Warning: This article includes spoilers for season 3 of The Boys.
While The Boys may be filled with shock value and excessive gore, season 3 was also filled with rewarding character development. The characters have always been the heart of this show and continued to ground the season's most outrageous and bizarre moments with authentic growth.
From selfless characters to the most selfish, most of the prominent characters changed in fascinating ways that fit with the paths their respective stories have been on since season 1. Most of this development paid off in the season finale after gradual buildup throughout the season and even from previous seasons as well.
Season 3 provided Black Noir with more characterization and backstory than he's ever received before. Despite his stoic and seemingly fearless persona, fans learned that Black Noir had been running from the trauma he endured at the hands of Soldier Boy.
When Soldier Boy returned, Black Noir took out his tracking chip and literally ran. With the help of some cartoon friends in his mind, Black Noir finally confronted his trauma and fears and returned to face Soldier Boy. Unfortunately, Homelander robbed Black Noir of that chance as he killed Black Noir for keeping the secret that Soldier Boy is Homelander's father.
By covering up the worst things that Supes do, Ashley has proven to be one of The Boys' low-key villains. Lying to the public and always putting the Supes in a positive light enables the Supes to continue making harmful choices without accountability. This is especially true for Homelander, as she is terrified of him and obeys his every whim and command, even when his decisions are detrimental to her and Vought.
Ashley finally took a stand in the finale. When shown video footage that Maeve survived taking down Soldier Boy, Ashley made sure the file was deleted securely and that Homelander would never see it. Ashley knew that if Homelander saw the video or learned of it, he would hunt down and kill Maeve and instead let Homelander and the rest of the world believe that Maeve is dead. Ashley finally did the right thing and quietly, but powerfully defied Homelander.
Instead of changing in a positive way, Homelander changed by becoming an even worse version of himself. Homelander always presented a carefully controlled image of himself in public. He is desperate to be loved and adored by the public, but was always afraid that if he showed his true self, the public would fear and hate him.
As Homelander struggled to control himself this season, he began speaking his mind more. When he learned of everyone's largely positive response to this, he grew even bolder. All of this culminated in him murdering a civilian in front of his supporters during the finale. With his supporters cheering him on after this murder, Homelander is more frightening than ever as he can be treated like a hero for doing evil things.
Starlight/Annie remained the moral compass of the show and continued to be unwavering in her fight for justice. Her biggest change didn't have to do with her motivations or attitude, but her decision to quit Vought and renounce her identity as Starlight. After working tirelessly to create positive change from within the Seven and within Vought, she reached her breaking point during the "Herogasm" episode.
She refused to be party to the countless lies, destruction, and corruption of Vought and the Seven. She realized she could do more good on the outside as Annie and she even stopped being afraid of Homelander, going so far as to tell the world that he doesn't care about them and telling him to his face that he is small.
While the previous seasons saw Kimiko struggling with survival, tragedy, and revenge, this season focused on finding her identity and her voice. Things like music and dancing allowed her to discover and experience the joy of living like never before.
In her relationship with Frenchie, she became the supportive and encouraging shoulder for him to lean on and selflessly took Compound V after she lost her powers so she could protect him. She also began imagining a life for herself and Frenchie beyond taking down Supes.
From Billy Butcher to Little Nina, Frenchie has often felt powerless and like he caters to the demands of others, even if it means doing something he disagrees with or that makes him uncomfortable. The things he did for Butcher this season and the return of Little Nina made him feel this way more than ever before.
Kimiko recognized his pain and empowered him to stand up for himself. He did this in the finale as he stood up to Butcher and he came up with the plan to take down Soldier Boy, which Mother's Milk, Hughie, Annie, and Kimiko all followed.
At the beginning of season 3, Maeve was working with Butcher to bring down corrupt Supes and ultimately Homelander, even providing Butcher with Temporary V and giving him with information that led Butcher to Soldier Boy. Like Butcher, she was fixated on getting revenge against Homelander at any cost. Unlike Butcher, she wasn't ready to confront Homelander directly and continued working alongside him.
By the finale, Maeve was ready to deal with Homelander as she took him on in a fight and held her own against him, even making him bleed. However, when she saw that Annie, the Boys, and Ryan were about to be engulfed in one of Soldier Boy's energy blasts, she abandoned the fight against Homelander and flung herself out the window with Soldier Boy as the blast from him exploded. Maeve learned to be a true hero again, setting aside her need for revenge and even losing her powers so she could save those who helped her and those who were in need.
At the start of season 3, Billy Butcher's character was working hard to do the right thing as he worked for the government, took orders from Hughie, and kept his promise to Becca to look after Ryan. However, numerous circumstances sent Butcher hurtling back into his old habits and his thirst for vengeance. This time he was worse than ever before with superpowers granted by Temporary V and with helping Soldier Boy hunt down and kill all the members of his former team.
Butcher confronted how far he'd fallen in the finale and took steps to begin righting his wrongs. He stopped Hughie from taking another dose of Temporary V, thus saving Hughie's life. When Ryan was injured in the fight between Homelander and Soldier Boy, Butcher turned on Soldier Boy. Butcher threw away potentially his best shot at revenge to keep his promise to Becca and protect Ryan and even fought Soldier Boy alongside Homelander.
Hughie's sad insecurities drove him to make some selfish and reckless decisions this season. He took multiple doses of Temporary V so he could feel powerful and be the one to save Starlight, even when she did not need saving. It wasn't really about Hughie helping others as much as it was about him no longer feeling weak.
Hughie ultimately realized that strength and weakness were not what he thought they were. He demonstrated true strength in the finale by not taking another dose of Temporary V and instead used his intelligence and technological strengths to evacuate civilians from Vought Tower and to give Annie the electrical boost she needed when facing Soldier Boy.
Mother's Milk always worked hard to keep his family separate from his efforts to take down Supes. As these two parts of his life converged more than ever before and with Soldier Boy's return reopening old wounds, MM became a compulsive mess.
With the support of true friends like Frenchie and Annie, MM got it together. He prioritized saving innocent lives over getting his revenge against Soldier Boy. Most importantly, he reconciled his family life and vigilantism by telling his daughter some difficult, but important truths in a way that she could understand. This honesty and openness made his relationship with his daughter stronger than ever before while also helping her face the challenging world she is growing up in.
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