WARNING: The following article contains spoilers for The Boys Season 3, Episode 8, "The Instant White-Hot Wild," which released Friday on Prime Video.
So far in The Boys Season 3, Vought International has undergone some massive shakeups, with an increasingly emboldened Homelander seizing power at the company. However, last week's episode of the series, "Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed," saw him accidentally revealing his misdeeds in a livestream. As that was happening, Billy Butcher, Hughie Campbell and Soldier Boy -- who was revealed against Homelander's father -- prepared to move against the supe, while Annie January/Starlight, Kimiko, Frenchie and Marvin/Mother's Milk got ready to stop them. The Season 3 finale of The Boys, "The Instant White-Hot Wild," finally wraps up those plots in some big ways while also teasing what's going to come next. Here's a spoiler-filled recap of what happened.
Homelander Gets Ready for the Battle to Come
The finale opens on Homelander finding his son, Ryan, and Grace Mallory. While Mallory tries to call for help, Homelander stops her. Ryan and Homelander have a heart-to-heart in which the latter reveals that he's not mad about Becca Butcher's death. He understands that, sometimes, things happen when you have powers, and says he loves Ryan no matter what. In the end, Ryan embraces his father.
However, things aren't going as well at Vought International, as the government is planning to search Vought Tower for Queen Maeve. They attempt to move her to another location, but Maeve breaks free and kills her captors. Black Noir interrupts a conversation between Ashley Barrett and The Deep about Maeve, and the masked supe says he wants to work with Homelander to take down Soldier Boy.
Later, though, things take a dark twist when Homelander interrupts Black Noir sharpening his sword. Homelander asks about Soldier Boy. Black Noir says he's "bad." However, Homelander responds by saying that Soldier Boy is his father, and he's angry Vought kept that information from him. Black Noir insists they need to kill Soldier Boy, but Homelander just asks if the masked supe knew the leader of Payback was his father. Black Noir confirms he did, and Homelander kills him, saying, "You should have told me." As Black Noir dies, he sees his cartoon friends, who say they're proud of him.
As all of that's going on, A-Train goes on a journey of his own, visiting his brother, Nate, who can no longer walk. A-Train reveals that, thanks to Blue Hawk's heart being transplanted into him, he'll be able to earn money again. He wants Nate to be his coach, and apologizes for his role in what Blue Hawk did. Nate soon tell A-Train that he didn't want to see Blue Hawk dead. He wanted to see him brought to justice. Nate accuses A-Train of being selfish and kicks him out of his house and life.
Later that night, Ashley, A-Train, The Deep and Homelander talk about Soldier Boy's impending attack, which they were informed about by Starlight. Homelander demands they stay and reveals he killed Black Noir, horrifying everyone. The leader of The Seven then makes clear he won't tolerate any dissent and calls them "the one and only true justice." He then orders The Deep to kill Lamar Bishop, who is Dakota Bob's vice presidential running mate. He does so as part of a deal with Victoria Neuman, and the action results in her becoming Dakota Bob's partner instead.
The Boys Face Off Against Their Former Allies
Soldier Boy remains on the fence about killing his own son, which is making him difficult for Butcher and Hughie to work with, as it's clear he might turn on them. However, Butcher also makes an important decision. At a rest stop, Hughie steps out of the bathroom and Butcher remarks on how he looks like Lenny. He then knocks him out and leaves with Soldier Boy to take out Black Noir and Homelander.
Elsewhere, Frenchie and Marvin get the nerve agent they need to take down Soldier Boy. The latter is still frustrated about having hit Todd, his ex-wife's new husband, as he wanted to keep that darker part of himself away from his daughter. However, Frenchie reassures him he's the best man he's ever known. Later, Kimiko confronts Frenchie about his drug use, which leads to him bringing up Little Nina describing him as a masochist that likes to be used and abused. Kimiko says that isn't true, saying that the past isn't who they are and that he helped her change and heal. Kimiko still sees good in him.
Starlight goes to pick Hughie up at the rest stop. While they're in the car, Starlight reveals to him that V24 is fatal and that, if he continued to use the drug, he'd likely have died. Hughie realizes Butcher saved his life and stopped him from taking more V24. This causes Hughie to reminiscence about what true strength is, and he apologizes to Annie for everything he's done to her. They then get a call: Maeve is at Marvin's place.
That team regroups, with Maeve now joining them, and is uncertain what Soldier Boy will do now that they know he's Homelander's father. Starlight calls Vought Tower to try and get it evacuated, as mentioned above. The group decides to try and stop Soldier Boy before he gets to Homelander. Everyone has given up on Butcher, except Hughie. However, he tells them they have to save everyone, regardless of if they deserve it.
At the Flatiron Building, Soldier Boy and Butcher discuss the battle to come, with the latter ignoring a call from Mallory. Soldier soon reveals his backstory, saying that despite the official story having him be a much more working class hero, his father was rich. However, the man was also emotionally abusive, which led to him volunteering to take Compound V. This didn't impress his father, as he thought it was a shortcut and cheating. Soldier Boy also talks about how he always wanted to be a father, because he thought he could be better than his own. Butcher responds by saying that Homelander isn't really his son, even if they're biologically related, and reiterates that they struck a deal.
Soldier Boy steps away at some point, which is when Maeve and the rest of the characters with her arrive. Hughie tells Butcher thousands of people could die if his plan works and tries to reason with them. However, Maeve soon turns on them and destroys the nerve agent that would stop Soldier Boy, as she believes Homelander needs to die. The former leader of Payback then returns and Butcher locks his opponents in the office's safe.
Starlight uses her powers to eventually break open the safe door, and they rush to Vought Tower. Frenchie believes he may be able to synthesize the nerve agent that they need in Vought's lab while the others hold off Homelander and Soldier Boy, a potential suicide mission. Before they leave, Hughie grabs a new vial of V24.
At Vought Tower, Homelander is watching a video of Soldier Boy from World War II when Butcher, Maeve and his father arrive asking about Black Noir. Homelander confirms he killed his former ally and offers Soldier Boy an alliance, saying they'd be unstoppable together. He also brings out Ryan, introducing the former leader of Payback to his grandson. Soldier Boy then says he wished he could have raised Homelander and taught him, but that now he only sees him as a disappointment. A battle ensues, and Soldier Boy knocks Ryan out. This causes Butcher to turn on Soldier Boy. The two of them fight while Maeve and Homelander brawl.
When Starlight and Marvin arrive to take on Soldier Boy, they find him fighting Butcher on the Vought News Network stage. The trio take on Soldier Boy while Hughie evacuates the building using one of the control rooms. Kimiko, for her part, has to fight off Vought security. And although Frenchie gets shot in the leg, he finishes the nerve agent and gives it to Kimiko, telling her to leave him behind and stop Soldier Boy.
Kimiko arrives to help against Soldier Boy, but he proves too strong and advances on Starlight, preparing to kill her. Hughie watches on from the control room and nearly uses his vial of V24, but in the end, decides not to. Instead, he increases the brightness of the stage lights and gives Annie more power. She begins to fly and blasts the former leader of Payback, putting him down for long enough for Marvin to hit him with the nerve agent. However, before he goes down, Soldier Boy charges up to explode.
Butcher runs to grab and shield Ryan. And despite getting the upper hand on Homelander, Maeve leaves the battle and tackles Soldier Boy through the window, forcing him to detonate in the sky. This does massive damage to the surrounding area, but saves the main cast of the show. After, Ryan chooses to leave with Homelander rather than Butcher, who passes out.
The Aftermath of the Battle With Soldier Boy
Following the fight at Vought Tower, VNN runs in memoriam ads for Maeve, with her death attributed to a soldier radicalized by Russians. This broadcast is actually on the TV as a hospital, where a doctor tells Butcher he's got between 12 and 18 months left to live. Later in the episode, it's revealed Maeve is alive, but without her powers. She's reunited with Elena, and they're planning to go somewhere Homelander won't find them. Maeve and Annie part from each other with a hug. It's also revealed Ashley Barrett has footage showing Maeve survived, but opts to delete it.
Elsewhere, Marvin teaches his daughter about his family and about how superheroes aren't always good. He wants her to be proud of where she came from and brings up his own father, calling him a hero. In response, Janine says Marvin is her hero. A major part of his backstory has also been put to rest, as Mallory oversees Soldier Boy being put back into stasis at an undisclosed location.
Annie also becomes an official member of The Boys. Although there's some question whether Butcher will approve, they make clear he's no longer allowed to run the team like a dictator. Soon, the new version of The Boys sees the broadcast revealing Neuman is Singer's new pick for vice president. "Well, that bitch has definitely got to go," Butcher says, his last line of the season.
But that's not all. Outside Vought Tower, Homelander arrives at a rally supporting him. He introduces everyone to his son. However, a protestor soon throws something, hitting Ryan. Homelander then responds by killing him in front of everyone. Led by Todd, Homelander's supporters cheer. As the season concludes, Homelander realizes his fans will support him no matter what, and a smile crosses Ryan's face.
The first three seasons of The Boys are available to stream now on Prime Video.