One of the ways The Boys has managed to keep its audience on the edge of its collective seats is that it plays a bit of a ping pong game regarding whether or not someone is about to stop Homelander. That continues to be the case when it comes to The Boys Season 3 and has been the formula in the past; the early part of this season seems to be hinting that he can’t be stopped while also giving just a little bit of hope that there is something out there which could be used to make him back off a bit.
The fourth episode of the new season of The Boys continues in that vein. In fact, the episode does a pretty good job of hopping back and forth between “is this going to knock him down a peg?” and “oh no, he’s got the upper hand again.” That’s really not much of a spoiler as it’s something that tends to happen a couple of times in every episode. It makes the show that much more interesting in part because it shows that while Homelander is a psychopath, he’s also quite good at playing the game at a level much higher than everyone who wants to take him on.
This episode of The Boys starts off pretty much right where last week’s left off. That means Butcher is still dealing with the after-effects of using V to give himself some temporary superpowers. Meanwhile, Hughie is trying to find a way to no longer work for Victoria Neuman after discovering that she has superpowers and has killed an awful lot of people. Outside of what The Boys are up to in their continued plan to try and take down Vought and Homelander in particular, there’s a plot that’s being hatched from inside the building to take this evil version of Superman. However, it’s unclear whether or not that plan is going well.
It’s the back and forth between Homelander, who continues to get even eviler as the series goes on, and the group led by Starlight that takes center stage in this episode. In some regards, it appears that things are actually unfolding in a way that could end Homelander’s reign of terror. The fact that Edgar is devoting the resources of Vought to trying to knock the superhero down a peg seems like it could be a step in the right direction. On the other hand, Homelander appears to have the most significant upper hand he’s had since the series began.
The show has always been at its best when it makes people think that Homelander’s adversaries will finally score even a small win. There have even been times when that wasn’t entirely a misdirect. So far, though, this season has not actually been the case. That’s one of the reasons that the search for Soldier Boy has been such an important one. Certainly, Butcher and his boys are hoping to find a weapon that could take Homelander down. There’s also a chance that Soldier Boy himself could be the one that will offer up an alternative.
In previous episodes, Soldier Boy has only been shown in flashbacks as Butcher, and his crew continues looking for a way to stop Homelander. That plot is just one of the two or three that are running in the background and was started by none other than Maeve. The show does an excellent job of making the audience feel the tension as the plot unfolds. There’s always that little exhilaration that this is the thing that does it, allowing everyone else to stop living in fear.
However, once again, the idea that someone might have the trump card gets yanked away at the last moment, and it turns out that Homelander is actually more powerful than anyone knew, in ways that they didn’t even fathom. The series continues doing an outstanding job making it seem as if he’s naive in specific ways, only to eventually divulge that he’s one step ahead of everyone else. In doing so, the show really does answer the question, “what if Superman were evil?” This isn’t a Superman that thinks he’s saving people by enslaving them. Homelander is a Superman who enjoys hurting people.
Of course, the show does once again offer a glimmer of hope for those that are thinking there might be a way to really take Homelander down. The Boys’ writers should also be applauded for offering up the answer on just how the show’s Big Bad could be taken down without making it explicit. At least for now, there isn’t a situation where one of the heroes has come out and said, “this is how we take him down.” Instead, it’s offered up as a kind of clue in a way where it might take Butcher and his crew a little time before they realize just what they’ve stumbled upon.
Because the Amazon Prime series is never just focusing on one storyline or puzzle, there’s also the question as to just what Victoria is doing to her daughter. Is she trying to give her powers or take them away with the vial of chemicals that Homelander handed over? There are certainly some hints in either direction, but for now, that remains one of the well-executed mysteries that the audience will have to turn in next week in order to find out.
Amid all this plotting of planning, The Boys also does another perfect job of just being completely outrageous. This time around, there’s a scene where a hamster has been given superpowers, and it wouldn’t The Boys if the series didn’t offer up some rather unique ways the animal fits into the story. The Amazon Prime series has long taught a master class in how to blend expert storytelling with scenes and images that are only meant to absolutely shock and appall the audience. While the super hamster is definitely one of those bits, there are a few other scenes that do the same in another great episode of The Boys.
