Summary

• The Boys season 3 finale delivered what the show was aiming for, despite it dividing viewers.
• The finale avoided repeating a previous epic battle scene, offering a fresh take on the conflict.
• Soldier Boy's actions showcased his willingness to kill children, making him worse than Homelander.

Jensen Ackles teased that Soldier Boy is still alive and may return.

By not being killed, Homelander realized soon afterward that he could kill anyone who stood in his way and would still have ers regardless. Not only that, but the applause he was given for killing a Starlight er proved to leave an impression on Ryan, which would make an increasingly hostile situation go from bad to worse. The finale had its issues, like Maeve surviving Soldier Boy's atomic blast and Homelander killing Black Noir, both of which were questionable choices, given how they were built up. Still, The Boys season 3 finale had more good than bad.

The Boys Didn't Want To Repeat Themselves

The Show Already Had a Fantastic Battle This Season.

While viewers looked forward to a showdown between Homelander and Billy Butcher, Soldier Boy, and the rest of the crew, the problem is that there already was an epic battle two episodes earlier, in season 3, episode 6, "Herogasm." In what was arguably The Boys' finest scene, the show went all out when Soldier Boy, Butcher, and Hughie all took on Homelander. What made that battle so mesmerizing was that it was the first fight in which Homelander didn't have the overwhelming advantage.

So what exactly could the show have done that it hadn't already shown? The only difference would have been their success in killing Homelander, but if that happened, the show would be over. Factoring Ryan into it, along with Maeve's intense grudge against Homelander, made it so that the finale wasn't repeating what had already been done two episodes prior. The final scene between Homelander and Soldier Boy also divided viewers, but at least it gave more meaning, since they both realized they were father and son.

Viewers want to see Homelander get what's coming to him, but they may not want to see the same scenario play out again. Especially since they could have just done that the first time. Many superhero franchises have been criticized for repeating what had already been done before. If The Boys season 3 had ended with an epic fight with the protagonists defeating Homelander — or the other way around — viewers would have quickly pointed out that all of this could have been taken care of in "Herogasm."

Billy Butcher Is Being A Massive Hypocrite

His Increased Hypocrisy Peaked With His Action Against Soldier Boy.

He hates superheroes but acquired superpowers in his efforts to destroy Homelander.

In all fairness, Butcher had shown his massive hypocrisy throughout The Boys season 3. He hates superheroes but acquired superpowers in his efforts to destroy Homelander. He has also allied himself with Soldier Boy, despite Mother's Milk holding the same level of animosity toward him for killing his family that Billy does against Homelander for raping Becca. But Butcher's hypocrisy all came to a head when he turned on Soldier Boy for attacking Ryan.

Before the two planned to ambush Homelander at Vought headquarters, Butcher convinced Soldier Boy that despite being Homelander's father, the former Vought icon should not look at him as his flesh and blood as much as the reason why he was sold out to the Soviet Union. That helped in one of Soldier Boy's best quotes, saying, "He's right f***ing there, and now you blink?"

Butcher's hypocrisy was rampant throughout the season, so it made sense that it ended in the real final conflict being his turning on Soldier Boy. What made it particularly work so well was that the show hinted earlier that it would be the other way around once the Homelander/Solider Boy twist was revealed. Butcher's actions in protecting Ryan were justified, but after convincing Soldier Boy that Homelander wasn't really his son, his hypocrisy fit with what the finale was going for.

Soldier Boy Proved To Be Worse Than Homelander

Soldier Boy Is Willing To Kill Children, Even His Own.

The Boys season 3 expertly depicted how Soldier Boy went from a former icon who suffered for decades because of his team's betrayal to a complete a-hole narcissist who deserved everything that happened to him. While that wasn't too different from how Homelander treats The Seven, Soldier Boy hated the notion of anyone getting in his way. This was best evidenced in Black Noir's flashback of what Soldier Boy did to him after he stabbed Black Noir in the back.

In The Boys season 3 finale, Solider Boy proved that he would be willing to kill children — even those that came from his lineage — who interfered with what he wanted when he attacked Ryan. For all of Homelander's faults as a super psychopath, he at least has shown that he cares for his son and the supes in general. Soldier Boy may have proved how loyal he was, but if there was any obstacle that got in his way, he was more than happy to exterminate it, showing how much worse he was compared to his offspring.

Season 3 Was Never About Killing Homelander

As Bad As He Is, The Show Needs Him.

From the very beginning, The Boys demonstrated that Homelander was an all-powerful being who needed to be stopped before he completely lost his marbles. Season by season, Homelander grew less and less stable as he lost trust in everyone around him. Until season 3, though, he thought he was completely invincible, only to realize that his enemies were getting closer to beating him. After Butcher and his team nearly succeeded in ambushing Homelander, the supe had a heart-to-heart with his reflection in one of the season's most intentionally off-putting scenes.

Now knowing that he can no longer underestimate his enemies, Homelander has to deal with the prospect of death along with not knowing who to trust. The Boys ​​​​​​season 3 became about Homelander finally embracing his true demented self. Between his speech about him being better, killing Black Noir when finding out that he knew Soldier Boy was his father all along, and killing a Starlight er for throwing an object at Ryan showed that Homelander truly was capable of getting even worse. This should make viewers all the more excited to see how much more disturbed Homelander can be going forward.