Warning, spoilers for The Boys season three, episode seven, “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed” ahead!
So who saw this twist coming on The Boys? Butcher and Hughie’s plan to take out Homelander hit a minor snag this week, when, tracking down the next item on Soldier Boy’s literal Payback list — a Supe named Mindstorm who traps people in their own memories until they literally die — went awry. Despite Soldier Boy warning the duo not to make eye contact with Mindstorm, that’s exactly what happens when they finally do encounter him, and Butcher accidentally almost seals his own fate.
Soldier Boy, played by Jensen Ackles who continues to kill it both metaphorically and literally, sees Butcher as a casualty, which in turn forces Hughie to give Mindstorm a brief respite from death in order to save his friend. And while he manages to do, it’s ultimately at the expense of their mission. Disgusted with Hughie and Butcher for losing sight of the end goal, Solider Boy has effectively now gone rogue, and that’s not good for anybody.
Except, perhaps, Homelander, who receives a phone call from Soldier Boy who informs him that the “situation’s changed” and that they need to have a conversation. As it turns out in 1980, before being sold to the Russians, Soldier Boy was taken to a Vought lab where he “beat his meat into a cup” and inadvertently brought Homelander into the world.
“You know what the bitch of it is,” Solder Boy tells him. “If they’d have just kept me around, I’d have let you take the spotlight. What father wouldn’t want that for his son?” he asks, before the episode fades to black.
So it appears that Butcher, Hughie, and the gang have a much, much bigger problem on their hands. And as season 3 barrels towards its conclusion next week, it seems that all bets are off — especially considering the revelation Annie learns about V24 being fatal after three to fives doses, which Butcher and Hughie will almost certainly need to have any chance whatsoever against Soldier Boy and Homelander.
But for now, fans are still wrapping their head around the fact that Soldier Boy is indeed Homelander’s father, and what the means going forward.
Others pointed out how Butcher and Hughie are essentially “screwed” now with the father and son teaming up.
And on a wholly different note, at least one fan remembered what Soldier Boy previously mentioned about founding Herogasm and, uh, Stormfront, in particular.
On one hand, Butcher and Hughie are clearly no match for Solder Boy and Homelander, considering that Butcher, Hughie, and Solider Boy barely managed to take on Homelander when it was a three to one fight. But on the other hand, it seems like this town might not be big enough for the two dueling egos, and it feels inevitable that Homelander’s glaring daddy issues are going to eventually come into play.
And while Ackles has not yet been confirmed for season 4, all bets are off heading into next week’s thrilling finale.