‘The Boys’ Just Pulled Off Its Best Twist Of The Series In Episode 7

I continue to be deeply impressed with The Boys season 3, not just because of its X-rated antics, which were on full display last week with the infamous Herogasm episode, but also because of its storytelling.

This week’s episode 7 was probably one of the best of the series, as we not only got a great explanation for the fall of Black Noir (as told through kids cartoons) and a history of Butcher’s hard family life (as told through Mindstorm-induced nightmares), but the show also pulled off what I would consider the best twist in series history. Spoilers follow.

That would be the revelation that Homelander is actually Soldier Boy’s son.

This…answers a lot of questions. It appears to be the reason that Vought was ready to sell out Soldier Boy to the Russians, ordering his team to betray him, as they had his more-controllable heir waiting in the wings. What they didn’t realize was that Soldier Boy actually wanted to start a family, and would have shared the spotlight willingly.

This is also a great explanation for why Soldier Boy is the only hero powerful enough to go toe to toe with Homelander. It also creates a massive problem for The Boys, given that Soldier Boy was the weapon they had planned to wield against Homelander, and now they appear to be on the same side, given this revelation that neither of them understood until now.

It’s kind of perfect, given that Homelander has parent issues, raised as a lab rat, and Soldier Boy always wanted a child, so the two are primed to reconnect and join forces. The show also seems to be taking some specific turns involving Supes and Supe genetics, given that also in this episode, Homelander talks about how he wanted kids with Maeve, and now he’s planning to harvest her eggs to possibly make kids with their combined powers against their will, kids that will be stronger than the son he already had with a human woman.

As for where things go from here, my theory is that the Boys will find some way to kill Soldier Boy, but not Homelander in the finale, which will only enrage him further, given that he just reunited with his long lost father. How they’re going to do that exactly, I’m not clear on (and I am not referencing the comics for any hints), but it seems like something the show would do. Then again, I never saw this initial twist coming, which I think was well set-up in hindsight, and yet totally blinded me when it happened. That’s pretty impressive in this age of internet spoilers and plot twists that seem pretty obvious.

I have no idea how next week’s finale is going to top this, but without question I expect Homelander to survive, as I’m not sure how the series could ever exist without him, as much as we all, in theory, want him dead. Then we wait another year and see where this all goes. In the meantime, grab Antony Starr that Emmy, won’t you?

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Pick up my sci-fi novels the Herokiller series and The Earthborn Trilogy.