Man, oh, man! The amount of information thrown into last night’s episode of The Boys was immense and impactful. There are going to be a butt ton of spoilers ahead, so beware. Otherwise, let’s dive in!
With her tracker removed, Starlight joins the boys as they head to a psychiatric hospital in Pennsylvania she found on Stormfront’s computer. It’s a stank-face stand-off between Starlight and Butcher for most of the episode, but it’s fairly obvious by the end of the hour how similar the two really are. Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, and Kimiko all head into the hospital disguised as workers. Once they get into the security room, they discover a bunch of people with powers, Stormfront, and old member of the Seven, Lamplighter. Frenchie reacts quite strongly to his presence, and we are thrown back into the past when the Boys blackmail Lamplighter into being their mole. We all know that this eventually leads to the death of Mallory’s grandchildren, but we never fully understand Frenchie’s involvement.
While leaving the facility, Frenchie decides to enact some revenge on Lamplighter, but all they end up doing is releasing the prisoners who are not happy about what’s been happening to them. One particular supe happens to be able to crush whatever she’s got her sights on just by making a fist. The three manage to hide with Lamplighter joining them, and while they’re locked away, he admits he didn’t know it was the kids in the bed, and asks Frenchie why he didn’t stop him that night. Back in the past we see that Frenchie abandons his post to help a close friend who was overdosing. Ultimately, that friend died of an overdose a few months later, so he just feels like a failure and somewhat of a monster. This flashback also seems to answer why he’s so insistent on saving Kimiko. She seems to understand this, too, and I feel like this means their feud is over. Yay!
Outside, where Butcher, Starlight, and Hughie are keeping watch, they get approached by an escaped patient who bowls them over with a surge of wind, rolling over the van that Hughie is in. When Butcher drags him out, one of Hughie’s ribs has impaled him and it’s clear he’s in trouble. Starlight can’t cauterize it because of the surge, so the two take Hughie in search of a way to a hospital. They are ultimately successful, but not before Starlight accidently kills someone. What strikes her is how unaffected she is, and Butcher gives her a look that says they really aren’t all that different.
In all of the chaos at the hospital, the group does learn that Stormfront is leading a series of tests on people in order to stabilize Compound V for mass use. She also manages to somewhat tarnish her new relationship with Homelander, but she tries to regain his trust by telling her exactly who she is. First she shows him a picture with an old woman, who she says is her daughter. We find out she was born in 1919 and Fredrick Vought’s first patient and soon wife. Since his passing she’s vowed to carry on his work, and that Homelander is everything the two envisioned for their work. I can’t really tell what Homelander’s reaction to all of this is, but I’m sure we’ll find out soon enough. The rest of the Seven are sort of wheeling and dealing with each other behind the scenes. The Deep finds a Go-Pro from the plane crash that he gives to Meave (doesn’t seem to go well when Elena sees the footage), and then the Deep recruits A-Train into the church. I hope more starts rolling with these little sub-story lines, because right now they’re sort of lacking. Either way, can’t wait for next week’s installment!