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THE BOYS Season 5 Episode 2
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00:00We just got our first fight between Homelander and Ryan, but it will not be the last.
00:04Hey, welcome back to Screen Crush, I'm Colton Ogburn, and these are all the easter eggs, references, and little things
00:09you might have missed in The Boys Season 5, Episode 3.
00:13We open in Russia, where we finally catch back up with, I think, my favorite character after Butcher, of course,
00:19Ryan.
00:20Now, we're in this old abandoned house, and we see these Cheeto knockoffs, wrapper on the ground, firecracker freedom sticks,
00:27as well as some double-stuffed Oreos.
00:28Gotta say, not a fan of the double stuff, I think it's a little much.
00:32So, Ryan has been on the run, living on junk food, and holding up in unsavory places around the globe.
00:37Now, this team of soldiers has been sent in by seemingly the Kremlin on what they thought was a CIA
00:43blackside takedown, but they're actually there to attempt to apprehend Ryan.
00:47And in the next scene, where we see that Vought is coasting up to Russia, it makes me think that
00:53likely Russia is helping Vought and Homelander to track down Ryan.
00:57So, we then get this brutal takedown to the Russian version of Bad Reputation.
01:04This song is a great parallel for not only Ryan's place in this story, but the theme of the episode,
01:10with the focus on Zoe and Maverick, both children of Dead Supes.
01:14These kids are a new generation, with, well, a bad reputation.
01:17Newman was two-faced and power-hungry, at least right up until the end, when she broke good.
01:22But Homelander is, well, he's Homelander.
01:24And then Translucent, he was a f***ing perv.
01:27Now, I really do believe that Ryan will be the key to stopping Homelander and bringing peace to this world
01:32of the boys.
01:33And that will be through his own rebuke of the prior generation, a rebuke of not only Homelander, but Butcher
01:39as well.
01:40And I also think that maybe Zoe will come around, but Maverick, poor thing.
01:45Now, like I said, I really do think that Ryan has the potential to be this world's Superman, and an
01:50actual selfless hero with the power of a god who uses that power for pure good.
01:55But, as of this moment, he is still veering dangerously close to becoming his father.
02:00We see this soldier beg for his life, and Ryan still kills him.
02:04Granted, this guy was there to kill him, or at least take him to Homelander and Vought, where they would
02:08likely kill him or imprison him and torture him.
02:11And Ryan, he knows that if he lets this guy live, then that could mean that Homelander will get closer
02:16to finding him.
02:17So, I don't want to give Ryan too hard of a time for taking this guy out, but at the
02:21same time, if he's gonna be Superman, can't be doing that.
02:24Now, back at Vought Tower, we see this dumb propaganda video claiming that it was liberal legacy media that lied
02:30and distorted the truth to hurt the reputation of Soldier Boy.
02:33When, remember, in reality, it was Vought and their media arm that crafted this entire story about Soldier Boy being
02:39a Russian spy.
02:40But now, like the real-world fringe media that Vought is parodying, we are seeing them pretend like that never
02:46happened and they are blaming anyone but themselves.
02:54Who killed Soldier Boy?
02:56And hey, standard disclaimer, my friends, it is impossible to talk about this show honestly and openly and do a
03:01proper breakdown without acknowledging the political references that are being made and the opinions that are being expressed by the
03:09creators of the show.
03:10So, if that's not your speed, I totally get it.
03:12This might not be the breakdown for you, but we are going to tell you point blank what the creators
03:17are intending to convey and the lines that they are drawing between the world of the boys and our own.
03:22They then go on to blame Starlight for the explosion at Vought Tower in Season 3.
03:26And quick side note, them comparing Soldier Boy's explosion abilities to Starlight's light manipulation and light energy explosion abilities, I
03:36think that's setting something up for how this season might end.
03:39I'll share that with you here in a little bit.
03:41Anyway, in this video, we also see them, like I mentioned, cozying up to the Russian government, photoshopping Soldier Boy,
03:47shaking hands with President Putin, and dissing on Ukrainians.
03:51Soldier Boy has been in Russia, working with our friends in the Kremlin to root out those sneaky traitors in
03:56Ukraine.
03:57This is meant to mirror the political far right's recent pivot to supporting Russia and taking the side of Russia
04:02in the attack on Ukraine.
04:03And we also get this random dig at trans people from the deep.
04:06We don't put up with trans bathrooms.
04:08So, Soldier Boy, he has been added to the Seven, but you'll notice the team only has six members.
04:13And that's kind of a visual cue that Homelander just can't help but push people away, and he can't maintain
04:19a team of even a low number like Seven for a team that is called The Seven.
04:23But Homelander's too chicken shit to admit even the smallest form of defeat, so even though the team still only
04:28consists of six members, they still call it The Seven.
04:31Now, Homelander experiences some more flashing sequences, like we saw in last week's episode, prompting him to step forward and
04:37tell the world that Soldier Boy is his father.
04:40To which Sage disapproves because it complicates things for her very House of Cards, Eleven Steps Ahead narrative that she
04:46has woven to keep Homelander on top in the eyes of the public.
04:50Now, a little later, I do want to talk more about these visions that Homelander is having, as well as
04:54the flashes of light, and what I think they are foreshadowing for when it comes to how Homelander will be
04:59defeated.
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06:37Now, back to what I was saying.
06:38Next, we get this intercutting of scenes between the Boys and the Seven as they discuss the virus and how
06:44Soldier Boy was able to survive.
06:45Vought's early iteration of Compound V was ten times more potent than the current version that most Supes have.
06:51V1 only worked on a handful of Supes.
06:54Bombsite, Private Angel, Soldier Boy, and Stormfront.
06:57And I like this moment where Soldier Boy has no idea who Stormfront is and then Sage reminds him that
07:02it's Vought's wife Clara who once went by Liberty.
07:05And we see this look on his face that he is all too familiar with Liberty.
07:09The V1 in their blood is also the reason that these Supes do not age.
07:12Now, Soldier Boy is pissed with Homelander and thinks of him like Buzz Lightyear thought of Woody early on in
07:18their relationship.
07:19When you're sitting in that wheelchair shitting in a colostomy bag, I'll be running the Seven.
07:24You are a sad, strange little man.
07:26Soldier Boy is under the impression that Homelander only defrosted him to essentially test the Supes virus.
07:31But what Soldier Boy doesn't see is that Homelander actually just has some really serious daddy issues.
07:37He defrosted Soldier Boy primarily because he felt alone.
07:40Soldier Boy then tells Homelander that if the virus doesn't take out Homelander, time will.
07:45A reminder that Homelander, in all of his power and invincibility, is still vulnerable to the inevitability of death from
07:51old age.
07:52Now, earlier in the series, Homelander had an obsession with him getting gray pubes because it meant he was getting
07:57older.
07:57And we get a call back to that a little later in the episode.
08:00A freak with a bushel of gray pubes.
08:02So, Soldier Boy dismisses Homelander as pathetic and he even unintentionally echoes Stillwell.
08:08Just the softest, wettest boy.
08:10And we have to remember that Soldier Boy, like Homelander and like Ryan, he too was abused by his father.
08:16Never laid a hand on me. He couldn't be bothered. He said it was a disappointment.
08:19So, we're seeing a chain of abuse and mistreatment by fathers that we're seeing serve as a bit of a
08:25family tree all the way down to Ryan.
08:27On Ryan's biological father's side, Ryan was abused by Homelander, who feels abused by Soldier Boy, as well as the
08:33other father figures in his life, which we'll get flashbacks to here shortly.
08:37And then, of course, Soldier Boy, who was abused and called a disappointment by his father.
08:41So, that's the tree. Soldier Boy's father called him a disappointment. Soldier Boy called Homelander a disappointment.
08:46And now Homelander treats Ryan as a disappointment.
08:49But, we can't forget that on the other side of Ryan's family tree, he has Butcher as a father figure,
08:54who was his mother's true love.
08:55And Butcher has said really hurtful things to Ryan.
08:58Well, maybe I don't want to look at you after what you've done to my becker. Did you ever think
09:02about that?
09:03And, as we know, Butcher too was abused by his father and even killed him in episode one of this
09:08season for the abuse that his father inflicted upon him and his mother.
09:11Butcher even brags about this to Ryan later in the episode.
09:14Where is he now?
09:15About him at the Thames.
09:16So, what we are seeing is that there is a long line of abuse from fathers in Ryan's family tree.
09:23And my hope is that Ryan is finally able to break free from this trend and be a Superman.
09:29Now, as deep as this scene between Homelander and Soldier Boy is, we get to see Homelander face this fact
09:34of immortality that he hopes to break.
09:36And we hear these words of disappointment and hatred from his father, who he is so desperate to be loved
09:41by, etc, etc.
09:42But, of course, we also get this reference to lamb chop puppeteer Sherry Lewis.
09:46Shit not Sherry Lewis's tits.
09:48I'm guessing she did some of the Vought puppet shows back in Soldier Boy's day. Maybe she even puppeted Soldier
09:53Boy.
09:54So anyway, Soldier Boy, he pretty much feels untouchable.
09:56And he's pretty much taken the bide my time approach while Homelander and the boys find themselves on a ticking
10:01clock to find any remaining V1.
10:04Oh, and you'll notice this confrontation takes place by Homelander's portrait, the portrait that he used to stare at in
10:09Season 1.
10:10But we learned that he wasn't really staring at his own portrait.
10:12He was watching Madeline through the portrait because on the other side was her office.
10:17I know you're watching me. You've been out there quite a lot lately. So why don't you just come on
10:21inside?
10:22So the boys make their way to this bunker that they uncovered, which is, of course, where former Vought CEO
10:27Stan Edgar is hiding out.
10:28And remember, we saw this same bunker of Stan Edgar's in Gen V Season 2.
10:33Now, there Edgar has his granddaughter Zoe, the daughter of Victoria Newman, as well as the scientist Samir.
10:38And also living there with Stan and Zoe is the son of translucent Maverick.
10:43Who, I don't know, I just think he's adorable. I love his little love handles and his glasses and his
10:48hat and the body spray.
10:50It's too bad what happens later.
10:52So we also learn that Maverick is unaware of the fact that the boys, specifically Huey, are the ones who
10:58killed his father.
10:59And Stan has instead told him that it was Homelander. Why?
11:02Well, likely because he already has a soup kid under his control in Zoe, who hates the boys for Butcher
11:08killing her mom.
11:09But Stan also needs one of his soup kids to hate Homelander. So there you go.
11:13So as they enter the bunker, we get a mention of Marie from Gen V.
11:17Okay, so Maverick, Zoe, Marie Moreau.
11:21We then get this mention of Red River from Zoe.
11:23Then I got chucked into Red River because my dad is probably dead too.
11:26This is the orphanage that both her mother and the aforementioned Marie grew up in.
11:30And the same way that Stan saved Newman from this orphanage, he has now saved Zoe as well.
11:35Now, we also learn that Zoe has no idea that her dad is alive and she blames Huey, her mom's
11:40old friend and co-worker, for being complicit in her mother's death by still working with Butcher.
11:46Now, back with Homelander, we see him having a breakdown because, well, his mind is breaking.
11:51It's been breaking. He's not well.
11:53Homelander is mentally ill.
11:55Now, that doesn't excuse any of his bullshit, but we do need to remember that dude was abused as a
12:00child.
12:01He was raised like a lab rat and treated never like a person, but always as a product.
12:06So Homelander lacking any humanity is really because he was never taught any humanity.
12:11He has been manipulated every second of his life and he has never been truly loved by anyone.
12:16So he gets this series of flashbacks that have been triggered by Soldier Boy.
12:20We see all the father figures in his life, such as Soldier Boy, Stan Edgar, Vogelbaum, and then even A
12:26-Train, who is not a father figure, but also called him weak.
12:29We then get the return of Madeline Stilwell and her chest that Homelander loves so much.
12:34Remember, she used to breastfeed Homelander as an adult, not as a baby, as a grown man when she was
12:40over at Vought.
12:40And she took advantage of his serious mommy issues or really just lack of parents issues that Homelander has.
12:47And she did this to manipulate him into being exactly what she wanted him to be.
12:51A weapon.
12:52And she too was fucking evil in her own way.
12:55Now Homelander finally saw through this in Season 1 and he killed her.
12:59And now he's envisioning her as an angel in heaven who still loves him.
13:03And this then leads us to what we all knew was coming.
13:06Homelander thinks he's the Messiah.
13:08And that obtaining V1 will be the final step in his ascendance to the throne of God.
13:13He will baptize the unfaithful in their own blood and create a new world where all who remain are those
13:18who love him.
13:19He will rip babies from their mother's wombs, the works.
13:22Homelander, he has reached scorched earth.
13:25And you know, it's funny how this season of The Boys, it's been completed for a long time and written
13:31before even that.
13:32And this show that started out as a parody of our own reality just seems to be mirroring actual reality
13:38more and more.
13:39And even this week, like this is something that South Park kind of runs into where, yes, they make their
13:44episodes like the week before they come out.
13:46So they can be very timely and reference things.
13:49But with The Boys, a lot of things that come up, it is coincidence.
13:53It's almost as if they're like predicting it like The Simpsons.
13:56So with this episode coming out where Homelander pretty much says, I am Jesus.
14:00And then just the other day, President Trump got in some trouble for releasing this AI meme of him as
14:06Jesus.
14:06It's crazy how this show just exactly like mirrors reality a lot of the time, even in situations like this
14:12where the show was made well before that post happened.
14:14So anyway, look at his face, right? He's insane. He's bloodthirsty, but he's also affection thirsty.
14:19He believes that he is the greatest thing to ever and will ever exist.
14:23And in his own broken psyche, he has convinced himself that becoming God is his destiny.
14:29Now, back at the compound, we learn that Ryan and Zoe have stayed in touch.
14:32Is Butcher in there?
14:33No, but they can lead us to him.
14:36Zoe wants Butcher dead for killing her mom, while Ryan, despite him being upset with Butcher,
14:40he still loves him and I think views him as the father that he never had.
14:44And can we just take a second to talk about the fact that Stan Edgar,
14:48he totally knows that Zoe is having these meetings with Ryan.
14:51I mean, we learn a little later that he has a camera right on that spot where they meet.
14:54And I think that's 100% part of Edgar's plan to hopefully control Ryan and replace Homelander,
15:00which remember was the original intention for Ryan from the start.
15:05So Zoe goes back under and out steps Butcher.
15:07Ryan attempts to push him and learns that Butcher is no longer human.
15:10And we even get this sad callback to Ryan accidentally killing Grace.
15:14But I don't break easy no more.
15:17Not like Mallory.
15:18Now, my favorite part of the series is the relationship between Butcher and Ryan.
15:22Their scenes are always my favorite.
15:23And Ryan, you know, he's just had a really, really hard life, especially these past few years.
15:28No kid should have to have gone through the shit that he has gone through.
15:32And the same is true for Butcher and Homelander.
15:34They both went through things that they shouldn't have have to go through.
15:36Anyway, this relationship that exists between Ryan and Butcher, it always pulls on my heartstrings.
15:42And we'll talk about that a little more when we get to their scene at the bar, as well as
15:46when we get to the scene at the end of the episode.
15:48Now, back at the tower, we see that Homelander is bathing in a bathtub of breast milk from a NICU.
15:54That's the intensive care unit for babies who are sick and dying.
15:59Soldier Boy then arrives and it wouldn't be a Soldier Boy scene without a little racial epithet.
16:03So he refers to Sage as Cleopatra Jones, a movie starring Tamara Dobson from the 70s.
16:09Anyway, I love these scenes between Homelander and Soldier Boy as well, and especially how they are, like, paralleled with
16:14Butcher and Ryan.
16:15So we know that Homelander and Soldier Boy are both just absolute pieces of shit who are self-obsessed,
16:20but I really do love seeing that despite all that, Soldier Boy just has this absolute disgust for Homelander,
16:25yet he has this simultaneous vague acknowledgement of the fact that Homelander is probably the one person on the planet
16:31that if he wanted to, could kill Soldier Boy by, like, I don't know, ripping his head off or something.
16:35So as tough as Soldier Boy acts, I do think that deep down he knows that if Homelander wanted to,
16:40he could take him out.
16:41So, like we said earlier, Soldier Boy is taking the bide my time approach instead of just trying to kill
16:45Homelander
16:46and taking his place as the leader of the Seven right now.
16:48He's instead just gonna play that long game, and he doesn't really have an interest in being, like, this leader
16:53of the free world or Jesus like Homelander does.
16:56We also have to remember that while Soldier Boy is a bad dude, he's not quite as insane as Homelander.
17:01Now, back at the compound, we see Huey attempt to talk to Maverick because he feels really guilty about killing
17:06his father,
17:07yet not guilty enough to own up to it.
17:09Remember, back in Season 1, Translucent was Huey's first kill.
17:12From that moment on, Huey's hands haven't been cleaned.
17:15He gave Translucent chance after chance, but finally, as he was about to leave their underground hideout,
17:20Huey pulled the trigger on the detonator and exploded Translucent.
17:23And look, Translucent tried to kill Huey, so fair play.
17:26But Huey, he's a good guy. He's softer than Butcher and the others.
17:30And I don't say soft as in weak or in a bad way, but soft in the sense that he
17:34still has a heart and a conscience,
17:36something that Starlight admires, yet as we're seeing in the previous episodes as well as in this one,
17:41she simultaneously sees this as something that could get Huey killed,
17:44and she sees that same softness in herself that could end up getting herself and everyone else killed.
17:49It's been a long time since I've been around someone who is actually trying to make things better instead of
17:55stopping them from getting worse.
17:57So this is showing us again how Starlight, over the past year, she has become less like Huey and more
18:02like Butcher.
18:03Now, over at the bar with Ryan and Butcher, we see Butcher get Ryan a beer,
18:06a moment that I would think has to be really special for Ryan, getting taken out for a beer by
18:11the man that he wishes was his father.
18:13We learn that Butcher, despite deep down loving Ryan, is still being influenced by his cancer and has a plan
18:18for Ryan to confront Homelander
18:20and kill him with the virus, knowing full well that it will kill Ryan as well.
18:24But Butcher says that he will be nearby and that he will die too.
18:27Now, this shows us that Butcher, who once upon a time wanted to protect Ryan and wouldn't have sent him
18:32into a fight with Homelander
18:33until he was certain that Ryan could win.
18:35But now, with Butcher being consumed by his literal cancerous hate, he is willing to sacrifice not only himself, but
18:41Ryan.
18:42Something that Butcher knows deep down that Becca would not approve of.
18:46Ryan, however, agrees to do it and Butcher compares him to a young soldier being sent off to war.
18:50And I mean, Ryan agreeing to do this, agreeing to work with Butcher to kill Homelander,
18:55and all while knowing that it means that he will die too, that is a deep and really difficult choice
19:01for a kid Ryan's age to have to make.
19:04And that is just heartbreaking to me that Ryan has reached a point of such self-hatred and no hope
19:10in his life
19:11that he almost feels as if he deserves it and that him dying is the only way out.
19:15Ryan lives, you know, in grief every day for accidentally killing his mother and for accidentally killing Grace,
19:21and he fears that he is destined to just become his father.
19:24Do you think that I could ever- that I might turn into my dad?
19:27Butcher then tells Ryan...
19:28Without Souks, the world is a better, safer place.
19:34And this kind of mirrors how Butcher and Ryan both have this self-inner hatred of the world being better
19:40without them.
19:41Ryan truly believes that without him, the world will be better.
19:44And that just makes me want to give Ryan a big hug and tell him how sorry I am that
19:47he's been thrown into all of this.
19:49And that's why I really, really, really hope that Ryan does get a happy ending come the end of this
19:54season,
19:54and maybe even a role in a future project in the world of the boys where he can be that
19:58Superman type character.
19:59So, anyway, we then cut to The Deep driving a Cybertruck, because of course he is driving a Cybertruck,
20:05and he's got this tracker soup with him as well, and then, of course, Cindy and Black Noir.
20:09And they are on their way to that same bunker in search of V1.
20:12It's also in this scene that we get Cindy's backstory.
20:15Born on a sugar bush, a maple farm.
20:17One day when I was five, my parents died in a tidal wave of molasses.
20:20Now, her dry delivery makes it kind of sound like she's f***ing with The Deep,
20:24but with her having been locked away in that psychiatric ward, Sage Grove, and we know that she is very
20:29unwell,
20:30I think that these, like, children's stories and TV programs that she is mentioning, she thinks that's her actual origin.
20:36And this ties perfectly into how the boys series offers commentary on how the truth is distorted by media and
20:42the creation of echo chambers.
20:43Echo chambers that create the reality that most of us live within without ever knowing the full truth.
20:49So, we then learn that Zoe has snuck into the back of Kimiko and Frenchy's van as they headed back
20:53to their base where their lab is,
20:55and Zoe discovers that her father is alive, and her father learns that it was Butcher who killed Victoria.
21:02And he's the one who killed Vicky, not Homelander!
21:04Frenchy pulls his gun and isn't going to let them leave, but Kimiko intervenes and instructs Frenchy to let them
21:10go.
21:10Now, back at the compound, we get this great scene between M.M. and Stan Egger where they talk about
21:14the machine
21:15and really the ultimate unstoppable killing force that isn't Homelander, but more so consumerism and capitalist ideology
21:22to get the rich richer and really just how corrupt overall the system is.
21:26And this is a reminder that even in a world with a Homelander, the billionaire class is who is truly
21:31in charge.
21:32Corporations must still grow.
21:35And I absolutely loved this exchange about M.M.'s father.
21:39Over 30 Ivy League attorneys at Vought, and one small-time Harlem lawyer made them work weekends and holidays.
21:48Now, back at Vought, we see the return of this creepy-ass puppet show that sent Ryan AWOL last season.
21:53Sign up for the Homelander youth and be tomorrow's heroes!
21:57Homelander is carrying around a bottle of milk, which upsets Firecracker because she was his milk source
22:02until her heart couldn't take it anymore. Like, literally, her heart was going to explode.
22:06And we then see Homelander, of course, approach Sage, and he directs her to begin development on recreating V1
22:12and to skip animal testing and instead use their internment camp prisoners as human test subjects.
22:17Now, over on Set of Firecracker's show, we see that she is about to interview Soldier Boy.
22:21Soldier Boy says...
22:22Glock, huh? Never saw the appeal in foreign-made guns.
22:26To which Firecracker replies...
22:27Well, this ain't your granddaddy's Glock. This here's a 9mm.
22:31And I am almost certain that she is saying 9mm instead of 9mm. I'm not 100% sure.
22:37I've listened to it a few times, I can't tell, but it does kind of sound like she's saying milliliter
22:41and I think that would just be a hilarious reminder that she is dumb as rocks
22:45and that her whole character is a shtick and she doesn't actually really know anything about guns
22:49or any of this stuff that she claims to be an expert at.
22:52So, Soldier Boy says that a Glock is good for late-night Harlem strolls.
22:56Yet another reminder that Soldier Boy is a raging racist.
22:59He then goes on to say that he prefers an American-made cult 1911 chambered in 45 ACP.
23:04The tension is swelling and these two wind up bumping uglies
23:07and afterwards we hear Soldier Boy once again mention Sherry Lewis
23:11and how they had sex at Studio 54, a nightclub-turned-theater in New York.
23:15I've f***ing hard since I railed Sherry Lewis on the balcony of Studio 54.
23:20It then becomes clear that Soldier Boy and Firecracker both did this
23:23in hopes that it would piss off Homelander.
23:25I gotta admit I was kind of just doing this as petty revenge against the freak.
23:29That's terrible. Who would do such a thing?
23:32And Soldier Boy learns that Homelander actually does admire Soldier Boy.
23:35I don't know much, but I can read people.
23:38And the way he looks at you, I never should look at nobody like that.
23:41And I think this is certainly serving as a hint that these two will be teaming up
23:44to bring down Homelander, not necessarily teaming up with the boys, but maybe.
23:48I mean, tyrants like Homelander, they tend to be brought down when they manage to piss off everyone
23:53to the point that enemies become friends to take down the bigger enemy.
23:57Essentially, the boys are America, Soldier Boy and Firecracker are Russia,
24:02and Homelander's Hitler in more ways than one.
24:04Next, we get to see this really touching moment where Ryan gets to meet Terror,
24:08who is not only Butcher's dog, but he and Becca's dog, Ryan's mother.
24:11And I love this moment of seeing Butcher have a genuine smile right before he learns that Samir is gone,
24:17and Butcher, of course, goes back to being a prick.
24:19You said I was the only one who could stop him.
24:21You said it was my destiny.
24:22I just said that, so you get him out of town.
24:25And ironically, what we're seeing happen here is that Butcher is becoming more and more like Homelander
24:29in the sense that he pushes away everyone that cares about him and that he cares about.
24:34He is isolating himself, and it's making him vulnerable, and the same is true for Homelander.
24:38And this fits perfectly with the theme of this show that really was dialed to Eleven
24:43the first time Butcher took Compound V.
24:45Butcher has accepted that he has to become the monster in order to defeat the monster,
24:50and that is becoming more and more true every day.
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25:11So next we hear Starlight say to Huey,
25:13It's been a long time since I've been around someone who is actually trying to make things better
25:18instead of stopping them from getting worse.
25:20This is commenting on how every election cycle, no matter what side of the aisle you're on,
25:24campaigns seem built around stopping bad things from happening instead of also aspiring for more.
25:29Republicans and Democrats both campaign on how terrible the other party is,
25:33and how we should elect them to stop the other one.
25:36But then you have candidates in the progressive wing of the Democratic Party like AOC,
25:41who Victoria Newman was based on by the way,
25:43and candidates like that look not only to stop bad things,
25:46but they actually make like significant policy proposals and strive for progress in a positive direction.
25:52Telling voters the things that they are for rather than just what they're against.
25:55And I tell you this because Huey worked for Victoria Newman, who again was based on AOC,
26:00and he aligned with her politically.
26:02Huey is a bleeding heart, he is sensitive, he cares, but he's also strong as hell and a fighter.
26:08So I really appreciated this exchange here between Starlight and Huey,
26:11as we are seeing their two ideologies get further and further apart.
26:14So next we see the deep sideline Black Noir, so he can get the credit for bringing in Stan Edgar.
26:18Back down in the bunker, we see Maverick, who is now fully aware that it was Huey who killed his
26:23father,
26:23and he is now trying to kill Huey.
26:25We then see Cindy walk in, and she tries to crush Huey,
26:28but she's unaware that Maverick is between them, and he's the one that gets exploded, just like his dad.
26:33And here Huey is, once again, covered in an invisible person's blood.
26:37Oh, and Starlight killed Cindy.
26:40So next, we see that Ryan has decided that he's going to go rogue and confront his father,
26:45and they meet at this same place that Homelander brought him for lunch with Stormfront back in Season 2.
26:50And I went back and watched some Season 2 prepping for this breakdown,
26:52and it is crazy how Homelander, like, actually behaves somewhat like a human,
26:57like, toward Ryan sometimes in that season.
27:00Whereas now, he is just completely, like, devoid of reality.
27:03So I really like how they have had his character just get more and more crazy.
27:07Now, Homelander tries to appeal to Ryan and says that, since he is now going to be immortal,
27:11that there's no need for Ryan to feel the pressure to carry on his old man's legacy.
27:15Ryan then confronts Homelander about him raping his mother,
27:18and when Homelander denies it and says some sick shit like,
27:21she came on to me,
27:22Ryan can tell by his heart racing that he is lying, just like Daredevil,
27:25and just like Homelander does earlier in the season,
27:27when he hears people's hearts racing because they were scared of him.
27:30Now, last week I mentioned that we saw this big gate open,
27:33and it showed Homelander being split in two,
27:35and I theorized that it maybe was foreshadowing that we would see Butcher, like,
27:39rip Homelander in half or something come the end of this season.
27:41Well, here again, we are seeing a poster of Homelander get lasered into,
27:45albeit horizontally this time.
27:47Now, I loved seeing Ryan get some blows in on Homelander,
27:50and then, of course, I got sick when Homelander started beating Ryan.
27:53Homelander says,
27:54My sweet, sweet boy.
27:56Of course, another Stillwell callback.
27:58Now, Homelander beats the hell out of Ryan,
28:00but he does stop short of killing him,
28:01making me think that there's got to be a piece of Homelander
28:04that does actually have a love for his son somewhere deep down in there.
28:08Starlight then breaks down after thinking Huey had died,
28:11and she flies off trying to figure out how she is supposed to fight this war,
28:15when she is now so focused on making sure that Huey stays safe.
28:18And we then see Stan Edgar brought to Vaught Tower,
28:21where we see Homelander embrace him for a hug,
28:23because he now feels like everything is falling into place.
28:26We even see this painting with Homelander in the place of George Washington,
28:30a painting that symbolizes the American Revolution's turning point,
28:32representing themes of freedom and unity and courageous leadership
28:35against overwhelming odds.
28:37So, I guess that's how Homelander is feeling right now,
28:39but that's also how the boys should be feeling,
28:41because both the boys and Homelander,
28:43they have their work cut out for them,
28:45for either of them to beat the other.
28:47They are strong opponents to one another,
28:48and whichever one of them ends up winning this fight,
28:51it will be impressive that they were able to do so.
28:53But in this specific moment, in this episode,
28:56I think we are seeing that the boys are currently feeling more defeated,
28:59and we're seeing Homelander kind of prematurely celebrating victory.
29:03And speaking of this fight and who will win,
29:05earlier I teased that I think these flashes of light
29:07could be foreshadowing Homelander's defeat.
29:10I've thought for a while that as satisfying as it would be
29:12to see Homelander get fatally defeated,
29:14I think it'd be even sweeter of a victory for the boys to take away his power
29:18and make him a mere mortal,
29:20especially with him being so set on becoming a god.
29:22We've heard mentions this season of the idea of taking away Homelander's power
29:26by removing the V from his blood.
29:28Who knows, you might even fry the V right out of my blood.
29:31And I'm not so sure that it's going to be Soldier Boy who does this,
29:34but rather a team-up between Starlight and Marie.
29:37I think we could see Marie remove Homelander's blood from his body
29:40and like have it in the air,
29:41and then Starlight blast it with her light power,
29:44and then Marie put the blood back into Homelander,
29:46leaving him a mere mortal.
29:48So, supposing we hit the body with a tremendous,
29:52whether it's ultraviolet or just very powerful light.
29:56We then see Butcher come for Ryan and he caresses his face,
29:58giving me hope that we are going to see these two finally reconcile.
30:02And while I don't for a second think that there is a happy future in store for Ryan and Butcher,
30:06in all likelihood, Butcher is probably going to die come the end of this season,
30:10or at least be thought dead and go into hiding until they bring the show back in 10 years.
30:14But I hope we get to see a moment where Butcher calls Ryan the son that he always wanted or
30:18something like that.
30:18All right, and those are all the Easter eggs,
30:20references and little things you might have missed that we caught in this episode of The Boys.
30:24I want to thank my co-writer on this episode, Ethan Ng.
30:27He did some great research. I appreciate it, man.
30:29If you're new here, be sure to subscribe.
30:31Hit the bell so you get notified every time we upload a new video and a new breakdown for The
30:36Boys.
30:37For Screen Crush, I'm Colton Ogbren.
30:46JĆa Annapurton, I'm Colton Ogbren.
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