Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for The Boys Season 5 Episode 7.
We’re down to the final two episodes of The Boys Season 5. It’s been a tumultuous run, kicking off with the murder of Reggie/A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) at the hands of Homelander (Antony Starr), the race to get a hold of V1, the reawakening of Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), and the deaths of Firecracker (Valorie Curry) and Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchell). That’s just the tip of the iceberg, as last week’s episode sees Soldier Boy seemingly aligning himself with Homelander, giving him V1 after a fight with Bombsight (Mason Dye). This week marks the penultimate episode of the series, titled “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk,” and includes Homelander making some major changes within both Vought and the U.S. government, the return of two major characters from Gen V, and another major death in the main cast.
Episode 7 opens with Oh Father (Daveed Diggs) rehearsing for the Democratic Church of America’s Easter Sunday service. Homelander isn’t present; instead, he’s away in Washington, DC, meeting with President Calhoun (David Andrews) and Vice President Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie). In another eerily relevant image for the series, Homelander sits at the president’s desk in the Oval Office. On the nose, sure, but relevant nonetheless. Homelander demands that the Democratic Church of America become the official national religion of the country and that Calhoun dissolve the separation of Church and State. Calhoun attempts to tell Homelander that he’d need Congress’s approval to make that happen, but Homelander balks at the idea. He then orders Other Ashley to read Calhoun’s mind, where he finally hears the president’s true thoughts: he is scared for his life and believes Homelander is psychotic. Homelander walks up to Calhoun and tells him, “I’m not angry, but I am disappointed.”** Homelander then grabs Calhoun’s head, pops it like a zit, and walks out of the Oval Office**, as a terrified Ashley stands alone, stunned.
Annie (Erin Moriarty) and MM (Laz Alonso) are meeting with Gen V’s Marie Moreau (Jaz Sinclair) and Jordan Li (London Thor)**, who have received intel from their friend Emma (Lizze Broadway) that Oh Father has been spending a lot of time at Vought Studios as of late. Annie then tells the two to get lost, which upsets them. Marie quotes Annie’s audition tape for the Seven: “Since when did hopeful and naive become the same thing?” Annie bluntly responds, “I was naive.” Marie and Jordan leave, with the former saying, “I guess you’re not who I thought you were, Annie.”
Hughie (Jack Quaid) is trying to rest but is awakened by Kimiko’s (Karen Fukuhara) screams of agony. He finds her in a chamber of radiation with her skin peeling as Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) and Frenchie (Tomer Capone) study her. They explain that they are trying to give Kimiko Soldier Boy’s powers, which will allow them to depower Homelander. Annie and MM see the sickly Kimiko and immediately believe it was Butcher’s idea, but Kimiko steps in and tells them it was hers. Annie and MM proceed to update the rest of the team about Oh Father’s location, with Butcher proposing that he and Hughie break into Vought Studios. Hughie isn’t so keen on the idea, stating that they have already lost. Desperate, Butcher gives the team a pep talk about Posh Spice, claiming that she was the weakest member of the Spice Girls, but she never gave up.
The Deep (Chace Crawford) is called into The Seven’s conference room for a one-on-one with Homelander. He admits that he killed Black Noir II and apologizes, with Homelander telling him he has nothing to worry about, since** he’s dissolving the Seven**. The Deep tearfully pleads with Homelander, begging him to be allowed to lead the team, as he has nothing left. Homelander doesn’t give in and sends The Deep away.
Butcher, Hughie, Annie, and MM make their way into Vought Studios, with Butcher telling the latter two to work while he and Hughie team up. Annie and MM find The Worm (Ely Henry) directing the series finale of the Vought+ series American Eagle, complete with an actress playing an exaggerated version of Starlight. Back at the base, Frenchie asks Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) for help with giving Kimiko Soldier Boy’s powers right as she is getting ready to lobotomize herself again. Sage scoffs at Frenchie’s profession of love for Kimiko, telling Frenchie that love is the one thing that blindsided her, as it was what made Soldier Boy finally align himself with Homelander. In the aftermath, she feels her powers are now useless.
Butcher and Hughie make their way to a soundstage where they spot Oh Father talking to Synapse (Steven Yaffee), one of the psychics displayed on the bulletin board at Oh Father’s church. As Butcher and Hughie try to make their way out, Synapse spots them and knocks them out. The Deep sits alone at a dock, drinking beers, and throws a can into the ocean. One of his former sealife friends, Xander the Shark (Samuel L. Jackson), tells him to pick up his trash. The Deep continuously refuses, claiming he’s had a rough day. Xander then angrily tells The Deep that all sealife knows he is responsible for the “pipeline genocide” and no longer wants anything to do with him.
Ashley, now the president, sits in the Oval Office as Other Ashley tells her that now is their chance to step in and stop Homelander. Ashley refuses, still in fear for her life, and Other Ashley informs Ashley that they are no longer allies. Back on the studio lot, Annie and Mother’s Milk find Oh Father leading a focus group for a first look at “Homelander’s next chapter.” Oh Father takes the focus group to a room guarded by more psychics, as well as Dogknott (Zach McGowan) and Sheline (Emma Elle Paterson). Annie and MM hide in the projection booth of the screening room as the focus group is shown a corny, unfinished film about Jesus Christ (Matthew Lindholm) giving Homelander his crown of thorns.
Homelander enthusiastically shows Soldier Boy his plans for a new Vought theme park called “HomeLand,” referring to it as the next phase of his “reboot.” He’s even planned an area honoring Soldier Boy, who isn’t impressed. Soldier Boy then tells Homelander that he is leaving for Borgatov as he no longer wants any part of Homelander’s plan. He reminds Homelander that the only reason why he gave him the V1 was that it was what Stormfront (Aya Cash) would have wanted, telling him, “You’re no god.” Enraged, Homelander screams at Soldier Boy, “I am God,” and places him in a chokehold, knocking him out.
Hughie and Butcher wake up, chained to chairs in a boardroom. Hughie suggests that Butcher use his tentacles to free them, but Butcher admits that Synapse has deactivated his powers. Hughie laments once more that they failed, before Butcher insists otherwise: “We’re going all the way, no matter the cost, ‘til the job’s fucking done.” Frenchie watches Kimiko as she subjects herself to the radiation chamber once more. Frenchie begs her to stop, as she is barely healing, and if she continues, she will die. He then comforts her, telling her about his plans of settling down once they have killed Homelander. When Kimiko experiences a seizure, Frenchie finds Sage, who is still lobotomized, and begs for her to help them; she finally agrees to do so, at least once she has regained her smarts.
Synapse mimics Hughie’s voice and calls Annie, asking where she is, and she gives him her location. While continuing to watch Oh Father talk with the focus group, Annie says, “What is the point of saving those who don’t want to be saved?” In response, MM tells Annie the story of how he got his nickname. When he was a kid, he saved a sick pigeon and attempted to nurse it back to health. He was then bullied by the kids on his block, who called him “Mother’s Milk,” but instead of rejecting the name, he embraced it as a badge of honor. He tells Annie that being cynical is easy and that “giving a shit doesn’t make you soft. It’s hard as hell.” They then overhear Sheline and Dogknott making their way into the room and proceed to hide in the vents. As it turns out, they aren’t hunting for Annie and MM, and proceed to sniff each other’s butts. While this moment isn’t out of character for The Boys, it takes away some of the episode’s momentum. It’s the penultimate hour; we don’t need to see some weird gag involving two unimportant side characters.
It is then revealed that Homelander has placed Soldier Boy back into his hibernation chamber. He receives a call from Oh Father, who tells him that they have caught Butcher and Hughie, but haven’t killed them yet. Homelander tells him to wait, as he wants to find Sage first. In speaking with the focus group, Oh Father begins to feel concerned upon realizing that only six of the 30 attendees actually believe Homelander is God. The Deep calls his manager, begging for help, but becomes distracted when he sees a child drowning in the water. Civilians on shore beg him to save the young boy, and his manager, who overhears the commotion, tells him that saving the child will give him good publicity. Instead of diving in, The Deep cowardly runs away, leaving the kid to die.
Synapse begins to interrogate Butcher and Hughie, transforming into Joe Kessler (Jeffrey Dean Morgan). He taunts Butcher about letting his Special Forces squadron die to take out a target. Synapse then leaves, having gathered all the information that he needs from Butcher, including Kimiko’s plot and Sage’s assistance. A desperate Oh Father finally snaps, calling out the focus group for not truly believing that Homelander is God, and locks them inside the screening room, ordering Sheline and Dogknott to dispose of them. Annie and MM rush in and fight off Sheline and Dogknott, ultimately killing them and freeing the focus group. Synapse returns to Butcher and Hughie to continue the interrogation, but this time, Hughie begins taunting Synapse about his dead brother, distracting him enough for Butcher to regain his powers and kill him.
Annie and MM locate Marie and Jordan and apologize for their actions earlier, and the Gen V duo agrees to help them in their fight. Back at the base, Frenchie and Kimiko continue their testing with the radiation chamber, but just as Kimiko limps out of the chamber, Homelander arrives, giving them no time to escape. Frenchie tells Sage and Kimiko to hide while he distracts Homelander, who finds him using his X-ray vision. Frenchie locks himself and Homelander inside the radiation chamber and turns it on. Homelander is unfazed by the radiation and leaves, as Frenchie begins to die. Kimiko rushes out of hiding and sees Frenchie stumbling out into the lab, collapsing on the floor. Kimiko gives Frenchie one last kiss as he dies in her arms. Butcher and Hughie rush in and find a hysterical Kimiko holding onto Frenchie’s body.
Similar to last week’s episode, “The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother’s Milk,” has a rocky start but a strong conclusion. While Hughie and Annie’s romance has typically been the heart of the series, Episode 7 cements the love between Kimiko and Frenchie as the emotional core of the final season. Frenchie hasn’t always been the most beloved character, but his ultimate sacrifice feels impactful and sets the stage for a high-stakes final episode. That said, fans of Gen V may be disappointed with the roles Marie and Jordan are given. It feels as if their roles were cut down, as if the creative team already knew that* Gen V* wasn’t going to get a third season. The scenes with Sheline and Dogknott were unnecessary and added nothing to the episode. Standing on its own, this week’s episode is a decent one, but as The Boys’ penultimate hour, it feels more like wasted potential.
](/tag/the-boys/) If this wasn’t the penultimate episode of The Boys, this hour would have worked, but in the lead-up to the series finale it leaves a lot to be desired.