Nothing Like It In The World
Following what happened with Stormfront, episode 4 of The Boys Season 2 begins with big changes on the horizon. Numerous reports paint her as the hero which certainly doesn’t go down well with Kimiko or Homelander who stew with rage. Eventually Homelander leaves Vought and visits Madelyn who feeds him milk. Only, this obviously isn’t our Madelyn and actually a doppelganger taking on her form. Butcher meanwhile receives his next assignment from Mallory. She provides information about a second-tier Supe known as Liberty. Only, this is complicated further by Butcher learning that Becca is alive and being held in a heavily fortified Vought compound. This splits the team up, with Butcher heading off alone to find Becca while Mother’s Milk takes charge of the operation in finding Liberty. Annie feels Homelander’s wrath as he confronts her about hesitating with Hughie. Thankfully she manages to save herself and act convincing enough that Homelander doesn’t think she’s lying. Not long after, she meets Hughie and the pair talk about the Compound V situation. After the run-in with Homelander, Hughie convinces Mother’s Milk to let her run with them. Meanwhile, A-Train is booted out of The Seven. He’s none too happy about it but given Homelander’s influence here, there’s not much he can do about it. Elsewhere, Annie, Hughie and Mother’s Milk head out on the road. Despite witnessing a car crash, them being undercover means they’re unable to help much and are forced to flee. As they hold up at a motel that night, Annie and Hughie wind up sleeping together. Butcher meets Becca under the cover of darkness and promises to save her from her predicament. As they sit together, they discuss their differing fates. In the morning though, Becca decides against leaving with Butcher. She knows he’ll do everything he can to get rid of Ryan. Given Ryan is what Homelander is after, he doesn’t want to take any chances. In a genius topical move, Homelander and Queen Maeve take to the news and discuss the current diversity of heroes. Homelander jumps at the chance to throw Maeve under the bus and outs her relationship with Elena on live TV. Unfortunately all Maeve can do is smile awkwardly. Backstage the duo talk and Homelander wishes her well in her relationship. Elsewhere, Stormfront riles up a group of protesters against Vought. Kimiko shows up with murderous intent but Frenchie manages to stop her from doing something stupid. As she watches in disdain, Stormfront takes to the skies and flies away. Meanwhile, Hughie, Mother’s Milk and Annie make it to their contact’s house. After an impassioned speech about his Father, M.M. manages to get them inside to hear the woman’s story. It turns out Liberty killed her brother. Even worse, she’s actually Stormfront. A storm is certainly brewing though. Homelander heads in to see Stormfront and the duo discuss their changing roles within The Seven. Through a tirade of memes, Stormfront seems to be growing an army of fans loyal to her case. Homelander’s PR-driven stunts just can’t compete but he refuses to take on her help. Annie and Hughie make it back home and go their separate ways. Interspersed around these scenes this episode are various interviews infront of a camera. It turns out Deep is behind the wheel and he’s had to “choose” a wife to re-brand his image and get back in The Seven. Only, it’s hardly something chosen for him as this is all a PR stunt. Later that evening, Homelander returns to the doppelganger. This time though he’s much more sinister and decides he doesn’t need anyone to love him. Instead, he snaps the man’s neck and watches as he falls in a crumpled heap on the floor.
The Episode Review
If episode 4 of The Boys has proven anything, it’s that it’s not designed to be watched as one episode a week. This is the sort of show that really benefits from a binge watch, helping with the pacing and depth of each character. After last week’s exciting action, this feels like a deep breath and a chance to reflect. While that in itself would be fine, having to now wait another 7 days is a real pace-killer. Still, there’s some good characterisation here and an interesting dynamic between Stormfront and Homelander playing out.The Boys Season 2 Episode 3 Review
