Summary
Full of twists and action, The Boys season 2 finale is explosive and dramatic as you’d expect it to be.
This recap of Amazon’s The Boys season 2, episode 8, “What I Know” — the ending explained — contains significant spoilers.
We are recapping every episode weekly — check out the archive.
The opening
This was an explosive finale, so let’s break down the madness!
Episode 8 opens up with a school safety video for school students — it’s telling students how to defend themselves against a supervillain attack. The video is led by Homelander. And back to the story and the President of the United States has declared a national emergency and wants Compound V in circulation. Grace tells the President’s assistant Bob that this is a bad decision. The assistant explains how the country is scared.
Starlight has an idea
Despite there being little hope, Starlight wants to explore as many options as possible, even though it is not the consensus.
The Boys are preparing for a fight — Hughie wants to find another witness but Frenchie and Billy want to be ready for A-Train. Hughie is against the plans and says fighting will not stop Vought. Starlight thinks she knows someone who has credibility and asks The Boys for a day to figure something out.
This is a good thing
Homelander isn’t sure who attacked the Congress hearing — he wonders if Edgar did all this and Stormfront believes it’s good news and it brings them closer to their objective.
Queen Maeve is tired
The finale of The Boys season 2 shows how tiring the whole Supe world has become for some of the characters — with Homelander and Stormfront’s plans and Vought’s corruption, it was going to take a toll eventually.
Starlight is starting to believe Billy is right, that Compound V cannot be stopped. Hughie wonders why she is helping — the pair then have a moment where they confess how they like to be there for each other. They then meet Queen Maeve. Starlight wants her to testify against Vought as she’s the last chance. Queen Maeve does not want to because she’s tired and tells Starlight to shut up. She doesn’t believe anything changes or gets better.
The Deep is still a win and Billy makes a promise
Episode 8 of The Boys season 2 sees another variable in how all this ends — Ryan. It gives Billy his ultimate test and he will need to decide how to manage it.
Edgar visits the Church of the Collective. They tell him that The Deep is still a win despite the problems between A-Train and Stormfront. A-Train was spying on the meeting. Becca has escaped and Billy brings her to the hiding place where The Boys are. Billy wants to help her get her son back. She also apologises to him after what she did. Billy promises to find her son. Becca’s son Ryan is at Vought with Ashley. Homelander and Stormfront arrive and Ryan has settled in and he’s doing his homework. He wants to call his mother but Stormfront suggests a field trip.
Vought restaurant
The finale sees Homelander and Stormfront try and play a weird version of “family” with Ryan. There’s such a sinister undertone to the whole thing.
Homelander, Stormfront and Ryan head to a Vought restaurant for a meal. Everyone is ecstatic to see the Supes and want selfies and autographs. Ryan is overwhelmed by the crowds and starts covering his ears and asking for his mother. Homelander has to fly off. Suddenly, A-Train surprises Starlight and Hughie by showing up. He gives them both a document that can bring down Vought and he wants Stormfront gone so he can return to The Seven.
The gentleman’s handshake
Episode 8 sees Billy having a plan of his own but as we know, this puts him in a precarious position with his wife.
Billy meets Edgar privately at a restaurant. He wants to talk about Ryan — Billy explains that the boy isn’t contingency if they are off playing family. Edgar explains that Stormfront makes people angry and angry people want Compound V. He continues that it’s just business and that he cannot be the one that lashes out like a white man. Billy tells him he can get the boy away from Homelander and then he expects Edgar to put him somewhere safe — Billy wants Becca to stay with him. The pair shake on it.
A father and son moment
The finale of The Boys season 2 sees Homelander making progress with his son, even though there are no good intentions around it.
Ryan tells Homelander that there were so many people. He’s not used to the outside world anymore. Homelander tries to make out he used to feel like he was drowning when he saw crowds but he took off and flew away. He makes out like he cried to try and comfort his son. The father and son have a moment with each other and hug it out.
Billy makes a promise
Despite having the information to bring down Vought, The Boys agree to go and save Becca’s son instead. Becca wants to go with them and she insists that she’s joining. She asks Billy to promise that she will save him and bring him back to her. He promises, despite his agreement to Edgar.
It’s called white genocide
Episode 8 sees Stormfront’s ideological and alt-right ideas froth the mouth as she tries to mother Ryan into a Nazi. But this is also a turning point for the character, who has finally been compromised.
Homelander tries to teach Ryan how to use his powers but he is not picking it up. He tells him to pretend to hate someone so his powers work. Ryan states he does not hate anyone. Stormfront tells him there are people out there that want to hurt them because of the colour of their skin — “It’s called white genocide”. Suddenly, Stormfront gets angry as she receives information and she flies out. On the news, a photo has been leaked of Stormfront with the Nazis. Stormfront heads to Vought and sees that many news outlets are now running the news.
Take Ryan and Becca to Grace
The Boys season 2 finale then becomes action-packed to help drive to its conclusion.
The Boys move towards the cabin house to save Ryan — they use a disruptor to help stop Homelander. Ryan is freed by Becca. Homelander finds the disruptor and destroys it. Billy tells Mother’s Milk to take Becca and Ryan to Grace so they keep them safe. Becca is alarmed but Billy reveals he cut a deal with Edgar that when he caught Ryan, Vought would take him away. Billy cannot live up to that deal.
Homelander senses that Vought have set him up. He asks the Vought armed forces where his son is. Becca gets emotional and wants Billy to join them but he tells her they are running out of time. Billy lets Becca and Ryan leave but then Stormfront arrives and uses her powers to throw their car in the air and Billy is mortified. He manages to get them all out of the car and they run away.
Fighting Stormfront
We all wanted this — all four female Supes fighting and episode 8 delivers it!
Stormfront confronts Starlight calling her a b*tch for leaking the photos. Suddenly, Kimiko starts laughing at Stormfront. Kimiko and Starlight fight Stormfront. While in a struggle, Stormfront ruthlessly seems to snap Kimiko’s neck. With all hope lost, Queen Maeve turns up to the fight — Kimiko puts her neck back in position and all three women circle Stormfront while calling her a “Nazi b*tch”. Eventually, Stormfront flies off.
Ryan uses his powers
It’s ironic the next scene — Homelander always wanted Ryan to embrace his powers; The Boys season 2 finale gives him that but not in the way that he necessarily wanted.
Stormfront finds Billy, Becca, and Ryan. Becca stabs Stormfront right in the eye. Stormfront starts choking Becca and all hope looks lost until Ryan uses his powers. There’s a white light and when Billy gets up, Stormfront is on the floor, her skin ripped off and she has no legs, reminding audiences of that scene in Revenge of the Sith with Anakin Skywalker. But more concerningly, Becca has been hurt and Ryan is crying, repeating that he’s sorry. Becca whimpers and tells Billy that this is not Ryan’s fault — she asks Billy to keep Ryan safe. Becca dies right there and Billy is devastated.
This is a new chapter for Billy — his life was all about Becca up until this point. Will he find a new purpose in season 3?
Queen Maeve asks Homelander to leave them alone
Ryan is still crying and Billy looks like he wants to attack him but then Homelander turns up and he sees Stormfront who barely has a body anymore. He’s emotional and when he looks at her, she’s talking in German. Homelander asks Ryan to join him but he walks to go to Billy instead. Homelander laughs and claims that Ryan is his. Queen Maeve then turns up and tells Homelander to let them go or she will release the video from the airplane — she also asks Homelander to leave her and Elena alone. Homelander threatens to destroy everyone but Queen Maeve wants everyone to see what a monster he is and for no-one to ever love him again.
Homelander’s narcissism gets the better of him here. He knows that he has no choice but to walk away — destroy everyone and no-one will love him; take Ryan and still, no-one will love him. Queen Maeve put him in a sweet corner.
The press conference
And like all corporate PR, The Boys season 2, episode 8 shows what happens when organizations want to control the narrative — a running theme in this Amazon Original series.
Edgar gives a press conference and spins the story that Stormfront was a sole perpetrator and that the circulation of Compound V is on hold. Homelander then gives a speech and says the heroism of Starlight and Queen Maeve ensures that Stormfront has been placed in a facility and is safe. Homelander gives the usual spiel on heroes.
A-Train is back in and Hughie decides to be strong himself
The Deep and A-Train are called to a meeting at the Church of the Collective. For using his initiative and leaking the archives, A-Train is back in The Seven. The Deep is furious that he is not back in. Meanwhile, Hughie asks Starlight if she’s allowed back in the Vought Tower. Starlight talks about hanging in there and kisses him. Hughie admits he has been clingy and suggests standing on his two feet for once. He’s referencing Billy, not Starlight. These two appear to be a couple again, but for how long? It seems impossible that these two can be together.
The ending
As for Billy, he’s with Ryan who tells him he’s scared. Billy gives him a necklace that belongs to his mother. Grace then picks him up in blacked-out government car and Billy warns her that Vought is going to want him back.
As the episode ends, Homelander is w*nking at the top of a building repeating “I can do whatever I want”. The leader of the Church of the Collective rings congresswoman Victoria Neuman and he congratulates her on Stormfront and he asks if the church’s taxes can be expedited for exemption. The leader’s head suddenly explodes. It’s the Congresswoman who attacked him. She has powers in a twist to end Season 2 and will presumably form the overall narrative of Season 3.
In the next scene, Congresswoman Victoria meets Hughie and thanks him for everything he did. Hughie asks for a job as he wants to do it the right way. She asks him when can he start. Trust Hughie to hand himself to another villain after finally standing on his own two feet.
Full of twists and action, The Boys season 2 finale is explosive and dramatic as you’d expect it to be. It leaves a mark for season 3 which will excite fans.
Additional points
- With the stakes high, Starlight tells her mother where to flee to stay safe.
- Starlight asks Hughie why he listens to Billy Joel — he explains his upbringing and how his mother left him at six. That’s why he listens to the artist as he used to play the songs with her.
