The Boys star Susan Heyward has explained whether Sister Sage anticipated season 4’s ending death, and how it played into her overall planning in the process. At the end of The Boys season 4, Butcher uses his new, tentacle-like powers to tear Victoria Neuman apart, killing her and painting a target on his team’s back in the process. Sage later reveals to Homelander this had been part of her plan all along, the vice president’s death allowing him to gain more control after the US declares martial law.

Speaking with TVLine about Sage’s plan, Heyward revealed that Sage did anticipate Victoria’s death in The Boys season 4, knowing it had to happen for her plans to succeed. The actor explained how the balance between what Sage controls and allows to happen informed her decisions, but that the VP was always going to be a target. Check out what Heyward had to say below:

Mmhmm. Personally, I go back to something one of my brothers always said to me. He’s like, “You can always trust someone to be exactly who they are,” and I think when dealing with Homelander, as soon as Homelander felt like he could do this without her, I think Sage, stepping back, accepted that that meant anyone could go. I also think, again, when you look at patterns, when you look at the way these political things go, what she says about Victoria makes sense, where she says, “That one has a few too many ideas in order to properly be controlled.” Sage is so fun because she’s balancing how much she can orchestrate versus how much she can allow to have happen just by letting people be themselves. So I think Sage certainly resigned herself to losing Victoria far before the moment came and was ready when that moment came.

How Will Sister Sage’s Plans Evolve In The Boys Season 5?

It’s Unclear What Her Next Move Is

The Boys season 4 finale revealed the highly intelligent Supe had planned for Homelander to fire her, adjusting the details of her mission to ensure the leader of the Seven would have major US power by the end. Killing Victoria was a necessary step in this plan, as her staying alive and helping the protagonists would have been a detrimental development for Vought. While the exact details of how she died likely weren’t solidified, Sage’s knowledge about reading people no doubt helped her figure out how she would die in the end.

Despite her loyalty to Homelander throughout their plan together, though, it’s unclear what Sage is going to do once The Boys season 5 arrives. In her final scene, she informs the Seven’s leader that, if he ever wants to craft something like this again, he should let her know, implying they will be teaming up again in the future. However, there’s no clear indication as to what her role would be, nor what she would be doing to help Supes earn more control in the country.

However, given her intelligence and knack for reading people, it wouldn’t be surprising if Homelander continued to get advice from her in The Boys‘ final season. While this development might not involve a particular plan the duo concoct, it would still be good for the main antagonist to have the smartest person in the world on his side into the future. Her guidance could make her a formidible adversary in the final episodes, or perhaps someone who manages to get away with everything.