A-Train's hopes of redemption in The Boys season 3, desperation to earn kudos with Homelander saw the speedster rat out the rebellious Supersonic - despite knowing the Seven's newest hero would almost certainly be killed in gruesome fashion as a result.
Nevertheless, The Boys season 3 mapped out a clear route for A-Train's redemption. After bumping into Hughie at Herogasm, the Seven supe finally apologized for killing Robin, his words sounding surprisingly heartfelt. A-Train's selfish ambitions also resulted in his own brother, Nathan, getting permanently injured by the racist Blue Hawk, and though he took revenge, this violent retaliation pushed A-Train and his brother further apart. Recovering after turning Blue Hawk into a glorified skid mark, A-Train seemed completely jaded by Vought, setting the board nicely for Usher's milkshake-swigging supe to finally redeem himself in The Boys season 4.
Tales of the Walking Dead episode 5 makes that possibility far more likely. Jessie T. Usher plays Davon - the central protagonist of this anthology entry. Assuming main character duties, Davon is characterized by his staunch refusal to kill... even during a zombie apocalypse. First he loses a leg because he morally cannot shoot a man, then he nobly attempts sparing a mother and son who did their damnedest to kill him. Not only does Usher carry the episode expertly, but his performance as a man who couldn't be more different to The Boys' A-Train is believable, earnest, and emotive. Usher brings out shades of his acting palette that The Boys has left completely untapped thus far, but Tales of the Walking Dead proves the actor is more than capable of selling A-Train's redemption... despite him being a complete terror for three whole seasons.
Why A-Train MUST Be Redeemed In The Boys Season 4 (& How)
The Boys season 3 leaves A-Train in such a position that redemption is surely the only destination for Jessie T. Usher's character. As Homelander seizes full control of Vought, becoming even more unhinged after realizing he can quite literally melt snowflakes in broad daylight and his acolytes will cheer mindlessly anyway, A-Train must either follow his leader's example or run away as fast as his super-legs will carry him. The speedster has never been a sociopath on Homelander's level, and with The Boys season 3 explicitly sowing seeds of doubt in A-Train's loyalty to Vought, the time is right to set Reggie Franklin down the road of atonement - especially now Tales of the Walking Dead has proved the switch from antagonist to protagonist is well within Jessie T. Usher's range.
Exactly how The Boys goes about redeeming A-Train is less clear-cut. Redeemed villains typically make a grand, noble sacrifice to prove their remorse and make amends in one fell swoop, but that route wouldn't work for A-Train in The Boys season 4. Hughie, Popclaw, Nathan, his local community - A-Train's list of aggrieved victims is long, and all have different gripes with the Seven's speedster. No single sacrifice could possibly redeem A-Train on all fronts, and death would almost (ironically) feel like running away from facing those past mistakes. A-Train needs to do the work instead - become a source of pride for his community, rather than a constant embarrassment.
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Tales of the Walking Dead continues Sunday on AMC.