Herogasm

"Herogasm" is the sixth episode of the third season of The Boys. It was released on June 24, 2022 on Amazon Prime Video. It is the twenty-second episode overall.

Summary[]

You’re invited to the 70th Annual Herogasm! You must present this invitation in order to be admitted! Same rules as always: no cameras, no non-Supe guests unless they sign an NDA and they’re DTF, and no telling any news media! It’s BYOD, but food, alcohol and lube will be provided! And please remember to RSVP so we can get an accurate headcount for the caterer!

Plot[]

The Deep is seen in a YouTube video addressing the recent Supe-terrorist attack. He begins singing "Imagine" by John Lennon. The video cuts between various celebrities singing different parts of the lyrics.

Homelander is in the Crime Analytics room reviewing camera footage which shows Soldier Boy walking away after killing Crimson Countess. He snaps at Ashley after she suggests giving a press conference to reassure the public that everything is under control. Homelander says that announcing that the ex-face of Vought is now a Supervillain would bring him down alongside the company. He storms off with Noir after ordering Deep to "bury everything".

Homelander opens up to Noir about his stress about Soldier Boy's recent actions. Receiving no reply, he pats Noir on the shoulder, praising him as his only friend, then leaves. Immediately after, the elevator door behind Noir opens and he rushes in. Once the door closes, to the horror of a woman present in the elevator, he takes out one of his knives and begins carving his left forearm to extract his tracking chip. He passes it to the terrified bystander before leaving the elevator.

Hughie, Butcher, and Soldier Boy are hiding out in a motel. Hughie and Butcher give Soldier Boy food, alcohol and Benzedrine. Butcher makes a pact with Soldier Boy - if he can provide him with the location of the remaining Payback team members, as well as help him settle in this new era, Soldier Boy will agree to help him take down Homelander.

Kimiko Miyashiro paces around her hospital room, debating what to message to Frenchie after their kiss. As she looks out the window, she gets ambushed by a Russian gangster.

M.M. is loading a clip on a table full of various guns, grenade and bullets while Starlight wonders where Soldier Boy will go next. M.M. mentions the TNT Twins, who live in Vermont. Annie asks if Butcher is also aware of their locations, to which he replies "no". She then states that Soldier Boy is bulletproof and MM declares that the bullets aren't meant for him. Starlight empathizes with his hatred for Butcher and Hughie but convinces him not to lower himself to their level as they only have themselves as support. She then leaves after receiving a call from Ashley.

Ashley watches the trailer for A-Train's upcoming movie "A-Train to Africa". As the trailer ends, A-train enters the room demanding Ashley give Blue Hawk a harsher punishment than 12 weeks of sensibility training. As he vents about wanting justice for his paralyzed brother Ashley snaps back at him for his hypocrisy of only caring about the Supe's misconduct when he has to suffer the consequences while she had to overwork herself to cover his crimes time and time again. Defeated, A-train leaves the room.

The Deep and Cassandra find Homelander in a hallway to let him know about Noir's disappearance. To try and stop his "panic attack" over Noir vanishing, Deep tells him about Soldier Boy's potential next victims- the TNT twins and their location. Homelander sends The Deep to their place, ordering him to contact him if Soldier Boy shows up.

Homelander is alone in his private quarters, and in his mirror his reflection starts talking to him. He expresses his fears about being defeated by Soldier Boy and asks himself if taking over the company was the right call. His mirror-self reassures him that "he" will get them out of trouble just like "he" always did when they were young. Homelander confesses to the real reason for rebelling against Edgar: wanting to be loved and admired. "He" also blames Homelander's failed "relationships" and his need for affection on his human side that the reflection sees as a cancer that must be removed in order for Homelander to be free and pure.

Hughie tries to convince Soldier Boy to sleep but he refuses, stating that he has slept enough. He instead proceeds to rant about the state of the modern man and the betrayal at the hands of the country and the team that he fought so hard to protect. As they discuss what happened in Midtown, Butcher returns with his knuckles covered in blood and the address of the Twins.

The Deep is welcomed in the home of the Twins by the male brother, who expresses his sympathy for what Starlight did to him. Noticing the loud music coming from inside the house, Deep asks to be let in, thus gaining access the 70th edition of Herogasm, hosted by the Twins.

Homelander is sitting nervously in a studio as the makeup artist finishes preparing the interviewer, Starlight joins them and he grabs her hand, looking for comfort. Neuman also joins the interview, much to Annie's surprise. As the interviewer asks questions about the 19 dead in Midtown, Homelander cuts her off, accusing her of lying and fearmongering. He storms off. Victoria asks Annie for a quick chat.

Victoria asks Annie about Hughie's whereabouts. Annie said that he's camping with his dad, but Victoria knows she is lying. She reveals that she knows that he and Starlight know about her power. She tries to team up with Annie, offering to share her influence in exchange for Annie's. Annie refuses her offer, proclaiming that she is done playing dirty.

Frenchie is brought to an abandoned warehouse and bound up to a pillar, while Kimiko and Cherie sit in front of him tied to chairs, Little Nina enter the room and after explaining a bit of his past whilst showing his scars and how he got them, orders him to choose who to kill between the two girls, threatening to shoot them both if he refuses. Kimiko manages to free herself of her cuffs and slits the throat of her executioner. As she falls down, with his body on top of her, a second gangster empties his magazine on his comrade's corpse as Frenchie pleads with Nina. Still alive, Kimiko bites his ankle forcing him to drop his gun, so he starts choking her. She manages to break free by breaking one of his hands. As Nina reaches for a gun, Cherie also manages to free herself and tackles Nina to the ground. Meanwhile, Kimiko is thrown around by the gangster, who finally manages to pin her down, choking her with one hand and punching the wound on her stomach open with the other. She manages to find a screwdriver, which she impales in his thigh. As he falls down screaming, she begins shanking him repeatedly well after his death, stopping only when Frenchie tells her that Nina has escaped.

Starlight and M.M. go to the T&T Twins' house. On the way, Annie notices that M.M. has a tick. Reluctantly, he tells her that he was indirectly responsible for his grandfather's death. One night, while he was young, he noticed Soldier Boy stopping some kids and went to wake up his grandad to come see the Supe. As his grandfather stood up, Soldier Boy threw a car directly at his house squashing M.M.'s grandfather. From then on, he developed the habit of checking the burners three times every night, lest Soldier Boy return to kill the rest of his family.

They reach the Twins' house and are "greeted" by Love Sausage's love sausage. Love Sausage asks for invitations, but he recognizes Starlight. He also sees that M.M. is not a Supe, but he grants them entrance thanks to Starlight vouching for him. Once inside, they witness an orgy of normal people and Supes who are engaging in all manners of sexual activities. As M.M. laments the abuse that non-Supe sex workers go through. Annie searches for a way to reduce casualties once Soldier Boy arrives.

Meanwhile Butcher, Hughie and Soldier Boy scout the house from the outside. While doing so, Hughie asks for three minutes to find the Twins and make sure that there won't be bystanders caught in the crossfire. Hughie teleports into the middle of the party while Starlight tries to convince Blue Hawk that Soldier Boy is coming. She notices The Deep moaning behind a door, as she enters and comes in full view of him having intercourse with an octopus. She proceeds to take photos of him and threatens him to send them to Homelander if he doesn't tell her why he's here.

Meanwhile the twins are fighting in a corner. Their fight attracts the attention of Hughie who bumps into A-train. They recognize each other and Hughie demands an apology for what A-train did to Robin. A-train apologizes but Hughie punches him anyway. A-train recoils, astonished by Hughie's newfound strength. Starlight cuts in, warning them both that Homelander is coming. Hughie notices that Soldier Boy has entered the party and teleports himself and Annie away from the house. They start arguing.

Back in the house M.M. comes face to face with his Soldier Boy and tries to knock him out with a Halothane gas grenade, however the Supe has built a resistance to the anesthetic and casually tosses the grenade away after inhaling the fumes. As M.M. prepares for a fistfight, Butcher comes in and directs Soldier Boy towards the Twins. M.M. tries to follow Soldier Boy but Butcher blocks his way, prompting M.M. to fruitlessly attack Butcher.

Soldier Boy finds the Twins, who are still arguing, promising to spare their lives if they tell him who was the mastermind behind his betrayal. They both confess that it was Noir, but he doesn't believe them as he is too faithful towards Vought to do such a thing. As the Twins beg for their lives, a familiar Russian song begins playing and soon after Soldier Boy incinerates the Twins. The blast shoots through the house, causing injuries and deaths.

Noticing the explosion, Annie tries to go back to the house. Hughie tries to stop her, but she knocks him down. Meanwhile, in the middle of the carnage, A-train finally confronts Blue Hawk, scared by the explosions, and while extremely angered he knocks him to the floor before dragging away at super speed. Blue Hawk's body scrapes against the road so hard that his skull and rib cage become visible. A-train finally stops after yet another heart attack, passing out in the middle of the road.

Homelander lands in what remains of the house, stepping on a shrunken Termite. Inside, Butcher wakes up and checks on M.M., who is knocked out. He reunites with Soldier Boy who once again has forgotten what happened. Homelander finds them and calls off his deal with Butcher as he considers Soldier Boy's presence cheating. He knocks out Butcher with his laser sight and after an icy introduction engages Soldier Boy in combat. After a brief, but ferocious exchange of blows Homelander soon pins Soldier Boy down and prepares to strangle him. Butcher calls Homelanders attention, and blasts him away with a burst of laser vision. Confused and furious, Homelander launches at Butcher and the two begin brawling. At an apparent stalemate, Homelander desperately fires his eye lasers at full force, to which Butcher responds in kind. Breaking their locked struggle, Soldier Boy drags Homelander down by his cape, and the two work in concert to pummel him. Lashing out furiously, Homelander breaks free, only to be blindsided by a teleporting Hughie. Even more baffled by an empowered and naked Hughie, Homelander attempts to retaliate but is quickly overpowered and pinned down. As Soldier Boy prepares to blast Homelander with his deadly incineration wave, Homelander, snarling like a wild animal, desperately breaks free and quickly flees.

The three walk out of the house as M.M. and Starlight are giving medical attention to the victims. They lock eyes with one another before going their separate ways.

As Homelander looks in the mirror, he notices a bruise on his face. Frenchie and Kimiko discuss their violent nature and make plans to run away, while Starlight, with the help of M.M., sets up a live broadcast during which she confesses the truth behind the attacks, and admits that Soldier Boy is still alive and a threat to America. She also admits Homelander's abuse towards her and Queen Maeve. She then finishes the live by renouncing her Superhero name and quitting the Seven for good.

Cast[]

Co-Starring[]

Quotes[]

Trivia[]

• The episode is named after and partially adapts the comic spin-off series of the same name.
• This episode marks the first time Starlight uses her powers this season. And she uses them on Hughie.
• The opening scene is a parody of Gal Gadot's Imagine Video.
• Herogasm has been celebrated for 70 years, suggesting Supes and Vought have been in business for 70 years.
• The fight between Billy, Soldier Boy, and Hughie against Homelander is very reminiscent of the fight between Annie, Kimiko, and Queen Maeve against Stormfront in What I Know.

Media[]

Photos[]

Starlight and Mother's Milk

Soldier Boy

Butcher and Soldier Boy

Butcher

Starlight and Homelander

Ashley, Black Noir, The Deep, and Homelander

Kimiko

Little Nina and Frenchie

The Deep

Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy

Videos[]

References[]