Season 3 of The Boys concludes with a massive battle including Butcher, Homelander, Soldier Boy, and others. Here’s our complete breakdown of this awful conclusion.

WARNING: The Boys season 3 finale contains spoilers.

Here’s how “The Instant White-Hot Wild” changes the game forever in Amazon’s The Boys season 3 finale, which is replete with shock surprises, supe showdowns, and cruel smiles. The Boys promised something bigger, better, and even more stomach-churning for season 3 after two seasons of satirical superhero mayhem, and while Herogasm couldn’t quite justify its over-inflated anticipation, Billy Butcher’s 2022 escapades haven’t been lacking in passion or drama.

Butcher and Hughie both used V-24 to grant themselves temporary superpowers, Homelander knocked Stan Edgar off his Vought perch while sparking a depressingly relevant culture war, and Starlight left the Seven. Meanwhile, Jensen Ackles’ Soldier Boy has dredged up some of Vought’s deepest, darkest secrets, not the least of which is the patriotic supe legend being Homelander’s secret father.

When The Boys’ season 3 finale begins, Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy are planning one last attack on Homelander at Vought HQ, while MM, Frenchie, Kimiko, and Starlight resolve to bring down Soldier Boy, drag Butcher back from the brink, and return home in time for pizza rolls and Remington Steele. This is how the third season of The Boys ends.

Why Does Homelander Murder Black Noir?

Homelander rams a gloved fist straight through Black Noir in the season three finale of The Boys. The intestines of the Silent Knight are scattered throughout the floor of Vought Tower’s legendary Floor 99, as Noir’s animated companions gradually fade away, confirming his death.

Strangely, Homelander spends the rest of The Boys season 3 mourning Black Noir, as if he’d been plowed over by a bus rather than murdered by his own hand. Though sacrificing his sole true Seven ally undoubtedly hurt, the incident reflects Homelander’s intense need for the love and approval he missed as a child. Noir did everything Homelander wanted, but he kept the fact that Soldier Boy was his father and that the Russians had taken him alive hidden from him. Homelander is so yearning for a parent that even Black Noir gets punished for this crime.

The Boys’ death not only puts one final nail in the coffin of an actual comic conclusion (the masked supe is revealed to be a Homelander clone), but it also completes Earving’s terrible history. Soldier Boy was betrayed by Payback because he physically and mentally abused them, but even after 40 years of relative peace, Black Noir can’t escape the shadow of his former leader, and is poetically killed by his tormentor’s son.

The Final Battle of The Boys Season 3 Decoded

Team Butcher receives a shocking draft pick ahead of The Boys season 3’s final battle, with Queen Maeve abruptly switching sides – but it’s a twist hinted at in previous episodes. Not only was Maeve the one who recommended V-24 to Billy Butcher (she may have been aware of its lethal side effects), but her information led directly to the capture of Soldier Boy in Moscow. It’s no surprise that Queen Maeve would agree with Butcher that Soldier Boy is the lesser of two red, white, and blue evils after Homelander made her life horrible throughout The Boys season 2.

Butcher, Maeve, and Soldier Boy are left to pursue Homelander, while MM, Kimiko, Frenchie, Starlight, and Hughie (who Butcher released in a show of compassion) work together to stop Soldier Boy before any more Herogasm-esque detonations. Early in the fight, Team Butcher is only seconds away from victory. Homelander survives thanks to Ryan’s timely intervention as all three grip their target while father-of-the-year charges his power-canceling blast from point-blank range.

Homelander nearly gets beaten again when Soldier Boy uses a shield whack to knock Ryan down. While Soldier Boy glows ominously behind the Seven leader, Homelander is saved by Billy Butcher. Seeing Ryan get hurt was clearly the last straw for Karl Urban’s character. What good is vengeance for Becca if the child she loves is being beaten up?

At this moment, the conclusion of The Boys season 3 becomes a free-for-all against Soldier Boy, with only Queen Maeve keeping an eye on Homelander. The Boys gain an advantage thanks to Frenchie’s creation of the same nerve toxin used by Russian scientists to sedate Soldier Boy, but the villain’s wrath at being gassed causes another explosion. As she tackles the superhero bomb out an office window, ensuring he detonates in the relative safety of midair, it’s Queen Maeve’s turn to prioritize rescuing others over her own selfish desire for vengeance.

Why Does Soldier Boy Reject Homelander (But Ryan Doesn’t)

The season three conclusion of The Boys is a mixed bag for Homelander and family members. On the one hand, his father despises him, but Ryan does not. During some pre-Herogasm downtime with Jack Quaid’s Hughie, Jensen Ackles’ horribly outdated supe slammed modern fathers as “pussies” and pledged any son of his would be nurtured as a “true man,” laying the groundwork for Soldier Boy’s rejection. Homelander is notoriously sensitive, especially when it comes to family affairs, which is why Soldier Boy rejects his son in The Boys’ season 3 finale.

Homelander’s emotional fragility, on the other hand, works in his favor when it comes to winning over Ryan. Billy Butcher put his crusade against Homelander over taking care of Ryan, as seen before in The Boys season 3, and tragically harsh words were exchanged (“maybe I don’t want to look at you after what you did to my Becca”). Homelander, although being a violent villain, adores his child. He refuses to accept responsibility for Stormfront’s injuries and refuses to confront Soldier Boy until he has checked on Ryan following Grandpa’s shield attack. Homelander, through his attentiveness and true care, finally transforms Ryan into a father figure rather than the stuff of nightmares.

The Compound-V Powers of Starlight Have Evolved

Starlight obtains a new ability in The Boys season 3 finale’s climactic last battle: she can fly! Hughie cranks up the VNN studio lights to full power, supercharging Starlight and seemingly unlocking this divine new capacity to fly. However, Starlight has previously absorbed large amounts of light in The Boys and her feet never left the ground, hinting that this flight power was not just triggered by increased solar fuel, but represents a significant increase in her powers. It remains to be seen whether Starlight can now fly at will (without a whole studio’s worth of strong bulbs on full blast), but The Boys would not have introduced Star-flight unless there were intentions to display that power further in season 4.

The flight of stars represents her connection with Hughie. Throughout The Boys season 3, Jack Quaid’s character has felt inferior to his mega-powerful girlfriend, but an almost deadly encounter with Compound-V has shown him the mistake of his ways. Rather than injecting again in the last episode (fulfilling his desire to “save the girl”), Hughie saves Starlight in a healthier manner, turning up the lights that spark her power and practically lifting his lover to save herself.

Will Butcher die in The Boys? Will He Survive?

Dosing with V-24 is lethal after 3-5 hits, as Starlight revealed in The Boys. After dose four, Hughie seemed to have escaped uninjured, but Butcher administered a whopping six, ensuring he doesn’t walk away without penalties. The ending of Season 3 reveals that the infamous spanker of supes has 12-18 months left, which sends major shockwaves across The Boys’ future. To begin with, it’s impossible to imagine the Amazon series lasting long with such a stringent time limit on its primary character. In-universe, a year elapsed between seasons 2 and 3, although another lengthy jump along those lines currently seemed implausible.

Butcher will very certainly get much more desperate in The Boys season 4 as he faces death. He has 18 months to assassinate Homelander, reclaim Ryan, and, depending on his ideology, discover a way to eliminate all Compound-V subjects on God’s green Earth. The diagnosis foreshadows a more volatile, evil Billy Butcher. There is only one chance for Karl Urban’s character to avoid his death sentence, and it is not one he looks forward to. If Butcher injects permanent Compound-V, the ensuing abilities could overcome any negative side effects from the V-24.

What became of Queen Maeve? Will She Return in Season 4 of The Boys?

Queen Maeve survives her leap of faith from Vought Tower despite being hit in the head by Soldier Boy’s radioactive blast. Video footage shows her being picked up by Starlight and MM and taken to the latter’s place to (largely) recover. The Boys doesn’t explain how Queen Maeve survives here, but the season 3 finale’s struggle against Homelander emphasizes her toughness when Vought’s Almost-Amazonian is subjected to three blasts of heat vision. Audiences may believe Maeve’s superhuman endurance rescued her from a gruesome death. However, as we’ve seen with Soldier Boy’s explosions, Maeve loses her powers totally – in addition to the eye Homelander gauged out with his thumb.

Queen Maeve appears unlikely to return in season 4 of The Boys. Not only has she been stripped of her power, but the public believes Maeve died courageously while pursuing a “radicalized” Soldier Boy. Elena (The Boys season 2’s girlfriend) returns, and Maeve boldly marches toward the humdrum life she sought after a touching torch-passing moment with Starlight. Ashley erasing the security film of Maeve’s survival ensures the truth will remain concealed… even from Homelander.

After the Season 3 finale, The Boys and Seven look completely different.

The drama of Season 3’s climax significantly changes the landscape of The Boys. Starlight, who became an honorary Boy in season 2 but couldn’t make the arrangement legal due to her heroic obligations, joins Butcher’s team as an official sixth member. Starlight now has her official Boys membership card, “I Hate Supes” t-shirt, and list of Flatiron Building regulations after openly leaving Vought following the Herogasm incident. More importantly, the Boys are now a democratic squad. Cake-holes will remain securely open from now on, sick of Butcher’s dictatorial methods.

Even more significant staff changes are taking place at Vought Tower. Homelander, Deep, A-Train, and Ashley are the only remaining members of the Seven. While Vought may recruit new Seven heroes for season four of The Boys, Homelander’s remark about the squad failing to become the “family” he envisioned implies otherwise. By confining his inner circle to three feeble followers, Vought’s villain can maintain a tighter grip on power. The ending of The Boys season 3 does, however, hint to an A-Train redemption arc. With his sibling suffering lifelong damage from Blue Hawk, A-Train may be losing interest in his heroic life. Could he join the Boys for Season 4?

Soldier Boy is defeated – although he may return in Season 4 of The Boys.

In the season 3 finale of Amazon’s The Boys, Frenchie’s nerve agent fulfills its aim. Despite blasting into the night sky, Soldier Boy is knocked unconscious long enough for Mallory to imprison him in a secure institution for good. Soldier Boy, on the other hand, is clearly still alive, implying a possible comeback in The Boys season 4. Soldier Boy can make a comeback if Stormfront can following her season 2 injuries. Though he is unlikely to reprise his role as the main antagonist, Homelander’s father may be recruited as a soldier for another villain…

Victoria Neuman is now Robert Singer’s vice-presidential running mate, and she has access to Vought’s Sleeping Beauty. Neuman may be an invaluable trump card against a more unpredictable Homelander if he can discover out a way to puppeteer Soldier Boy (either chemically or through a deal).

What Vice President Neuman Means for Season 4 of The Boys

Homelander tells Deep to kill Robert Singer’s vice president pick in exchange for Victoria Neuman revealing Ryan’s location. The swimming pool heist puts Neuman in pole position for the job, and The Boys season 3 concludes with Butcher declaring the congresswoman his gang’s next target. That’s one decision where a show of hands is probably not required…

The scene definitely establishes Claudia Doumit’s character as The Boys season 4’s main villain (although we predicted that after season 2’s conclusion…), and the thought of a head-popping supe inside the White House is not one that those who know Victoria’s secret are looking forward to. Viewers may undoubtedly assume Neuman will not stop at Vice President. How long before Deep swims up Robert Singer’s plug hole, having already bribed Homelander to assassinate one politician standing in her way? In season four of The Boys, “President Neuman” should become a frighteningly plausible possibility. Of course, the more favors Neuman owes Homelander, the greater his influence in American politics. Butcher’s Boys may soon be confronted with the two-headed demon of Vought and the White House, robbing them of government protection.

The Final Scene of The Boys Season 3: Homelander and Ryan Explained

The Boys regard the concluding seconds of “The Instant White-Hot Wild” as groundbreaking for two reasons. For starters, Homelander’s instigation of culture warfare has reached an altogether new level. The public is already divided between those who accept Starlight’s (totally genuine) claims and those who proudly support Homelander, Stormfront, and their right-wing theories. Homelander was surprised earlier in The Boys season 3 to realize that revealing his genuine self in public really increased his popularity, but even Vought’s mightiest supe misjudged the extent of his supporters’ blind loyalty. In the final scene of The Boys season 3, Homelander murders a Starlight fan in full front of the baying mob… who then cheer. Homelander’s smile indicates a man realizing he can finally be his genuine, dark self without fear of repercussions.

That’s not even the darkest note in The Boys season 3’s conclusion. Ryan’s smile demonstrates that any goodness Becca fostered in her kid is now poisoned by Homelander’s depravity. Ryan is not just desensitized to violence and death, but he is also being enticed by the safety and control that comes with wielding so much power. The more father-son time Ryan has, the stronger these feelings will become. Billy Butcher’s job in The Boys season 4 will be to find a means to rekindle Becca’s values inside Ryan’s nasty little heart, in addition to stopping Neuman, escaping death, and killing Homelander.