The Boys Season 2 Ending And Twist Explained: What The Finale Means For Every Character

With The Boys Season 2 finally in the rearview, we have plenty to discuss. Let us know what you thought of the season as a whole in the comments below, then check out our interview with actor Nathan Mitchell about Black Noir's future, our discussion with VFX supervisor Stephan Fleet about the season's excellent head-exploding gore, and our chat with actor Claudia Doumit about the crazy Victoria Neuman twist.

The Boys Season 2 was one heck of a ride. From the mystery of the head explosions to The Deep's adventure joining a cult, Season 2 went to some truly weird and shocking places. Oh, and a literal nazi won over the hearts and minds of America--although that part doesn't seem so far-fetched these days, which is definitely the point.

With the Season 2 finale, "What I Know," streaming now, it's time for us to examine the entire journey and look at where the final episode leaves us. After all, we're already looking forward to The Boys Season 3.

The Boys

By the end of the Season 2 finale, Butcher has once again lost Becca--this time for good. She's killed accidentally by her son Ryan when he tries to save her from Stormfront. That leaves Butcher at probably his lowest point yet--even worse than when she chose to stay at the compound earlier in the season. However, Mallory presents a path forward: She's getting funding directly from Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (more on her later) so The Boys can continue their mission of keeping tabs on the world's supes. Butcher doesn't reply to the proposal right away, but given everything he's lost, it's fair to guess that he'll take the opportunity to continue seeking revenge against Homelander however he can.

The other members of The Boys get relatively happy endings to their season-long arcs, since the charges against them--even the ones for the crimes they actually did commit--are all dropped by the end. Mother's Milk reunites with his family, while Frenchie and Kimiko go dancing. Kimiko has begun teaching Frenchie her sign language, and they're closer than ever. And Hughie, who feels he never fully fit in with the rest of the gang, gets a job with Congresswoman Neuman so he can keep fighting against Vought but maybe with less carnage and living in hiding.

The Seven

The Seven didn't fare so well in Season 2. With Shockwave's death at the hearing, A-Train is back on the team, thanks also to Alistair's intervention with Vought CEO Stan Edgar. And his heart seems to be in better shape. The same can't be said for The Deep, who by his final scene has been labeled a "toxic personality" by the Church of the Collective, and is still kicked out of The Seven.

Black Noir, meanwhile, is in a tree nut-induced coma since his encounter with Starlight and Queen Maeve in Episode 7. And Stormfront is either dead or, as Homelander puts it, "neutralized" and imprisoned somewhere only Vought knows.

Besides A-Train, who isn't present at Vought's final press conference of the season, that leaves three core members of The Seven remaining: Starlight, whose name has been cleared; Queen Maeve, who successfully blackmailed Homelander into chilling out for a while; and Homelander himself, who concludes his arc this season by repeatedly telling himself that he can do whatever he wants, while vigorously masturbating over the city. The relationship between the three of them is sure to be fraught going forward.

The Rest

The Boys Season 2 racked up quite the body count. Almost every new character introduced this season was dead by the end, from Alistair, the head of the Church of the Collective, to Lamplighter, and even Kimiko's brother Kenji. And several existing characters bit the dust it as well: Raynor in the season premiere, Shockwave, and Vogelbaum. Even Stormfront, the series' worst villain yet, was put out of commission in the end, though we'll have to wait and see whether she's actually dead.

With all those ends tied up, that leaves just a few additional characters to discuss--chief among them Congresswoman Victoria Neuman. The finale's closing moments made it clear that Neuman was secretly on Vought's side all along, allowing Vought to control both sides of the debate over Compound V. Neuman herself is a supe, and she was the one who killed Raynor, popped all the heads at the hearing, and killed Alistair in the finale. It's a great twist--one that even Claudia Doumit, the actress who plays Neuman, wasn't aware of until the hearing scene.

With Neuman on Vought's side, it seems Stan Edgar really can't lose. He ends the season still on top, with no consequences yet for his blatant regard for morality, human life, ethics, or really anything else besides money. Sure, he'll face some vicious opposition from The Boys in the future, but now that they're likely going to be funded directly by Neuman, it seems he'll even have control over Butcher and the gang, to a degree. At least Mallory got ahold of Ryan instead of Vought, although if anyone can find out where the CIA is hiding him in the future, it will be Neuman. Dang.

How did you like The Boys Season 2? What are your hopes for Season 3? Let us know in the comments below, then check out our Season 2 finale Easter eggs and references list, our discussion with Black Noir actor Nathan Mitchell about his character's future, and our chat with Victoria Neuman actress Claudia Doumit about that crazy twist.