“H is for Human” follows the Odessa reveal of the previous episode, further explaining how special Marie is while uncovering her connections to other key players in the plot. Marie visits Pam, a friend of her parents, who reveals that Marie was conceived in a lab under the watch of Cipher using the alias “Dr. Gold.” Marie also discovers that Pam has been raising Annabeth, the long-lost sister at the center of Marie’s emotional journey since season 1. However, Pam forbids Marie from contacting her. Cate is out of her coma, but her powers are unstable, and she struggles with exposing how Marie and Jordan were behind her attack. She’s specifically stopped by Cipher, who is concerned with her reputation. Sam tries to get Cate to make him stop feeling guilty, but she is unable, and he lashes out. He starts destroying the dorms before he’s overpowered by the school’s new top-ranked student, Jordan. Emma joins a small resistance against Homelander’s rule, allying herself with Harper and Ally. The episode concludes with Jordan giving a climactic speech, in which they go off-script, confess their feelings for Marie, defend Starlighters, and expose the truth about Andre.

Much of this episode’s quality is dependent on the intrigue of Marie’s connection to Odessa and Annabeth. Of the two, the Annabeth search is much more emotional and impactful, but the distance from season 1 and the other loud, overarching mysteries distract from it significantly. The primary consequence of this is that, when Marie meets Pam in an interaction that has been built up since the pilot, the scene ends up being cloudy with exposition and distracted with reveals of Cipher and the origins of Marie’s powers. Still, this scene manages to have some emotional interactions that poke through the exposition dumps. The highlight of the episode, yet again, is Cipher and his interactions with Cate. His mysterious, seemingly contradictory motivations pair excellently with his charm and confidence, making every scene with him incredibly engaging. 

The final bit of the episode was decently engaging, but felt very predictable and rushed. While it could be slightly attributed to the real-life distance between seasons, Jordan’s public feelings for Marie feel quite sudden. It is not that their relationship was never and can never be compelling, but the nature in which they interact seems to suggest the show’s prioritization of Jordan’s feelings for Marie as a plot point rather than a means of understanding both characters on a deeper level. Overall, the comparative strength of Cipher’s character is indicative of a larger issue plaguing these episodes and recent seasons of The Boys. The overemphasis on consistency and fear of diverging too heavily from the personalities and goals of its main characters results in most of their scenes involving them talking about something they’ve been talking about since the first season. This is especially clear with how exciting newly introduced characters are, such as Cipher, as his freshness allows him to be unpredictable, whereas the main cast goes through the predictable motions.

Rating: 5/10