After a wildly entertaining fourth-season run, Prime Video’s pulpy superhero satire, The Boys, has left fans both exhilarated and slightly traumatized. Despite a relatively dull installment, the season ended with a shocking explosion of plot twists that reminded us how important it is to neatly cap things up.
Season 4 brought the intense action, gore, and social commentary to the screen but it also tried to do too much at once. But even with plotlines spiraling in every direction, it was always clear where the story was headed all along. The final episode – originally titled “Assassination Run” – was a rollercoaster ride.
We get unexpected character deaths, returning Supes, and new villains. Students of Godolkin University pay The Boys a visit right when they’re about to split up. Kimiko utters her first words. And Starlight finally gets her powers back.
The Boys
- Release Date
- July 26, 2019
- Seasons
- 4
While season 4’s finale doesn’t make it to the list, its cliffhanger ending has us truly excited for the next season. Until then, let’s take look back at the very best episodes that led us to this moment. From Homelander’s existential angst to Butcher’s vicious V-ed up beatdowns, here are the 10 most memorable, impactful and flat-out diabolical episodes of The Boys so far.
10 “The Female of the Species”
(Season 1, Episode 4)
“The Female of the Species” is one of the highest-rated episodes of The Boys, and for good reason. It begins with Butcher having flashbacks of his life with Becca, only for him to wake up and head to the FBI in an attempt to dismantle the Supes.
Elsewhere, Mother’s Milk, Frenchie, and Hughie infiltrate a noodle joint and Frenchie stumbles upon a caged room that holds a girl. He releases her, she slaughters the guards, and is on the run. But the real kicker of the episode is the tragedy of Flight 37. Homelander and Queen Maeve arrive to stop the terrorists hijacking the plane, but Homelander bails at the last minute and lets the plane crash.
The episode is not just about gore and capes and deliciously dark moments. It is a moral minefield. Through the Female, as well as A-Train and his girlfriend, Popclaw, we’re given details about the origin of Compound V. The Boys find a new ally in Kimiko and draw out the layers of her character, establishing her as a future protagonist. Homelander’s disgusting actions become a stepping stone in his advocacy for injecting Supes in the military, deepening the overall intrigue of the series.
9 “The Name of the Game”
(Season 1, Episode 1)
Rewinding to the beginning, to the moment where it all started. Viewers who’d only had glimpses of what this superhero satire would offer through early trailers thought they were prepared for it, but “The Name of the Game” stunned all with its uncontrolled mayhem. We see Hughie and Robin, an everyday couple on their way home, discussing moving in together, when A-Train swooshes right through Robin and obliterates her. Literally. She explodes.
This leads to Hughie descending into anger and grief. Vought offers him a $45,000 check as a settlement, but he’s the kind of guy who would launch a court case against the superheroes.
The episode also introduces Starlight as the idealistic newcomer joining the Seven, who are navigating their own challenges. There’s Translucent, who catches wind of Hughie’s bug-planting idea, and Butcher, who swoops in to save the day.
The explosive premiere episode set the stage for the dark satire and action that was to come. Viewers were not only drawn to Butcher’s mission and Hughie’s emotional vendetta, but also to Homelander’s crazed actions, lack of oversight, and the reality of super-powered individuals in the world of The Boys.
8 “The Bloody Doors Off”
(Season 2, Episode 6)
Season 2 was when The Boys peaked. The amount of plot twists, gut punches, madness, and tangled threads featured led to some of the most standout moments in the series. “The Bloody Doors Off” is an electrifying episode that follows our ragtag anti-hero crew following a lead to Vought’s mysterious Sage Grove Center.
Apparently, under the supervision of the Nazi-loving sociopath Stormfront, the facility is trying to stabilize Compound V by testing it on patients. Speaking of Stormfront, her relationship with Homelander grows more disturbing and toxic by the second.
The episode also introduces Lamplighter, who is connected to Frenchie and Grace Mallory’s past. In an attempt to redeem himself, he helps The Boys and Starlight by distracting Stormfront. Overall, the episode created a balance between fast-paced, shocking moments of violence and the harsher, more emotional realities. It also brought several character arcs and the overarching seasonal plot to a thrilling and chaotic head.
7 “Over the Hill With The Swords of a Thousand Men”
(Season 3, Episode 6)
A high-stakes, revelatory episode, “Over The Hill With The Swords of a Thousand Men” is considered among the best episodes of The Boys for a lot of reasons. For starters, it sees the Boys in a yacht sailing in the ocean, trying to safeguard Kimiko’s brother, Kenji. We learn more about the pair, like how they created their own sign language while in captivity.
The Deep, who is ready to go back into The Seven, directs sharks to chase their yacht and himself rides a sperm whale. But as they near the shore, Butcher drives the boat right through Deep’s whale and seeing him fail, once again, is iconic.
Stormfront’s arc takes a wild turn when she sheds her feminist, cool-girl persona and reveals her true nature by ruthlessly killing Kimiko’s brother after forcing him to keep his eyes open so she can watch him die. She also basks in the glory when Vought announces her as the savior of the day.
Hughie and Starlight are trying to smooth out their complicated relationship and Butcher is still confused about his wife’s disappearance. Homelander, who tries to teach Ryan to fly, ends up awakening the Supe in him.
6 “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker”
(Season 2, Episode 7)
In this late Season 2 episode, the lines between hero and villain blur in classic The Boys fashion. “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker” begins with the revelation that Compound V isn’t just for creating superheroes but supervillains as well. Stormfront is on the news, warning people of the same, driving an anonymous man paranoid to the point where he believes that the cashier at his local drugstore, named Kuldeep Singh, is a Supe. So he shoots him, point-black.
Elsewhere, Victoria Neuman is aided by Mallory and the Boys in her protests against Vought. Lamplighter becomes an unlikely ally, but only briefly, because as soon as he enters the Vought Towers, he immolates himself.
The pivotal episode also features Starlight’s capture and eventual escape, Hughie channeling his courage, Butcher confronting his fraught history with his abusive father, and Homelander introducing Ryan to Stormfront because he wants them to “be a family.”
From high-stakes confrontations and shocking developments, the episode raises the season’s intrigue and acts as an ideal pre-finale. Most notable is the show’s subversive commentary, chaotic multidimensional characters, and the game-changing head explosion sequence in the courtroom.
5 “You Found Me”
(Season 1, Episode 8)
“You Found Me” is the finale of the first season of The Boys, and it hits like a gut punch. It is filled with plot twists, the biggest of them all being that Butcher’s wife, Becca, is not only alive but living in total seclusion as she raises Homelander’s son, Ryan, by herself. But the revelation comes later.
First, we see Butcher introducing Hughie to Grace Mallory, who not only refuses to help them because of the incident with her grandchildren, but also warns Hughie about Billy’s obsession with Homelander and how it supersedes everything else.
Homelander, who confronts Vogelbaum and realizes that Madelyn Stillwell has been keeping secrets from him, is torn and vulnerable. His hurt turns into something horrifying towards the end of the episode, when Stillwell is ambushed by Butcher in her home because Mallory tells him she’s Homelander’s weakness, and he ends up using laser vision on her.
We also see The Boys fail for a couple of minutes, like when Raynor refuses to reveal the truth about Compound V to the world, and when Kimiko is tranquilized by her assailants. But it all leads to a breakthrough ending that leaves its mark.
4 “What I Know”
(Season 2, Episode 8)
Speaking of season finales, “What I Know” is next in line as a shocking episode, and it leaves no one unscathed. The episode kicks off with a national emergency declaration after the head-exploding spree during the Compound V hearings. We also find out that the person responsible for the attack was congresswoman Victoria Neuman.
At the same time, Becca escapes her secured compound and arrives at Billy’s doorstep, asking for his help. Billy’s arc in the episode is vital because we see his nuances, sacrifices, personal motives, and deepest desires come together when he lies to Becca and hands Ryan over to Vought.
Meanwhile, within Vought, members of the Seven are forced to determine where their loyalties lie. Homelander’s daddy issues are on full display but it is fascinating to watch him give Ryan some fatherly wisdom when the crowd makes him anxious.
The highlight of the episode, however, is Stormfront’s Nazi history going public, and the eventual battle where Kimiko, Starlight, and Maeve give her a good old-fashioned stomp-down. A tautly paced episode that ratchets up the pressure and unease on all fronts, it also sees Ryan using his laser vision to kill Aya Cash’s character. And Becca. By accident.
3 “Glorious Five-Year Plan”
(Season 3, Episode 4)
With Eric Kripke at the helm, The Boys had already featured several Easter Eggs that connected it to Supernatural. But a highly anticipated element of the season was the arrival of Jensen Ackles as Soldier Boy. A forgotten anthem that reverberates through history, his character is revealed when the Boys arrive in Russia looking for clues, but when he steps out of his chamber, Soldier Boy sends out an explosive blast from his chest and ends up injuring Kimiko.
It’s not just Kimiko who suffers in this episode. Starlight, who is desperate to have other members of the Seven on her side, convinces Queen Maeve and Supersonic to join the cause. Homelander finds out and murders Supersonic as a warning for Starlight to never go behind his back.
Also, Stan Edgar is forced to resign from Vought after facing betrayal; Neuman injects her daughter Zoe with Compound V; Butcher and Hughie reveal that they have been taking Temp V, the effects of which last only 24 hours but have consequences. Rich with progress for its ensemble, “Glorious Five-Year Plan” amplified the personal and political stakes for all. Complex and timely, it kept viewers on their feet from start to finish.
2 “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed”
(Season 3, Episode 7)
From the very first episode of The Boys, fans have wanted to see Homelander and Butcher in a one-on-one battle. “Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed” gives us that. But with the revelation that Homelander is Soldier Boy’s son acting as a final frosting on the cake.
Nothing short of a blood-soaked symphony of trauma, warped memories and unsettling truths, the episode sees Homelander at his most vulnerable. He’s beaten, bruised, almost defeated, and filled with existential dread. But the stakes don’t just end there.
The episode thrives because it focuses on character backstories. When Billy Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy zero in on Mindstorm, a Supe with the ability to trap minds, Butcher finds himself in an eternal nightmare from his childhood. Unless Mindstorm chooses to wake Butcher up, he’ll die.
We also get a glimpse into Black Noir’s broken and tormented psyche when he hallucinates cartoon characters in a rundown Buster Beaver’s Pizza Restaurant. Mother’s Milk and Frenchie also have some conflict.
1 “Herogasm”
(Season 3, Episode 6)
By the time Season 3 of The Boys rolled in, we didn’t have a doubt in our minds that our favorite superheroes were living double lives. A pristine one and a hedonistic one. “Herogasm” thrusts audiences into the latter. Butcher and Hughie, who have now cozied up to Soldier Boy (who keeps wondering how he ended up in their mess) crash the superheroes’ soirée and it leads to one of the series’ most iconic showdown.
Beyond the unimaginable content depicted in the episode, there’s a confrontation between Victoria Neuman and Starlight, Frenchie and M.M. are forced to realign their priorities, and Hughie simply wants to be the one saving his girlfriend for once.
“Herogasm” is a pressure cooker of revelations. But that’s not the only reason it’s among the highest-rated episodes of The Boys. It has an oddly satisfying tone; it adapts one of the comic books’ most infamous arcs and does it in style.
There is finally a fair fight between the Supes and the Boys, with Butcher and Hughie dozed with V24, Soldier Boy on their side, and Homelander being hit where it hurts him the most. It’s a buffet of emotion – betrayal, disregard, longing, revenge, and a dash of intrigue.