History Recap / TheBoysS03E07HereComesACandleToLightYouToBed

* KickTheSonOfABitch:
** MM knocks Todd out cold for bringing his daughter to a Homelander rally, both for not knowing that he's endangering Janine (as Soldier Boy's gunning for Homelander) and for having the gall to say he's a better father to Janine than Marvin ever could. It doesn't help that Todd's a Homelander loyalist and refuses to believe what Annie said is true. Despite this, his family is still disturbed by the violence.
** Ashley gleefully tells A-Train that they transplanted Blue Hawk's heart into him, and to rub salt in the wound intend to have in star in a biopic that portrays him (inaccurately) as a very [[{{Gangbangers}} stereotypical]] black character. But, as Ashley pointed out the previous episode, A-Train is a selfish douche, and even his murder of Blue Hawk was because he hurt his brother, not out of genuine concern for the black community.

* BrickJoke: When Starlight caught the Deep in the previous episode getting a blowjob from an octopus, he tried to play it off as the octopus being ill. When Victoria catches Homelander indulging in his milk fetish, he uses the same exact excuse.

* BlackSheep: Black Noir literally sees himself as the black sheep of Payback.

* TooDumbToLive: Neuman follows Homelander to an isolated farmhouse, '''alone''', and digs into him for his conspiracy-laden speech at Robert Singer's election rally. Homelander could've killed her and not a soul would have ever found out about it, and he only lets her live because she has crucial information regarding [[spoiler: Ryan's whereabouts.]]

* TooDumbToLive: Neuman follows Homelander to an isolated farmhouse, '''alone''', and digs into him for his conspiracy-laden speech at Robert Singer's election rally. Homelander could've killed her and not a soul would have found out about it, and he only lets her live because she has crucial information regarding [[spoiler: Ryan's whereabouts.]]

* TreacheryCoverUp: A-Train's murder of Blue Hawk is spun as a valiant but ultimately failed attempt to rescue him from the attack on Herogasm.

* AnimalStereotypes: Black Noir imagines several people he knew as the anthropomorphic mascots of a food chain, and said animals fit their personalities. As [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s63dfVhqQQY&lc=Ugy-mdNFLsv18PL_KiR4AaABAg explained]] by a viewer on Payback selling out Soldier Boy:

* BreakTheHaughty: Soldier Boy smacks Hughie across the face after the latter pushes Ben's buttons over not really serving in World War 2. Hughie is so used to standing up to others and not getting it for it that he's surprised when Ben ''does'' hit him for mouthing off. There's also the fact Hughie might be letting the power from the V24 go to his head, so Ben hitting him might've been a wake-up call for him.

* IWarnedYou: Soldier Boy quotes the trope exactly when he threatens to smack Hughie if he doesn't cool his jets. The final straw is when Hughie pushes Ben's buttons over not serving in World War 2.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: A [[WorldOfCardboardSpeech self-inflicted]] example. Black Noir is still dealing with the trauma from his experiences with Soldier Boy, and getting a part of his brain bashed out didn't help. The poor guy is a broken boy stuck in a man's body used as a killing machine. And yet, despite it, all the toons in his head are encouraging him to be stronger so he can finally face the vicious bully that gave him so much grief.

* BrickJoke: In the previous episode, the Deep tried to play off his blowjob from an octopus as it being ill. When Victoria catches Homelander indulging in his milk fetish, he uses the same exact excuse.

* CelebrityParadox: Black Noir was in the running to play Axel Foley in ''Film/BeverlyHillsCop'', which also featured The Legend's actor Paul Reiser.

--> '''Soldier Boy''': Come on, I can't go in raw. Hughie, listen, these women, they're like fine wine. Okay, the older they get, the more delicious, but the drier.

* DisneyDeath: The last episode made it look like A-Train died avenging his brother. In this episode, he shows up in a hospital bed, saved by a heart transplant from his murder victim Blue Hawk.

* CouldHaveAvoidedThisPlot: If Vought had been straight with him, Soldier Boy have gladly stepped aside so his son could take his place as America's #1 hero. Well, [[VillainsNeverLie according to Soldier Boy]], anyway.

** Stan Edgar: A meerkat, which symbolises group efforts, family bonds, close friendships, and protection. As a Vought executive, Stan Edgar is a corruption of this because Vought is a corrupt business that makes supes, protects its assets, and controls public relations between supes and the public when they harm others through collateral damage. Stan also has a close bond with Victoria Neuman, his adoptive daughter.

** Stan Edgar: A weasel, a creature associated with deception and treachery. As former CEO of Vought, his very job was to deceive others and manipulate the rest. However, the credits state that he is actually a meerkat.

* BreakTheHaughty: Hughie gets slapped in the face by Soldier Boy after he pushes Ben's buttons over not serving in World War 2. Hughie is so used to standing up to others and not getting hit for it that he's shocked when Soldier Boy ''does'' hit him. There's also the fact Hughie might be letting the power from the V24 go to his head, so getting smacked by Ben might have brought him back down to earth a little.

* {{Foreshadowing}}: The B-Plot with Black Noir showcases how Soldier Boy's public perception of a decorated veteran and recognized hero was a sham coving up the abusive and controlling bully he was underneath towards the rest of the team, demeaning them and even physically brutalizing them with his stronger abilities if needed. The A-Plot with Butcher getting trapped in a LotusEaterMachine drives it home to him how he's ultimately [[TheChainOfHarm become exactly like his abusive father, if not worse]], demonstrating how children can embody the traits of their parents without knowing about it. These both lead up to TheReveal that Homelander is actually Soldier Boy's son, created from his donated genetics and having TurnOutLikeHisFather, explaining why both are considered the WorldsStrongestMan.

* AnimalStereotypes: Black Noir imagines several people he knew as the anthropomorphic mascots of a food chain, and said animals fit their personalities.

* AbusiveParents: We see a flashback to Billy’s childhood with Sam being an abusive, toxic bastard to his sons.

* FakeUltimateHero: Soldier Boy stormed the beaches of Normandy... two weeks after the D-Day landings, for a photo op. He never actually saw action against in Germany, and a good chunk of his 'heroic feats' seem to amount to beating or shooting civil rights protesters and anti-war demonstrators in the '60s and '70s.

* FakeUltimateHero: Soldier Boy stormed the beaches of Normandy... two weeks after the D-Day landings, for a photo op. He never actually saw action against the Nazis, and a good chunk of his 'heroic feats' seem to amount to beating or shooting civil rights protesters and anti-war demonstrators in the '60s and '70s.