Episode two of The Boys promises to take us on a wild ride. Hughie and Butcher try to figure out what to do with Translucent. Starlight is forced to work with Deep, and Madelyn schemes to get the supes in the military.
Now What Do We Do?
The first scene shows Hughie (Jack Quaid) in Butcher’s (Karl Urban) car. Butcher admits he lied about being an FBI agent — he’s actually an independent contractor. Hughie hears Translucent (Alex Hassell) moving around in the trunk, and is relieved to know he’s still alive. Butcher doesn’t share that sentiment because Translucent saw their faces. A panicked Hughie wants to get out of the car, but Butcher says if he does, he’ll never avenge Robin’s death.
They visit Frenchie (Tomer Capone), an old acquaintance of Butcher, who’s hoping Butcher’s repaying the $40K he owes. Instead, Butcher tells Frenchie he has a job for him and to open the trunk. Frenchie is greeted by an angry, cursing Translucent. Now that the supe has seen his face, Frenchie reluctantly agrees to help.
The trio switch locations to hide out and place Translucent inside an electrified cage. Frenchie and Butcher try to think of ways to kill Translucent, which horrifies Hughie. He’s not a murderer, even though sparing Translucent will put everyone’s lives in danger. Butcher tells Hughie it’s okay he’s not a killer, because Butcher is.
Carry On, Carry On
Vought International moves forward with today’s schedule despite Translucent’s absence. In his place, they send A-Train (Jessie T. Usher) to visit a terminally ill kid in the hospital. Exasperated, the kid tries to hold it together, since his dying wish was to meet Translucent. “Maybe Translucent can swing by next week…”, A-Train begins to say. The doctor shakes his head — the kid might not be alive next week. A-Train then offers to teach the kid how to run real fast if he gets better. “Really? You’ll teach me how to outrun cancer?” the kid deadpans. Awkward…
Starlight (Erin Moriarty) gets her crime itinerary for her first patrol. She tries to explain she prefers to do her own patrol. Madelyn’s assistant Ashley Barrett (Colby Minifie) and crime analytics specialist Trevor (Bill Turnbull) explain that supes trend better on social media when they team up. And of course, Starlight is paired with The Deep (Chace Crawford) — the same guy who blackmailed her into giving him a blow job in the first episode.
Next, we find Madelyn (Elisabeth Shue) in her office pumping breast milk. She hears the news that Deep found the remains of a plane carrying the mayor of Baltimore. There are no survivors. Homelander (Antony Starr) comes in with an offer to look for Translucent. Madelyn says it isn’t necessary and confronts Homelander. Deep told her there were scorch marks on the plane’s engine that matched Homelander’s eye beams. His persona is hope, pure, positive — he doesn’t do vengeance. Homelander says he only did it to protect her, and it becomes clear there’s at least a physical relationship between these two. He asks Madelyn how the mayor knew about Compound V and requests she stops hiding things from him. Madelyn tells him she needs his help to charm the congressmen.
Later, Homelander confronts Deep in the conference room. Homelander is furious over what he told Madelyn. Deep backtracks by saying he didn’t see anything. Homelander grabs him by the jugular, saying they will never have this conversation again. Then he dismisses Deep by telling him to “go fuck Shamoo in the blowhole”.
Ring the Alarm
Hughie gets a call from his dad (Simon Pegg), who’s heard news of someone driving through the store Hughie works at. Hughie insists he’s okay and lies about what he’s been up to. His father asks him to come home, telling him he’s a good, sensitive boy. Pissed, Hughie hangs up and proceeds to punch the walls until his fists are bloody.
Butcher and Frenchie come up with a special bullet they hope will kill Translucent. Hughie fails to stop Butcher from shooting, but the bullet ricochets around the room. It does, however, alert Vought HQ that Translucent’s location is within a ten block radius. Madelyn orders a team to search door to door if necessary and to be discreet.
Meanwhile, Susan Raynor (Jennifer Esposito), the deputy director of CIA Operators, finds Butcher in her house. He asks her to dig up the Mallory files, but Susan can’t do it. Butcher made that mission suicide by going after the supes. Susan makes it clear to Butcher she doesn’t have any residual feelings from their affair for him to play on. She tells him to get out of her house. Back at the hideout, Hughie gives Translucent some water and asks him questions about A-Train. Translucent explains that his power isn’t invisibility — it’s reading people and watching them when they think they’re alone. He knows Hughie is scared, while making it clear he’s the hero and Hughie is nothing. While they’re talking, a search team is scouting the area looking for Translucent.
Lights, Camera, Action
During their patrol, Deep complains to Starlight about how he’s always assigned jobs requiring water. He says it’s demeaning, which is ironic considering who he’s talking to. Starlight doesn’t respond, and her anger towards her situation causes the lights to flicker. He asks if she’s upset about what happened the other night. She tells him she knows everyone thinks he’s a joke and threatens to burn his eyes out if he touches her again. Later on, they both go after criminals selling Homelander dolls with drugs hidden inside them — with the real Homelander showing up to save the day. Ashley is there with cameras. Deep asks if they captured his dive, saying it was “fucking cherry”. And Starlight…well, she’s disgusted at how fake everything is.
Madelyn and the supes are at a party filled with congressmen. She’s trying to get the supes into National Defense, but Senator Calhoun (David Andrews) says it’s not going to happen. Nobody is going to choose her superheroes over weapons. She comes up with a plan: have one of the supes Doppelganger (Don Darin-Zanco) pass himself off as a female prostitute and seduce Senator Calhoun. In the hotel room, Doppelganger blindfolds and ties the senator to the bed. He then transforms into a man and takes pictures of them having sex.
While walking home, Starlight spots two men assaulting a woman and beats the crap out of them. This gets her into trouble with Ashley. She has footage of Starlight attacking the assailants — who claim they did nothing wrong, of course. Unfortunately, the girl was not caught on film because she ran away.
The next day, Madelyn has Calhoun in her office and shows him a video from last night of him with another man. Calhoun says it’s fake, only to witness Madelyn transform into Doppelganger. The real Madelyn enters the room and blackmails the Senator. Meanwhile, Homelander asks Crime Analytics to give him information on Translucent.
First Kill
While watching tortoises on TV, Frenchie figures out what Translucent’s vulnerability is. While his skin is diamond-like, his insides are just like everybody else. Frenchie suggests they knock Translucent out and stick a bomb inside his rectum (yes, you read that correctly). Scared, Translucent reveals A-Train, high on Compound V, was leaving Popclaw’s apartment the night he killed Robin. Translucent realizes Homelander is in the area by reading Hughie’s lips. Translucent pees in the cup Hughie gave him and splashes urine on the electric cables in his cage. This causes the cables to short circuit, allowing him to escape.
Butcher and Frenchie lure Homelander away from their hideout by causing an explosion in a different location. Hughie and Translucent have one final confrontation, with Translucent promising to let Hughie go back to his old life if he lets him go. An angry Hughie watches Translucent walk away and detonates the bomb, reducing Translucent to a pool of blood. Hughie seems shaken over what he’s done, but it’s too late. He’s made his first kill and there’s no turning back now.
You can watch episode 2 of The Boys on Amazon Prime Video.
