This The Boys article contains spoilers for season 3 episode 8.
According to The Boys showrunner Eric Kripke, it’s no big secret what the show’s ultimate plan is.
Naturally, Butcher fails. But he fails in a new, interesting way that signals that The Boys just might be ready to enter its endgame…however far away that might be. Here is what you need to know about the ending of The Boys season 3.
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Is Black Noir Dead in The Boys Season 3 Finale?
For a finale that culminates in a shocking and game-changing death of a random, unnamed character, there aren’t too many other notable deaths to speak of in “The Instant White-Hot Wild.” Maeve (Dominique McElligott) pushes Soldier Boy out of a Vought Tower window and absorbs his power-ruining psychic blast. Somehow, however, she survives that whole ordeal – though that’s a fact that the world at large will never be privy to due to Ashley (Colby Minifie) deleting the security footage revealing Frenchie (Tomer Capone) and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) rescuing Maeve.
Is Solider Boy Still Alive?
The U.S. government, led by Grace Mallory (Laila Robins) recovers a presumably unconscious Soldier Boy from the wreckage he caused and makes sure he stays unconscious via the vaporized nerve agent that the Soviets pioneered. Soldier Boy is placed back into a tank, similar to the one the Russians had him in. Bad news for the world but great news for Jensen Ackles fans (which is basically the world as well, so it’s a confusing time for us all).
Are The Seven Done?
When Will Butcher Die?
Note that this headline tag doesn’t say “Will Butcher Die” but “When.” As has been previously established by Kripke basically giving away the series finale earlier in this piece, there aren’t many plot secrets on The Boys. Starlight finds out that 3-5 doses of the temporary V-24 will eventually kill you. Butcher takes 3-5 doses and wouldn’t you know it – it will eventually kill him.
This is confirmed when Butcher visits the hospital and a doctor tells him that he has 12-18 months to live. Now it’s always possible that The Boys will come up with some sort of last second deus ex machina to save Butcher’s live. We doubt that though. 12-18 months is a relatively lengthy period of time. Lengthy enough to say…last 2-3 more seasons, perhaps?
Prime Video has gotten what it’s always wanted out of The Boys in that the show is now being franchised. The “Boys University” spinoff is on the way and will likely soon be followed by many more concepts. That frees up the series itself to start thinking about when it might want to wrap this whole thing up. We think it may start to do just that in season 4 with Butcher’s mortality as the ticking clock to the end.
All eight episodes of The Boys season 3 are available to stream on Prime Video now.
