‘The Boys’ Delivers a Supernatural Reunion – And So Much More!

As a long-time fan of both Supernatural and The Boys, my anticipation for this week’s episode has been off the charts for what seems like forever. I’m definitely one of the fans who would love a Season 16 of Supernatural or a feature film or an 8 episode streamer or pretty much whatever, but I’m also happy to see “my boys” onscreen together in anything else in the meantime. Witnessing how they talked about filming together and how much fun they had (and how much chaos inevitably happened) only made me more excited – they filmed a year ago, so it seems like we had to wait an inordinately long time to actually SEE it. But guess what? The episode, and what I’ve been calling the “Supernatural Reunion”, did not disappoint! I found myself either yelling “oh nooooo” or just laughing my head off during the entire sequence, which was full of surprises.

Some fans of The Boys were skeptical about all the fuss being made about the Supernatural reunion, fearing it would take away from the final season of the show (which only has 3 more episodes) but the episode was also the most highly rated by press viewing the early screeners – and I think deservedly so. It definitely moved the plot along in multiple ways, and it lived up to the calendar blood-splatter warning that some main character(s) would die. Spoiler alert, lots of people (and supes) die in this episode!

It’s also a genre departure as a pov episode, in that it devotes a chunk of time to many of the characters, exploring their perspectives on Homelander as God, on where their loyalty lies, and on some of their struggles with what it’s cost them to keep going along with Homelander no matter what.

SPOILER ALERT – MAJOR SPOILERS FOR EPISODE 5 AHEAD

FIRECRACKER

Spoiler alert, the main supe to die is Firecracker. Valorie Curry outdid herself in this episode, making the character nuanced enough so that you feel for her even as you loathe what she’s doing, and what she’s refusing to see. Kripke told TVLine that Firecracker is an allegory for all the loyalists who go along with a dictator demanding allegiance, compromising their values, and then end up “hoisted on their own petard” anyway. There’s really no pleasing someone like Homelander, on the show or in real life, as we’ve seen time and time again.  As Kripke put it, “nothing will ever be enough, it doesn’t matter how much you give up.”  In Firecracker’s case, it’s everything she once sincerely believed in.

At first, things seem to be going well for Firecracker. She makes her case to Homelander and the Seven with an advertisement full of cowboys and horses and guns and the stereotypes of Americana, presenting the “massive growth” in popularity of their new religious movement, led by white men and women of course.

Soldier Boy (looking down at his crotch while giving her a smirk): I’m seeing massive growth myself…

He is so massively gross it sometimes circles back to oddly endearing.  And he really likes to talk about his dick. And other people’s dicks, for that matter. Homelander does not miss that interaction though, and he doesn’t like it. He also isn’t happy about being called a prophet when prophets are servants and he is the saviour. His delusion is getting to the point where even his followers keep making missteps, misjudging just how deranged and grandiose he’s become. Most of his accolytes go along with everything he says, each of them trying to out-pander the others. Firecracker wins him over, though, kneeling in front of him worshipfully and handing him something physical that will appeal to his ego – the Homelander Bible, complete with a raised gold figure of himself right on the cover.

Homelander (impressed): It’s heavy…

Soldier Boy (eyeroll)

It is, of course, AI written. Two years ago Kripke and company sure saw that coming!

It seems fitting that this is who has it now…

Homelander agrees to do it her way. Sister Sage reminds them that their plan will generate widespread civil unrest (does this seem familiar??) – no worries, Homelander says, they’ll just recall all the supes stationed overseas. After all, “American heroes should be protecting America, not Whogivesafuckistan!”

Fresh from her victory, Firecracker goes back to her hometown in Florida to meet with the reverend of her childhood church (who happens to be the marijuana growing grampa on Sheriff Country…)  He was a support to her as a child, making sure she got at least one hot square meal a day, but now his church is losing people to the Democratic Church of America and the supe Praying Mantis is intimidating them by spraying acid out of his butt to melt their stained glass windows.

She asks why he doesn’t just pay the franchise free and join them; he says they can’t even afford their water bill. The reverend reminds her of what she doesn’t want to recall – Homelander isn’t God and the things he can do aren’t miracles, and she’s still the same Misty Tucker Gray.

Cut to a grunting, naked Soldier Boy on top of Firecracker, and now every Jensen Ackles fan has a gif (or 3) of his “O face”.

Firecracker: We ain’t doin’ that again.

Soldier Boy: That’s what you said the last six times.

He lights a joint which is so very Soldier Boy, and hotter than anyone wants it to be. He senses she’s a little out of it and is worried, though I’m not sure if it’s because he’s a considerate lover or it threatens his ego if she didn’t.

Soldier Boy: Did you nut? Because you usually nut…

The answer appears to be no, since she changes the subject and asks if he was baptized. He says yes, in front of half of Chestnut Hill by Gov. Sproul, and then his family kept up appearances but never set foot in church again.

(I got distracted by the fact that Chestnut Hill is right down the road, having forgotten that Ben grew up nearby. Didn’t they need some on location filming for Vought Rising??)

Anyway, she asks if maybe Homelander might go easy on the reverend who practically raised her.

Soldier Boy: So you didn’t nut.

We then get the rant that maybe Ackles was talking about at a recent convention when he said there were some lines that he and Valorie could barely get through because they were so hilariously vile.

Soldier Boy: This whole Homelander as God shit, it’s fucking ridiculous. If he’s the second coming then what does that make me, Joseph? Talk about the biggest cuck in history, the man trades his best cow to bang some virgin and then God comes and squirts his baby gravy up her meat wallet? Fuck that! If there is a God, it sure as hell didn’t come outta my balls!

Me: OMG (talking about his dick again)

Firecracker (somehow still being serious after that): I guess I’m struggling with where to place Homelander in my heart in relation to Jesus…

Soldier Boy: Okay… (gets up to leave)

Firecracker goes to find Homelander but finds O Father in his apartment instead, dropping off donated breast milk. He says Homelander had to fly to LA, strange he didn’t tell her. The two spar, each pretending not to be on the attack, topped off by Firecracker’s very southern not-at-all-actually-nice “bless your heart”.  That night she does her Truth Bomb show, having just heard Praying Mantis raided churches in Daytona including her home church – and won’t that make a strong statement if she condemns them on air. It’s a strong statement the series is making too, about how often people think they’ll be the exception, that the horrible things being done to other people won’t happen to them and the ones they care about – until they do.

Valorie Curry is insanely good showing Firecracker’s anguish reading the teleprompter as she throws her old pastor under the bus and accuses him of being infected by the Starlighters’ seditious propaganda. Her voice shakes and she keeps hesitating, and you can see it’s tearing her up, but every time you think she might stop and do the right thing, she pushes on.

It’s a test of loyalty and she knows it. The last straw is her suggesting that the Friday night fish fries that she shared with the reverend that were so lifesaving for her were actually child grooming. A tear rolls down her cheek as she reads every last word of the damning speech. It left me with such a nauseous feeling in the pit of my stomach, because you know how often that’s actually happening now and how many innocent people are being hurt because of it.

BLACK NOIR

Next up is Black Noir’s pov. The Seven meet, Soldier Boy suddenly asking the Deep if he’d like some kneepads.

Deep: What?

Soldier Boy: You’re looking at me like you wanna suck my hog. So I’m asking if you’d like some kneepads.

Me: OMG (talking about his dick again)

Homelander says to take it easy on “the little guy”, he brought in Stan Edgar.

Black Noir clenches his fist, furious.

Soldier Boy is such a cocky bastard, putting the Deep in his place with just a look and that searing accusation. Also, is it hot in here?

Then we get to see Noir’s secret life as an actor, and Nathan Mitchell gets to show his face and actually speak for once! Adam Bourke is back as his community theater director, complimenting his acting skills and encouraging him to go after the egomaniac in his life who’s making his “day job” miserable by taking credit for everything, ie the Deep.  Bourke has a history with the Deep too, who was a “Jared Leto baby bitch” on a film. Noir is emboldened. On the next ‘Manhandled’ podcast they have O Father as a guest, trying not to eyeroll as the Deep suggests replacing communion wafers with Nilla wafers and insisting that he and Homelander go way back, so if there’s anything O Father wants to know…

 

Noir: Don’t listen to him, bro.

O Father: Oh shit, he talks!

Deep: No he doesn’t!

Me: lol

Noir tells O Father that the Deep just latches onto every new supe and pretends he’s “the guy” but he’s not, he’s a joke, the smell on his breath is because he’s been clam diving – on actual clams! He then  proposes the spectacle of letting Homelander ‘cure’ him – and reminds O Father that he can fly too. The Deep protests that’s stupid, but O Father sees the potential for an honest to god faith healing – like a 9 point bump with Pentocostals right there!

Noir standing up to the Deep comes with consequences. His beloved director Bourke tearfully tells him that the play saved him and now the two of them are gonna save the world with Noir as the star, setting up a possible full circle moment for the original Noir who infuriated Soldier Boy by daring to think he could be an actor and a star. Bourke is attacked on the toilet from an eel that that plows up his ass. When Noir pulls it out, his intestines come with it, and Bourke dies with Noir holding him. With my Freudian hat on, this show really has that deep-seated adolescent boy fear of being castrated or penetrated, ie emasculated. Sorry, but it’s so obvious so often, I can’t help but notice it. Anyway…

The Deep threatens Noir that if he doesn’t do everything he says, he’ll tell Homelander that he was in a play after Homelander outlawed funding for the performing arts. (Kripke being prescient again.)

TERROR

Much like we got an episode from the perspective of Dean Winchester’s beloved Impala on Supernatural, we also get a segment from the viewpoint of Butcher’s beloved dog Terror.  We get to see his disturbing dreams in which Homelander bends over for him and asks ‘you wanna fuck me like a good boy?’ much to all our grimacing.

Kimiko sneaks him a steak because Frenchie doesn’t listen to her and keeps making hers not-burnt.

Kimiko: Maybe we just don’t like the same… steak.

We all know it’s a lot more than steak, the differences these two have.

MM and Butcher bicker, MM saying he’s sleeping better now that he’s realized he’s going to die and isn’t fighting to stay alive anymore – that he spent his whole life going after Soldier Boy for what he did to his family yet he’s immortal and immune, what a cosmic joke – so why should he  keep going? He’s convinced his family is better off without him and he’s better off without them, so he can do what he needs to do.

Butcher confirms to Hughie that if they find the V1, they’re not making vaccines, they’re burning it, pointing out that Homelander thinks he’s a God and if he’s immortal he’s going to start killing like one.

Hughie: What if it was Becca? You’d just let her die.

Butcher: I did let her die.

It’s a nice callback, as the series gets close to its end, of the dynamic that was originally created between Butcher and Hughie, acting as his conscience to keep him human. His canary in the coal mine.  Hughie says he knows that Homelander has to be taken out first, but asks that they at least try to save Annie and Kimiko.

While everyone else is distracted, Terror does what dogs do – he goes in search of more food in the kitchen where Frenchie is making a chocolate souffle and saying he’s killed every plant he’s owned and would likely kill a dog (or a child?) too even though Kimiko wants one and deserves a normal peaceful life. The souffle doesn’t rise so he throws it in the trash, where Terror immediately goes after it like every dog I’ve ever owned. Clearly Frenchie’s right, he’s never been a dog owner. Butcher panics when he realizes that the chocolate will kill an old dog like Terror; Hughie helps him save Terror’s life. The two working together again is healing for both of them. Butcher’s genuinely caring about Terror feels like the last speck of humanity in him – and Hughie sees it. Butcher thanks Hughie, glances over at what might be Lenny’s old trophy, another reminder of the humanity that’s not entirely extinguished in him. He tells Hughie that if they do find the V1, he can have some for Annie and Kimiko.

Hughie: What about you?

Butcher shakes his head, but Hughie watches him pet Terror gently and smiles.

SISTER SAGE

Ashley and Sister Sage have a fascinating conversation over drinks, after Ashley wraps up getting every broadcast license pulled except VNN (ouch, too close, too close!) and blames Ukraine for being invaded for “having a kinda short skirt”. Oh, and working on getting the climate change summit sabotaged. You cannot make all this up and have it line up so perfectly. Unless you’re Kripke.

Shockingly, Ashley rips off her wig so Back Ashley can talk directly to Sage, revealing only tiny wisps of hair left. Sage keeps spinning her around to talk to Back Ashley which made me laugh out loud, it was so ridiculous. It’s even more hilarious that Ashley and Back Ashley don’t even agree on everything – one is okay with conspiring against Homelander and one is not, so she’s essentially arguing with herself, including about whether they should booty call Ashley’s high school boyfriend. Ashley is aware that Sage is playing mind games with her, but they also do some legit bonding over the fact that they lost their mother/grandmother to cancer.

Sage: My parents shot me up with V thinking it would be a meal ticket and then my power turned out to be smarts – which is the worst fucking one. What people hate the most is feeling stupid. When a 3 year old corrects your grammar or tells you that your life dream yogurt shop is doomed to fail, they start to hate you too.

Everyone who’s now grown up and was a ‘gifted child’ was nodding when she said that, honestly.

Her parents dumped her with her grandmother, the only one who thought her intelligence was a gift, and then she died.  Despite the bonding, Ashley won’t agree to work with Sage if she can’t trust her, so Sage tells her phase 2 of the plan, after she helps Homelander take control of the country: When supes realizes humans are behind the virus, all hell will break loose, they’ll kill each other and then Sage will be left alone in the peace and quiet to read undisturbed all day. (Ashley is invited too).

It’s a little like the Empty in Supernatural, who didn’t care about a damn thing other than peace and quiet and getting rid of anyone and everyone who disturbed that. It’s also a little like every introvert who’s ever longed for a day to do nothing and just curl up in a corner and read, but taken to a bit of an extreme. A bit.

SOLDIER BOY

And FINALLY we get Soldier Boy’s perspective. For Supernatural fans like me, my excitement went off the charts because I knew the “Supernatural reunion” was coming.  Soldier Boy asks what’s making Homelander so pissy. Interestingly, the two are actually getting to know each other, and there’s a bit less animosity between them. Soldier Boy has realized that when his son is pissy he tends to make everybody else’s lives pissy too, which is 100% true.

Homelander is frustrated that Stan Edgar says he has no idea where the V1 is and seems to be telling the truth. Soldier Boy offers to take a crack at him (they have a history; Edgar used to bring him his coke).

Soldier Boy: What, you don’t trust me?

Homelander: Well, you did lock me in a room with nuclear material and try to stop me from getting the V1 so…

Soldier Boy really has been paying attention though, and he seems to have softened towards his son. Loyalty does seem to be important to him – it will be interesting to see what we find out about Ben in Vought Rising and how that value came to be, or if it really did.

Soldier Boy: You could’ve killed me at Fort Harmony but you didn’t. Maybe I feel like I owe you.

Homelander: Or maybe you’re lying.

They go see Edgar together though. Soldier Boy is still angry that Edgar sold him out to the Reds, but Edgar coolly says it was a business decision, that they already had his replacement model on the way, who showed more promise than he ever did (meaning Homelander). Father and son exchange a tense glance; Edgar knows what he’s doing, sowing discord between them. Both are so narcissistic that they succumb to any hint of being compared to the other and coming up short, and the smart people around them know it. They both have huge daddy issues and anyone who figures that out can play them both. Edgar questions why he’s still alive.

Edgar: Or is it because you’re so desperate for daddy figures that you can’t even bring yourself to kill the ones that hate you? At least that’s something he and I have in common.

Awkward glance at Soldier Boy.

Homelander: Do you want to die, Stan?

Soldier Boy: Jesus, you could get pregnant with all the eyefucking!

Look at him, hands on his hips, the picture of jealous – as much as Edgar is right that he’s ambivalent at best about Homelander being his son, how dare his son have another father figure? As much as they do on some level hate each other, both of them are jealous whenever the other shows attention to someone else. They can’t quite escape knowing they are father and son and that knowledge has a subconscious impact. They want each other’s admiration and acceptance in spite of themselves.

Soldier Boy threatens Stan with harming Zoe, who he was smart enough to find, and it works. Edgar offers to take them to someone who knows where the V1 might be – Mr. Marathon in LA, who has always had an intense interest in Vought’s history (comics accurate btw).

Edgar: It should be a delightful reunion.

Me: YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS! Perfect line!!

Homelander and Soldier Boy hit LA, homeless people passed out on the streets and makeshift shelters everywhere, ‘Hooray for Hollywood’ playing as they visit Mr. Marathon in his very gaudy very gold mansion, with posters and paintings of himself on the wall.

Oh yes, he’s a douchebag all right, and Padalecki is clearly having a blast with the role. It’s giving a very The French Mistake vibe, for Supernatural fans.

Mr. Marathon opens the door, Jared and Jensen lock eyes, and lots and lots of people miss Sam and Dean a whole lot in that moment.

Mister Marathon: Soldier Boy, big fan, sir! I actually popped my cherry in your Underoos.

Soldier Boy: Nice.

Me: Wait, he would’ve been just a kid then, what does that….

It isn’t explained, but it’s always interesting that the series often portrays the people who became supes as traumatized in some way and taken advantage of by adults in their lives. Anyway…

He says he was part of the Seven until Homelander replaced him with A Train.

Homelander: Well, you’re only the world’s fastest man as long as you’re the world’s fastest man, champ.

Mr. Marathon protests that he only lost one race and tries to show off all his movie posters and how much money they made, but Homelander shuts that down by pointing out they’re not even Vought films, they’re Sony Pictures TV, where washed up supes go to die.

Mr. Marathon: Hey, it’s a legit studio – and I get half off on their TVs! Maybe we’re not part of the VCU and can’t mention Vought or any licensed Vought hero but hey, we’re still making magic… also I can get you whatever you need, Ozempic, whatever, fastest dealer in town!

The whole exchange is priceless – the show is making fun of its own production company in the best tradition of meta episodes ala Supernatural, Padalecki is somehow adorable like a big overexcited overgrown puppy even though we already know he’s an asshole, and the posters have some hilarious Supernatural shout outs!

There are posters of “Mr. Marathon, Vampire Hunter” and “Ghost Runner 2: Supernatural Speedster”, both Supernatural references, and a shout out to The Boys producer and longtime Kripke collaborator Michaela Starr as the costar with Mr. Marathon in “Marathon of the Heart”.

We also get to see Mr. Marathon start a sentence with “So get this…” like Sam Winchester so often did, something that made all of us Supernatural fans instantly emotional.

The scene gets more priceless when Marathon introduces them to the people playing poker in the other room – Will Forte, Kumail Nanjani, Seth Rogen, Christopher Mintz-Plasse and Misha Collins!  They’re discussing the Hollywood stars that have been rounded up, from Macauley Culkin to Keifer Sutherland to Benedict Cumberbatch and the recently executed Bill Hader, wondering if they can get some of their competitors executed for being suspected Starlighters too. Malchemical (Misha) protests that just because he’s a supe doesn’t mean he trucks in “that fascist shit”!

The comedians inauthentically tell themselves they’re storytellers, “our superpower is we inspire hearts and minds” and try to figure out what color squares haven’t been taken yet so they do a coordinated social media post.

Malchemical: How about white?

It’s Kripke’s poke at the left and the less than sincere major players on that side of the fence, and he got the perfect people to pull it off.

Homelander: What do you know about V1?

Malchemical introduces himself to Homelander, saying yes they do know each other, they’ve met like six times – he makes deadly gases, did a whole campaign with Gas X.  Homelander has no idea who he is.

(I laughed out loud at the Gas X reference – also, it reminded me of the hilarious story Misha has told several times at conventions, when he got horrible gas on a plane and the poor passenger sitting in front of him actually passed out from the smell).

Seth Rogen (a producer on the series) sucks up to Homelander, telling him he’s testifying in Congress for him, turning in Channing Tatum.

Homelander: You need to get the fuck away from me right now.

I laughed out loud multiple times, this whole scene was so well done.

Mr. Marathon assures them they’ve come to the right place to find out about V1.

He takes them to a room full of Vought history (and many many jars of “puff baby” baby oil ala Puff Daddy).

Soldier Boy gets a bit caught up in the old stuff, picking up a framed photo of Liberty/Stormfront.

Soldier Boy: Good times…

Mr. Marathon: Dr. Vought was a titan, a visionary.

Soldier Boy: He was a pansy with sweaty palms and a German accent.

Mr. Marathon doesn’t have V1 but he says Bombsight does and they’re friends, offering to call him and have him fly right over.

In the meantime, Soldier Boy and Mr. Marathon hang out and do some lines of coke together (Mr. Marathon ran across several countries to get it while Soldier Boy was taking a piss).

Mr. Marathon: For THE Soldier Boy, nothing but the best.

The two seem to be getting along and the Jared and Jensen chemistry is just as apparent as it ever was as they chat in lowered voices – about Homelander.

Mr. Marathon asks if he’s still as weird, and Soldier Boy confirms it. Marathon confides a story about Mischa Barton wanting to suck Homelander off but stepping on his cape so it didn’t happen.

Soldier Boy: Ah, that fucking cape!

The two are practically giggling together, telling secrets in hushed voices.

Marathon: Like a baby with a blanket, pretty sure he jerks off into it, probably why it’s so stiff…

The framing here is brilliant, Homelander left out, sitting alone as his father hangs out with Mr. Marathon and seems to be enjoying himself.

He’s a powder keg, and it’s a set up for disaster.

Homelander suddenly is in their faces.

Homelander: Say that again.

Apparently not hushed enough!

Soldier Boy initially defends Marathon, so I guess they really did hit it off a bit temporarily.

Soldier Boy: Oh, can’t you take a fucking joke?

Homelander is done though, telling all of them that he heard them and that very soon they’re gonna pay for their sick posts and hateful memes.

Homelander: Especially the memes!!

Me: OMG seriously Kripke, how??

Everyone blames each other, turning on each other instantly.

Suddenly Marathon and Malchemical exchange a glance and Malchemical jumps up, saying he has a quick question.

Instead he opens his mouth and gases Homelander, who gasps and falls down.

 

I have to say, I burst into laughter because it looked so funny – it must have been really hilarious on the set since nothing is actually coming out of Misha’s mouth. I bet J2M had fun with that!

Malchemical: Who’s memorable now?

Soldier Boy is shaken, but Marathon holds him back in a very Sam and Dean Winchester reminiscent way, saying they don’t have a problem with him but fuck Homelander.

Mr. Marathon: He fucked my life! If you help us, we all get what we want. You can have the Seven, I don’t really care if you bring me back.

Soldier Boy: I don’t need to kill him to get the Seven.

Marathon: Of course not, but what about all that creepy shit he’s doing with that church? I mean, they’re rounding up everybody cool – all the hookers, the drug dealers…

Malchemical: They wanna ban porn! And abortions…

That gives Soldier Boy pause, as he agrees that would be a big problem for him personally.

Marathon: If we kill him, we can stop worrying about being cops or gods or asexual weirdos – we can go back to fuckinnnnnngggggg and being fucking awesome!

He even turns those Sam Winchester puppy dog eyes on Soldier Boy – who can resist that??

Malchemical says he knows Soldier Boy has that ‘fucked up chest blast thing’ since he was at Herogasm and saw it. Marathon urges Soldier Boy to just finish Homelander, take away his power so they can curb stomp him while they have the chance.

Soldier Boy hesitates, then looks from one of them to the other, a real Supernatural Sam, Dean and Cas reminiscent moment. (I’m guessing that might be the scene that director Phil Sgriccia had the three of them do as Sam, Dean and Cas for one take – which Jensen has said was absolutely ridiculous lol).

Soldier Boy: He is a fucking asexual weirdo. But as much as it pains me to say this, he’s my fucking asexual weirdo. Nobody fucks my son but me.

Marathon: Uh, what?

Soldier Boy: That came out wrong.

Abruptly, Soldier Boy grabs Malchemical, lifts him off his feet and then breaks his neck just like that.

Marathon punches him and we get a Jared and Jensen fight which I know they enjoyed the hell out of and so did we, and then Soldier Boy takes off.

He’s smart enough to put Will Forte in Marathon’s path so that when he goes into super speed he runs right through his friend, having to pause to wipe the blood and guts out of his eyes OMG.  Then we get a priceless chase scene, and because it’s Jared and Jensen it’s even more delicious – and hilarious!

Surprise Craig Robinson comes out of an upstairs bathroom, exclaiming happily “Soldier Boy!” only to have Marathon run through him and explode him a second later hahaha.

Kumail and Craig try to get an Uber to come get them but can’t remember the address, then Soldier Boy promises to get them out safely if they do exactly what he says – which is put them in front of Marathon, so boom! Poor Jared, who hates being covered in goop, was repeatedly covered with more and more gooey fake blood and guts, his suit turning red in the process.

Mr. Marathon: Fuck!

(This show has given fandom so many gifs I have lost count, and that’s going right in with the others!)

Seth Rogen almost makes it to the front door before Soldier Boy throws him in Marathon’s path, literally cutting him in half.  Mr. Marathon apologizes, assuring Rogen that he’ll be remembered, then snapping his neck mercifully and patting his chest. See? Not a total bad guy…

Soldier Boy gets to be smart in this episode, which I really enjoy. He pours the Puff Baby oil all over the floor and lures Marathon in, sending him flying and giving Soldier Boy a chance to literally stomp off his foot. Ewwww!

Look, our fandom is unusual, but it was a real treat to have Jared and Jensen have such a bloody showdown, Soldier Boy holding Marathon’s unbroken leg and standing over him threatening him to get information and Marathon defiant, spitting and saying “fuck you, I’ll rip your balls off and stuff ‘em down your throat!”

Soldier Boy: That’d be like trying to stuff two grapefruits down a garden hose.

(Yep, give me two alpha supes having a showdown and still arguing over who has the biggest balls any day…)

The many compilations of this scene that appeared are an indication of the popularity of the showdown.

Soldier Boy brutally breaks his other leg (or tears it off maybe, I had to turn away?) and Marathon screams, saying that he swears to fucking god that Bombsight has the V but he doesn’t know where he is and hasn’t talked to him in years.

Jared Padalecki is so damn good at portraying pain, including physical pain, and he proves that again in this episode. I was literally cringing watching this.

I think Soldier Boy was going to let Marathon live, as he turns to leave, knowing Mr. Marathon can’t follow.

But just then Homelander shows up and literally stomps Marathon’s head in.

Okay, that was hard to watch. Jared’s pretty face!!

Homelander asks Soldier Boy what happened while he was unconscious.

Soldier Boy: I took care of it.

Homelander: Why?

Soldier Boy: Because fuck them, that’s why. I don’t think this microdick was lying, Bombsight has the V1, just gotta find him.

(Still with the dick measuring…. Boys…)

Then Soldier Boy demonstrates what might be some slowly developing loyalty to Homelander, telling him that he’s been fucking Firecracker, but out of respect for him, that’s done. He also hasn’t been enjoying her pillow talk, which he says was getting to be a real drag – and that catches Homelander’s attention. Did Soldier Boy set her up on purpose, or was she just collateral damage as he tries to prove some loyalty to his son (feigned or not)?

THE END

The ending scene is SO well done, and so powerful. Firecracker at Vought Tower, carrying the little Jesus figure that the Reverend asked about, the one she took with her everywhere as a child – as a true believer. She looks at her portrait on the wall of Vought Tower and then takes a deep breath and throws it in the trash.

Homelander is waiting for her. She asks if he caught the last Truth Bomb (when she so painfully threw the Reverend under the bus and decided to give it all up for Homelander). He says he did, then casually asks “how’s sex with my father? Is he good at it? Are you thinking about me when you’re making love to him?”

These two, their relationship is so twisted – I think Homelander is more upset that his father might be “better” than him than he is about her sleeping with him. It’s not about her at all, it’s about his father.

She says she never meant to offend him; he clarifies it’s not about the sex, but their little chats after sex, which apparently Soldier Boy confided in him about. He asks her if she’s thinking about Jesus when she praises him, and that’s what really cuts him. He has to be adored, he has to be number one, he cannot tolerate anyone coming before him, even Jesus.

(Does this sound familiar?)

She swears he’s her only savior, but he can hear her heart beating wildly.

Homelander: You’re supposed to worship me, love me, me alone. I believed in you. Turns out, you don’t believe in me.

He tells her to collect her things and get out, essentially firing her and banishing her, but she can’t let it go, protesting that she’s the only one there who has ever really loved him, that the others are just scared of him, she gave him everything, even her soul, to the strongest smartest best man on Earth.

Homelander: Man?

She says no, calls him a god – THE god. Says that when she used to suckle him, she felt like Mother Mary herself, blessed to nourish someone like him. Says she was only with Soldier Boy because it was his reflected light, that she loves him. She realizes nothing she ever did was good enough though, tears in her eyes.

Homelander strokes her face, a parody of tenderness, then shoves her head sideways impaling her on the tip of an eagle’s wing statue, killing her.

I think we all saw it coming but the way it happened was shocking – and, of course, symbolic. The symbol of Homelander’s power, that she went against all her values to prop up, in the end destroys her.

There was probably no way I wasn’t going to love this episode simply because it felt SO good to have Jared, Jensen and Misha back onscreen together again. I miss Supernatural every single day, so it just felt healing to have this. I’ve talked to Eric Kripke about how much it means to the fandom, and I know it meant a lot to him too, to be there with the three of them (and director Phil Sgriccia, who did so much Supernatural). I saw how happy they all were at the time they filmed it, and how much they’ve loved talking about it these past few days since it aired, and it just warms my heart.  (Most amusing story was that Jared and Jensen are so comfortable fighting each other that Jared came in close like he’s used to from Sam and Dean sparring, but the Soldier Boy suit restricts Jensen’s movement so he has to move differently, and that meant he actually popped Jared in the nose! He was a trooper of course and kept right on going).

Clearly the Supernatural gang had a blast working together again.

How can someone look that good covered in that much blood??

Supernatural reunion aside, this was far from a filler episode, though. Butcher and Hughie came to an understanding, and we saw the spark of humanity that’s still there in Butcher for the first time in a long time. We learned that Bombsight probably does have the V1. We know Sister Sage’s plan and now Ashley is in on it. Firecracker is off the playing field, betrayed after she sacrificed everything for her narcissistic dictator of a leader.  And perhaps most fascinating to me, Soldier Boy refused to kill Homelander when he really did have the chance. Their father-son relationship remains supremely fucked up, but also so very very fascinating.

Having this “Supernatural reunion” episode has also been a gift in the endless media coverage and new photos and interviews of all three of the Supernatural actors and Kripke – it really has felt like the old days when Supernatural was airing and the fandom was so vibrant and active. I am very very grateful!

And I can’t wait for next week’s episode to see where we go from here – 3 episodes left!!

Amazing gifs by justjensenandean/tumblr

–Lynn

You can make sense of all the complicated

characters in The Boys, with chapters from

psychologists and the actors on what makes

them tick, in the book ‘Supes Ain’t Always

Heroes’ – on sale now!

Supes Ain’t Always Heroes