The Boys season 2 ending explained: your biggest questions answered

The Boys season 2 ending was quite something. There were explosive reveals, huge actions scenes, and more than a few loose ends tied up. In fact, so neat was the ending that we've been left questioning where exactly The Boys season 3 will go once the Amazon Prime series returns in the distant future.

Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, however, let's take a minute to reflect on the Boys season 2 ending and clarify a few things. Did you clock that a certain someone may not be dead after all? Or that the identity of the head-sploosher was actually hinted at very early in season 2? No? Your in the right place and we answer your biggest questions down below. But first...

Warning: spoilers for The Boys season 2 finale follow.

The Boys season 2 ending recap: what happened during the final episode?

The events of The Boys season 2 ending start with The Boys’ master plan to swipe Homelander’s son Ryan away from both Homelander and Stormfront. Butcher tells his wife, Becca, that he’s bringing Ryan back to her, while cutting a deal in the shadows with Vought CEO Stan Edgar that would see Butcher reunited with Becca but Ryan sent off to live with another family, away from the watchful (laser) eyes of Homelander.

Butcher and The Boys eventually pull off the plan and grab Ryan after diverting both Homelander and Stormfront away from the wooden cabin where they were holed up.

Stormfront confronts Becca and The Boys, but is forced to retreat after a sustained attack from Kimiko, Starlight, and Maeve.

Stormfront eventually tracks Becca and Butcher down and attempts to kill her in front of her son. Ryan – having been told to channel his powers by thinking of something he hates – unleashes a burst of energy that not only fries Stormfront to a crisp, but fatally wounds Becca.

Homelander swoops in to finish Butcher off but is stopped by Maeve – who blackmails the leader of the Seven with footage from Homelander leaving the plane crash in the first season.

The Seven – with a returning Homelander, Maeve, Starlight, and A-Train (but not Deep, who the Church couldn’t find a spot for) – put on a united front at a televised press conference and Stan Edgar blames the dead Stormfront for all the head exploding attacks

The Boys, meanwhile, are cleared of all charges and no longer have to hide out in secret. Kimiko and Frenchie celebrate by going dancing, Mother’s Milk returns home to see his daughter, while Butcher simply walks away from Mallory – potentially to deal with his grief at the loss of Becca, but also to perhaps go in hiding from Vought after reneging upon their deal. Ryan is taken away by Mallory’s men, presumably to go and live with another family.

Hughie, meanwhile, awkwardly re-affirms his commitment to a relationship with Starlight and pledges to join Victoria Neuman’s political staff…

…which could be very interesting given the late twist: Church of the Collective leader Alastair Adana takes a call from Neuman in the hopes of allying with the congresswoman. Once he puts the phone down, however, his head explodes – much like CIA Agent Raynor and several during the Vought hearing. The culprit? Neuman, whose eyes turn a milky-white, revealing she’s a Supe with the power of making people’s brains go pop.

The Boys season 2 ending explained: your biggest questions answered

We’re all on the same page now? Good. Let’s go through each major moment and how it could affect the show moving forward.

Now her head-exploding identity has been revealed, what will Neuman do next?

First up, that big reveal. No, it wasn’t the Church of the Collective as some may have theorised. Congresswoman Neuman was the one blowing up heads left, right, and centre. That seemingly sets her up as the Big Bad for at least the next season – and puts her on a collision course with both The Seven as well as the luckless Hughie, who is bound to stumble upon some evidence of her wrongdoings sooner or later.

As for Hughie himself, The Boys season 2 ending confirms that he wants to make a go for it with Starlight. Not only does he open up about his family issues (join the club, everyone on the show has them), but that now moves him away from the toxic environment of Butcher and The Boys – a real clean slate for him.

What's happening with Butcher and The Boys?

Talking of clean slates, The Boys all have one. Butcher and company now aren’t public enemy number one. What does that mean moving forward? Surprisingly, it feels like a lot of their stories are done: Frenchie and Kimiko appear to be an item, Mother’s Milk can enjoy domestic bliss once more, and Butcher is probably going to brood and scowl until he can get over Becca’s death. Most importantly, he’s going to have to get out of dodge to avoid the clutches of Vought.

Of course, there’s bound to be something to bring them back into the fold – presumably Neuman overstepping the mark or the Seven encroaching upon their way of life again. Who knows? But, for now, their stories feel relatively complete. Don’t worry, though: a third season is on the way.

Who's in The Seven?

For the Seven, however, things are a lot less clear-cut. Maeve is still sticking around in the Seven despite blackmailing Homelander and incapacitating Black Noir. Starlight is a known traitor too – Vought will need some serious PR spin for that – and Deep doesn’t even make the line-up, with A-Train taking one of the two remaining free slots.

That leaves some room for Deep to worm his way back in – or a new Supe to enter the fray, Stormfront-style. Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) has been confirmed for the third season, which is interesting timing.

It’s the leader, Homelander, that everyone should keep an eye on, though. He’s lost his Gestapo girlfriend in Stormfront, his son, and the respect of his peers. The cheers of the crowd still echo in his mind but, judging by his act of self-love at the episode’s close, he’s going to be even more unhinged moving forward. And that’s a seriously worrying prospect.

Is Stormfront dead?

The golden rule of television is no one's dead until we've seen their body. While Stormfront was cooked and charred by the episode's end, and mumbling in German, she wasn't definitively killed off. After all, Aya Cash's Nazi Supe has been hanging around for decades now, and it wouldn't be a surprise to see her revived using some nefarious means be it a super-serum or some form of cloning.

In fact, showrunner Erik Kripke has confirmed that Stormfront remains alive, but under a new name – well, a name that the writers have given her. "No, she’s not dead! She’s Stumpfront! She’s a stumpy little Nazi," he said in an interview. 

"She’s actually not dead. What we thought was interesting is, if you remember, she ages very, very slowly. So the best poetic ending for that character is someone who so believed in some kind of pure race finds herself mutilated and having to live with it for potentially centuries felt like a fate worse than death for her. So no, Stumpfront is not dead. Hashtag Stumpfront lives!"

What does The Boys season 2 ending mean for the show's future?

The next season in general appears to be almost as enigmatic as Black Noir himself. There are so many directions the show could go in, but none have been immediately hinted at outside of Neuman’s heel turn and her position in politics – a topic the series will continue to gleefully mine for material, I’m sure.

All in all, The Boys season 2 ending felt properly definitive. The status quo may have returned in terms of The Seven and Vought still positioned as peacekeepers-in-chief, but there is plenty bubbling just beneath that which is sure to captivate and keep us coming back for more: Neuman has the potential to continue her massacres, Black Noir is still an unknowable wildcard, and who knows where Deep’s alliances lie?

For now, we can take a deep breath. The ending has tied up a lot of The Boys’ loose threads and has set the foundations for an upcoming season that will take us into new and uncomfortable places, ones that will surely be equal parts mayhem and mindfuckery. Bring. It. On.

In the meantime, check out the best shows on Amazon Prime.