The Boys Season 2 – Episode 7 Review – “Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker”

I know what you’re thinking. Minds… blown. I also mean that in the literal sense. Forgive me for the terrible pun. Let’s move on. This week, everything came to a head (last one), and in ruthlessly bloody fashion. With Homelander and Stormfront snatching Ryan away from poor old Becca, Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum steps back into the fray to testify against Vought. As Starlight languishes in a supe-proof cell for being exposed as a traitor, Hughie and Lamplighter head to Vought Tower to rescue her, with some rather dramatic results. Then there’s that ending.

For a recap of The Boys Season 2 so far, hit the link here to refresh your brain. 

In the build-up to a judicial hearing against Vought, all of the major players from Lamplighter to Dr. Jonah Vogelbaum are preparing to testify following the Compound-V fallout. Threatened by Butcher over a cup of tea, Vogelbaum is coerced into helping them in their fight against Vought and the supes.

Assigned to protect Lamplighter (the chief witness for the hearing), Hughie encourages him to help rescue Starlight from Vought Tower, and in a rather disappointing twist, my favorite flame-throwing supe commits suicide by setting himself ablaze, after I’d hoped he’d have a little more screen-time. 

But still, Hughie got his girl back, so it wasn’t a complete disaster. Onto the Butchers. Becca needs a break as Stormfront and Homelander rock up to turn Ryan against her and leave with her son. Billy contends with his past as he meets his mum and deals with his estranged abusive father.

At this point, with one episode remaining, I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling a little let down by the lack of screen-time for Butcher’s wife, considering his entire mission was to find her and bring her home. Yes, she stayed at the compound for her son, but it’d appear that her character is now the only living soul to testify against Vought and the supes. 

Instead, Shantel VanSanten’s Becca has felt a little underplayed, undervalued and if anything, a little clumsy from a narrative standpoint. She’s just there, and nothing’s happening for her. Even Ryan, our mini-Homelander, has done very little, a terrifying prospect if a child decided to use his powers for the bad. This brings me onto the highlight of the episode and perhaps one of the major talking points to Season 2.

Who is behind the exploding heads business?

As the judicial hearing is about to begin, with Vogelbaum sworn in and ready to confess everything, several heads begin to explode. Vogelbaum and Shockwave most notable among the casualties. This of course is not the first time we’ve witnessed a human head explode. Remember Raynor from Episode 1?

The biggest question remains then, who’s the head-smattering saboteur behind this latest massacre? Most fingers are pointed to Stormfront, considering her Liberty connection. There’s also Cindy, our telekinetic supe inmate from Sage Grove last week.

Then there’s Ryan, the Church of the Collective (who’ve been severely underplayed this season), not to mention Kimiko who, if you look closely, watches the television with a face of fury. Could she be the said saboteur?

Or even Becca Butcher. Imagine that. Judging by Episode 7’s turn of events, it’d be anyone’s guess as to how this second season of The Boys will conclude. With all key witnesses for the trial dead, what can The Boys do now? Just where is this all heading? 

That’s the last head pun, I promise. 

Author
Matt Bailey

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