Over The Hill
Episode 3 of The Boys Season 2 begins with Butcher apologising for punching Hughie in the mouth. 3 miles off shore, they’re sitting ducks as Butcher promises he’ll neutralize Kimiko if she becomes a problem. Frenchie overhears this though and clearly isn’t happy with his lack of compassion. Unfortunately Mouse isn’t keen to sit still and starts trying to break free from his chains. While A-Train suffers the consequences of his Compound V overdose, Becca is forced to entertain our milk-guzzling Homelander. As he takes Ryan outside, the boy’s powers eventually manifest in a devastating and dazzling way. Homelander grabs Becca and Ryan loses his temper, throwing Homelander across the garden. At Vought, the fragmented members of the Seven sit and listen to the movie pitch for the Dawn of the Seven (that same movie we’ve seen posters for dotted around town). It’s a pretty animated display from the producer, but despite Ashley’s enthusiasm, Stormfront has some questions. Before they can continue, Ashley receives a disastrous call and immediately tries to head up and speak to Stan. He brushes it off but the real story here comes from the media. The Compound V situation has leaked and – thanks to Starlight – has caused a media storm of epic proportions. While Black Noir weeps, back on the boat Butcher struggles to show enthusiasm for Hughie’s win. Given the Supe Terrorist downstairs, he’s got bigger fish to fry. And it doesn’t take long before everything turns upside down. Frenchie heads in with a drink and asks Mouse for help communicating with Kimiko. When he refuses, Frenchie leaves the can behind on his way out. It’s just what Mouse needs as he uses the metal to break free. Meanwhile, The Deep continues to dive deep into his past trauma. This includes moments where fish were begging for their lives inside an aquarium. It’s a big moment for him as he opens up and finally starts to embrace his powers. This doesn’t last long though as Carol arrives with good news for Kevin – he’s got a ticket back into the Seven. With a blessing from Alaistair, the head of the church, this is his ticket back into Vought. Back on the boat, things take a turn for the worst when Mouse knocks a police helicopter out the sky. Hughie and Butcher come to blows yet again, with very different ways of dealing with the situation while neutralizing Mouse. Butcher decides to speed off and leave the helicopter behind while Hughie wants to check for survivors. However, Butcher makes the final call and all Hughie can do is watch on helplessly. Grace gives her instructions to the team in a bid to deal with this situation once and for all. A CIA safe-house. Stan takes charge of the situation and briefs the Seven over what’s happening. A-Train covers for Starlight while Homelander decides to rally the team and go after their “super villain” (which is Mouse of course). Of all the people to stop them though, it’s The Deep who makes the biggest splash. He controls sea animals – including one massive whale – to try and stop them. However, Butcher drives the boat straight through the middle of this great animal. Shocked, Hughie starts to falter which worries Mother’s Milk. As he speaks to Butcher privately, he admits that Hughie is his “canary” and right now the only one keeping him on the straight and narrow. Back on the shore, The Deep mourns the loss of the whale, or “Lucy” as she likes to be called. Homelander arrives and takes charge of the situation as the deal with Deep and Starlight becomes volatile. Deep repents but Homelander tells him to leave before things get worse. However, before he does Homelander tells Deep to cover his “disgusting” gills up. Unfortunately the Seven catch up with Hughie and the others. With Homelander watching on, he tells Starlight to kill Hughie. Butcher makes a decision and saves him from his fate, using Mouse’s powers to trap Homelander. Unfortunately this is also just the ticket he needs to break free. It’s here we actually see just what Stormfront is made of. She chases after the group and destroys an apartment building floor by floor. As she looks set to seriously hurt Kimiko, Mouse saves her life. Stormfront seems to be worse than Homefront as she breaks both of Mouse’s wrists and twists his neck, killing him instantly. With their target gone, the group head back into hiding underground. Stan takes charge of the PR situation and the group watch him talk on TV. If there’s one good thing that’s come from this tragedy, it’s Hughie and Butcher who seem to be on the same page. As Stormfront takes to the stage, Kimiko watches with murderous eyes. She’s not the only one though, as Homelander shows some serious disdain for his partner following her going against protocol. This situation is far, far from over.
The Episode Review
This entire episode is chock full of action and crescendos into a lovely conclusion that sets up next’s week episode nicely. There’s lots of bubbling tension between the different heroes and it’ll be interesting to see how that develops over time. It seems like A-Train may be losing his powers too and that could see him thrown out. Could it be at the expense of Deep joining? The bad blood between Stormfront and Homelander continues to grow and this will almost certainly spill over into a big confrontation in the future. That’s before even mentioning Hughie and Butcher who seem to be on the same side for now but that may not remain. Kimiko will almost certainly seize control and want to go after the Seven following Mouse’s shocking death. Pockets of conflict could spill over at any time and this messiness is partly why the season works so well. One thing’s for sure though, this show is just starting to heat up.
