The entire conflict of “The Boys” Season 3 revolves around the menacing Homelander. Everyone wants to get rid of him but can’t because he is invincible. However, as Season 3 begins, Butcher hears rumors about an ultimate weapon that can kill his nemesis; hence the entire struggle until Episode 5 is to find that weapon. In the previous episode, Butcher and the boys went to Russia looking for a supe-weapon but instead accidentally released another lethal supe, Soldier Boy. Conveniently, in Episode 5, Soldier Boy finds his way to America, but the question still persists: Is there any weapon at all, or was it all fake?
Major Spoilers Ahead
Homelander Captures Queen Maeve
After getting rid of Stan Edgar, Homelander used his influence and forced Ashley Barrett to fill Edgar’s position. But even though the big man believed that he had all the physical powers in the world, he didn’t have the slightest idea about how to run a corporation, and thus his hidden insecurities quickly kicked in. As soon as Homelander took control of Vought International, he made some serious changes in the management and made The Deep the head of Crime Analytics. What he was trying to do was to assign important roles to people who he knew wouldn’t betray him, either out of loyalty or fear, whatever works. But there were two people in the team who could backstab him, so Homelander decided to deal with them immediately.
The first one was Starlight, who was plotting against Homelander and creating her own secret team to fight him. In “The Boys” Season 3: Episode 4, A-Train snitched upon Starlight and told Homelander about her ploy that later got Supersonic killed. After killing Supersonic, Homelander warned Starlight that his next target would be Hughie if she didn’t stop plotting against him. A-train might have told Homelander about Queen Maeve too, who literally initiated the entire pursuit to get rid of Homelander. She had told Butcher about Soldier Boy and rumors about the ultimate weapon. It was she who supplied Compound V24 to Butcher, through which he got his temporary superpowers. In “The Boys” Season 3: Episode 5, Maeve not only got drunk with Butcher but also spent the night with him. Homelander found out about Maeve’s close association with his arch-nemesis and thus decided to deal with the traitor in his own way. He ordered Black Noir to capture Maeve and would probably lock her up in a cell in the Vought Tower. The problem is that everyone is so afraid of Homelander that no one will dare speak against him or try to help Maeve. Even when Starlight tried to inquire Ashley about Maeve’s whereabouts, she refused to share any details. Maeve’s fate will be further revealed in the upcoming episodes of “The Boys” season 3.
Kimiko Miyashiro Is Alive But Lost Her Powers
Even though Kimiko survived Soldier Boy’s attack, for some reason, she lost her powers. But she wasn’t sad about it. Instead, she was more than happy to find out that she had become a normal human being once again. Eventually, she got her rhythm back. In a musical number, Kimiko and Frenchie imagine their happy romantic life together, but that is just a dream. In Russia, Frenchie and his band of brothers created a severe ruckus, and Little Nina put all the blame on Frenchie in order to compel him to work for him as a hired gun. Frenchie didn’t want to kill innocent people anymore, but Butcher had left him with no other option, as after the Russian trip, he now owed a debt to Nina. For the time being, Frenchie tried to ignore Nina’s call and threats, but eventually, when everything seemed perfect in his life, it was at this moment when Nina took him away. Kimiko was waiting for Frenchie to return, but he didn’t. With the boys all busy with the supe-affairs, it seems more likely that Kimiko will try to save Frenchie from Nina, and there is a possibility of a tragedy in that pursuit.
Soldier Boy Arrives In America
Even though Butcher had accidentally released a new monster into the world, he didn’t want to take any responsibility for his actions. Instead, he used Kimiko’s wounds as an excuse to leave Russia quickly and told Marvin that the Russians would sort out that issue by themselves. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, who had been tortured by the Russians for ages for experimental purposes, didn’t attack them and instead arrived in America looking for a traitor who had betrayed him. As soon as he returned to the country, he saw posters for Homelander everywhere, and judging by the look on his face; he didn’t like it at all. The second advertisement that caught his attention was Queen Maeve’s Pride Advertisement, and Soldier Boy didn’t like it either. Mentally, America’s Hero was still stuck in the 70s. While walking on the streets, Soldier Boy heard a Russian jingle on the radio that quickly reminded him of the pain inflicted upon him by the Russian scientist. He quickly lost control of himself and released another energy blast that not only destroyed an entire building in midtown Manhattan but also killed 19 innocent people.
As soon as Marvin heard the devastating news, he was reminded of his own childhood tragedy where Soldier Boy had killed his family, and thus, without any further ado, he decided to stop him. Butcher, Hughie, and Marvin reached out to The Legend, who was the former VP of Hero Management at Vought before Madelyn Stillwell and Stan Edgar stepped in. The Legend finally revealed to the boys that Soldier Boy had paid him a visit in order to get his uniform and get his ex-girlfriend’s address as he had some unfinished business with her. Hence, without wasting any moment, Butcher and Hughie injected Temp V to capture Soldier Boy while Marvin decided to put him to sleep using halothane gas, as he witnessed in the videos filmed by the Russians where they used halothane to sedate Soldier Boy.
‘The Boys’ Season 3: Episode 5—Ending Explained – Soldier Boy Is The Weapon Against Homelander
Butcher has never been considered a hero, nor does he consider himself to be one. At most, he is a flawed protagonist who is blindly walking down a path of vengeance. He wants to kill Homelander at all costs, even if that means making a pact with the enemy itself. And that’s what he proposes to Soldier Boy, an arrangement.
While Marvin was looking for the Soldier Boy to capture or neutralize him so that he wouldn’t kill any more innocent people, Butcher and Hughie had some other sinister plan in mind. The Legend told the team that Soldier Boy was looking for his ex-girlfriend, Crimson Countess’ address. When the boys arrived at her trailer, she revealed to them that it was her who betrayed Soldier Boy and disclosed his weakness to the Russians so that they could take him away and throw him in a cell in some faraway land. But why?
No supe in “The Boys” universe is a total saint or a superhero in the truest sense, especially these invincible poster boys, Homelander and Soldier Boy. Like Homelander, Soldier Boy too has his flaws, or a dark side, to be specific. Gunpowder had already confessed to Butcher that Soldier Boy used to abuse him, and now it was Crimson Countess who finally confronted Soldier Boy with the truth and told him that the entire Payback team hated him. They probably all had their reasons, like Gunpowder. This particular discussion establishes a similarity between Soldier Boy and Homelander. Coincidentally, in the same episode, Maeve, the first romantic interest of Homelander, tells him that she never loved him but hated him from the beginning of everything. The Crimson Countess and Maeve may have different reasons for hating the leader of the pack, but their entire exchange with their previous love interest depicts a similar hatred against these narcissistic men. Again, like Homelander captured Maeve, Soldier Boy killed Crimson Countess using an energy blast.
Butcher and Hughie, on the other hand, didn’t try to save the Crimson Countess. It was never their plan at all. They wanted Soldier Boy to get his revenge so that they could talk business with him. Butcher knew that Marvin wouldn’t have agreed to such an arrangement, and so he cunningly drugged him. After Soldier Boy had taken his revenge, Butcher finally presented his idea for a team-up, and Soldier Boy agreed to it. Starlight, standing there, couldn’t understand why Butcher joined hands with a murderer to kill another tyrant, but that’s who Butcher is. However, what hurts her the most is that Hughie, too, was blinded by vengeance and helped Butcher in his sinister plan.
At the end of “The Boys” Season 3: Episode 5, Hughie reveals that Soldier Boy is their ultimate weapon against Homelander and Victoria Neuman and will probably help the boys get rid of their supe-enemies. Until now, Soldier Boy has attacked two supes so far; one lost her power while the other burnt to death, and now it is time to face the real competition, Homelander. Butcher and his team may not have anything to control Homelander, but they probably believe that they will be able to sedate Soldier Boy using halothane like the Russians did, and probably that was his only weakness. However, they haven’t yet tested this, and if Butcher is planning to use it against Soldier Boy once he has dealt with Homelander, then his untested plan of action can backfire too.
See More: Season 3: Episode 6 – Recap And Ending, Explained – What Happened To Blue Hawk And A-Train?
