Homenalder's desire for power and control over Vought International is explored further
in Episode 4, and in order to do this, he offers a hand of friendship to his public
nemesis, Victoria Neuman, in order to plot against Stan Edgar and temporarily remove
him from the board of directors. Apart from "The Seven's" internal politics, the episode
also highlights Butcher's brutal behavior against his teammates, which may drive several
of them to abandon the squad. Last but not least, we get our first look at the modern-day
Soldier Boy. Spoilers Warning: If you haven't seen Episode
4, please stop reading now. The Episode Will Be Released In Different Regions At Different
Times.
Homelander vs. Stan Edgar
Edgar, the C.E.O. of Vought International, and Homelander, the C.E.O. of Vought International,
have been battling like cats and dogs for as long as anybody can remember, and despite
the fact that they despise one other the most, neither of them has attempted to attack the
other personally. Because Edgar understands that Homelander is the face of Vought International
and their most valuable asset, he can't be easily fired, whereas for Homelander, going
against Edgar means going against the corporation that signs his checks and pays for his million-dollar
public relations system, and we all know how much attention and validation Homelander craves.
What if Homelander could fire Edgar without jeopardizing his friendship with Vought?
Homelander delivered a bold and daring statement in "The Boys," Season 3: Episode 3 about how
affluent people were using him as a puppet and that he was tired of obeying their directions.
His speech not only drew a great response from the audience, but it also gave him the
courage to be more open about his personal life. Homelander attempted to become a whistleblower
on Cameron Coleman's talk program in "The Boys" Season 3: Episode 4, implying that he
would divulge the identities of the prominent guys in management who had been pulling the
strings all along. It was a direct attack on Edgar, and he quickly instructed his adopted
daughter, Victoria Neuman, the chairman of the FBSA, to levy penalties against Homelander
to put him in his place.
Neuman, however, didn't want to anger Homelander since she was worried about her daughter Zoe's
safety, so she formed a contract with him. She asked Homelander to send her a vial of
Compound V, which she injected into her daughter in order to make her into a supe like her
and shield her from any future foes in exchange for supporting Homelander and starting a public
probe into Stanford Edgar's fraudulent operations in Vought. Neuman undoubtedly thought the
substance would give security in her daughter's life, but what if it turned out to be the
cause of her death owing to the chemical's negative effects, or if it turned her into
some monster-like superhuman? Would Neuman be able to live with such remorse? And who
would she hold responsible for her daughter's death?
Supersonic is killed by a Homelander.
Homelander had been tormenting Starlight since Edgar appointed her as the team's co-captain.
She wanted to leave the squad right then and there, but Hughie insisted she stay and buy
some time for them since he was on a mission to locate an ultimate super-weapon known as
"B.C.L. R.E.D." that could kill Homelander and end all of their woes in one strike. And
as Hughie and "The Boys" continued on the quest for the weapon, Starlight considered
forming a resistance force against Homelander, who might help them deflect Butcher's focus
away from Homelander if he ever found the weapon.
When Starlight confronted Queen Maeve, she discovered that she was the one who had informed
Butcher about the ultimate super-gun. While Maeve explained why fighting alone might be
beneficial at times, Starlight went on to entrust her covert resistance unit to her
ex-boyfriend, Supersonic, the newest member of "The Seven." Some violence may have been
prevented if Supersonic had maintained the secret, but when he discovered A-Train and
Deep arguing in the lobby, he felt A-Train, who Homelander no longer supports, could also
join the resistance force. He had no idea of A-train and Deep's background, or that
they would betray anybody at any moment to stay in "The Seven." And because Homelander
was pulling the reins in the management this time, A-train wasted no time in snitching
on Starlight and Supersonic. Homelander violently executed Supersonic on the terrace to put
down the revolt, and he warned Starlight that if she didn't stop conspiring against him,
Hughie would be his next victim.
Soldier Boy Has Returned To The Game
Butcher puked some green liquid over Billy's face at the end of "The Boys" Season 3: Episode
3, implying that he could find out about Butcher's little secret. Butcher immediately disclosed
to Hughie that he had injected himself with a Temp V or Compound 24, which rendered him
a supe for 24 hours, without building up any drama around it in Episode 4. Hughie was excited
to try the new serum after hearing about its potential because he had been feeling inept
since the beginning of the series. Supersonic was the first to hit on his super girlfriend,
while Homelander was the second to declare Starlight his girlfriend in the sake of a
publicity hoax. Hughie tried to portray himself as a powerful guy, but he was nothing in front
of Homelander, especially without any powers.
Butcher made a deal with Frenchie's ex-boss, Little Nina, when he returned to the mission
to obtain the ultimate weapon. Cherie had stolen 11 kilos of narcotics from Nina and
fled using bogus passports manufactured by Frenchie earlier in Episode 3, and shortly
after her escape, Nina summoned Frenchie to her bakery to threaten him. Butcher intended
to exploit Frenchie's Russian connection to expedite his journey to Russia in order to
learn what happened to the Soldier Boy who was taken by the Russians in 1984.
Little Nina demanded more than just money in return for a lavish vacation to Russia.
She demanded Cherie, but Butcher volunteered to do some dirty work for her in Russia, so
Kimiko was ordered to assassinate a Russian crime leader. Nina provided them the location
of the protected military base where Butcher believed the Russians had hidden the secret
weapon 'B.C.L. R.E.D.' as soon as the mission was over. Butcher and his crew discovered
a super-hamster confined within a glass tank inside the facility, proving that the Russians
were also experimenting with Compound V in order to develop their own superheroes to
fight their arch-enemy, the United States of America. Homelander and other supes were
viewed as dictators in Russia, as shown by their ominous writing on the city's walls.
The Russian troops heard the alarm that Frenchie had accidently activated while playing with
the hamster before "The Boys" could discover the weapon they were hunting for. When the
Russian forces opened fire on the crew, Butcher instantly showed his temporary superpowers
to save his friends. Hughie became enthralled as well, and he exploited his brief superpowers
to prove that he had injected himself with Compound V24. Butcher unlocked the door to
a secured room after the Russians were dealt with, and inside he saw Soldier Boy with a
thick beard and an oxygen mask on his face. As a result, it's possible that whatever superweapon
the Russians produced didn't kill Soldier Boy, or that that wasn't its goal to begin
with. Instead, they just wanted to kidnap America's beloved hero so that they might
experiment on him and bring him back to their country. They may have removed the chemical
from Soldier Boy's body or stolen Compound V from Vought's lab in order to make their
own superhumans, and their experiment was most likely still in the works, as the confined
hamster implied. Perhaps they've already constructed a Red-Supe, which we'll see in future episodes.
Soldier Boy assaulted Frenchie and Kimiko as soon as he was freed from confinement,
like a furious bull. To defend Frenchie from a devastating attack, Soldier Boy unleashed
an energy blast to melt everything in front of him, and Kimiko pulled Frenchie aside and
came into touch with the energy beam, which nearly killed her. Soldier Boy left the facility
as "The Boys" ministered to a seriously injured Kimiko. When Frenchie noticed that Kimiko
wasn't recovering from Soldier Boy's attack, she decided to hurry her to the hospital to
save her life, but we didn't know whether she would make it.
Kimiko wanted to leave the squad because she was tired of being used as a weapon by Butcher
and of killing people in the name of justice. She wanted to live with Frenchie in a tranquil
place like Marseilles, but Frenchie wasn't ready to forsake the team again after abandoning
them previously, resulting in the deaths of Grace Mallory's loved ones. But, after Butcher
mistreated Kimiko and forced Frenchie to take him to his ex-Russian boss, Frenchie changed
his mind as well. After this attack on Kimiko, assuming she survives, Frenchie will most
likely make the difficult decision to leave the squad. Butcher, on the other hand, quietly
intimated to Marvin that he should take care of the squad once he's gone, implying that
Butcher will truly sacrifice himself to avenge Homelander. Butcher, in his mindless quest
of revenge, is doing havoc on his own squad, and Marvin thinks that because of him, there
may be no team left in the end.
Meanwhile, we may assume that Soldier Boy will make his way to America, and that he
will pose a direct danger to Homelaner's kingdom. Stanford Edgar, who worked with Soldier Boy
during "Operation Charly," has close relationships with the supe and, like Black Noir, might
become his possible partner against Homelander in the forthcoming episodes, implying a final
showdown between Butcher, Homelander, and Soldier Boy. Stan Edgar may have been defeated
for the time being by Homelander, but he will not be defeated for long and will most likely
fight back with all his might.