Episodes 01

“Payback”

One year after the Stormfront scandal, the Boys work as contractors for Victoria Neuman’s Bureau of Superhuman Affairs to apprehend rogue Supes, with Hughie Campbell as their liaison. Vought CEO Stan Edgar appoints Annie January, who is now publicly dating Hughie, co-captain of the Seven to repair Vought International’s reputation and unsuccessfully attempts to sell V24, a Compound V variant that temporarily grants superpowers, to U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Singer. Queen Maeve secretly works with Billy Butcher and has him investigate Payback – a disbanded superhero team whose leader Soldier Boy mysteriously died – in hopes of finding a weapon capable of killing Homelander. She also gives Butcher several vials of V24, which he considers using. Hughie encounters a man named Tony, who claims to be Neuman’s best friend and calls her “Nadia”. Suspicious, Hughie tails the pair into an alley, where Tony urges her to tell the truth about “Red River”. She refuses, prompting Tony to retaliate before she kills him with her powers, unaware of Hughie’s presence.

Episodes 02

“The Only Man In The Sky”

As the Boys investigate Soldier Boy’s death, Hughie visits Red River, an orphanage for superpowered children^[a] and copies its records, learning that Neuman is Edgar’s adopted daughter. Frenchie and Kimiko confront Soldier Boy’s widow Crimson Countess at a Vought theme park, but she escapes and mistakenly kills an innocent bystander in the process. After learning of Neuman’s powers from Hughie, Butcher takes a dose of V24 and uses it to kill Soldier Boy’s former sidekick, Gunpowder. Before dying, Gunpowder informs Butcher that Soldier Boy died in Nicaragua while on a CIA mission led by Colonel Grace Mallory. Mother’s Milk (MM) rejoins the Boys, seeking to avenge his family’s death at Soldier Boy’s hands. After learning that Stormfront committed suicide, Homelander lashes out during his televised birthday celebration and goes on a spiteful rant, claiming he is the world’s savior under persecution from Vought executives.

Episodes 03

“Barbary Coast”

Homelander’s approval rating among rural white males skyrockets after his rant, subjecting him to less scrutiny from Vought executives. Homelander, now believing himself to be untouchable and threatening genocide, pressures Annie into reinstating the Deep. Annie is also forced to publicly pose as Homelander’s new lover. Fearing for the safety of her ex-boyfriend Alex / Supersonic, she pleads with him not to join the Seven. However, he does so to support her. Mallory reveals to the Boys that Payback was deployed to assist the CIA against communists in Nicaragua during the Cold War, but were ambushed during an attack by Russian and Nicaraguan soldiers that left Black Noir mutilated and Soldier Boy missing in action, supposedly killed by a Russian superweapon. Butcher is enraged at Mallory for not disclosing the weapon’s existence earlier and lashes out at Ryan Butcher before storming out. He then has Frenchie contact the latter’s former boss, “Little Nina” Namenko, to arrange transport to Russia.

Episodes 04

“Glorious Five-Year Plan”

Butcher meets Nina and negotiates the Boys’ travel to Russia in exchange for assassinating one of Nina’s targets. Upon learning of the V24, Hughie asks Butcher to let him use it. Butcher refuses, but Hughie secretly takes a dose and uses it to kill one of the Russian soldiers guarding a secret laboratory. Inside, Butcher discovers a still-living Soldier Boy, who releases an energy blast that depowers and wounds Kimiko before escaping. While escaping to stabilize Kimiko, Butcher theorizes the Russians experimented on Soldier Boy. During a press conference regarding Homelander’s behavior, Neuman betrays Edgar by accusing him of corruption. In return, Homelander provides Neuman a sample of Compound V, which she injects into her daughter Zoe. Annie recruits Maeve and Supersonic to help her face Homelander. Supersonic later attempts to recruit A-Train after witnessing him being mistreated by Homelander and the Deep. However, A-Train tells Homelander of the planned coup, and Homelander later confronts Starlight with Supersonic’s corpse and threatens to kill Hughie unless Annie complies with his demands.

Episodes 05

“The Last Time to Look on This World of Lies”

Frenchie admits Kimiko to a hospital, where she is overjoyed to find she has lost her powers. She and Frenchie bond and share a kiss, but Frenchie is later kidnapped by Nina. Hughie reveals his V24 usage to a disappointed Annie. Maeve gives Butcher another batch of V24 before drinking and having sex with him. She is later captured by Noir and Homelander. Ashley Barrett is named Vought’s CEO after Edgar’s departure. A-Train tells fellow Supe, Blue Hawk, to issue a public apology for using excessive force against African-Americans, but Blue Hawk flies into a violent rage during the event, wounding several bystanders including A-Train’s brother Nathan. Upon his return to America, Soldier Boy inadvertently causes an explosion, alerting the Boys. MM, Hughie, and Butcher learn from former Vought executive, the Legend, that Soldier Boy is going after Crimson Countess before finding and incapacitating her first. Soldier Boy arrives and kills Countess as revenge for giving him up to the Russians. Butcher decides to partner with him, and Hughie goes along despite Annie’s protests.

Episodes 06

“Herogasm”

The Deep and Homelander uncover security footage of Soldier Boy killing Countess, leading Noir to cut out his tracking chip and disappear. Nina kidnaps Kimiko and Frenchie’s former partner Cherie and forces him to choose who to execute, but Kimiko frees herself and kills Nina’s henchmen while Nina escapes. Neuman privately reveals her powers to Annie and proposes an alliance, but Annie declines. Butcher and Hughie help Soldier Boy track down his former teammates in exchange for his help in killing Homelander. All parties converge at the TNT Twins’ residence in Montpelier, where they are hosting “Herogasm”, an annual Supe orgy. After the twins claim Noir also sold him out to the Russians, Soldier Boy accidentally releases another energy blast, destroying the building and killing the twins and multiple guests. Soldier Boy and an empowered Butcher and Hughie join forces to overwhelm Homelander, but he escapes before Soldier Boy can nullify his powers. A-Train uses his powers to kill Blue Hawk, then collapses from heart failure. A disillusioned Annie films a livestream announcing her departure from the Seven and publicly condemning Vought, Soldier Boy, and Homelander.

Episodes 07

“Here Comes a Candle to Light You to Bed”

Hiding out in an abandoned Buster Beaver’s pizza restaurant, Noir is visited by his imaginary friends, the pizzeria franchise’s mascots. They re-enact his abuse at Soldier Boy’s hands and the ambush in Nicaragua — he and most of the rest of Payback, sick of Soldier Boy’s abuse, conspired to trade him to the Russians on Edgar’s behalf. In the present, A-Train is successfully revived after receiving a heart transplant from Blue Hawk. Butcher, Hughie, and Soldier Boy seek Payback member Mindstorm, who subdues Butcher, trapping him in memories of his abusive father and the suicide of his little brother Lenny. Hughie convinces Mindstorm to revive Butcher in exchange for his freedom, but Soldier Boy kills Mindstorm shortly afterward. While retrieving Compound V for Kimiko at Vought, Annie discovers that V24 will kill users after three to five doses. Homelander confronts Annie regarding her livestream, but she records him confessing to his crimes and posts it on social media. Frenchie injects Compound V into Kimiko, healing her injuries and restoring her powers. Annie informs Butcher of V24’s risks, but Butcher chooses to withhold this information from Hughie. Soldier Boy calls Homelander and reveals that he is his biological father.

Episodes 08

“The Instant White-Hot Wild”

Homelander finds Ryan and reconciles with him. Unwilling to harm Hughie further, Butcher abandons him; Hughie then meets with Annie to apologize. Maeve escapes Vought’s custody and meets with Hughie, Annie, and MM. Homelander kills Noir for withholding the knowledge of him being Soldier Boy’s son. Butcher and Soldier Boy meet with the Boys, Annie, and Maeve, and trap all but Maeve in a safe room before leaving with her and Soldier Boy to kill Homelander. When Ryan attempts to save Homelander, Soldier Boy attacks him too, causing Butcher, Maeve, and the arriving Boys to fight Soldier Boy. Soldier Boy attempts to fire another blast, but Maeve tackles him out of the building while Homelander escapes with Ryan. Afterwards, the public mourns Maeve’s apparent sacrifice, unaware she is alive but depowered. Butcher is terminally ill due to his usage of V24; Annie joins the Boys; Soldier Boy is in government custody; Neuman campaigns for Vice President after the Deep murders her predecessor; and Homelander and Ryan attend a rally for the former, where Homelander murders a dissenter for attacking Ryan, to the crowd’s excitement.