Why Soldier Boy Is Neuman’s Counter to Homelander, Butcher

Before we start… if you’re still not done with the third season of Showrunner Eric Kripke & Amazon’s The Boys, then you might want to turn around now because we’re about to start things off with spoilers (because it’s been over four months now). By the time the smoke cleared on the season finale, “The Instant White-Hot Wild,” we had a very interesting power dynamic left in play. Though Butcher (Karl Urban) is “dead man walking” due to V24, our heroes now officially have Annie (Erin Moriarty) on their side. That, combined with a more unified approach to the team and the sick set of skills they each bring, makes The Boys as skillfully deadly as they’ve ever been. I mean, we saw just one example of what Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) can do once she’s come to peace with every aspect of who she truly is.

While things were looking rough for Homelander (Antony Starr) near the end, he also ended the season in a better position than he started. He may have lost the love of his “father,” Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), but he’s gained a deeper love from his son, Ryan (Cameron Crovetti). He still has control of Vought, made sure to put all of his lackeys on notice, and has skyrocketing polling numbers. When it comes to The Seven, he lost the two remaining members who ever pushed back on him, Annie and Maeve (Dominique McElligott)- and from what we’ve seen from the casting announcements so far, Homelander looks to be crafting a new roster that’s a lot more “Homelander-friendly.”

But let’s not forget Congresswoman Victoria “Vic” Neuman (Claudia Doumit), and this is where things get interesting and where we’re going to do a deep dive into some “future seasons” speculating. With a little “help” from Homelander-assigned The Deep (Chace Crawford), Neuman found herself the VP running mate of U.S. Secretary of Defense head Bob Singer (Jim Beaver). To be that close to The White House while having both federal powers and a tense “working relationship” with Vought also makes Neuman a major player. Almost. There’s still one thing that Neuman needs on her side that she’s lacking, and that’s an “equalizing” factor. A “factor” that would have more than enough reason to have another go at our heroes and Homelander’s squad. A “factor” that would put an end to Homelander’s threatening visits to Neuman. A “factor” that we’re pretty sure would be looking to have his name “cleared” and legacy “cleaned up.” And that would have to be Soldier Boy.

Considering he’s on permanent ice with the feds having access to him, it’s not like Neuman couldn’t have dealings going on behind everyone’s backs. And the vice-presidential candidate would be the perfect person to make the pitch to Solider Boy about why he should trust her- shared common enemies & shared common goals. That said, after what happened during the third season, I don’t see Soldier Boy signing on unless he gets “payment upfront” on something first as a show of “trust.” And after taking out Payback, you can only assume that Grace (Laila Robins) and/or Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito) would be his asking price. With a Neuman/Soldier Boy team-up, you could have Homelander (via Vought) in a position of having to help Neuman repair the image of the person who came close (twice) to killing him- his father, no less. And when it comes to Butcher, Hughie (Jack Quaid), and the rest of our team, it’s Neuman’s in-your-face, not-so-friendly reminder that she’s got a lot of power on her side, too. Is it a teaming that she would particularly pride herself in? No, but Neuman’s proven to be an in-the-moment & bigger-picture thinker when it comes to survival and looking to the future. It’s a teaming that would give everyone pause (and set up a great face-off).