[Homelander finds Ryan frightened and guilty over accidentally killing Becca and brutally maiming Stormfront with his powers.]
Let's go. Come here. Come. Ryan... Ryan, come here.
[Ryan walks over to Butcher instead of to Homelander]
[beat; laughs maniacally] He's mine. What, are you gonna blow yourself up to save the little shit that fucking murdered your wife?
You're gonna let them go.
[Maeve plays the Flight 37 video on her phone and tauntingly shows it to Homelander]
Let them go. You're gonna stop hunting Starlight, you're gonna leave me and Elena alone… or I release this.
If you do that… I'll destroy everything and everyone.
Great. As long as everyone sees what a fucking monster you are. As long as no one ever loves you again.
VNVictoria Neuman
Hugh Campbell. [shakes Hughie's hand] I don't know how to repay you for what you did.
You know, I can think of a way.
You can... give me a job.
You serious? What about your team?
Don't get me wrong, I–I still wanna fight Vought. I just... I wanna do it the right way. Not covered in quite as many guts. Look, the truth is, I never totally fit in with the guys. And... I think it's time I stand on my own two feet.
Whoa, whoa, whoa. You want the Valtrex before or after?
You love that bagel so much you're gonna fake herpes?
I could have herpes. You don't think I could have herpes?
[smirks] How'd surveillance go with Termite last night?
You know, I haven't checked in with Butcher yet, but… I'm sure it went fine. [pause; Neuman gives him a look of uncertainty] Don't–No, don't give me that face.
I'll bet you a crisp $100 bill something got fucked up.
[holds her hand out] Okay, take the bet.
…I'm–I'm not gonna take the bet, but uh… [Neuman takes the bagel from him] Wow, really?
Okay, still, Butcher delivers every time.
And I have to apologize for him every time. Look, Butcher's the guy you want in a shooting war. No question. But we're in peacetime. [eats the bagel] Oh, my God. So worth the herpes.
[Robert Singer holds up a vial of green liquid that looks similar to the blue Compound V]
RSRobert Singer
V24, huh?
Marketing is still testing the name, but it's the future, Bob. One dose of this temporary V gives a soldier 24 hours of powers. Give or take. And then, they return right back to normal.
Still ironing out the kinks.
And if it's temporary, that means the DoD has to keep buying doses. At how much a hit?
So over the course of a month-long operation, that's sixty million per soldier. Six hundred million per squad.
Campaign going well, is it?
I appreciate your contribution to my super PAC.
People do love a cowboy in the White House. I hear they're even calling you Dakota Bob. So how would it look if you pass up the opportunity to give our brave soldiers superpowers?
Supes in the Army are an unmitigated shitshow. What Black Noir did to that Hard Rock Café in Lagos should be brought up on war crimes.
[closes the conference room doors] You're right.
You are absolutely right. The problem, of course, was making the Super into heroes.
Making them figures to be worshiped. The fame, the movies, the depraved sex? It ruined them. Cone of silence–in five years, I hope to be out of the superhero business entirely.
This should be a serious company. A defense and pharmaceutical company. Not a daycare dealing with spoiled children and dead prostitutes. But the point is, you won't have to worry about any of that, because your soldiers will only be super temporarily. The product, finally perfected.
Stan, when you say Compound V...
Do you know what the public hears? Gestapo. Swastika. And that's your fault; you used a Nazi to sell it! Compound V is radio-fucking-active. It's not gonna fly in Congress.
I still have a few strings that I can pull in Congress...
Excuse me, Starlight. I need the room. I got a meeting with Stan.
Actually, I invited you both. Have a seat.
[Homelander gets upset when Edgar takes his seat at the head of the table. He begrudgingly sits down in the chair next to him.]
I remember when you first arrived, Starlight. A farm girl from Kansas. Bright-eyed like Dorothy in Oz.
ASAnnie/Starlight
Iowa. And not a farm.
Oh, well, look how far you've come. Polling at 96, a new Vought record. I don't have to tell you that our brand has been a bit tarnished since that [looks at Homelander] nasty business last year. But you have restored a wholesome, trustworthy image to the company when we needed it the most. Which is why the board wants to make you co-captain of The Seven.
ASAnnie/Starlight
Co… Co-captain? [stammers] But–But... [chuckles] Homelander is captain. [to Homelander] I mean, you're–you're captain.
This will be beneficial to you both. [to Homelander] Your numbers are down… What, double digits? The public still associates you with Stormfront. This would be a real bump. A rising tide lifts all boats.
That's very thoughtful of you, Stan. Um… When does the board vote?
They already did this morning. All that's left is for Starlight to say yes.
ASAnnie/Starlight
No. I mean–I mean, I'm flattered. Thank you, but no thank you. If anybody, it should be Maeve.
Nobody does. Except you, apparently.
Homelander, could you give us a moment?
Look, I'd really like to keep discussing this.
Absolutely. Set a time with Samantha, and we'll get you in.
[pause; laughs angrily] Great. No problem.
My schedule is pretty full, but I'll try and find you a window.
[Homelander walks out of the conference room. He turns around and stares coldly at Annie and Edgar as the doors shut on him]
ASAnnie/Starlight
Okay, sir, there is no way. I mean, you saw him.
He can get as pissy as he wants. As long as I'm CEO of Vought, he's under control. And we both know why.
ASAnnie/Starlight
You know that he can–he can probably hear you.
Good. I hope he does. Starlight, real power… [mimics Annie shooting light with her hands] isn't this. It's the ability to bend the world to your will. You would decide what The Seven do, what causes they support. Full authority to fill the team's empty slots. [gets up and pushes the chair Homelander was sitting on next to his] I'm offering you real power. You should think about it.
You want one? I’ll go grab a PA–
Oh, no. No. Thank you, though. [walks up to A-Train] I see you got the extra whipped cream in there, huh?
Yummers. Guess you wanted to cram in as much fat fuck as possible, huh?
[confused] …Did I do something wrong?
You think I haven’t seen you [pokes A-Train's stomach] shoving back two dozen cupcakes in the break room? Nine servings on Miro's truffle risotto night [pokes A-Train again] Hmm?
Hey, man… You know I need 30,000 calories a day.
Maybe when you actually ran you did. But now, you’re just eating your feelings, making us look ridiculous. [pause] “The Fastest Man Alive”, what a fuckin’ joke. [walks away]
[whispering under his breath] Fuck you, man.
[stops walking] What did you say?
[Homelander quickly walks back to A-Train and grabs him by the back of his neck]
I’m sorry! Shit! I’m so sorry, I–I didn’t mean it!
Say it. [activates laser eyes; A-Train drops his shake] SAY IT!
[Homelander lets go of A-Train and walks away]
[Queen Maeve is secretly working with Butcher to investigate a secret weapon that could kill Homelander]
I heard Termite walked. My lead was good. What happened?
Well, we gotta talk. I think I have something.
[Maeve hands Butcher an archived memorandum file on Soldier Boy]
Stoppin' a nuclear meltdown in Ohio. '83, '84 I think. Got buried beneath a reactor. Always thought it was bollocks.
Yeah, you thought right. Read.
[looks at the file again] What's B.C.L. Red?
If you believe the rumors, it's the thing that killed Soldier Boy. Some kind of gun or weapon or something.
Had to have been a fuckin' H-bomb. He was nearly as strong as… [pause; sees Maeve smiling] Ah.
If we can find this weapon–or whatever it is–maybe we can use it to blow Homelander's fucking brains out.
If it is real, and not some fuckin' fable.
[Butcher flips through the files and finds a photograph of Soldier Boy standing in the center of a group of other Supes]
Payback. [scoffs] What a bunch of fuckin' wankers.
I'll say. When The Seven passed them as the number one super team, Crimson Countess sent me a box of cat shit. She was fucking Soldier Boy, and Gunpowder was his sidekick. If anyone knows what happened to him, they do.
[looks at the photo again and sees Black Noir] Your mate Noir was in Payback. Why don't you ask him?
[chuckles] Even if that walking tumor could talk, it wouldn't be to me. Here.
[Butcher receives three vials of V24 from Maeve]
It's Temp V. One shot makes you a Supe for 24 hours. I mean, they think. It's still in R&D.
Oh, great. So powers, maybe. Maybe my bollocks swell up like footballs, yeah?
Payback may be a bunch of fuckholes, but they're strong. And they're dangerous. If you're going against them, you're gonna need it.
And what makes you think that me, of all people, would wanna turn into one of you?
This is our best chance to kill Homelander. Don't fuck it up.
[Butcher hears somebody near his apartment just as he's about to pour out the V24. He hides the V24 vials in a bulldog-shaped cookie jar before going out to investigate. Butcher enters the living room and sees Homelander outside staring at him from his balcony]
[opens balcony door] If you wanna watch me have a wank, it'll cost you a tenner.
[Cut to Butcher in his kitchen making tea with Homelander inside]
He's at 673 Nosh My Bollocks Ave. You want a pen and paper?
You know, I could just... pull you apart, limb by limb. Make you tell me.
Nah, that'd be worthless. Victim always goes into shock. You gotta start small. Fingers, toenails, ears...
He's my son, William. My family. I'm gonna find him sooner or later.
[pause] Look, uh... I don't mean to be rude, but can we just skip to the part where you laser my fuckin' brains out?
Oh, for Christ's sakes. Where's the sport in that? I mean, look at you. It'd be like putting down a wounded dog.
You're the one with your tail between your legs on all them fuckin' talk shows. And then, they go and make Starlight co-captain? That's gotta sting.
[smiles] Touché, William. Touché.
[disgusted] Vought. And the fucking Bureau. The wheeling and dealing, and–and giving and taking, just to keep everything... exactly the same. And you and me? Well, they treat us like old playthings and put us up on the fucking shelf. Treat us like we're obsolete. Doesn't that make you angry?
What if... What if it doesn't have to be that way? What if you and I... Well, what if we share a different destiny? Something a little more... scorched earth. Shock and awe. Blood and bone. And in the end, only one of us left standing. [beat] Isn't that what you want?
Too fuckin' right. More than anything.
[Butcher glances at the cookie jar then at Homelander's seat, which is now vacant]
[Butcher tries to convince M.M. to rejoin the Boys. M.M.'s daughter, Janine, is also present.]
MSMother's Milk
Okay, one, you don't just pop up here. You call first. And, two, eff Soldier Boy. I don't give a mothereffin' doo-doo how he checked out.
Ah, bollocks. He didn't die like no hero. I'll wager he went out on his knees, beggin' like a right cunt.
MSMother's Milk
What the f…?
[to Janine] Sorry, love. [to M.M.] Look, if there's a weapon out there that killed Soldier Boy, then it can kill Homelander. And that's gotta be worth something. Now, we're workin' our way through his old team. Frenchie and Kimiko are startin' with the Crimson Countess, and I'm gonna hit up Gunpowder.
MSMother's Milk
Sounds like you got everything covered.
This ain't just anyone; it's Soldier Boy. You could close the book on him once and for all. For your dad. Your family.
MSMother's Milk
Fuck off with that shit. [pause] My father died hunched over a desk, obsessing over a dead man while he was ignoring his two living children. And I almost did the same thing to her. [points at the door] Thanks for coming by.
[beat; looks at Janine] You're doin' a bang-up job with her, mate.
[Annie refuses to sing a sexy rendition of "Happy Birthday" to Homelander for his televised birthday celebration]
ASAnnie/Starlight
For the record, I know you don't care whether I sing or not. This is a juvenile attempt to get me to look like a sex doll instead of a co-captain. [Homelander chuckles] I'm not doing it.
I have an idea: Why don't you lighten the fuck up? Come on, you're gonna sing the shit out of this song. Ready? Let's hit it.
[chimes in over the PA] If Starlight doesn't want to sing, she doesn't sing.
Our testing shows that 76 percent of likely viewers will make every effort to watch it tonight for Starlight. As for you, 53 percent might DVR. I think that that means that she can call her own shots, don't you?
So how about I just walk, Stan? How would that rate?
After the PR hole you dug for yourself this past year, I'd say you're lucky we're even putting on this farce at all. But hey, it's your party. You can cry if you want to.
[standing besides Gunpowder at the washroom urinal] 'Scuse me, Mr. Powder. I'm your number one fan. I've bought all your rifles. Every one of 'em. That Vought VR-15? Ooh…
GGunpowder
That is a hell of a gun. Smooth trigger pull.
Smooth. I'd shake your hand, but uh… Well, you know.
GGunpowder
Well, I appreciate that.
Yeah, I followed you since your Payback days. I mean, fourteen years old, picked to be Soldier Boy's sidekick.
GGunpowder
He was a great man. Well, it's nice meeting you, buddy.
You must've been chuffed, eh? Helpin' him on those missions, lettin' him watch you on the bog, stick his finger up your bum a bit, give him a sloppy little nosh. All in a day's work for a young ward, innit?
GGunpowder
Like I haven't heard that sidekick pedo shit a thousand times before. Why don't you do me a big favor, buddy, and fuck off!
You're right. I'm sorry. That's a filthy unsubstantiated rumour.
GGunpowder
Goddamn right it is.
[holds up paper] Till now. This is a complaint you filed to Vought, beggin' to be taken off Payback on account of, and I quote, "Soldier Boy's habitual abuse". Of course, they buried it–Vought bein' the cunts they are.
GGunpowder
That right there is a fake.
GGunpowder
I'm sorry, who are you?
I told you. Biggest fan. And I wanna help ya. Keep shtum. It'd be a cryin' shame if your red-meat faithful out there found out you were Soldier Boy's underage nob-gobbler. Now, all I wanna know is what happened to him, and you're gonna tell me.
GGunpowder
Or maybe I put a bullet in your head.
You do that, and it'll be all over the interweb within an hour.
GGunpowder
See, buddy, I don't give a shit. 'Cause that never happened. Soldier Boy never touched me like that!
[Homelander arrives to save a woman named Chelsea from jumping off the edge of a building]
Hi, Chelsea. It's your lucky day. Well, considering you're my annual birthday save.
CChelsea
Don't come any closer.
Life is a precious gift. To throw yours away would be a real slap in the Lord's face, don't you think? You don't wanna go to Hell for all eternity, do you?
Alright. Well, regardless, just step back from the ledge, please.
[Ashley is giving direction to the camera crew on the street below them]
Okay, that's good. Just don't be afraid of the zoom. You're not Roger Deakins. Mike, frame up. He could be flying down any second.
[checks an alert on her phone and looks up] Oh, fuck!
Come on, look. I'm here now. If you jump, I'm just gonna fly down and save you anyway. It's all futile and...
[Homelander notices a breaking news story about Stormfront's suicide on a billboard]
She–She wouldn't… It's my... It's my birthday. She... [beat; to Chelsea] You probably don't know this–because, you know, Jew–but Jesus wasn't born on the 25th of December. That was piggybacked off a pagan festival, and guess what? Today is not my birthday either. Nope. Don't know when it is, but sure as hell ain't today. This was just chosen for me by a marketing department. I mean, I can't even have a birthday at all. I wasn't born. I was just poured out of a fucking test tube. Immaculate conception. I know exactly how he must have felt. Jesus. You give and you give… [stutters] You give your whole fucking life, and what happens? People just tear you down. Why do people destroy their gods? How is it fair that you get saved while a beautiful, perfect god gets killed? [beat] You know what, Chelsea? [pause] I think you should jump.
CChelsea
I–I don't think I want to.
You don't want to? Why don't you show a little follow-through, Chelsea? Jump.
CChelsea
Please, I... I just wanna get down.
I'm not suggesting anymore. Jump.
CChelsea
No. No, please. Oh, God… Oh, God!
No, no, no. No God. The only man in the sky is me. [his eyes light up]
How the fuck did she bite off her own tongue? Stormfront Million Dollar Babied herself. It was horrible.
[Chelsea leaps from the building and lands on the ground in a sickening splat. Homelander looks down disheartened.]
Yeah, Scotty said some guy came in yesterday, asking for Nadia.
Yeah. Yeah, no, there was–there was a guy, and he... he was looking at your picture, he said your name was Nadia. Said he knew you… from, like, way back when.
You weren't gonna tell me?
Uh, no. I mean, it was just some guy off his meds, seemed like. Yeah.
I'm sorry. I–I mean, you're missing work, your hand. A lot going on. Is there something I should know?
[Annie suddenly shows up to cover for Hughie]
ASAnnie/Starlight
He was with me. I'm sorry for stealing him away from you, but… we had some things that we needed to discuss. Very loudly, actually. We made quite the scene at Panera.
ASAnnie/Starlight
I mean, it's a miracle nobody recognized me.
Yeah, sorry. I was–I was trying to preserve just a tiny, little shred of my dignity, but uh… we had a fight.
ASAnnie/Starlight
We didn't leave things in the greatest place, so I thought I would come by and…
ASAnnie/Starlight
Well, I was worried about you.
Yeah, well, you know I can handle some things by myself, right?
ASAnnie/Starlight
Okay, I'm just trying to help.
I don't always need your help. I mean, you don't have to treat me like I'm a kid.
ASAnnie/Starlight
Here I was thinking that I was treating you like my boyfriend.
You know, this is actually none of my business, so I'm just–I'm gonna go. Good luck with all of that. Oh, and Hughie?
Cut her some slack. You shouldn't be afraid of a powerful woman.
Hey, um… Frenchie told me about Crimson Countess. What the hell happened?
We was chasin' down something, but… I–I'm gonna knock it on the head. You was right the other day. Things are good. Ryan's good. I should leave it well enough alone before I go and fuck it all up. [pause; Hughie is silent] You there?
Yeah, she's pretty much Stan Edgar's daughter, too. Past year of my life has been a waste. I thought we could fight Vought the right way, but we can't. It's all rigged. If we're gonna take them down, we have to do whatever it takes. We have to do it your way.
