Summary
The Boys season 2, episode 7 is a well-put-together penultimate chapter leaving everything open-ended for an explosive finale. Many questions are still unanswered and how this will all pan out is still unpredictable.
This recap of Amazon’s The Boys season 2, episode 7, “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker” contains significant spoilers.
We are recapping every episode weekly — check out the archive.
The opening
The story in season 2 has Stormfront leading an alt-right wing campaign and the true effect of her words, memes and social media content is shown in the very first scene.
Episode 7 opens up with a man with a bedroom full of Supe posters. He’s clearly indoctrinated by Stormfront’s media campaigns. He always listens to the news and believes that Supe terrorism is the new issue; he goes to a store and shoots an Asian store owner — Stormfront’s words have resonated with him.
We have a credible witness
The penultimate episode has The Boys having to find a way to form together an effective congress, which is much more difficult than they imagined.
Lamplighter puts himself up for Congress to provide evidence against Vought. Billy is cynical. They need to know what is fully happening at Sage Grove in order to take the organisation down.
We can go on holiday
As we all know, Starlight has been on the run from Vought and she took out her chip but naively, she forgot that her mother is as dizzy as the rest of the human race and accidentally ruins her daughter’s cover — what follows is a gamechanger in the story.
Starlight’s mother wants to make amends with her daughter. Starlight believes she’s given her whole life for nothing and is upset that the good guys don’t win, the bad guys don’t get punished and that it’s all for money. The mother wants to go on holiday with her daughter and says she has cleared it with Vought. Suddenly, the cafe is attacked by Black Noir.
This isn’t healthy
Lamplighter was a comedic addition to the last chapter and now we learn a little bit more about him in the penultimate chapter.
As The Boys head out, Billy asks Hughie to stay behind and look after Lamplighter. The pair watch porn videos together that is based on the Seven. Hughie does not believe this is healthy watching porn together. Lamplighter opens up and expresses how he was meant to do great things but he failed.
One nation rally
As you will have seen on social media, many critics have discussed at length how The Boys has brought strong nationalism themes into the second season and the next scene shows how strong it has become;
Homelander and Stormfront take part in a rally. Stormfront announces that they don’t condone the murder of the store owner. Homelander then talks about how this is meant to be one nation under God. Stormfront rallies them even more and talks about the damage from SJWs (social justice warriors). Homelander then announces that Starlight is a mole and she is imprisoned. Hughie sees it on the news and panics. He wants Lamplighter to help him free her. Starlight is now imprisoned in a green-lit room. Hughie tells Lamplighter that this is his last chance to be a hero.
Billy meets his father
We’ve learnt a lot about Billy in season 2 and we learn some more about his family…
Billy goes to meet his mother after receiving sad news that his father is dead. However, on the balcony is his father, alive. It was a setup. The father tells Billy he doesn’t want to lose a chance with his other son. Billy gets angry that his father mentions his dead brother. The father claims Billy abandoned him which is why he killed himself — Billy starts choking his father.
Family introductions
So far, Homelander’s audacity and psychopathic behaviour have been a running discussion — he just has no chill…
Stormfront gets broody at the one nation rally as she misses her daughter. Homelander shows Stormfront Rebecca and his son Ryan. Stormfront introduces herself and tells Ryan that he’s the first natural-born superhero. Homelander tells Ryan to get to know Stormfront more and wants them all to be a family.
I’m leaving
The Boys season 2, episode 7 shows how Vought have lost their LGBTQ branding but it was expected after Elena learnt of the aeroplane disaster between Queen Maeve and Homelander.
Elena tells Queen Maeve that she is leaving the apartment because she can’t get the video of the aeroplane out of her head. She says she needs time and Maeve gets angry and flips a table. Queen Maeve states Elena wanted to see the real her — “This is the real me”.
It’s more about family
The Boys constantly show how the characters battle with family values while fighting for what they believe in is an internal struggle and the penultimate chapter continues in the same breath.
Mother’s Milk and Grace go to visit Jonah. They ask Jonah if he knows about Sage Grove but he denies all knowledge. Grace tells Jonah that Vought f*cked him and she wants him to speak at Congress. Jonah is worried about his family — afterwards, Grace tells Mother’s Milk that he should return to his family as she wishes she had.
It’s easy to feel sorry for Mother’s Milk — you can sense his desperation to see his loved ones again.
A childhood he never had
Stormfront and Homelander carry on spending time at Rebecca’s house. They recommend Ryan activities. Rebecca gets agitated and asks Homelander to speak to her outside — he tells her he doesn’t want his son to go through what he went through. Rebecca tells Homelander that she is his mother and wants what is best for him. She wants to give Ryan a childhood that Homelander never had. He seems to agree.
I’ll kill your whole f*cking c*nting family
By this point, Billy is not in the mood for small talk…
Billy meets Jonah as well. Jonah says he cannot give them any information. Billy asks Jonah what Homelander was like when growing up. When he describes his upbringing, Billy notches it up and threatens to kill Jonah’s entire family if he doesn’t help them.
Burning himself alive
Well, Lamplighter did not last long and season 2 brings another death.
Lamplighter and Hughie infiltrate Vought. Hughie’s wound is starting to bleed through. When they get to the floor they believe Starlight is on, she isn’t there. Lamplighter gets emotional as his statue isn’t there and he wanted to be remembered as a great. He burns himself alive and then the sprinklers come on. With the fire systems in place, Starlight uses her powers to free herself. Hughie cuts Lamplighter’s hand off his dead body as he needs it.
Nut allergy
Starlight ends up in a fight with Black Noir again. She is losing the fight badly but Queen Maeve helps and feeds him nuts — he has a nut allergy so he starts choking. Starlight asks Queen Maeve to join her but she refuses.
You can sense that eventually, Queen Maeve and Starlight will team up — what a wonderful prospect this is.
Hughie ends up freeing Starlight’s mother. When Starlight sees Hughie she is so happy.
Ryan learns the truth
Ryan calls her mother a liar and says Stormfront showed him the outside world. He says he hates his mother. Homelander then leaves with Ryan.
Looks like Homelander has finally got what he wants — his son.
Be free from your father
Hughie returns with Starlight and reveals that Lamplighter killed himself. Billy rings Grace and tells her he has sorted the situation. Billy then meets his mother again — she tells him his father is a c*nt but he only has two months left to live. She wants Billy to be free from his father.
The ending
The Congress hearing regarding Vought and Compound V begins. Jonah takes to the stands. Homelander is shocked but he remains calm. Suddenly people’s heads start to explode at the hearing and there is mass panic — the chair of the congressional hearing and Jonah’s head also explodes. The Boys are in complete shock as the news channel goes off the air. Billy looks into the camera and he is fuming. Did Cindy attack the congressional hearing?
The Boys season 2, episode 7 is a well-put-together penultimate chapter leaving everything open-ended for an explosive finale. Many questions are still unanswered and how this will all pan out is still unpredictable.
Additional points
- Ashley sees Queen Maeve in bed with another man and says it is not “On brand”. Queen Maeve asks Ashley to be a human being for once as tears stream down her face.
