The Boys Season 3 is packed with major twists, mind-blowing moments and gut-wrenching deaths that will tear your insides apart like Termite sneezed when he was inside your…
It’s one of my favourite seasons of all time and when going back through it there’s a major scene that really stands out. This is the moment in which Homelander fights Soldier Boy, Hughie and Billy Butcher after the events of Herogasm.
Throughout this post, we’re gonna be breaking down why it works so well, all the elements in it that build up to it and the aftermath that it leaves for the rest of the series.
Herogasm
Episode 6 was billed as being the big moment in The Boys Season 3 where we’d finally see big things go down. If you’ve read the comics you’ll know it’s a major arc in that which shows all the sadistic stuff that the supes get up to when they’re not posing for the cameras. Even people who hadn’t read the comics I think will likely have had it hyped up for them beforehand due to the word having Orgasm in it and the buzz on social media being centred around it. Eric Kripke had done several interviews about it in the build-up to the event and though it was a big part of the episode, I think that the fight scene being the thing that people talk about shows how much it overshadowed everything else.
Soldier Boy
The three Seasons had built up to the battle between Butcher and Homelander and throughout this entry, we watched as he tracked down the quote-unquote secret weapon that was capable of killing him.
This was revealed to be Soldier Boy, a Captain America parody who himself had been suped up with BCL Red. This was capable of killing the supes and it finally seemed like Hughie and Butcher had a chance of taking down the worst of them.
Now add to this the idea of Compound V24, a drug that had the capabilities of giving someone superpowers for a short time.
With this lethal cocktail of the two elements, it really felt like the playing field was finally levelled and that Homelander would have a chance of being beaten once and for all.
Now, this is given greater depth by the way that the scene itself is set up.
Supes-Killer
The entire event climaxes…ey with Soldier Boy unleashing his chest laser which kills countless Supes and the ones that survive are left badly burnt down to the balls. Looking at you Love Sausage.
We then follow this up with the moment in which A-train drags Blue Hawk worse than I drag Ryan Arey and it leaves the idea implanted in your mind that there’s actually a way to defeat the Supes. Never before have we seen so many of them taken out and it subconsciously gives the idea that Homelander has met his match. I listen to a lot of podcasts when I’m not at work and when the team at Kinda Funny were reviewing this episode they said that it very much felt like a season finale.
I completely agree and this feels like it could end off the entry with a big final battle between the two sides. The battle itself takes place amongst the ruins of the party which makes it appear as a battleground where we already know many Supes died at.
Now for the stakes to be high, we also need to see the enemy as much of a threat as the rest of the characters do.
This is cemented by
Homelanders entrance
We open this moment with Termite on the floor screaming for help and his boot comes down and crushes him, planting the idea in our heads that this is what Homelander is gonna do to Billy and co.
Termite also subtly hints to us that the rest of the supes are like insects to Homelander and that he has no trouble taking them out.
What really elevates this moment is that Termite is actually a character that we recognise and though he’s not exactly one of the main characters, I think he’s certainly one of the most memorable. When we look back on The Boys in many years to come and discuss the big moments in it I think the Termite scene early on in the series will be one of those that pops up. It’s nice that they actually set him up early on in the series with such a big scene so that when he’s squashed by Homelander it’s even more impactful.
Truth Time
Now I’m gonna be honest yeah, Homelander is a villain that I love. #HeavySpoilersIsOverParty begins, but search your feelings, you know you love him too.
To me, he’s the reason that people come back to the show every week and I think that what this scene does really well is that it also makes him seem like he’s gonna die so deep down you’re like ‘nooooooooo’ get out of it.
Often in shows and movies before there’s a big defeat you want the audience to have it in their head that the tides are turning and the heroes can take out the villain. For example, at the end of Return of the Jedi, you have the Rebels really put on the backfoot across all the battles that are happening.
The battle of Endor looks like it’s going in the Empire’s favour, out in the space fight we see that the Death Star is fully operational and Luke is back into a corner before he’s electrified by the Emporer. These are all insurmountable odds and thus when the heroes overcome and win in every circumstance it feels even more exhilarating. It’s a technique used in storytelling to make the battles feel more enthralling and though it doesn’t happen perse in The Boys, they actually flip the script when it comes to Homelander.
Because a lot of us deep down wanna see how far that Homelander can go, we want to see him survive this. Therefore when he’s almost beaten in the fight it feels even more impactful because he’s just managed to escape what would’ve been certain death for him.
It’s very Games Of Thronian and though that show had a big fall-off come the final season I do still think that on the whole, it was a masterclass in character development. What they’d do brilliantly in that series is that they’d make you just as attached to the villains as you are to the heroes so that when they squared off you genuinely didn’t know who you wanted to win.
The scene to me also feels very similar to when Thanos is being held back during Infinity War. It’s taking all the might of the heroes just to hold him down in place showcasing how powerful he is. They almost have him and for a couple of seconds, you genuinely feel like he’s out of the game before he manages to escape.
Butcher’s Missed Opportunity
Now on the other side of this, you also feel like Butcher and co have just missed their one big opportunity to take him down. This was very much an ambush in which Billy and Hughie revealed that they had powers that completely blindsided the villain.
They’ll never get a chance like this again where they catch him off guard like this and for him to escape feels all the more impactful because now Homelander knows they’re coming for him and what they can do.
As the old saying goes, you throw Rocks at the King you better not miss.
What Makes This Scene So Good?
This is why the end of the fight feels so impactful because the three look around like they’ve just messed up massively. Even the framing of the shot with them being shown inside the glass Homelander’s just going out of cements that he managed to escape and leave them and their ambitions behind.
It’s masterful and just the fight itself is what really takes this to the next level.
Homelander says he used to admire Soldier Boy, having him against the ropes until he’s saved by Butcher. And just Hughie running around it naked like a headless chicken all add to the frantic feeling, comedy and chaotic nature of the battle.
There’s also what this scene means on a symbolic level. You very much have archetypes here fighting it out for their own ideals and beliefs. Soldier Boy very much represents the old face of America that is battling for relevancy and power in a world that’s changed idealistically. Homelander is the new school, inspired by the old but taking things in a different direction. Then we have Butcher who is the person that just wants to burn it all down and get rid of both.
They all have their own standings and stand for much more than just three people.
That’s what makes this fight so endearing, we really have these symbols all coming together for a good old-fashioned showdown to see who can come out on top.
All this adds to the fight being something special and it very much sets up what’s to come in the remaining two episodes.
That’s what a series should do, have you coming back for more every week because you’re desperate to see how things turn out.
I feel like this fight scene definitely accomplishes that and it stands for much more beyond just a battle.
They Love Me Back!
It’s another reason why I absolutely love The Boys and I haven’t talked about this in a video yet but the Twitter account for the show even put out the other day that they enjoy a good Theory Time, theory time, theory time.
Really meant the world to me and I couldn’t have done it without you guys checking out the breakdowns every week.
I still wanna do a couple more Boys videos, the next one is about whether Black Noir can come back so make sure you stick around at the channel if you’re interested in that.
I’d of course also love to hear your thoughts on the scene so make sure you comment below and let me know.
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