The Boys – The Name of the Game

By: Nicole Rodenbaugh

Two boys are seen walking down the street talking about movies involving super heroes. An armored truck comes racing down the street with police chasing. The truck races towards the boys on the sidewalk crashing into cars. Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott) is seen running across windows and falls right in front of the armored truck smashing her body through the entire truck.

The robbers exit the armored vehicle and Maeve walks to them they are now holding the boys hostage. Laser beams melt the robber’s gun and we see Homelander (Antony Starr) fly in and land right in front of the armed robber. He tosses the robber into the air. Homeland to proceeds to take pictures with the boys and surrounding fans.

Hughie (Jack Quaid) is seen working in an electronics store. Robin (Jess Salgueiro) walks in and begins to flirt with Hughie. Robin asks Hughie to go out on a date and they both exit the electronics store. Walking down the street they talk and laugh. Robin steps off the curb, turns to Hughie and asks if they would be moving in together soon. They start to kiss. In a moment Robin is now gone and a flash of blood hits Hughie’s face with the rushing wind behind it. Behind Hughie we see Robin has now been turned into a splash of blood and body parts. A-Train (Jessie Usher) is standing there apologizing for running through her. He says he can’t stop and continues going. Hughie is standing there still holding Robin’s now detached arms and he screams out her name.

In Iowa Starlight (Erin Moriarty) is training. She is lifting a car up off the ground and punching through a wall. She appears in front of a camera interviewing for a position. The interviewer asks to see her special powers and she instructs them to look away because they will be blinded. We see a flash of light and the room is now destroyed. Starlight explains that she was born a superhero and she went to superhero pageants with her mother. All she’s ever wanted to do is save the world.

Hughie is sitting next to his father (Simon Pegg) on the couch talking about Robin’s funeral service. Hughie sees on the news that A-train is apologizing, but he states she was standing in the middle of the road. Hughie is mad about the half apology – half excuse. A man comes to the door and offers $45,000 for Hughie to sign an NDA about the accident. Hughie refuses.

Starlight is seen listening to the police scanner. Her mother (Ann Cusack) says it’s sad that there is no crime because they could use the press right now. She thinks she didn’t get the job and the phone rings. We overhear the conversation and it is clear that Starlight has landed a place in The Seven.

Hughie is at home trying to figure out how to get revenge or justice for Robin death. His dad says that he is not the kind of person that has the fight to find her justice.

Starlight is seen coming from a limo onto a red carpet with the surrounding crowd of fans screaming. A presentation states that Vought International provides heroes to towns and supports them. The Deep (Chace Crawford) comes out on stage. He explains that Lamp Lighter has retired. He introduces Starlight as his replacement and she joins him on stage. The crowd cheers.

Hughie walks into a store to grab a beer and sees A-Train promotional items everywhere. He is in shock at the images as he can’t seem to escape reminders of Robin’s death. Having a panic attack, he falls to the floor.

Starlight enters The Seven’s board room and is in awe that she is finally made her dreams come true. The Deep is explaining to her how their technology tracks criminal activity. The Deep says that he bets she had a picture of Homelander or on her wall and a giant crush on him. She confides that she had a crush on The Deep. She turns around and he has his pants off. He tells Starlight that she will need to provide him fellatio in order to become a part of The Seven. Starlight is angered at his offer. She uses her powers and breaks all of the monitors in the room. He threatens to say that she attacked him from the evidence of all the broken monitors.

Translucent (Alex Hassell) is featured on Jimmy Fallon playing in Hughie’s electronics store. Butcher (Karl Urban) walks in and grabs a nanny cam teddy bear. He explains to Hughie that people are needlessly fearful, but that fear can enable people to do extraordinary things. He tells Hughie he knows who he is and what happened to Robin. He explains he knows that Hughie did not accept the payoff from Vought. Butcher and Hughie are walking down the street. Butcher is explaining that he is a federal agent. Butcher states that the Supes are responsible for hundreds of death a year. Vought sweeps the crimes under the rug because of how much the Supes make for the company in income each year. He also explains that the general public does not want to know the truth about the Supes. This is because the public feels better knowing that the Supes are protecting them.

Butcher leads Hughie to an underground bar. A couple is floating in the sky making love to each other. A man shrinks himself down to a tiny size and dives between a woman’s legs. Ezekiel (Shaun Benson), a preacher with a pray the gay away philosophy, is seen stretching his long arms cuddled around two men on a couch. Butcher explains that this is a safe space for Supes to come and take care of their kinky needs. He shows Hughie a video of A-Train laughing about Robin’s death. Hughie is enraged and ready to take action.

Back at Vought International Starlight is vomiting into a toilet after her encounter with The Deep. At the sink she meets Maeve. Maeve tells Starlight to clean herself up and not let the rest of The Seven see her like this. Maeve tells Translucent to stop being a pervert. Now he appears, as he was sitting standing in the bathroom using his invisibility powers to spy on the women.

Butcher tells Hughie that he should tell Vought he is ready to sign the NDA, but only if but A-Train is ready to apologize in person. He will then get in and bug The Sevens boardroom. Hughie states that he is not ready to do this. Butcher urges Hughie to do this to get justice.

At Vought headquarters, Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue) is speaking to the mayor of Baltimore. She offers the Nubian Prince to protect Baltimore for $300 million a year. He threatens her with information about Compound V if she does not agree to $200 million. She acts as if she is not sure what he’s talking about, yet she tells him not to start spreading that rumor further.

Starlight is seen talking on the phone to her mother. She cannot bear to tell her mother how it is going and her experience with The Deep. Next to her Hughie is sitting and offers her comfort to get her through her work issues. He tells Starlight that Robin used to always say just because you fall on your ass doesn’t mean you need to stay there. Starlight takes his advice and tells Hughie that she’s a fighter and she’s going to fight.

Hughie walks into a bar and sits down next to Butcher. He tells Butcher that he is in. Hughie and Butcher call Vought and ask for an in person apology from A-Train. The man hangs up.

Starlight enters The Seven’s board room for her first meeting. All of The Seven are sitting in their chairs. She tells The Deep that she is here to stay. Translucent tells the team that they need to take action against copyright infringement. Homelander explains to the team that they need to worry more about who they saved this week.

Hughie and Butcher pull up to the Vought International headquarters. Butcher very quickly tells Hughie his instructions to bug The Seven’s boardroom. When Hughie balks, Butcher tells him to “quit being a cunt.” Hughie heads through security and sits in The Seven’s boardroom waiting for A-Train. A-Train walks in, apologizes and Hughie accepts it. A-Train leaves abruptly and Hughie asks for the bathroom. In the bathroom Hughie is trying to pull the bug out of his phone and he drops it on the floor. Starlight walks in fixes her mascara and leaves without seeing it. Hughie then exits the bathroom and bugs the boardroom. In the bathroom, Translucent was watching the entire time and saw Hughie drop the bug on the floor.

Butcher drives Hughie to the electronics store and explains that he now has to go back to work because he’s done his part to get justice for Robin.

Madelyn calls the Mayor of Baltimore and tells him that he can have the Nubian Prince for $230 million and he needs to keep Compound V a secret.

Hughie walks in to his shift alone at the electronics store. Hughie hears a man talking. It is Translucent who then begins to threaten Hughie. He picks up the TV and holds it over Hughie’s head. Translucent tells him to explain why he bugged the board room. He shares with Hughie that, “We are The Seven, Earth’s most mightiest, champions of the innocent, motherfucker.” Right before Translucent can drop the TV onto Hughie a car slams through the front glass right into translucent.

Hughie runs to safety and Butcher emerges from the car. Butcher begins to fight Translucent, spitting blood onto his body so that he can see Translucent’s movements. Translucent moves into a position of power in the struggle while Hughie is secretly behind him sparking an electrical cord. Translucent notices Hughie and Butcher pushes Translucent into the cord electrocuting him. Translucent is not moving and dead on the floor. Hughie is panicked and Butcher consults him telling him they need to move the body. He admits to Hughie that he is not a federal agent.

We see the governor of Boston on a flight with his son. Outside the window Homelander is seen flying next to the plane. Homelander uses his heat vision to cut the plane in half sending it crashing to the ground.