This week's episode of The Boys, titled "Though the Heavens Fall," serves up a mix of tense moments and frustrating setup for the upcoming spin-off Vought Rising. While the final scene delivers a genuinely chilling cliffhanger, the episode as a whole feels like it's juggling too many plot threads, some of which are clearly designed to launch a new series rather than serve the main story.
The episode opens with The Legend (Paul Reiser) trying to lay low under the alias "Chet Vanderbilt" at a Vought-owned movie theater. MM (Laz Alonso) tracks him down and pressures him into helping locate Bombsight (Mason Dye), a character who will be central to the Vought Rising prequel. The show takes a moment to spoof the Nicole Kidman AMC ad, swapping in Firecracker, and pokes fun at novelty popcorn buckets—classic Boys satire.
Meanwhile, Homelander (Antony Starr) and Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) watch as a scientist injects a civilian with a homemade version of V1. It fails spectacularly, with the test subject bleeding out in a gruesome manner. The Deep (Chace Crawford) reports Firecracker missing, and Homelander strongly implies he killed her. To keep The Deep busy, Sage sends him to film a PSA about a Vought Petroleum pipeline.
Back at the Boys' base, Butcher (Karl Urban) proposes releasing the supe-killing virus during Homelander's Easter service. Hughie (Jack Quaid) and Frenchie (Tomer Capone) express doubts, but Butcher and Annie (Erin Moriarty) push forward. MM brings in The Legend, who reveals that Golden Geisha (Naoko Mori) knows Bombsight's location. The team plans to infiltrate Vought Village, a retirement community for supes.
Ashley (Colby Minifie) tries to back out of Sage's plan, but Sage knocks her out with chloroform and continues working with Other Ashley. The Legend and Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara) visit Geisha, who refuses to help. Butcher and MM decide to kidnap her, and The Legend leaves. Black Noir II (Nathan Mitchell) watches The Deep's pipeline PSA with growing anger.
In a quieter moment, Hughie and Annie pull over to look for shapes in the clouds, trying to escape the chaos. Hughie shares his father's wisdom: "Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react." It's a rare tender scene that reminds us of the stakes.
Sage summons Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) to read his mind, with Other Ashley hiding nearby. Soldier Boy refuses to fill in for Firecracker at the church service and claims he and Homelander have hit a dead end in finding V1. After he leaves, Other Ashley reveals that Soldier Boy was told not to tell Sage about Bombsight, suggesting he's now fully aligned with Homelander.
The team breaks into Geisha's room, but she wakes up and uses a force field to protect herself. MM injects chloroform into her IV bag, knocking her out. They're caught by three supe residents but manage to fight them off. Frenchie arrives, demanding to know what took so long.
The episode ends with a chilling cliffhanger: Homelander and Soldier Boy arrive at Bombsight's home, only to find it empty. The only clue is a laptop playing a video of Homelander having sex with Stormfront. It's a haunting reminder of the past and a setup for what's to come.
While the cliffhanger is effective, the episode's heavy focus on introducing Bombsight and laying groundwork for Vought Rising feels forced. Fans of the main series may be left wanting more focus on the core story. Still, the performances—especially from Starr and Ackles—keep things engaging. For a show that's always balanced satire and shock, this episode leans a bit too much into the latter.
If you're looking for more chilling moments in entertainment, check out our list of the most bone-chilling final shots in horror movie history. And for another cliffhanger that saved a season, read about the Chenford Engagement Cliffhanger Saves The Rookie Season 8 Finale.
