The Boys Season 3, Episode 8

The finale episode of the third season of The Boys is set to debut on Amazon Prime Video this Friday (July 8) at 3 a.m. ET / 12 a.m. PT / 8 a.m. GMT.

Blood and bone. Shock and awe. Blood and bone. Shock and awe. The views expressed here are that of the respective authors/ entities and do not represent the views of Economic Times (ET). ET does not guarantee, vouch for or endorse any of its contents nor is responsible for them in any manner whatsoever. Users in India can choose from Amazon Prime Video's monthly and yearly plans.

It was always a shaky idea to center a season of The Boys on a plot to take out Homelander. A recap of “The Instant White-Hot Wild,” episode eight and the ...

The Boys is a big show with a big ensemble and big ideas. These are ideas I wished this episode — and this season in general — had the space to explore in more depth. The man’s earnest desire to confront his demons leads to his entrails spilling on the floor of Vought when Homelander learns Noir knew the truth about his parentage. Perhaps most tragically, Butcher’s relationship with the boy he began to think of as his son may be tarnished forever. Hughie evacuates the building, but his biggest win is blasting the studio lights to boost Annie’s power enough to incapacitate Soldier Boy. Hughie’s ego trip lasted far too long this season, and his revelation in this episode is predictable — strength doesn’t always come from superpowers, and sometimes it’s heroic just to be there and support the people you love — but it’s still a triumphant moment. The rest of the Boys arrive just in time to save Butcher and immediately get to work. It was always a shaky idea to center a season of The Boys on a plot to take out Homelander because the show clearly wasn’t getting rid of him. Maeve gets in on it, too, though she’s still focused on the initial mission — and in a gnarly shot late in their brawl, Homelander takes out her eye. To Soldier Boy, Homelander is just a “weak, sniveling pussy starved for attention,” “a fucking disappointment.” It’s the same language Soldier Boy’s own father used, going directly against Soldier Boy’s earlier musing about breaking the cycle. That’s the other biggest question of the episode: How will Soldier Boy’s knowledge of his relation to Homelander affect the mission? But at this point in the series, the cast is so large and the plot so tangled that a big status quo shift feels necessary — and “The Instant White-Hot Wild” really doesn’t have one. Butcher and Hughie are still a go on transporting Soldier Boy to Vought Tower to find and kill Homelander and Black Noir. But Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, Kimiko, a newly retired Annie, and a newly escaped Maeve are more focused on Soldier Boy, knowing that his standard explosion trick could wipe out thousands this time.

The Boys season 3 finale featured great performances all round, but fell short in the delivering the fight we were all waiting for.

And then there’s Homelander. With Ryan in tow, the episode ends with the maniacal Supe lasering a Starlight fan in half – all while his Storm Chasers watch on. Frenchie and Kimiko have a beautiful scene in which they discuss reconciling with their past, while Laz Alonso continues to shine as MM in a powerful moment with Frenchie about wanting to be the best for his daughter. There have been big highs, including the introduction of Soldier Boy to the fray while 'Herogasm' led to one of the series’ greatest episodes yet. The only disappointment here is that it doesn’t match the brilliance of Homelander, Butcher and Soldier Boy's confrontation in 'Herogasm', which showed their limits. Heading out with Billy Butcher to kill the last remaining Payback member Black Noir, Soldier Boy confides his own tense relationship with his dad – how he was never good enough for his father, which led him to volunteer for Vought’s experimental testing, only for his dad to say that he cheated. The moment should have added tension to the storyline, yet it has taken the wind out of the show’s sails.