From explosive rectums to newfound familial ties, characters and audiences alike have been witness to some memorable moments on The Boys. The writers behind the hit series have created a foundation upon the unexpected, often going further than anyone can imagine. Throughout the series, the twists and turns have not only kept viewers engaged, but they’ve also added depth to each character.
Whether it’s insight into their backstories or a visual representation of the characters, each action has been methodically placed in an effort to move the story forward. While there are quite a few moments that have left fans with questions or in utter disbelief, it’s safe to say that audiences can never be too sure of what’s to come, aside from more shocking moments.
With the 4th season of The Boys currently airing, there have already been many shocking new scenes to the series. Gore, sex, and more ruthless killings — there’s hardly a dull moment in the show. This list has been updated to add scenes from season 4 and to get this article up to current CBR formatting standards.
Much like The Boys itself, this list contains content that is NSFW and can be considered graphic by some readers. Spoilers ahead!
20Splinter Has An Orgy With Himself
Season 4, Episode 2 “Life Among the Septics”
Now, Splinter isn’t around for very long. He’s introduced and then almost immediately killed. Splinter is Firecracker’s number-one fan and supporter — and also her number-one creep. Splinter has the superpower to make duplicates of himself. During an undercover mission, Frenchie and Kimiko accidentally stumble upon quite the sight.
The sight in question is a literal train of Splinters pleasuring each other while the main Splinter gets off to a picture of Firecracker. This scene ranks lowest on this list because crude and over-the-top sex scenes are nothing new to The Boys, but it was certainly a jumpscare for viewers as much as it was for Frenchie and Kimiko. If there’s one truth about all supes, it’s that they use their powers in very inventive ways.
19The Seven On Ice Turns Into a Complete Nightmare
Season 4, Episode 3 “We’ll Keep the Red Flag Flying Here”
A religious musical featuring ice skating, actors pretending to be The Seven, and Jesus Christ — how could it go wrong? This scene is shocking in all the ways that The Boys does comically shocking scenes the best. While Hughie crawls through vents to spy on Homelander, Sister Sage, and Neuman, there’s a whole ice-skating production going on. The production is about “putting Christ back in Christmas.”
Jesus spins around the ice with actors portraying supes like Maeve and Homelander. It’s totally unserious and humorous; viewers can tell off the rip that something is going to go awry. Once Homelander discovers Hughie is spying, he starts lasering everything in sight. In classic Homelander fashion, he isn’t very careful with his rogue shots. He accidentally lasers one of the ice skaters and then everything goes to hell. The skaters are tumbling and cutting off each other’s fingers and slicing each other’s throats as they fall. It’s a very Boys scene.
18The Deep Eats His Octopus Friend Timothy
Season 3, Episode 3 “Barbary Coast”
The Deep is an intensely dislikable character from the outset, starting with his sexual abuse of Starlight. Although Annie eventually comes clean, forcing the Deep into a semi-permanent setback, he eventually returns to his old-ish ways. That said, fans really like the emotional bond between the Deep and his marine friends, even if the resulting relationship counts as bestiality.
However, watching Homelander force the Deep to eat his octopus friend Timothy was uncomfortable, especially since the Deep keeps narrating Timothy’s reaction to this horrible betrayal. The scene itself is framed comedically, but nobody would actually want to eat someone while hearing their prayers and pleas for help. The Deep would go on to found the Timothy Foundation in his friend’s honor.
17Hughie Holds On To Robin For Dear Life
Season 1, Episode 1 “The Name of the Game”
Serving as the catalyst for Hughie’s decision to join the Boys, Robin’s death quickly introduced viewers to the vicious world the series would create. Not only was Robin’s sudden obliteration a moment of utter surprise, but the fact that Hughie still had a hold of her hands afterward was a lasting image. There was literally nothing else left of her body, having been completely pulverized by a drug-addled A-Train.
Before this traumatic event, Hughie was completely oblivious to the crimes committed by the supes. Additionally, the fact that no actions were taken against A-Train clearly defined the reality of the situation and society’s treatment of its ordinary citizens. What’s more, Robin’s death has been Hughie’s motivation throughout much of his journey, and it’s brought up again in Season 3.
16Homelander Forces A Woman To Leap To Her Death
Season 3, Episode 2 “The Only Man in the Sky”
After receiving the ultimate ultimatum from Queen Maeve, Homelander has no choice but to accept the heroes’ various conditions. To compound his humiliation, Stormfront fails to recover from Ryan’s attack, leaving Homelander feeling even more alone. When his birthday rolls around, Vought tries to get Homelander to perform a publicity stunt by preventing someone from leaping off a building.
Homelander seems willing at first, but hearing the news of Stormfront’s unexpected death sends him into a spiral. Homelander briefly tells Chelsea about his not actually having a birthday and then asks her to jump anyway. At this point, Chelsea doesn’t feel like killing herself anymore and refuses. Homelander activates his laser vision and threatens her to jump; the next scene is Chelsea’s injured body smashing into the pavement below.
15Popclaw’s Pleasure Leads To A Lot Of Pain
Season 1, Episode 3 “Get Some”
In Season 1, Popclaw plays a pivotal role in helping the Boys uncover the truth about Vought’s superheroes. As A-Train’s paramour, she doesn’t have a major role in the series, but her actions are nonetheless terrifying. Popclaw possesses super strength as a result of her Compound V use and, like A-Train, begins to abuse it. This takes a negative turn when Popclaw kills her landlord by crushing his head between her thighs as he performs oral sex. It’s a brutal and uncalled-for scene, which is why it takes this spot on the list. There are far worse moments, but this one is still pretty bad.
The creators of The Boys have used sex scenes in a way that captures the animosity within the characters. While there are times that display characters’ intimacy with one another, the use of sex in The Boys often defies conventional wisdom and leaves viewers to wrap their minds around what they just witnessed. Popclaw was later killed by A-Train, mostly to protect himself from Homelander.
14The Boys Get Attacked By Suped-Up Sheep
Season 4, Episode 5 “Beware the Jabberwock, My Son”
The Boys team up with Neuman to get the supe virus, and it leads them to a farm overrun with super-powered animals. While initially it seems pretty goofy and is laughable as the characters run from carnivorous flying sheep, it quickly turns into a very serious situation. The sheep are terrifying and are reminiscent of the horrific scenes in Jurassic World when the pterodactyls start attacking the guests.
Trapped in a barn with predatory sheep waiting outside, the team decides to inject a body with the virus and throw it outside for the sheep to eat and, hopefully, die from. There have already been instances in the series where viewers see suped-up animals, but never in giant uncontained groups. This scene, and the whole episode in general, really point out how dangerous Compound V is and that, in the wrong hands, could mean the complete destruction of the world.
13Homelander Drinks Some Milk To Take The Edge Off
Season 2, Episode 1 “The Big Ride”
Homelander’s painfully isolated childhood can be held responsible for his inability to connect with other people on an emotional level. While Homelander didn’t have a traditional upbringing (or birth, for that matter), he aims to recapture those lost moments through his relationship with Madelyn Stillwell. Homelander even grows jealous of Stillwell’s newborn son, feeling as though he’s been replaced as her number one priority.
Things take a weird turn when Homelander decides to drink Stillwell’s breastmilk that she’s saved in her fridge. The scene serves well to capture Homelander’s inner child and his desperate need for comfort and validation — a theme that will continue throughout the series in similarly unnerving ways. It’s even worse when considering that Homelander had recently killed Stillwell before he drinks her fridge milk.
12The Boys Drive A Boat Through A Whale
Season 2, Episode 3 “Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men”
As mentioned earlier, the Deep maintains a consistent emotional connection with every single marine organism capable of communicating. In Season 2’s “Over the Hill with the Swords of a Thousand Men,” the Deep is tasked by Homelander to stop the Boys, who are on a boat at the time. Although he sends sharks after them, the heroes manage to evade the attack and direct the boat toward the shore. Meanwhile, the Deep brings out a gigantic sperm whale, hoping to stop the Boys in their tracks.
Rather than retreat or even slow down, Butcher decides to go full-throttle, smashing the boat’s bow through the poor whale. The death of an innocent creature is horrifying enough, but the next few scenes show the Boys covered in whale organs and blood, making it far nastier to watch.
11Termite’s Fulfillment Of A Sexual Fantasy Turns Explosive
Season 3, Episode 1 “Payback”
The creators of The Boys continue to raise the bar when it comes to creative deaths, with Season 3 taking yet another step at highlighting all the weird stuff the supes get into at a party. A minor supe named Termite shrinks himself to have sex with a doll for the crowd’s entertainment. The stakes are raised when, after drug-fueled foreplay, Termite shrinks down once again and jumps inside his partner’s penis.
The audience gains a very personal view as Termite journeys through the man’s phallus, increasing the pleasure as he ventures deeper. Things take a turn when Termite becomes irritated by the cocaine he has just snorted. This eventually leads to a sneeze, forcing Termite to regrow and explode his partner’s body. This scene is particularly graphic and will likely shock even hardened audiences.
10Homelander Kills “Himself” During Their Foreplay
Season 2, Episode 4 “Nothing Like It in the World”
In Season 2, Homelander exploits Doppelgänger’s shapeshifting abilities in order to relive his intimate moments with Madelyn Stillwell. The plan works for some time, but Homelander soon finds that the situation isn’t as exciting as it once was. Doppelgänger assumes Homelander’s form and attempts to continue their foreplay but is met with a furious chokehold and a broken neck.
The visual of two Homelanders in the same room is surprising enough, but the fact that he kills “himself” seems to speak to a larger idea which is why this scene falls at this rank. Homelander has been in a constant war with his identity, which goes even deeper during the series’ third season as he begins to reveal his true nature. Interestingly, however, this scene proves that Homelander doesn’t like the idea of seeing himself in a submissive role.
9Tek Knight’s Sex Dungeon Turns Into a Horror Show
Season 4, Episode 6 “Dirty Business”
Sex in The Boys is nothing to bat an eye at and revealing a sex dungeon isn’t out of place either, but a lot happens. Hughie goes undercover as Webweaver, a supe who shoots and spits out webs, to a Tek Knight event. While the plan was for Hughie to get in and out rather quickly, Tek Knight stopped him and congratulated him on passing the “sidekick” test. As an initiation to being Tek Knight’s sidekick, Hughie has to take a trip to Tek Knight’s underground sex chamber. There, viewers see Tek Knight’s old sidekick, Laddio, gagged, leather-clad, and chained up in the corner of the room. It gets worse.
Tek Knight straps Hughie (Webweaver), onto his table and then Ashley shows up because she’s one of Tek Knight’s sex partners. Viewers not only have to watch Hughie get sexually assaulted for a good bit of the episode, but matters get even more dire when Tek Knight discovers that it’s Hughie. Tek Knight plans on cutting his own holes into Hughie’s body for sexual pleasure. It’s a couple of really terrible scenes strung together. Unlike some of the other sexual scenes in the series, this one doesn’t have a lot of humor because Hughie is terrified and is actively getting assaulted.
8Homelander Fantasizes About Massacring A Crowd
Season 2, Episode 5 “We Gotta Go Now”
Homelander has probably killed countless individuals during his offshore endeavors, but one of his mistakes is filmed during Season 2. He is deeply upset to learn that many people have turned against him, and have begun referring to him as a war criminal. When Victoria Neuman throws an anti-Homelander rally, he appears at the scene and attempts to assuage the situation. Rather than accept his mistake and apologize, he asserts that these things happen all the time.
The crowd is obviously angered by Homelander’s callous statements and starts chanting “You don’t speak for us.” Homelander consequently emits his lasers into the crowd, apparently slaughtering hundreds of innocent civilians. If this scene had taken place in real life, it would probably be the most horrific moment in The Boys. As it happens, however, the massacre only takes place in Homelander’s imagination.
7Billy Butcher Lets The Power Course Through His Veins
Season 3, Episode 8 “The Instant White-Hot Wild”
Despite his criticism and anger toward supes, Butcher becomes one himself in order to give the Boys a fighting chance. The Temp V proves successful, as Butcher kills Gunpowder and even goes toe-to-toe with Homelander. However, Butcher quickly abuses the drug and its benefits, despite Starlight’s warning of imminent death.
In a way, Butcher’s abuse of Temp V speaks to his need to gain control of the situation. Where Butcher’s father was a bully to him and his brother, so too are the supes towards normal civilians. Butcher’s actions may not always be the right approach, but more often than not, they are rooted in his desire to protect those he cares about. At the very least, he decides to prevent Hughie from making the same mistake.
6Ryan Chooses Homelander As His Father Figure
Season 3, Episode 8 “The Instant White-Hot Wild”
During the Season 3 finale showdown between the Boys, Soldier Boy, and Homelander, Ryan surprises everyone when he stands by Homelander. Not only does this go against every one of Becca’s wishes, but the heartbreak that plagues Butcher’s face is devastating. This complicates an already complex dynamic between Butcher and Homelander and gives the viewers insight into Ryan’s possible character arc as the series progresses.
This becomes even more apparent during the final moments of the finale when a slight smile appears on Ryan’s face after Homelander murders a man, leaving viewers with a sinking feeling as the inevitable consequences are sure to be dire. Ryan might actually turn out to be his villainous father, justifying the very reason that he was kept away from Homelander in the first place.
5The Deep Gives Sister Sage a Lobotomy
Season 4, Episode 4 “Wisdom of the Ages”
The Boys has never been a show for the faint of heart, but viewers can adjust to the senseless gore and over-the-top murders. However, sometimes the scenes just feel like they last for too long, and it’s impossible to push away the stomach-churning moments. One such moment is when Sister Sage asks The Deep to perform a lobotomy on her. Because her brain cells regenerate so quickly, the lobotomy doesn’t leave a lasting impact on her. In fact, she likes having the occasional lobotomy because it takes the edge off. Seriously — Sage says it puts her into a state of feeling like a normal person, and it’s relaxing.
The reason why this scene is so shocking is that the camera is so close to the actual action happening. Sage has to instruct Deep on how to properly do it. The act required for a lobotomy is toe-curling in the worst way possible. It’s not even just the action either that makes this scene so surprising. It’s paired with the fact that Sister Sage actually enjoys having a lobotomy, like having a drink after a hard day at work. It’s very hard to watch, which is why this scene falls into 5th place.
4Flight 37 Crashes Into The Ocean Leaving No Survivors
Season 1, Episode 4 “The Female of the Species”
Vought instantly sends Queen Maeve and Homelander to fix the situation caused by a terrorist hijacking, a problem that didn’t actually need too much firepower. While battling for the plane, however, Homelander loses control and lasers through a terrorist’s head and destroys the cockpit. Homelander wants to leave but Queen Maeve begs him to think of an alternative solution.
Homelander dismisses all the options presented by her, including one that would save the lives of two children. In fact, Homelander threatens to fly away and leave Maeve on the plane to die with the rest of the passengers. Maeve unwillingly accepts but spends the next several months drowning in her own guilt. Flight 37 crashes into the ocean, leaving no survivors, just as Homelander had wanted. Luckily, Maeve later manages to turn the tables on Homelander using a phone recovered from the wreckage.
3Soldier Boy Pulls An Unexpected Darth Vader
Season 3, Episode 8 “The Instant White-Hot Wild”
In arguably the most shocking twist of Season 3, Soldier Boy reveals that he is, in fact, Homelander’s father. Just as Homelander is thrown, the audience is left to wonder what this means for the two heroes, as well as Vought and the Boys. Ryan turning into another Homelander is scary enough, but to have two overpowered villains would make it nigh-impossible for the heroes to win.
What’s more, the possibility of Soldier Boy and Homelander teaming up could destroy Vought and completely change the world they know it. It’s safe to say that given the ego within both Homelander and Soldier Boy, no character is safe from their wrath moving forward. At the same time, their egos are what prevented them from teaming up. In the end, Soldier Boy cruelly rejects Homelander and even tries to kill him, showing that he doesn’t care about anyone except himself.
2Herogasm Lives Up To The Hype And Then Some
Season 3, Episode 6 “Herogasm”
The highly anticipated Season 3 episode left fans both shocked and fully entertained. From copious amounts of bodily fluids to powers being used for pleasure on full display, “Herogasm” is an episode that viewers will reminisce upon for the foreseeable future. Despite the excessive sex, enormous phallus, and bestiality, The Boys writers were able to create some very emotional moments.
Mother’s Milk finally confronts Soldier Boy, Hughie confesses his envy of Starlight, and Starlight speaks out against Homelander and the corruption within Vought. What’s more, the episode contains one of the season’s most impressive fight scenes as Billy, Hughie, and Soldier Boy aim to put an end to Homelander for good. One of the most morbidly fascinating scenes during the eponymous Herogasm involves Love Sausage, a Supe with what can only be described as a prehensile penis.
1Homelander Shows His True Self and People Actually Love It
Season 3, Episode 8 “The Instant White-Hot Wild”
After Homelander introduces Ryan as his son during a rally, things seem to be going well. That is until a Starlight supporter throws an object that hits Ryan. Although the kid doesn’t experience any physical damage, Homelander flies into one of his iconic rages and lasers the man’s head off in front of everyone. Instead of running away in fear, however, the crowd bursts into a frenzied cheer, applauding Homelander for his actions.
The realization that Homelander can ignore all rules and still be idolized is a terrifying idea, making this the most horrifying scene on this list. The shock on Homelander’s face, as his supporters laud him, builds upon the beliefs that were presented after his birthday speech. What’s more, now that Stan Edgar is gone and no one is there to hold Homelander accountable, his actions will only continue to get worse.
