The Boys – Season 3 Episode 7 “Here Comes A Candle” Recap & Review

Here Comes A Candle to Light You To Bed

Episode 7 of The Boys Season 3 starts with Ashley spinning Starlight’s confession as baseless lies. She claims Annie is just covering up for being aligned to Kimiko. And for now, that seems to work.

Meanwhile, Hughie, Butcher and Soldier Boy all convene at The Legend’s place. After regrouping, the gang center on a guy called Mindstorm. Soldier Boy warns that they need to close their eyes if he tries to make eye contact, given his powers.

On their way to Mindstorm’s place, Soldier Boy knocks a tripwire, causing an explosion. Unfortunately, when Butcher opens his eyes, Mindstorm is right in front of him. Butcher tries slamming his eyes shut but it’s too late.

Butcher ends up stuck in his own perpetual nightmare, one where he’s forced to relive memories of his past involving his abusive father and his brother who tries to help him. The only way out is for Mindstorm to reverse what he’s done, but Soldier Boy has written Butcher off as an unsalvageable casualty and claims there’s no way back.

Out on the street, a nun and priest ask Soldier Boy for help in fixing his car. Instead, he brandishes a gun and shoots them both, claiming that the pair have been brainwashed by Mindstorm. I mean, given the nun jumps at Hughie, it would appear he’s right but ether way, Hughie is shocked.

Elsewhere, Homelander heads off to visit Maeve, who’s still alive and being kept in a holding cell in Vought’s basement. Maeve is incredulous when she notices him wearing concealer, covering up a big ol’ bruise across his cheek.

Maeve refuses to give up any info about Butcher and the boys, claiming that she’s not afraid to lose her powers. Unfortunately, Homelander has other ideas. He’s keeping Maeve alive so he can take her eggs and breed their “perfect kids”.

Homelander continues to spiral out of control, going off-script and giving a press conference. He talks about Annie and how she’s a “wolf in sheep’s clothing” and how the media aren’t reporting on what she’s really doing – which includes trafficking kids. Homelander cuts himself short when he sees Soldier Boy in the crowd; a recurring motif that continues to rattle him.

Victoria Neuman catches up with Homelander afterwards and decides to take advantage of his vulnerable state. She tells him to get his act together and suggests they work as a team. If Homelander can help her out with one small favour, she’ll do the same for him.

As for Black Noir, he’s hiding, reliving memories of the past too through some trippy cartoon graphics. He’s encouraged to be brave and finish what he started regarding taking out Soldier Boy.

Kimiko and Frenchie head off and stay at MM’s place with Annie. Kimiko wants to use Compound V one more time. When Frenchie finds out, he urges her not to, pointing out she has her freedom right now.

Kimiko though has had an epiphany of sorts, deciding that her powers are not the rot cause of her problems. She wants her strength back so she can protect Frenchie.

As for MM, he speaks to Todd who has been brainwashed by Homelander’s chatter about Annie and how she’s trafficking kids. When Todd eventually tells MM he’s a bad father, he snaps and punches the guy in the face. The trouble is, his daughter is right there and watches him do this.

Annie heads off and steals the Compound V from Vought. On the table happens to be numerous notes that hint toward there being big side effects to this serum.

On her way out the door, Homelander stops her and encourages Annie to recant her statements and speak to the press. She refuses to do so and admits that she’s not scared of Homelander anymore. The thing is, Starlight happens to be recording all of this live, and it catches Homelander completely off-guard, claiming they were “rehearsing lines”.

Soldier Boy and Hughie make it to Mindstorm’s house. Hughie teleports Mindstorm out and manages to save Butcher from his nightmare, encouraging the guy to trust him. Only, Soldier Boy catches up after Butcher regains consciousness and snaps out of his nightmare. The crazed Supe pummels Mindstorm in the skull repeatedly, killing him outright.

That night, Annie rings Butcher and warns him that Temp V has side effects. Specifically, it causes lesions in the brain if you take 3-5 doses. She urges him to tell Hughie and warn him too. Instead, Butcher tells Hughie they need to grab more temp V and finish the job.

That night, Soldier Boy rings Homelander with a shocking reveal. It turns out Soldier Boy actually ejaculated into a cup in the past, which Vogelbaum used to make a kid from. And that kid? None other than Homelander.

The Episode Review

The shocking reveal at the end that Soldier Boy is actually Homelander’s father is massive and could well recontextualize this whole fight going forward. Not only that, but the temp V is actually lethal and by my count, Butcher and Hughie have taken it at least 3 times. This would explain the black gunk coming out of Butcher’s ear.

Meanwhile, Kimiko makes a big decision and chooses to take Compound V again after realizing that her powers aren’t the root cause of all her ills. That’s a nice way of showcasing just how far her character has come this season, and her arc has bee one of the better parts of this story.

It would appear that Black Noir is going to be a big part of next week’s finale, after being absent for much of this season, and the ending seems to hint that everything is gearing up for one heck of a fight.

However, realizing that Homelander and Soldier Boy are blood relatives means this conflict has just got a whole lot more messy. Could we see the pair team up together? If that happens there really would be no stopping them.