Eric Kripke's hit adaptation of Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson's long-running comic series has defied all expectations. It came out of nowhere with Seth Rogen's name in the advertisement and quickly became a favorite among superhero fans. Filming for season four wrapped this April, but no announcement has been made about its release date. While fans wait, the most recent season of The Boys should stay fresh in their minds.
In the modern era of entertainment, anything with capes will face a bizarre cultural reaction. Fans of the blockbuster cinematic universes will see whatever they put out, but the average member of the public seems to be shying away from the genre. The Boys is largely immune to both reactions, earning its place in the market through good word-of-mouth and a genuine sense of constant surprise.
What happens in The Boys season 3?
The third season of The Boys kicks off a year after the shocking reveal of Stormfront's backstory. The scandal of having hired a Nazi leads the US government to appoint young congresswoman Victoria Neuman as the head of the Bureau of Superhuman Affairs. Billy Butcher and his Boys work as contractors, hunting down and apprehending rogue supes. Hughie works in the office as their liaison and lives as a minor celebrity after taking his relationship with Annie "Starlight" January public. Vought gives Starlight a promotion, naming her co-captain of the Seven for a PR bump. Everything seems to be going well, but Butcher remains unhappy. He's turning over every stone he can get his hands on to find a weapon that can kill Homelander. Through Queen Maeve, he discovers a defunct superhero team called Payback and a temporary version of Compound V called V24. Meanwhile, Hughie discovers that Neuman is the telekinetic supe who killed dozens last year.
Butcher's new mission becomes hunting down Soldier Boy, the leader of Payback. Mr. Boy was presumed dead after a mission went sideways in Nicaragua. Mother's Milk, who left the Boys some time ago, is dragged back into the fight to hunt and kill Soldier Boy, the man who murdered his family. Homelander goes on an unhinged public rant that makes him a favorite of rural white men. After Stormfront commits suicide, he begins tormenting Starlight and forcing her to pretend to be his lover. Vought holds a staged reality competition show to elect a new member of the Seven, but Homelander upends it at every turn. After a shady deal with Frenchie's old boss, Butcher, Hughie, and Kimiko find Soldier Boy. He's alive, trapped for decades, and experimented on by the Russians. He fires a mysterious blast of energy that robs Kimiko of her powers.
Hughie and Butcher start taking V24 whenever they're up against Supes. The Boys discover that Soldier Boy was betrayed by Payback, leading him to hunt his former team members. Butcher arranges a shaky partnership with the old #1 hero. Hughie, Butcher, and Soldier Boy track a target to an event called "Herogasm," where Soldier Boy accidentally causes another explosion. Homelander attacks, but V24 allows Hughie and Butcher to compete. Homelander escapes a moment before Soldier Boy can depower him. Maeve is imprisoned for helping Butcher. Homelander is an uncontrollable threat, protected only by the two remaining members of the Seven. Butcher and the Boys must choose whether to partner with a monster to take down Homelander.
How does The Boys season 3 end?
Homelander and Butcher have had complicated relationships with Ryan, Homelander's biological son, with Butcher's deceased wife, Becca. The boy holds some sympathy for Homelander. Annie tells Butcher that V24 will kill him after a few uses, but he keeps the information to himself. Kimiko gets her power back with a Compound V injection. Soldier Boy tells Homelander that he is his biological father. Homelander kills Black Noir for keeping that information from him. The action comes to a head when Butcher gathers the Boys, Maeve, Starlight, all the V24 he can find, and Soldier Boy to finally kill Homelander. Most of the group is against the plan, but Maeve joins Butcher, arguing that Homelander has to die. The team is trapped in a safe while Butcher, Maeve, and Soldier Boy take off for Vought Tower.
Butcher, Maeve, and Soldier Boy subdue Homelander and prepare to depower him, but Ryan fights to defend his father. When Soldier Boy strikes him, Butcher realizes he can't abide the old hero's methods. Starlight, Frenchie, Hughie, and Mother's Milk escape captivity and invade the tower. Butcher fights Soldier Boy, eventually taking him down with Starlight's help. MM, Starlight, Kimiko, and Butcher attempt to gas Soldier Boy into unconsciousness. Meanwhile, Maeve and Homelander have a brutal fistfight. Maeve loses an eye before plunging a metal rod into Homelander's ear, rendering him partially deaf. The fight stops when Soldier Boy prepares to explode again. Maeve tackles him out the window. She survives but loses her powers, and the public believes she's dead. Homelander arranges a backroom deal with Neuman, eliminating a vice presidential candidate so that she can step in. Butcher is given a terminal diagnosis with a maximum of 18 months to live. Starlight quits the Seven and joins the Boys. In the season's final moments, Homelander attends a rally. Fans are brutally divided between Starlight's exposure of Vought's crimes and Homelander's obvious fascism. Homelander murders a Starlight supporter in the crowd. To his shock, they applaud him. Even Ryan looks delighted.
The Boys season three ends with Butcher on death's door, the Boys barely alive, Maeve without her powers, Soldier Boy in federal custody, Neuman on her way to the White House, the Seven in shambles, and Homelander somehow worse than ever. It's a dark ending. Homelander can no longer be opposed by the will of the people because they're on his side. As Butcher looks down the barrel of his own mortality, it may be hard to watch how he tries to finish his last job next season.