RECAP: ‘The Boys’ Season 5 Episode 3 — “Every One Of You Sons Of B*tches”

The Boys Season 5 has gotten off to an uncommonly strong start. The Boys Season 5 Episode 3, entitled “Every One of You Sons of B*tches,” directed by Karen Gaviola and written by Ellie Monahan, maintains what works in the previous two episodes without necessarily having any shocking reveals outside of one major standout scene. Without further ado, let’s dive in. Full spoilers ahead.

The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 begins in Russia, where a group of soldiers, under the cover of night, is looking for someone. Just as they believe they’ve found who they’re looking for, a shadowy figure starts tearing them apart. One soldier cowers in fear, begging for his life, as none other than Ryan (Cameron Crovetti) activates his laser eyes, apologizing that he has to do this, as he can leave no witnesses. Ryan’s reintroduction is an exciting prospect, suggesting a more anti-hero path for him following his actions at the end of the Season 4 finale.

Speaking of reintroductions, the somehow still-alive Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) is shown to the public in The Boys Season 5 Episode 3, given a medal for his “service” as he officially joins The Seven. Homelander (Antony Starr), eager for validation as always, reveals himself as Soldier Boy’s son.

Ryan’s reintroduction introduces an intriguing path for the boy but also an obstacle to future plots.

In a great exchange afterward, Soldier Boy reads Homelander to filth, expressing his discontent at Homelander essentially using him as a guinea pig for the Supe virus. One of my favorite shots in The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 sees Homelander standing small and truly alone in a hallway after this talking-to. 

Meanwhile, The Boys make a startling discovery: the reason that Soldier Boy survived the virus is that he has the original formula Frederick Vought created- V1. The Boys rightfully fear that Homelander will seek V1 out, so they go meet up with a couple of familiar faces last seen in Gen V Season 2: Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) and Zoe Neuman (Olivia Morandin).

Edgar tells the crew that Vought ran tests in the Dachau concentration camps—yet another example of the moral bankruptcy Vought has always operated under. After some code-cracking by Mother’s Milk (Laz Alonso), they discover a Fort that V1 could be located at called Fort Harmony.

Stan and Zoe are also harboring Maverick, the son of Translucent, the first Supe The Boys ever killed, all the way back in Sseason 1. Of course, Maverick is under the impression that Homelander killed his father. Maverick’s presence accentuates one of the strongest aspects of The Boys Season 5 Episode 3: Hughie (Jack Quaid) is absolutely wracked with guilt.

The very presence of Maverick is one way he feels this; another is Zoe outright scolding him for his part as a bystander in her mom’s murder. After Season 4’s infamous mistreatment of Hughie, it’s nice to actually have a storyline for him.

As Homelander is sulking in his room, a divine vision comes to him: none other than Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue). She tells him that he is destined for something greater than just being a leader. By taking V1, Homelander can become God. This scene sends shivers down the spine as The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 tips its hand at Homelander’s ultimate endgame. 

The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 shows cracks forming in philosophy when Kimiko makes a choice.

Outside of Stan Edgar’s bunker, Zoe rendezvous with Ryan. Zoe wishes to kill Butcher, but Ryan is trepidatious about it. After Zoe leaves, Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) reveals himself, and the two go for a chat at a local pub. Butcher explains to Ryan that the only way to kill his dad, therefore honoring his mom, is for Ryan and Butcher to unleash the virus on Homelander together, killing all three of them in the process. Ryan reluctantly agrees to this proposition. 

Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) go to the lab of Sameer, but it appears that Zoe has beaten them there. Not only that, she’s told him the full truth about Butcher killing Victoria, which has led Sameer to destroy seemingly all of the Supe virus he had in stock.

This development is one of the biggest blows given in The Boys Season 5 Episode 3, rivaled only by something that happens later on in the episode. In an interesting piece of character development that shows the fracture beginning within the group, Kimiko convinces Frenchie to let them both go, as they’ve suffered enough. 

Concurrently, The Deep (Chace Crawford) and Black Noir II, accompanied by Dogknott and the telekinetic Cindy, roll up to Edgar’s compound. The Boys convince Maverick to go up there in order to blow the group up with a grenade. The Deep throws this off by revealing to Maverick, who he spots instantly, that Hughie killed his father.

A super-powered skirmish occurs where Hughie is in the clutches of Cindy, only for Cindy to blow up Maverick. Starlight (Erin Moriarty) shows up just in time to snap Cindy’s neck, but her guilt at having to save Hughie, as well as the notion that she feels responsible for him, causes her to fly away. 

The Deep snatches Stan Edgar, gassing Black Noir and leaving him on the side of the road to take credit for the capture. Angst is the name of the game of The Boys Season 5 Episode 3, as Butcher- having discovered that the virus is gone- tells Ryan not to go after Homelander, as he’s useless now that the virus isn’t in his hands. Ryan doesn’t listen and goes to confront his father. 

Hughie is given something to work with plot-wise, maybe paving the way to his endgame.

In easily the best scene of The Boys Season 5 Episode 3, Ryan confronts Homelander for what he did to his mom. Homelander, disgustingly, blames his mom for the incident, saying, “She came onto me.” Ryan activates his heat vision, only for Homelander to knock him to the ground. Punch by punch, Homelander smashes his fist down on Ryan.

His expression goes from the solemn duty of having to put down someone he loves to a sick glee, as Ryan is left in a bloody pulp. Butcher discovers Ryan, still alive, as Homelander returns to Vought Tower, blood-soaked and with a renewed purpose. 

The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 is a solid entry into the final season. It maintains the momentum without doing anything especially noteworthy, aside from the scene of Homelander beating Ryan, yet it still underscores that this season is essentially The Boys and Homelander circling each other until only one remains. All in all, it’s a good, though not particularly standout, episode of a season shaping up to be an all-timer.

The Boys Season 5 Episode 3 is now streaming on Prime Video with new episodes every Wednesday.

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