“Here Comes A Candle To Light You To Bed”

The Boys explores truth and how it can be twisted in the aftermath of Annie’s public declaration.

In the real world things often happen that seem like they should bring on seismic change. Those things are often followed by a lot of noise made in the aftermath before very little actually changes. Annie telling the truth about Vought, Homelander and Soldier Boy is a great example of that. In the moment it’s a shocking development and the culmination of a long arc detailing Annie becoming increasingly uncomfortable playing the part while waiting for the right moment to make her move against Vought and Homelander. Following that moment it’s just another scandal for Vought to spin.

Vought is an organisation that is well practised in responding to scandals and setbacks so Annie’s public confession is the latest example of that. She is cast in the role of an overly emotional jilted lover with people encouraged to focus on her fake relationship with Homelander as the cause of these untruths being declared to the world. It’s an easy message for the public to swallow because of the long history of women being painted as irrationally emotional. The public reaction to Vought’s media spin isn’t shown which is unfortunate because there was a real opportunity to show how both sides of the narrative is landing with those receiving it. This is something The Boys is typically bad at despite all the focus on spinning yarns for the public to swallow. There is no actual representation from the common people receiving that spin. Mother’s Milk’s daughter is intermittently a minor example but there’s a significant storytelling opportunity that goes unexplored.

Annie has two main challenges to deal with. One is knowing that Vought and Homelander are gunning for her. She no longer has the tenuous protection that comes from being associated with Vought so she has to be very careful with her next move and has to pick her moments to go outside. Another is her recent issues with Hughie and whether she should give up on him. She is mulling over whether he can be saved or even wants to be.

Both challenges are resolved. She decides to save Hughie which is another affirmation of her morality and inability to give up on those she cares about. The Vought/Homelander problem is resolved by her sneakily going live when talking to him and letting all of her subscribers hear his own voice confirm what she has been saying. It’s a shrewd tactic that plays into the idea of their lives being one big public relations stunt. It’s the perfect way to protect her from some sort of violent reprisal as well as validate the story she has been telling. Homelander is short-sighted enough to not expect that and easily sheds the false persona he projects to the public when he believes that he’s behind closed doors.

Annie being the moral centre of the show has always been evident and the Kimiko/Frenchie connection is emerging as the heart of the show. It has been part of prior seasons but there’s a clear major push in this season to have them embody that role. The latest development is that Kimiko decides that having her powers back is what she needs to do in order to protect those she loves. Her email to Annie is teased early in the episode before being articulated when it becomes relevant to understand the entirety of her thought process. The text of the email makes it clear that it’s entirely her choice to have her powers back and that she feels having powers isn’t an innately bad thing. It’s presented as a major sacrifice with attention being drawn to everything she is giving up such as truly feeling Frenchie for the first time when bereft of powers. Her strength robs her of the sensation of touch and she has a final tender moment where she dances with him to have that sensation one last time before giving it up.

One reading of her decision is that she is sacrificing her freedom as the powers can be interpreted as an inescapable trap. She had the opportunity to escape but the cost of that freedom is something she considers to be too high and she is willing to give it up for those she considers to be her family. Frenchie is family to her and being able to protect him is worth the notable drawback of not being able to feel when touching him. It’s incredibly tragic and the moment Kimiko shares with Frenchie where she feels him for the last time is very powerful.

Homelander’s unravelling continues with a fixation on his own legacy. It’s revealed that he is keeping Maeve locked up and is keeping her alive so that he can harvest her eggs and use them to combine with his DNA in order to create strong children. He wants to create an enduring legacy of -presumably- compliant children to shape the future of Supes in his own image. It’s a really nefarious plan that is almost certainly doomed to fail considering Homelander’s inability to be a positive force in anyone’s life. The fact that he is forcing this on Maeve is evidence of that.

More public evidence of his psychological break is highlighted at an event where he disappears and finds a cow that he then proceeds to milk. The obvious implication is that the cow reminds him of Madelyn due to his obsession with her breast milk back in the first season. A reading of this is that he is desperate for a real connection and has latched onto particular strong women in his life who seemed like a reasonable prospect to provide one. He was robbed of a normal childhood by being raised as property of Vought and that has massively contributed to the way he is now. Knowing that doesn’t excuse his actions but it makes it possible to understand them. Milking the cow as a way to remind himself of Madelyn is twisted but Homelander has no shame reflex like most do so he acts in whatever way simulates a particular connection he once had. The reveal that Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father at the end of the episode suggests a reckoning of some kind where Homelander takes revenge on his absent father or he may try to force a connection that could never have possibly existed.

Victoria walks in on Homelander’s depraved attempt to simulate a time when he felt loved and warns him about the potential consequences of his behaviour. She calls him out on the way he acts and reminds him that he has a responsibility to uphold the company’s reputation because he is now the face of it. Homelander isn’t a man to listen to reason or even appreciate threats but there’s an unsettling unpredictability to him at this point that makes it entirely possible that he will eventually listen to someone, particularly if they remind him of someone he cared about in his own twisted way. That person certainly isn’t Victoria but she also doesn’t fear him which is significant in itself.

Soldier Boy’s campaign to take down his former teammates brings him to Mindstorm (Ryan Blakely); a powerful psychic with the ability to force people into a coma where they relive unresolved trauma. Butcher is the victim of this and is forced to confront unresolved feelings about his family and childhood. Nothing new about Butcher is learned through this as the previous season detailed his relationship with his father so this expands on it slightly by showing what was described. It’s a fairly standard origin story where a violent childhood produces a violent adult. It delivers some insight into Butcher’s typical attitude but it doesn’t say anything new about him. Thie abuse imagery is shocking by itself and Karl Urban plays it well but it still comes across as going over old ground. It confirms that he turned his back on his family and that he blames himself for not being able to save people over the years. Self-loathing plays a major part as he sees himself as someone who abandoned his family. There is progression for him as he gains self-awareness, at least to some degree but there is an open question over whether it will change him or if the existing pattern of behaviour will continue. His failure to tell Hughie the truth about the Temporary V suggests that true change is a very long path for him. The other side of that is Hughie considers him to be family so there’s a perceived imbalance in that relationship though it has been established that Butcher does care about the Boys in his own way. His reasons for not telling Hughie the truth aren’t articulated which leaves it as an open question going into the final episode.

Unexpected details are given about Soldier Boy’s past. It turns out that a more appropriate name for him would have been “Poster Boy” as he was dishonest about all of his exploits. Vought helped construct a narrative that painted him as America’s Hero and it’s something that he internalised. He carries the confidence that comes with his supposed heroic exploits so he has convinced himself that the lies are the truth; something very common in compulsive liars. He is so detached from reality that he believes himself to be the historic hero which ties into his explosions being triggered by PTSD that didn’t actually come from earned experience. Much of it also comes from his decades of incarceration and experimentation but his fake past is also catching up with him.

The unreality of Soldier Boy’s history is expanded on by Black Noir’s animated hallucinations. This was an excellent way to give voice to his thoughts and a creative way of detailing his backstory as well as what he’s working through. The hallucinations depict a violent representation of Noir and Soldier Boy’s relationship rooted in racism on Soldier Boy’s part. Black Noir hates Soldier Boy because he was held back and marginalised by him. The animated characters are caricatured representations of the original team that are clearly presented with obnoxious vocal performances to highlight Black Noir’s unpleasant memory of those times. This adds weight to the upcoming conflict and humanises Black Noir without compromising his non-verbal status. It’s an off-the-wall way of developing this relationship ahead of the upcoming final confrontation and combines nicely with Soldier Boy reaching out to Homelander to deliver the news that he’s Homelander’s father. The stage is set for an explosive and compelling finale.

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Verdict

A strong episode that deals with the aftermath of Annie’s honesty in a compelling realistic way and creatively explores Black Noir’s past. The aftermath of Annie’s confession is the latest example of Vought’s skill in responding to setbacks and scandals. Casting her in the role of an overly emotional jilted lover is chillingly real and puts her in a dangerous position. She has two main challenges to deal with. One is knowing that Vought and Homelander are gunning for her now that she has given up the tenuous protection that comes from being associated with Vought and the other is her recent issues with Hughie along with considerations over whether she should give up on him. Both are resolved with her deciding that she can’t give up on Hughie as another affirmation of her morality and sneakily going live so that Homelander confirms the truth with her own voice. The drawback to the narrative of truth and the public perception to it is that the public reaction is barely shown which is unfortunate as it’s a massive storytelling opportunity that goes unexplored. Kimiko and Frenchie continue to be the heart of the show. The latest development is that Kimiko decides that she needs to have her powers back in order to protect the people she cares about. Her email to Annie makes it clear that it’s entirely her choice and that she feels having powers isn’t innately a bad thing. It’s presented as a major sacrifice with attention being drawn to all that she is giving up such as the sensation of touch. One reading is that she is sacrificing her freedom for those she considers to be her family. The moment she shares with Frenchie where she feels him for the last time is very powerful. Homelander’s unravelling continues with a fixation on his own legacy. His plan to harvest Maeve’s eggs in order to mix their DNA to create strong children is twisted and almost certainly doomed to fail. The fact that he is forcing this on Maeve is evidence of that. More public evidence of his psychological break is highlighted at an event where he disappears and milks a cow. It reminds him of Madelyn and a reading of this action is that he’s desperate to make a connection. Milking the cow as a way to remind himself of Madelyn is twisted but Homelander has no shame reflex like most do so he acts in whatever way simulates a particular connection he once had. The reveal that Soldier Boy is Homelander’s father at the end of the episode suggests a reckoning of some kind where Homelander takes revenge on his absent father or he may try to force a connection that could never have possibly existed. Victoria warns him about the potential consequences of his behaviour and reminds him that he has a responsibility to uphold the company’s reputation. He isn’t a man to listen to or appreciate threats but his current unpredictability means that he may listen to someone eventually.

Soldier Boy’s campaign to bring down his former teammates brings him to Mindstorm. Butcher is the victim of Mindstorm’s powers and is forced to confront unresolved feelings about his family and childhood. Nothing new about Butcher is learned through this and his origin story is a fairly standard one. The memories provide some insight into Butcher’s typical attitude but it doesn’t say anything new about him. Thie abuse imagery is shocking by itself and Karl Urban plays it well but it still comes across as going over old ground. It confirms that he turned his back on his family and that he blames himself for not being able to save people over the years. Self-loathing plays a major part as he sees himself as someone who abandoned his family. There is progression for him as he gains self-awareness, at least to some degree but there is an open question over whether it will change him or if the existing pattern of behaviour will continue. His failure to tell Hughie the truth about the Temporary V suggests that true change is a very long path for him. The other side of that is Hughie considers him to be family so there’s a perceived imbalance in that relationship though it has been established that Butcher does care about the Boys in his own way. His reasons for not telling Hughie the truth aren’t articulated which leaves it as an open question going into the final episode. Unexpected details are given about Soldier Boy’s past. Namely that his exploits are propaganda concocted by Vought. He carries the confidence that comes with his supposed heroic exploits so he has convinced himself that the lies are the truth; something very common in compulsive liars. He is so detached from reality that he believes himself to be the historic hero which ties into his explosions being triggered by PTSD that didn’t actually come from earned experience. Much of it also comes from his decades of incarceration and experimentation but his fake past is also catching up with him. The unreality of Soldier Boy’s history is expanded on by Black Noir’s animated hallucinations. This was an excellent way to give voice to his thoughts and a creative way of detailing his backstory as well as what he’s working through. The hallucinations depict a violent representation of Noir and Soldier Boy’s relationship rooted in racism on Soldier Boy’s part. Black Noir hates Soldier Boy because he was held back and marginalised by him. The animated characters are caricatured representations of the original team that are clearly presented with obnoxious vocal performances to highlight Black Noir’s unpleasant memory of those times. This adds weight to the upcoming conflict and humanises Black Noir without compromising his non-verbal status.

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