‘The Boys’ Season 3, Episode 5 Ending, Explained: Can Soldier Boy Really Defeat Homelander?
This week’s episode of The Boys is, like Butcher would say, a juicy one. This episode more than any other that came before really puts our main character through the wringer, but puts them in a very dire situation in terms of how their relationships work. There are a lot of small and big betrayals in this episode, as well as some development that set up a fantastic final confrontation that will surely be spectacular at the end of the season.
The episode also becomes proof of the fact that the whole cast is just amazing. Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, Erin Moriarty, are all incredible. Much attention is given to Anthony Starr’s performance as Homelander, but the rest of the cast pulls equal weight in making The Boys the great show that it is. Amazon knows this is one of their greatest shows, for sure.
The next paragraphs contain spoilers for season 3, episode 5 of The Boys, so read at your own risk.
What Happens in Season 3, Episode 5 of The Boys?
This episode is quite a rollercoaster and begins just as The Boys are coming back from Russia, where they didn’t really find a weapon, but they did find Soldier Boy, an old superhero that was thought dead. Soldier Boy escapes, but not before hurting Kimiko, and almost killing her in the process. Kimiko’s healing factor seems to be gone and when they reach the hospital Kimiko wakes up happier than ever.
You see, when Soldier Boy attacked her, it didn’t just hurt her because of the power of the blow, but it did so because the power in itself took Kimiko’s powers away. She is now a normal person, and she couldn’t be happier about it. Frenchie is also happier for her as she is starting to speak once again, and they kiss finally after so many hints that they care for each other on that level. Sadly, Frenchie is kidnapped by Nina, leaving Kimiko alone in the hospital. His fate is unknown.
Meanwhile, Homelander has become the ultimate leader of Vought and everybody in the company fears for their lives, becoming nothing more than yes man for Homelander. Ashley has now become the new CEO of the company, although it is definitely just a puppet role. She is just as scared as anyone, but she doesn’t know how to face Homelander and live to tell the tale. So she just summits. At one point, Starlight approaches Ashley, and she almost reveals she is against him, but in the end, she chooses the safest choice.
Starlight has her own issues, as she is just suffering from having seen Supersonic dead. She is under threat by Homelander, and with the apparition of Soldier Boy back in America, she begs for Homelander to take action but Homelander believes that everything is under control. Homelander is absolutely a coward, and he is just expecting others to do the work that he is supposed to do.
Back at home, Hughie reveals to Starlight what happened in Russia, including the fact that he took Compound V and loved it. They fight over the fact that having powers is a bad thing, and that Hughie doesn’t need to save him, but she doesn’t see the fact that for Hughie this is such an important thing. For the first time ever, he feels like he is useful like he doesn’t need to be saved by his girlfriend, and that he can keep up with Butcher and the rest of The Boys. It is a complicated situation.
Hughie is also the only one at Butcher’s back. M.M. is disappointed in him for putting Kimiko in danger, and they fight over the fact that Butcher doesn’t seem to have a limit. Butcher is willing to do everything if it helps him accomplish his mission of killing superheroes. It is dangerous, but even M.M. cannot prove Butcher wrong, when he, himself, has such a powerful grudge against Soldier Boy that he breaks his promise of taking her out, instead, he chooses to follow Soldier Boy around the city.
Can Soldier Boy Really Defeat Homelander?
Soldier Boy arrives in America as a man out of time. He is outraged at seeing gay people on the street, and hearing Russian music on the radio. He has suffered much, though, as we get glimpses of perpetual torture at the hands of the Russians. Likewise, he was experimented on in such a way that he got the ability to take away other people’s powers. At the end of the episode, Soldier Boy visits his old girlfriend, and she reveals that she sold him to the Russians in the first place. It isn’t a happy reunion, and he kills her.
At the same time, Butcher drugs M.M. and takes him out. Butcher is planning on recruiting Soldier Boy to The Boys and using him as the final weapon against Homelander. Homelander himself knows that he is being targeted by Butcher and Maeve, so if he is ready or not to face Soldier Boy is still a mystery. Butcher betraying M.M. isn’t the last one on the episode as, Hughie also chooses to follow his heart and follow Butcher on their mission, instead of not getting involved as Starlight asked of him.
The setup is ready for Soldier Boy Vs. Homelander. However, this time, Soldier Boy has the ability to take people’s powers away. Could that be what is needed to finally take Homelander out of the game? We will have to wait and see. There are only three more episodes left.
