Amazon Prime Video’s Original Series The Boys episode seven starts with Karl Urban’s Butcher and Jack Quaid’s Hughie discussing how to find Ryan Blakely’s Mindstorm so, they can keep their deal with Jensen Ackles’s Soldier Boy by helping kill his former teammates at Vought due to their betrayal. That way, Soldier Boy can have his revenge on his former team and then help kill Antony Starr’s Homelander as promised. The viewer ends up finding out that Mindstorm is bipolar. What is interesting about this is that his mind powers could be the reason he has a challenging time with people, as well as act as a trigger for a mood swing. The fact that he can see the terrible deeds done by others can be scarring. It could lead to him believing that all people are not to be trusted due to the past mistakes of others. Mixed that in with a mental health disease that can cause someone to have suicidal thoughts and that’s recipe for a disaster waiting to happen.
The next time the viewer sees Homelander is when he talks to Dominique McElligott’s Queen Maeve with the intention of getting her to turn on The Boys. This is due to him knowing that she has been feeding them information on everything that goes on. That way Homelander can kill all of them using Maeve, before he is killed by Soldier Boy. During this conversation they reveal a bit of their mentality as a result of Homelander losing his fight with Soldier Boy. On one hand, Homelander wants to stop Soldier Boy before he comes to kill him by taking his powers away. Homelander feels if his powers are gone then he will have no love and be a nobody. That is why he will stop at nothing to get rid of Soldier Boy before he becomes powerless at his hands. All his life he has always been seen as a god with unlimited power at his disposal. This comes from the fact that whenever he flies down into a crowd, they touch him in a godly fashion. The most notable way they did this is by touching his chest as if the people are saying they worship him. It is no surprise with this worship he thinks that he can do whatever he wants. On the other hand, Maeve has no fear of Soldier Boy due to her wanting to become a normal person. The reason for this is she sees all the horrible things superheroes have done to people lesser themselves. She sees the entitlement the heroes have has bane of anyone’s existence in the world of The Boys. A prime example is how Homelander kills whoever he wants and takes pleasure in it. To her, killing innocent people is not the best course of action for anyone take in life. That is why she cannot wait to get rid of her powers.
Twenty-Four minutes into the episode, and the viewer sees Nathan Mitchell’s Black Noir hiding out in a rundown pizza parlor for kids to escape from Soldier Boy. It seems as if Solider Boy is the only thing that he fears. This is a result of the abuse he suffered while being a part of his team. In fact, the series finally shows why exactly Soldier Boys’ team betrayed him to the Soviet Union. And in a humorous and gruesome way, the viewer sees every member of payback as animated animals as the story is told. Apparently, Soldier Boy ruined an opportunity for Black Noir to play a leading role in a movie because he thinks Noir is not funny. This is another example of the entitlement that superheroes feel they have. As the confrontation happens, Soldier Boy proceeds to beat Black Noir out of a need to show who’s boss. In this moment, the viewer sees why Black Noir is so messed up mentally even in present day. This shows just how much Soldier Boy is similar to Homelander in the sense that they both feel a need to demonstrate dominance. Interestingly, it comes to the point that the viewer sees the exact moment the team betrays Soldier Boy. Where they ambush him when he is caught off guard during a fight with the Soviets given as how he is not focused on them. It is during this; the viewer sees how Black Noir’s face became disfigured and severely burned, as a result of Soldier Boy pressing his face against a burning car. It all comes to a climax when Solider Boy bashes his head in causing the permanent brain damage that leaves him unable to speak. This is the main reason Black Noir does not try to talk to anyone and mostly keeps to himself. Not to mention that he sees animated animals whenever he is alone with himself. A clear sign of someone with brain damage whose mind uses hallucinations to cope with a traumatic experience. Also, having gone through this ordeal is why he runs away when he finds out Soldier Boy is back. He even goes as far as to cut out a tracker that was placed inside of him just so no one can find him.
At the end of the episode, the series reveals to the viewer that Homelander is the son of Soldier Boy. Apparently, he was made from the DNA of Solider Boy that is why they appear similar in fashion. As Homelander is told this by Soldier Boy he has a look of multiple emotions. The viewer can see that the first emotion is shock from the news. Soldier Boy has been the only person Homelander has looked up to his entire life. Now knowing he was made from him changes everything he knows and was told. The next emotion is happiness, this is due him finally getting a father which is something he is always wanted. Throughout the series Homelander has starved for a parental figure in his life. Now it turns out the person he admires the most is his father; how could he not be happy about this news. The last emotion is pure rage at the realization this information was kept from him. Everyone at Vought knew how much he wanted a parent to talk to. Knowing that all along he had one and, they kept it from makes him want to set the world on fire.
Rating: 8.5/10