In a meeting with the Secretary of Defense, Vought CEO Stan Edgar discusses the incorporation of the Supes into the military. Meanwhile, in the US, Homelander holds a funeral for Translucent, along with Translucent's family and son Maverick. The Boys watch the news and see their faces still splashed across the media as wanted criminals. They brainstorm what to do - run, find Compound V and tell the media, or stay and hide.
Annie tracks down Gecko, an old acquaintance of hers from her days in Capes for Christ who now works in one of Vought's laboratories. She records him in a hotel room letting someone hack his arm off in exchange for money. Annie finds Gecko at a diner and chats him up as if it's a casual run in. She asks him for a favor - to go into the labs on 67th to steal her a sample of Compound V. He pretends not to know what that is at first.
The Boys meet with Susan Raynor, who asks them if they know where Butcher is and they say no. They give her a description of the Supe Terrorist. Raynor thinks that Vought International is behind everything - that it's a "coup from the inside". All of a sudden, her head explodes and The Boys, covered in blood, scream and run into their van.
Tropes for this episode include:
- Actor Allusion: Hughie mentions The Hunger Games. His actor Jack Quaid made his film debut in the movie adaptation.
- Alone with the Psycho: Ashley learns the hard way that Homelander without Stillwell holding his leash is the worst.
- Awesome, but Impractical:
- Blindspot's Disability Superpower means he has to leave his ears exposed to allow him to hear, which means there's no protection on his head. Homelander kills him by boxing his ears, but any random crook could take him out with a stray bullet.
- Eagle the Archer is an archery-based superhero that has lamented his failure to stop a Hostage Situation. He began to question why he'd ever use a bow and arrow against people armed with Tec-9's. He ended up running out of arrows before they'd run out of bullets.
- Back-Alley Doctor: Mother's Milk is using his skills as a Combat Medic to patch up the gangbangers they're hiding with. When they bring in someone with their arm and ribs crushed, he tells them they need to take the man to a hospital. Turns out how he got these injuries is important.
- Badass Normal: Lampshaded by Hughie went it's pointed out that he has no experience in the military or intelligence services.Hughie: So maybe I can't be Lee Marvin. But I can be Harry Potter. Or you know, John Connor or-or-or what's her name from The Hunger Games...
Frenchie: Katniss.
Hughie: (beat) Yeah... The point is, I could be that person who nobody thinks is awesome, but it turns out they're kind of fucking awesome! - Bait-and-Switch Time Skip: At first we're led to believe it's been quite a long time since the last season, since Annie's hair has grown four or five inches. In fact it's been far less time, and her long hair is a wig.
- Bastardly Speech: Homelander gives a funeral speech with Crocodile Tears for Translucent (allegedly killed by the cartel Supe terrorist "El Diablo"). Then Starlight sings a touching memorial song as well, knowing that her boyfriend is the one who killed him.
- Blackmail:
- Hughie gets Starlight to do this to a Supe named Gecko in order to obtain some Compound V.
- Stan Edgar does a subtle version by letting Homelander know that they know all about him smuggling out Compound V to create super terrorists.
- Black Comedy
- Translucent lies in state in a glass coffin...which is completely empty.
- Black Noir cuts a woman's throat so the blood spills into the glass she's holding, which he then neatly places on the table. Then he stops to calm a child with a plush toy, while still holding Naqib's head, with the high chance of Naqib and the woman being his parents.
- Body Language: Annie and Hughie have their legs touching while sitting next to each other on the subway train, but when Hughie can't help mentioning an actor Annie is supposedly seeing, Annie deliberately crosses her legs to break the contact.
- Break the Cutie: Ashley is eager to get to work with Homelander and wishes to introduce a bright up-and-coming Supe as a candidate for the Seven. Homelander quickly undoes her work, tells her that she's merely filling in a role that Vought mandates and is only there to fill it while he does all the work himself. He also intimidates her into being his spy on what the 82nd floor is up to.
- Bullying a Dragon: Frenchie's smuggler allies end up getting paid enough to smuggle a Supe. One of their members ends up severely injured trying to force him to comply, and their boat is lifted and overturned on him.
- Burner Phones: Starlight and Hughie use these to make contact, assuming that Vought will have her phone bugged.
- The Bus Came Back: Ashley, who was fired in "Get Some", is brought back at the request of Homelander because he wants a patsy he can control.
- The Cameo: Seth Rogen and Chris Hansen appear to discuss Translucent and Billy Butcher respectively on their own television shows (the former counts as a Creator Cameo of sorts given he produces the show).
- Cannot Tell a Lie: Starlight can tell Hughie is lying about nothing being wrong (after Raynor is murdered), given that he spent most of last season lying to her.
- Collateral Damage: The standard contract includes a line about the superheroes making their "best efforts" to avoid collateral damage. Officially the acceptable level is zero. Unofficially it's 34%.
- Comical Nap Drool: Happens to The Deep when waking up on a couch.
- Composite Character: Combined with Decomposite Character; Stan Edgar demonstrates complete Nerves of Steel and manages to rattle Homelander, a trait that belonged to Stillwell in the comic.
- Contrast Montage
- While Edgar is hammering out the contract for the use of superheroes as military support (while a Vought lawyer turns up with lunch), Black Noir is slaughtering his way through Naqib's house.
- Starlight in her luxury apartment is contrasted with Hughie's Morning Routine in the subbasement cleaning closet of a gangbanger hideout.
- Convenient Coma: A-Train is still in a coma, so isn't awake to tell the Seven that Starlight busted out the Boys. (
But what about the soldiers guarding them?) - Church of Happyology: The Church of the Collective is introduced in this episode, helping The Deep.
- Cruel and Unusual Death: Black Noir kills a terrorist guard by ripping open his jaw.
- Cut Lex Luthor a Check: Stan Edgar explains exactly how short-sighted Homelander's plot to create Super-villains by smuggling Compound V overseas truly is. In the short term, Vought stands to make a lot of profit, but in the long term they stand to lose one of their most lucrative products as it's going to be only a matter of time until the US Government forces them to hand over the formula. In addition, Vought can only hide the truth about how Compound V, which is produced exclusively by Vought, got out for so long and Vought is going to get hammered once it does. All for what amounts to a minor sideline that is only a small fraction of Vought's income.
- Deadly Nosebleed: Raynor, right before her head explodes.
- Death by Adaptation: Susan Raynor is killed, despite surviving the entire comics run.
- Decomposite Character: The Vought company's founder Frederick Vought, a German scientist who defected from the Nazis during WWII and is responsible for the creation of Compound V and the very first Supes; which was Jonah Vogelbaum's comic book backstory.
- Despair Speech: Starlight right before she blackmails a former friend from her Christian group."There's nobody in the sky watching over us. Not God, not Homelander, not anybody. It's all just... lies."
- Doctor von Turncoat: Frederick Vought defected to the Allies in 1944 when he sensed that the Nazis were going to lose the war. He gave Compound V to the Allies, enabling them to create Supes like Soldier Boy.
- Dramatization: Applied to the story of Billy Butcher blowing up Stillwell's home, courtesy of Chris Hansen's show.
- Drowning My Sorrows: The Deep is still not taking his Unpersoning well.
- Dynamic Entry: The Return of Billy Butcher starts with him throwing a gangbanger down the stairs into the basement where the Boys are hiding.
- Establishing Character Moment: The episode begins with Stan Edgar coldly explaining to other people in the meeting his planned policies for introducing Supes into the armed forces. Later, he rattles the Supe in the series, Homelander, despite being a completely non-powered being.
- Evil Is Hammy: The actor playing Evil Brit William Butcher on a Crime Reconstruction show hams it up accordingly, in contrast to the Tranquil Fury that the real Butcher showed."Oi! Shut your trap, you dumb bird, or else I'll bollocks you."
- Fanservice: Naqib has been recast as Samer Salem, whose Walking Shirtless Scene shows off his tattooed abs.
- Foreshadowing:
- When Hughie leaves the hideout, which is located under a comic book shop, he passes by a poster featuring Liberty, who will become significant in later episodes.
- After the death of Susan Raynor, Hughie fearfully asks who could have done it. The show then cuts to a television interview with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman. As the season finale reveals, this was an Answer Cut.
- Good Is Not Nice: Starlight blackmails Gecko, an old friend from her Capes For Christ days. When he tries to argue that We Used to Be Friends, Starlight cuts him off. "We're not anything."
- Goshdang It To Heck: The actor portraying Butcher in the True Crime show's recreation of Stillwell's death calls her a "dumb bird" and threatens to "bollocks" her. Not one "twat" or "cunt" in the lot. Justified, in that this is for mainstream daytime TV.
- He's Back!: Butcher is missing with no indication of what happened after Homelander dumped him on Becca's lawn. Is he dead; is he wallowing in angst or drowning his sorrows in booze? He turns up at the end of the episode as his usual cocky, badass foul-mouthed self.
- Hero with Bad Publicity: The episode shows off how the Boys have been painted as wanted criminals constantly disguising themselves from the public, no thanks to Homelander and Vought's manipulation.
- His Name Is...: Susan Raynor realizes the Boys have unwittingly discovered a vital clue. Before she can fully explain her head explodes.
- Hope Spot: The Boys sans Butcher contact Susan Raynor about the Supe terrorist, hoping to bargain it for allowing Milk to get back to his family. Raynor is supportive until her head blows up right in front of the gang.
- Human Traffickers: Frenchie's allies turn out to have been doing this alongside their smuggling of drugs and guns, without any of the Boys knowing. They received enough pay to do this for a Super Terrorist.
- In the Hood: As Hughie is exiting the comic store, he's startled by the sound of a superhero (presumably Homelander) flying overhead, and quickly flips up his hoodie. Starlight is also wearing a hoodie and dark glasses to hide her celebrity features.
- Internal Reveal: The public learns of Translucent's death (though the details are changed to fit the current quest against the terrorists), something that happened early in Season 1 and that most of the characters already knew about.
- Ironic Echo:
- Hughie tries to encourage Frenchie and Milk to carry on the fight, saying they should get hold of some Compound V, go to the press and burn Vought. Starlight uses the same words when it looks like her plan to blackmail Gecko is working, but by that time Hughie has witnessed Raynor's death, badly shaking his confidence.
- In the same scene, Starlight tells Hughie not to lie to her, just as Homelander did to Madelyn last season. Hughie continues to lie regardless.
- Jerkass Has a Point: During Homelander's conversation with Stan Edgar, he mentions that up to that point, he had signed off on every member of the Seven, so while the way he reacted to Stormfront being put into the team by Edgar is extremely childish and inappropriate, Edgar probably should have known that deciding to put someone on the team without even telling Homelander was out of the ordinary and would provoke a reaction.
- Kick the Dog: Just in case you had any doubts that Homelander was evil, when Ashley introduces him to Blindspot, a blind superhero with Super-Senses, Homelander boxes his ears so hard it either kills or permanently injures him, then berates Ashley about letting a "fucking cripple" on The Seven.
- A small example, but Annie blackmailing Gecko is pretty cruel considering that they were friends in school, and then she dismisses their friendship as them "being nothing". Ouch.
- The Leader: The Boys know full well it's not Hughie, as he doesn't have the experience. Fortunately when they've hit Rock Bottom, Butcher returns.
- Match Cut: Naqib gaping at how Black Noir is still standing after he shoots off an energy burst at point-blank range, to his head being carried off.
- Mood Whiplash: Homelander puts on his Faux Affably Evil façade when Ashley turns up and informs him there's a new member of the Seven, right up until the moment he cripples Blindspot and then terrifies Ashley into doing his bidding, all while Blindspot is screaming and bleeding out all over the floor.
- Mythology Gag:
- A news screen makes has a headline of "#G-Too? G-Men Scandal", which just about sums up the "We Gotta Go Now" storyline.
- Many of the comic covers seen in the comic shop are taken from the actual comic, while some were made originally for the show.
- One of Stormfront's social media followers has the handle #JackOffFromJupiter, referencing Jack From Jupiter, the Martian Manhunter expy member of The Seven in the comics that Translucent replaced in the show.
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
- Butcher strapped Madelyn Stillwell into an explosive vest which he then blew it up, destroying the evidence of Homelander's murder and making it look like he was the killer (though he was hoping to kill himself rather than be killed by Homelander).
- The street gang Frenchie is helping is responsible for people smuggling, including a Supe terrorist. When they tell Susan Raynor about this, it only gets her killed.
- Not So Above It All: Turns out even Super Terrorists worry about a suitable Catchphrase.
- Off with His Head!: Naqib gets his head cut off by Black Noir who carries it off with him, presumably as proof of the kill.
- O.O.C. Is Serious Business: Starlight is wearing the revealing outfit she hates and is taking part fully in Vought's PR machine, to cover up the fact that she's secretly helping Hughie in his investigation.
- Our Founder: Frederick Vought was the founder of Vought International. He founded the company after he was pardoned by the US government for his work using Jewish prisoners in Dachau as test subjects for his earliest versions of Compound V.
- Overt Rendezvous: Hughie and Annie meet each other on a subway train. Given that one is a celebrity superhero and the other a federal fugitive, this doesn't make them feel any less secure.
- Over-the-Top Secret: Stan Edgar wants a "top secret Yankee White designation" for Compound V, which apparently only the President can authorise. Ostensibly this is to stop foreign countries from finding out about it, but as Edgar later points out to Homelander, the existence of Compound V becoming public knowledge would be bad for Vought as well.
- Patriotic Fervor: Homelander doesn't like the idea of them Saving the World, and feels Saving America is more appropriate (as Americans are the ones voting for the military superheroes).
- Pet the Dog: After killing Naqib, Black Noir takes the time to entertain Naqib's infant son and gives him his teddy bear back before leaving. Proving that this version of Noir is in fact above harming children.
- Piggybacking on Hitler: Hitler appointed Frederick Vought to be the chief physician at Dachau. He used Jewish prisoners in the camp as test subjects for his earliest versions of Compound V for use by the Nazis. This was how things went until 1944, when he saw which way the wind was blowing and defected to the United States, earning himself a Presidential pardon for developing the American Super-Soldier program.
- Pre Ass Kicking One Liner: Supe terrorist Naqib decides that "Burn in truth!" would be a suitable Catchphrase. Right after deciding this Black Noir appears, so he puts it to immediate use. Unfortunately his attack is a No-Sell and Noir takes off his head.
- Private Military Contractors: Edgar argues that other military contractors aren't under the chain of command, so his superheroes shouldn't be either. This ignores the fact that, by Vought's own admission, their superheroes are the most powerful military force in the world. There's a reason why the President of the United States is also the Commander In Chief of the US military.
- Real Men Wear Pink: Mother's Milk is seen decorating a dollhouse for this daughter. He threatens to kill Hughie if his crusading gets them arrested before finishes it.
- "The Reason You Suck" Speech: When he discovers the 82nd floor have assigned Stormfront to the Seven without his prior approval, Homelander barges into Stan Edgar's office and tries throwing his weight around. After all, as the most famous superhero in the world he's Vought's most valuable asset and it would be too bad if he decided to leave. Edgar puts Homelander firmly in his place by pointing out he's not their most valuable asset. Vought is a pharmaceutical company, not a superhero company. Their most valuable asset is the (no longer) confidential formula for Compound V "which you, manchild that you are, released into the wild."
- Rebel Relaxation: Homelander, more usually seen doing a Dynamic Akimbo, puts his boots up on a low table when in Edgar's office, because he wrongly assumes he has the advantage of the CEO. It doesn't last.
- Rock Bottom:
- Hughie is living in a closet of a gangbanger's drug den, watching on television the girl he loves cozying up to Homelander.
- Gecko is a former teen star, now working as a human test subject for Vought and renting himself out as an S&M hooker that clients hack up for kicks.
- The Deep is drowning his sorrows in booze after finding himself unpersoned by Vought, then gets arrested after getting drunk and trying to get some attention from an indifferent public. He's surprised when a superhero he barely knows bails him out and takes him to his church group. He's about to walk out on them too when they offer him a chance to get back into the Seven.
- Screw This, I'm Outta Here: After seeing Raynor's head exploding, the Boys abandon the place as quick as possible.
- Shoot the Television: Starlight gets annoyed at the PR video for Citizen Starlight playing in the back of a taxi and uses her Glowing Eyes of Doom to break the screen.
- Shout-Out:
- Frenchie mentions a few examples of The Leader; Hannibal from The A-Team, Lee Marvin from The Dirty Dozen, and Brian Epstein from The Beatles.
- Later, Hughie tries to compare his situation to trying to be Harry Potter, John Connor, or that one girl from The Hunger Games. Frenchie clarifies, "Katniss."
- This becomes a Celebrity Paradox when you realise Jack Quaid (Hughie) was in The Hunger Games.
- A scene early on features Edgar from Vought pitching The Seven to the military while "Sympathy for the Devil" plays, similar to the introductory scene in Suicide Squad (2016).
- Shut Up, Hannibal!: After Stilwell's death, Homelander conducts himself as if he is entitled to her former position of managing the Seven and is pissed when Stan Edgar goes over his head to promote Stormfront to the team, angrily telling him that Homelander and Vought are one and the same. Edgar coldly tells Homelander that he is Vought's pawn, that even he can be replaced, and that the company's only truly valuable asset is Compound V.
- Staging an Intervention: Eagle the Archer stages one for Deep, only it's not really an intervention, it's recruitment for a cult.
- Stepford Smiler: Eagle the Archer gets a bit of this, still unhappy with how he bungled the hostage situation but has been given enough therapeutic sessions by Carol to mostly move on from rock-bottom.
- Stylistic Suck:
- Translucent's memorial service is a fest of megachurch tackiness, ending with cheesy power ballad lacklusterly performed by Starlight.
- The Crime Reconstruction of Madelyn Stillwell's murder at the hands of Mad Bomber William Butcher!
- Sudden Sequel Death Syndrome: Susan Raynor.
- Supervillain: Homelander thinks it sounds better than Super Terrorist.
- Sycophantic Servant: Ashley has taken over Madelyn's office and is having it demolished and reconstructed. When Homelander says he liked it, she quickly agrees. Justified in that while she doesn't know he baked her former boss's head from the inside, it's pretty obvious he would. In case there is any doubt, he personally threatens her later.
- Synchronized Morning Routine: There's a Contrast Montage between celebrity superhero Starlight in her luxury apartment versus her boyfriend Hughie Campbell, now a fugitive, doing his Morning Routine in the subbasement cleaning closet of a gangbanger hideout.
- Take Our Word for It: Translucent's funeral has an empty glass coffin, relying on people to believe his corpse will be invisible. Given his body was blown to pieces, it's safe to assume he isn't actually in there.
- That Man Is Dead: When Frenchie and Milk point out that he's Just a Kid who sells stereos, Hughie points out that he's lost everything from his job to his girlfriends.
- Therapy Is for the Weak: Carol claims that therapy is actually really self-destructive, steering The Deep away from it.
- Tranquil Fury: Stan Edgar never raises his voice, but he makes it clear to Homelander how much of a mess he has left for Vought to clean up.
- Twofer Token Minority: Discussed as Ashley Barrett is seen introducing Homelander to a new possible member of the Seven, Blindspot, who is blind and of East Asian descent (albeit he has a disability superpower). She says that ideally their next member should be both "ethnic" and female too as Millennials like that, though he dismisses the idea.
- Un-person: A worker with an oxy-torch is removing Deep's statue from outside the Vought conference room, and Deep even finds he's been removed from a photo stand-in board.
- We Want Our Jerk Back!: After his falling out with Butcher in the previous episode, Hughie repeatedly knocks back the idea that The Boys need him. Unfortunately Hughie has no experience in the rough side of covert ops, Mother's Milk would rather go back to his family, and in the end Frenchie calls in Butcher simply because they need a leader who's crazy enough to take on the overwhelming forces they're up against.
- Wham Line: "They got paid to smuggle in a Super Terrorist."
- Wham Shot: The Boys start going over security footage, and suddenly, one of the trafficked humans begins levitating a boat.
- White Shirt of Death
- Black Noir slitting the throat of an elderly Syrian woman in a white hajib, catching her blood in the glass she's holding.
- Hughie is wearing a white shirt and catches most of the gore from Raynor's head exploding.
- Would Not Hurt A Child:
- During Noir's mission to kill off Naqib and his forces, he spares a child in the building.
- It is revealed that Homelander saved Stillwell's baby, though he did abandon it miles away from the house.
- You Didn't Ask: Frenchie says that he didn't know the gang they are hiding out with was involved in people smuggling. Milk points out that Frenchie never asked them.
- Your Head A-Splode: What happens to Susan Raynor after the Boys tell her the truth about a Supe terrorist arriving in the United States.
- You're Drinking Breast Milk: Homelander actually retrieves a container of Madelyn's breast milk from the fridge, warms it up with his Eye Beams and drinks it.
- "Frenchie's right. This is a fuckin' mess, son. We've got a Supe terrorist, Raynor's blown her canister, and we're the most wanted cunts in the country. But don't you worry. Daddy's home."
