only laugh at his concern before realizing he’s actually serious, she tells A-Train that she understands how important these issues are right now. In fact, Ashley’s favorite hashtag is Black Lives Matter.
But right now, Ashley has coordinated a new commercial shoot with A-Train that might allow him to show off this new side to himself. The hilarious commercial involves A-Train “shooting” a spot for his energy drink before abandoning the cameras to join a protest where he ultimately forces the two clashing sides to reach a peace after guzzling down some of his over caffeinated piss.
When it comes to socially conscious issues, this is about as serious as Vought gets these days.
Back with The Boys, Butcher rounds up Frenchie and heads to a meeting in Brooklyn with Little Nina — the Russian crime boss who is threatening to kill Frenchie’s on again, off again girlfriend Cherie for some drugs she had stolen from her. While Little Nina wasn’t interested in Frenchie’s proposal to get Cherie clear of her wrath, Butcher believes he can get the job done and hopefully gaining some valuable help in his search for the truth about Soldier Boy.
After offering up a bag full of government cash as payment, Butcher dismisses Frenchie from the room so he can speak with Little Nina privately.
When the meeting ends, Butcher has secured passage for the entire team to Russia where they will carry out a mission for Little Nina and in exchange, she’ll help them find the facility where the weapon that supposedly killed Soldier Boy is housed.
Frenchie can’t imagine what Butcher agreed to do that Little Nina not only gave them passports but a private plane to Russia. When they arrive, Butcher reveals that he’s agreed to a hit against one of Little Nina’s rivals and he orders Kimiko to carry out the mission because she’s the only person suitable for this particular job.
Kimiko — who is growing more and more conflicted by the day about her powers and the atrocities she’s carried out lately — tries to decline the job while telling Butcher that she’s not his fucking gun.
“That is exactly what you are. In case you two forgot, I tell you what to do and you fucking do it.”
~ Butcher
Needless to say, Kimiko and Frenchie are none too happy about this course of action much less Butcher’s methods to get them to comply. Still, the only way to get to the weapon that allegedly killed Soldier Boy is to carry out this mission for Little Nina.
As it turns out, the mission involves Kimiko dressing as a prostitute to gain entry to an orgy of sorts being put together by this Russian gangster, who has managed to cross Little Nina. This gangster has a closet filled with superhero sex toys including a Homelander strap-on and a Starlight vibrator, which he prepares to use on one of the girls until he gets a Black Noir cock right through his head.
Yes, Kimiko uses the sex toys as weapons.
In fact, Kimiko uses all of the various dildos and sex toys to wipe out the gangster’s henchmen before she actually takes a bullet to the head from one of the prostitutes. Kimiko’s super-healing raises her from the dead rather quickly but she’s horrified to see how scared the women are after witnessing her dismantle the gangster and his entire room full of goons.
She delivers proof that the gangster is dead but Kimiko has just about had enough.
After sitting down with Frenchie, she asks if this might be the time when they can finally leave all this behind and just go somewhere together. Frenchie concedes and says that they can flee this situation but only after finishing this particular mission in Russia because as much as he’s angry at Butcher right now, he can’t just abandon Mother’s Milk and Hughie.
Kimiko agrees but they both decide this will be the last time they’re working with The Boys.
A Coup in Progress
Back at Vought Towers, Homelander convenes a meeting for The Seven to welcome Supersonic into the group and he also serves everybody taco bowls since there is now a Hispanic member of the group. Racist lunch aside, Homelander is ready to end the meeting rather quickly but A-Train speaks up to ask about dealing with Blue Hawk.
While Starlight sympathizes with the situation, the Deep’s wife texts him a message, which he then reads aloud. It seems Blue Hawk serves in the same demographic as Homelander — take a wild guess which one — and taking him off duty could be seen as going soft on crime.
Impressed by his take, Homelander agrees and shoots down A-Train’s request.
Once the meeting wraps, Ashley arrives to inform Homelander that Congresswoman Victoria Neuman has called a press conference that night with an agenda aimed at him. Homelander isn’t happy that he’s just now learning about this information, which has Ashley trembling as he asks if her idiot brain got fucked by stupid.
Outside, A-Train confronts the Deep over his objection to bench Blue Hawk, which puts them at odds with each other while lobbing threats. Deep reminds A-Train that he knows the information about Stormfront came from him while A-Train threatens to reveal that Deep is the one who retrieved the flight recorder with video showing Homelander abandoning a plane full of people, thus dooming them to a fiery death.
A-Train ends up gill punching Deep — that’s a new one — and then Deep tackles A-Train before both end up on the floor. That’s when Homelander arrives to intervene — he hates to see them arguing before helping Deep back to his feet and telling A-Train to stay on the ground and rest his useless fucking legs.
After getting back to his feet, A-Train ends up in an elevator with Supersonic, who pitches him on the idea of teaming up against Homelander as part of this mission alongside Starlight. A-Train seems to agree, especially knowing that Deep is now living in Homelander’s back pocket, but Supersonic is also very new at this game and trusting the fastest man on Earth, who isn’t actually the fastest man on Earth any longer, seems like a bad move.
Soldier Boy Lives
Over in Russia, Butcher and The Boys prepare to mount up for an attack on the secret base where the weapon supposedly used against Soldier Boy is being housed. Before leaving, Hughie walks in on Butcher dosing up with another hit of V24.
He tries to explain that it’s just back up in case something bad happens but rather than admonish him for his actions, Hughie asks for some of his own.
After being emasculated by Homelander earlier in the day and constantly needing his girlfriend to save him, Hughie wants to stop being a cuck and actually get in the game. The only problem is Butcher denies him while explaining that V24 would only make him the monster he’s learned to hate so much and he doesn’t want that for Hughie.
The same goes for Mother’s Milk, who confronts Butcher over the way he forced Frenchie and Kimiko to carry out his orders. In response, Butcher reveals how he first came to find Mother’s Milk and decide he should be a member of his team but it had nothing to do with a shared hatred of Vought.
Instead, Butcher says Mother’s Milk is a leader and that’s why he wanted him on the team. Butcher is a blunt instrument used to tear down the Supes but Mother’s Milk is the one who will actually lead this team to victory in the end.
When it comes time to finally go on the mission, Butcher and the team get inside easy enough but it’s not long before Russian forces crash into the room firing weapons. The gun battle is getting dicey and with a soldier closing in on Mother’s Milk without any ammunition left in his gun, Hughie gives Butcher the nod.
Butcher then walks through bullets and unleashes his laser vision to cut down the soldiers.
Just when it looks like a gunman will kill Mother’s Milk, Hughie suddenly springs into action as he teleports out of his clothes, reappears next to the soldier and punches through his entire body. Hughie is apologetic at first but then realizes what true power actually feels like after killing the soldier with his bare hands.
Of course a second later, Hughie realizes just how naked he is right now standing in front of Mother’s Milk and the rest of the team.
But that’s the least of their problems because Mother’s Milk, Frenchie and Kimiko are understandably shocked to learn that Butcher and Hughie have powers now. Butcher explains that it’s a temporary dose of V24 and he’s just as surprised to find out that Hughie stole some for himself, but these are all problems that can wait.
For now, they need to get inside the chamber on lockdown that may contain the weapon used against Soldier Boy.
After ripping a door off its hinges, Butcher and The Boys wait to see what’s inside — but it’s not a gun or some kind of weapon. Instead, Soldier Boy emerges very much alive as he removes the various cords and tubes attached to his body.
Soldier Boy also has a giant red orb pulsing in his chest and he turns towards Kimiko and Frenchie as he looks towards an exit. That’s when Soldier Boy unleashes a blast of energy that would have surely killed Frenchie if not for Kimiko pushing him out of the way.
With the obstacles removed, Soldier Boy flees the compound as Butcher and the rest of the team scramble to escape before backup arrives. There’s only one problem — Kimiko isn’t healing.
She’s bleeding profusely, which doesn’t make much sense given her abilities but Frenchie and the others get her to the car so they can seek help before Kimiko dies.
All in all, the mission was a disaster because now Hughie is drunk with power, Kimiko is nearly dead, Butcher has lost the trust of his team and Soldier Boy is still very much alive even if nobody is quite sure what happened to him.
There Will Be No Mutiny
When it comes time for Congresswoman Victoria Neuman’s press conference, a very confident Stan Edgar stands in the room preparing to celebrate the slap on the hand that Homelander is about to receive.
To his considerable surprise, Congresswoman Neuman doesn’t condemn Homelander but instead says that he’s come forth as a brave whistleblower to reveal a number of misdeeds being carried out by Vought CEO Stan Edgar.
As a result, Congresswoman Neuman’s office will be conducting a full and thorough investigation into Mr. Edgar and his actions as Vought CEO. Stan is understandably shocked but then again not so much after realizing that Victoria struck some sort of deal with Homelander.
Stan may be disappointed in his now former progeny, he can’t be that unhappy that she’s ultimately following in her sort-of-father’s footsteps when it comes to treachery and looking out for yourself.
That night, Homelander pays Victoria a visit at home where he jokes about her long day after shanking the old man but then reminds her that Stan Edgar would have done the same thing to her. He then presents her with a file from Stan’s office that he kept as backup that revealed Victoria’s true nature as well as her powers as a Supe where she’s been popping people’s heads for years under his instructions.
Victoria can’t believe Stan would have kept that file on her but Homelander promises that’s exactly where he found it — along with the info that he discovered that she’s a Supe as well — which is just another reason he’s happy she made the right choice siding with him.
As part of their agreement, Homelander gives Victoria a dose of the real Compound-V, which is the payment she required to drop kick Stan Edgar to the curb. Later after Homelander exits, Victoria uses that dose to give her daughter Zoe powers — she knows her child is vulnerable right now and she can’t risk that continuing to be the case.
So Victoria has given Zoe a dose of Compound-V to ensure she’s just as strong as her mother.
Back at Vought Towers, Homelander celebrates his victory over Stan Edgar, who has just been voted out at CEO by the board of directors. Stan has lost his power but he’s quite sure that will eventually come back to bite Homelander once he realizes what it takes to do this job.
“The company is yours. No one left to stand up to you but I think you’ll come to sorely regret that. Because there’s no one left to cover for you either. Eventually, probably soon, the world will recognize you for the pitiful disappointment you are. You are not worthy of my respect. You are not a god. You are simply bad product.”
~ Stan Edgar
Homelander obviously disagrees but he actually allows Stan to leave without lasering him in half so that’s something at least.
As the day comes to an end, Homelander and Starlight leave the building hand in hand with a mass of paparazzi outside just clamoring to get a shot of the new couple. That’s when Homelander offers to fly Starlight home because he’s got a view of the city that he promises will blow her mind.
Starlight reluctantly agrees and Homelander picks her up before flying to the top of a building somewhere in the city.
After landing, Homelander shows Starlight the view he wanted her to see — and she turns to find Supersonic’s mangled, torn apart and bloody body laying in a heap. He’s been sawed apart, bashed and otherwise dismantled after going toe-to-toe with Homelander.
Starlight is shocked to see her ex-boyfriend dead and after calling Homelander a fucking psycho, her eyes light up but it’s short lived because she remembers what happened to Supersonic could just as easily happy to her
“A-Train told me about you two mutineers and your little plot. You just don’t get it do you? I mean you have no fucking grasp of the situation you’re in at all. I’m going to break it down one more time and make it crystal clear so even you can understand it. There will be no more plotting, planning, playing around. That is over. From here on out, there is only my dutiful, loving main squeeze Starlight. We’re shipping me and me alone because if you step one inch out of line, if you so much as fucking blink the wrong way, then that my love, will be Hughie. Do you understand this time?”
~ Homelander
With tears running down her face, Starlight tells Homelander that she understands his threat and he ultimately leaves her on the roof with Supersonic while informing his “girlfriend” that she can find her own way home.
Things were already dire with Starlight fighting an uphill battle in The Seven but now she’s truly alone because Homelander knows everything and moving against him could mean certain death for Hughie.
“The Boys” returns for a new episode next Friday on Amazon Prime Video.
