The Boys – Cherry

By: Nicole Rodenbaugh

Hughie (Jack Quaid) is standing in the electronics store still in shock and says, “So you’re not a fed” to Butcher (Karl Urban). Butcher explains the seriousness of the situation since they just killed one of The Seven. Hughie and Butcher are loading Translucent’s clear body into the trunk.

Butcher explains that he used to work for the Feds but now he is a contractor. As they are driving they hear Translucent knock on the trunk. Hughie is excited that Translucent is still alive. Butcher refuses to let Translucent go since The Seven will come looking for them. Butcher knocks on a door and asks for Frenchie (Tomer Capon). Frenchie is loading guns that are laid on his table. He greets Butcher and Hughie. Butcher asks Frenchie to do a job for him and takes him out to the car to show him Translucent is in the trunk.

A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) is in the hospital visiting a Make-A-Wish patient. The patient is asking to see Translucent. A-Train explains that Translucent is doing a secret mission. The patient is not entertained by A-Train’s appearance. Madelyn (Elisabeth Shue) and the publicist Ashley (Colby Minifie) are watching A-Train’s hospital visit and discussing Translucent’s disappearance.

Starlight (Erin Moriarty) introduces herself to Black Noir (Nathan Mitchell). He does not reply. Ashley tells Starlight that she will be on her first team mission tomorrow night with The Deep. She asks if there’s any way she could do the assignment alone or The Deep can do the mission alone. Ashley refuses her request insisting she must team up.

Hughie, Butcher and Frenchie pull up to a restaurant and remove Translucent (Alex Hassell) from the trunk along with cases. Translucent wakes up in a cage with the ceiling covered in the material to block his transmitter chip. Hughie, Frenchie and Butcher discuss how to kill Translucent.

The Deep is on the news verifying he found the mayor’s plane seen on the TV in Madelyn’s office. Homelander (Antony Starr) walks in. Homelander asks if they have found Translucent yet. Madelyn confirms they have not located him. Madelyn asks Homelander if he is aware of the plane crash. She tells Homelander she knows he is responsible. He says he did it for her because the Mayor was blackmailing. She explains she needs him to focus on charming a Senator and let her protect him. She caresses his face.

The Deep (Chace Crawford) walks into The Seven’s board room. Homelander is sitting and waiting for him. Homelander threatens The Deep to stop going above his head and he knows The Deep told Madelyn about the plane. The Deep apologizes and agrees. Homelander tells The Deep to, “go fuck Shamu in the blowhole.”

Frenchie has created a bullet made of the same material as Translucent’s skin. Butcher takes the bullet loads a gun and fires it towards Translucent who is still in the cage. The bullet bounces around the room and does not hit Translucent. The bullet ripped the whole in the ceiling. Butcher leaves Frenchie and Hughie to follow up on an idea he has.

Madelyn walks up to an employee in tech support and asks where Translucent’s chip has been found. The employee can only provide a radius because the transmitter chip is glitching.

The Deep and Starlight are on their team mission. Starlight stands up to The Deep telling him that she will never fall for his shit again. She tells him that everyone thinks he’s a joke and if he ever touches her again she will burn his eyes out. The criminals arrive. Starlight enters the building in the front and The Deep covers the back. They stop the criminals and the Ashley appears with video cameras.

Butcher goes to see Agent Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito) at her house and asks to look her files about superheroes. She refuses stating the Mallory files are too dangerous. She asks him to stop pursuing the heroes.

Hughie brings Translucent a glass of water. He asks Translucent where A-Train was running the day Robin died. Translucent does not provide him any information. The van pulls up outside the restaurant and two men in black exit it. They look in the window and do not see anyone. They leave.

Madelyn is walking through a charity dinner. She greets Senator Calhoun (David Andrews). The Senator tells Madelyn that national defense will not accept superheroes to fight for the U.S. military. The politicians all answer to the voters who prefer the Armed Forces and weapons.

Starlight is walking down the street and sees two men sexually assaulting a woman. She walks up and tells them to stop. When they refuse Starlight fights them with her superpowers while the girl runs away.

Hughie asks Frenchie if he kills superheroes for living. Frenchie responds that he kills for whoever can pay, sometimes including superheroes. Hughie asks what killing someone feels like. Frenchie tells him that each person he kills is a scar that he carries with him.

The Senator is in bed with a naked woman. She blindfolds him. She morphs into a large man and takes pictures of the two of them together without his knowledge.

Starlight returns to Vought Headquarters and walks up to Homelander who is staring at a picture of himself. She greets him and tells him she’s going to bed. Homelander is actually looking through the wall watching Madelyn.

Ashley yells at Starlight for intervening in the sexual assault. A video has surfaced of Starlight fighting the two men with no woman in sight. Ashley tells Starlight she now has to meet with all of the teams including legal the next day.

The Senator is sitting in Stillwell’s office and she displays the pictures of the governor with the man from the night before in bed. He states that was not him and he was with a woman of legal age named Rhonda. Stillwell morphs into a man sitting on the couch. The real Stillwell walks in and threatens to use the pictures against the governor if he does not push for superheroes and national offense

Homelander visits tech support and asks if they can track Translucent. The employee tells him where Translucent was last so he can track Translucent himself.

Frankie tells Hughie and the Butcher that he figured out how to kill Translucent. Frankie is going to place a bomb up Translucent’s bum. The bomb would be activated if Translucent stuck a finger in his bum or a trigger was activated. Translucent offers to give them information to set him free. He tells them that A-Train goes to see a woman named Popclaw. The guys refuse to meet his pleads for freedom. They see Homelander flying by in their video surveillance monitor. If the bomb explodes Homelander could hear using his super hearing to find them. Butcher and Frenchie must distract Homelander. Frenchie calls his girlfriend and tells her “It’s a burn.”

Translucent urinates in the water cup and pours the urine onto the electricity board that was surging into the cage causing the electricity to short out. Translucent escapes and encounters Hughie holding the trigger of the bomb. Homelander stops Frenchie and starts to interrogate him. Frenchie’s girlfriend sets off an explosion. The explosion draws Homelander’s attention and he flies away. Hughie is unable to convince Translucent to go back in the cage. He ends up pulling the trigger sending Translucent into a bloody mess splattered all over the walls and floor.