The Boys Season 5, Episode 4 Gives Homelander A Dangerous Enemy

Contains spoilers for "The Boys" Season 5, Episode 4 — "King of Hell"

Between Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito), the angelic apparition version of Madelyn Stillwell (Elisabeth Shue), and Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles), the bold and occasionally brilliant "The Boys" Season 5 has been rolling out antagonist after antagonist in its early episodes. Fortunately, it's not just grit and grimness for the titular team — even though Billy Butcher's (Karl Urban) nefarious plots and increasing moments of murderous villainy aren't a great sign, either. Unbeknownst to the Boys, they may now have Sister Sage (Susan Heyward) in their corner.

Homelander (Antony Starr) has a longstanding history as the best character on "The Boys."  Unfortunately for him, he's also the show's most volatile figure, and now some of the supes who have been among his staunchest allies have grown uncomfortable with his ever-escalating power trip. As "King of Hell" shows, Sage is not only among the people who really don't want Homelander to become immortal, but she's now actively plotting against him. Her first move is a doozy, too; she manipulates Soldier Boy to join Homelander on the Fort Harmony mission to sabotage it, thus finally taking a side. 

Up to now, Sage has been content to amass personal power and luxury while rolling with Homelander's various eccentricities. It seems that she's finally had enough, and considering how vast her intellect is, this could be genuinely bad news for Homelander.

Sister Sage has a power that's without comparison in the entire franchise. She's not particularly fast or strong for a supe, but as the smartest brain on the planet, she has the processing power to solve just about any problem she puts her attention to. 

Combined with her jaded attitude toward others, Sage's extreme intellect has been a curse. Thanks to her regeneration powers, she's even temporarily lobotomized herself just so she can stand considerably stupider partners (see: Chace Crawford's The Deep), and she's often frustrated by a world that simply can't keep up. So, imagine what she can do if she actually puts her mind to something and devotes her entire brainpower to a mission — like, say, bringing down Homelander.

Sage has been growing increasingly uncomfortable with Homelander all season. Now, her frustrations have boiled over. Though the Fort Harmony plan isn't as successful as she'd probably have liked, this is apt to only make her more invested. After all, she can't be sure whether or not Soldier Boy decides to reveal her role in the situation, so she may well recognize the increasingly large target on her back. In other words, Sage's only remaining option may be to defeat Homelander as quickly as possible, if only to stop him doing the same to her. Whatever happens, it should make for a fascinating contest.