The Boys season 3 finale splits opinion over major character moment

Soldier Boy and Hughie in The Boys season 3
(Image credit: Amazon)

The Boys season 3 said farewell in some style. The finale didn’t pull its punches, giving viewers more of its trademark violent Supe drama as the walls closed in on Homelander.

One moment, however, has led to some backlash from the fanbase – with the majority of fans on social media pointing to a certain scene having "wasted potential" and being one of the finale’s few real missteps.

MAJOR spoilers for The Boys season 3, episode 8 follow.

The Boys has never been afraid to kill off Supe and non-Supe alike, but even the most hardened fan will have been surprised to see Black Noir disemboweled and killed by Homelander after it was revealed Noir knew about Homelander’s connection to Soldier Boy.

"Black Noir will go down as one of the worst written deaths ever," one fan lamented. That feeling was echoed elsewhere on Twitter, with a viewer calling the buildup of Black Noir's character a "waste of time."

"That's just wasted potential and bad writing," another wrote. "That man needs justice after being abused by that racist for so long."

One viewer of The Boys got to the heart of the issue with fans, saying, "They been teasing us Black Noir for seasons and they killed him off for shock value." Another said of the finale, "Only thing I hated was Black Noir’s death, everything else was great."

There are, however, some who have praised the surprise death. "That Black Noir twist was great," said one on Twitter. "What a FUCKING twist. What the fuck," said another.

While we mourn a real one, there's more Boys on the way – a fourth season has already been commissioned by Amazon, so there will be more to come from the Supes soon enough. In the meantime, be sure to check out the best shows on Amazon Prime and the best movies on Amazon Prime.

Bradley Russell

I'm the Senior Entertainment Writer here at GamesRadar+, focusing on news, features, and interviews with some of the biggest names in film and TV. On-site, you'll find me marveling at Marvel and providing analysis and room temperature takes on the newest films, Star Wars and, of course, anime. Outside of GR, I love getting lost in a good 100-hour JRPG, Warzone, and kicking back on the (virtual) field with Football Manager. My work has also been featured in OPM, FourFourTwo, and Game Revolution.