The Boys season 3, episode 3 recap: Barbary Coast

Episode 303 of Amazon Prime series The Boys begins with a young starlight (Maya Misaljevic) rehearsing for a “Little Miss Hero” pageant by performing some Britney Spears music and showing off her superpowers. However, this brief flashback stands in stark contrast to the adult Starlight, whose modern stardom is fraught with peril thanks to Homelander, who recently gave an impromptu speech that horrified her.

We learn that Homelander’s speech actually boosted his ratings significantly. Meanwhile, Billy Butcher, who set out on a fact-finding and revenge mission wherein he murdered Gunpowder, seems to feel sick after using the temporary superpowers gained by V24. However, with The Boys team all reunited, Butcher tries to hide his sickness and the fact that he acquired superpowers from Vought International’s formula.

Hughie also has things to hide from his boss, Victoria Neuman, so he has Kimiko break his arm so he can skip work to excuse his absence. Elsewhere, Frenchie gives Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) a passport.

Later, The Boys visit Grace Mallory to see Ryan. This is when we start getting more details about how Soldier Boy killed the family of Marvin T. “Mother’s” Milk.

The Boys and Starlight’s stark warning

Numerous other developments take place rather quickly, such as Starlight giving a powerful warning to her ex, Supersonic, about Homelander being an unstoppable killer. Kimiko tells Ryan that she gets scared of her own powers, which creates a bonding moment but also serves as a reminder that she feels remorse for her past violent deeds (even if some of them were defensive).

Then, Butcher asks about Mallory’s experience in Nicaragua, threatening to expose her CIA agents if she doesn’t cough up some details. That’s when we flashback to her younger days and learn of intricate (yet not entirely specific) details about “Operation Charlie,” Ronald Reagan, the Contras, the Sandinistas, and yes, selling cocaine to minority neighborhoods.

In the year 1984 flashbacks in Nicaragua, we see a younger Grace Mallory (Sarah Swire) clumsily involved with a new, ragtag group of supes called Payback. Also present are a younger Stan Edgar (Justin Davis), a young Black Noir (Fritzy-Klevans Destine), Soldier Boy, Gunpowder, Crimson Countess, and a flying supe named Swatto (Joel Labelle), who Grace chides for almost exposing their position.

This is when Crimson Countess proves to be a klutz yet again, accidentally killing some of Grace’s men after believing them to be among the attacking Sandinistas. In the ensuing chaos, Gunpowder goes nuts blowing things up, Grace Mallory is knocked unconscious, waking up to see Black Noir has had his face mutilated and Crimson Countess says Russians killed Soldier Boy.

Nothing to lose

Aside from the Nicaragua flashback, conflicts continue between Homelander and Starlight on their superhero-themed American Idol-esque competition show. Homelander rejects Silver Kincaid (Jasmin Husain) due to Islamophobia, which does not sit well with Starlight.

Then, with the return of The Deep, Starlight quietly threatens Homelander, saying she could publicly reveal the Flight 37 video of him not only letting the plane crash but threatening passengers before the tragedy. Homelander calls her bluff, freakishly noting that he’d then “have nothing to lose,” and ponders what extremes he’d go to in response, suggesting he’d take out the White House and the Pentagon, then New York City for fun.

Butcher’s blues

After those freaky moments with Homelander, Billy Butcher vomits during his meeting with The Boys, and Ryan’s super senses detect something’s wrong with him. Hughie tells Starlight they’ve learned of a weapon that could potentially kill Homelander (and Butcher gets mad at Grace Mallory for having not heard of this weapon).

Then, in a sad development, Butcher decides it’s unsafe to have a relationship with Ryan. He speaks with Ryan and, at least partially, lies by saying he blames him for what he accidentally did to Becca (Shantel VanSanten) while defending her from the attacking Stormfront.

An awkward dinner

Next, Homelander attends a seafood dinner with The Deep. To make things awkward, Homelander compares himself to MLK, saying “No one can stop me” and that he’s “free at last.”

He then makes The Deep eat “Timothy” the squid live. Of course, The Deep has a strong connection to sea life, so Homelander’s power-play proves very disturbing to him.

It also walks the thin line between Homelander playing a disgusting, cruel prank and the idea that, should The Deep refuse him in any way, Homelander could destroy him in mere seconds.

#Homelight

Supersonic becomes the newest member of The Seven on “American Hero,” and The Deep rejoins the organization as well. Homelander lies and says Starlight insisted on The Deep returning.

She has no choice but to play along. However, the real shock is when Homelander lies (again) and declares that he and Starlight are actually a couple.

He mentions the hashtag “#Homelight,” and Starlight even kisses him in the second take (the first take might have revealed her revulsion).

Other developments

Seemingly out of nowhere, Frenchie meets with the new character “Little Nina” Namenko (Katia Winter), who wants to know where Cherie (Jordana Lajoie) is regarding stolen heroin. We learn that Kimiko wants to leave with Frenchie and, presumably, lead a relatively normal life.

However, it also becomes clear that Billy Butcher wants to meet Little Nina. Kimiko’s dreams are instantly curtailed.

Still, it’s another hint that Kimiko is trying to lead a more peaceful existence. There is also mention of Nina’s husband, Yevgeny (Tyler Williams).

Nathan Franklin (Christian Keyes) talks to A-Train about Blue Hawk (Nick Wechsler) killing someone in the neighborhood. In another perhaps notable scene: The Deep has sex with Cassandra (Katy Breier) in an aquarium room, and he seemingly spends more time looking at an octopus than at her.

This further establishes The Deep as a source of dark humor for The Boys. If you don’t get that by now, you probably haven’t been paying attention!

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