The Boys' Herogasm Scene That Has Fans Seeing Hughie's Downfall
The Prime Video series "The Boys," based on the comics series of the same name by Garth Ennis, has drawn in superhero fans over the course of its three-season (soon to be four) run with its subversive take on superheroes and how they would behave. Led by a cast that includes Karl Urban, Jack Quaid, and Antony Starr, "The Boys" also saw showrunner Eric Kripke reunite with Jensen Ackles on Season 3 following their previous years-long collaboration on the massively popular CW series "Supernatural."
But Ackles' presence as Soldier Boy is not the only big development on the third season of "The Boys." One of the many game-changing elements has been the introduction of Temp V, aka Compound V-24, created by Vought to give regular people superpowers for 24 hours as a way to create more manageable superheroes. Initially given to Billy Butcher (Karl Urban) by Queen Maeve (Dominique McElligott), the compound is injected by both Butcher and Hughie (Jack Quaid) despite the protests of their team members and the after-effects of the drug that they experience.
A particular scene in Season 3 has fans worried about the direction Hughie is heading in, and it relates to the newfound confidence Temp V gives him, plus his super-strong punching powers. This is the scene in "The Boys" episode "Herogasm" that has fans seeing Hughie's downfall.
Some fans struggled to make sense of Hughie punching A-Train
On the subreddit r/TheBoys, fans were confused and concerned over Hughie's reaction to A-Train's (Jessie T. Usher) apology for the murder of Robin (Jess Salgueiro) on the Season 1 premiere. The horrific death occurs in the opening minutes of the episode, is the catalyst for Hughie's introduction to the dark side of superheroes. In the scene, the pair stops walking, and she steps off the curb, turns to continue their conversation, and is suddenly turned into a mass of blood and body parts. As the frame shifts, we see A-Train is covered in her blood because he has just run right through her after failing to stop soon enough.
Hughie's feelings about this incredibly traumatic moment are stirred up in the Season 3 episode "Herogasm," where he confronts A-Train about Robin's murder amidst the very NSFW Herogasm event. A-Train, having seen his own brother end up paralyzed and in the hospital, issues a genuine apology, which Hughie responds to by punching A-Train before Starlight (Erin Moriarty) defuses the situation.
U/Ratulx began the Reddit thread with a meme expressing Hughie getting angry in response to getting the apology he asked for, headlining the post, "I still don't get WTF happened." Commenters were sympathetic to Hughie's reaction and tried to parse the moment, with u/V-Ropes drawing a parallel between Hughie and Billy Butcher, pointing out that Hughie was becoming more like Butcher in his worldview, and A-Train's apology run counter to that, particularly in his sincerity.
Meanwhile, u/therollingwater wrote, "I felt like A-Train finally acknowledging killing his girlfriend and apologizing could have brought the painful situation back for Hughie." They went on to note that, because Hughie has been waiting so long for A-Train to acknowledge what he did, his only response — to punch the Supe — was almost a primal, instinctual one.
Others feel Hughie's punch was justified
Other Reddit commenters, however, are firmly on Hughie's side in the "Herogasm" punch and less sympathetic to A-Train's apology. U/Worthlesstupid felt Hughie was justified in his decision, while u/aaronone01 pointed out that A-Train's apology stemmed from the fact that his brother had been severely injured by Blue Hawk (Nick Wechsler), saying in part, "He never would have done it if a similar situation hadn't happened to him ... Maybe the whole 'It doesn't matter to me until it personally affects me' mentality."
However, others pointed out that the Compound V-24 flowing through Hughie's veins at the time also factored into the reaction. U/GrimmBeast noted, "All of you are forgetting how Hughie was also on V and how being Supe'd up has changed his personality a lot," adding that Hughie has repeatedly pointed out to Starlight that he doesn't feel helpless anymore and enjoys being more proactive. U/joecarter93 also thought along the same lines, indicating that taking the Compound V-24 makes this the first time Hughie has been on equal footing with A-Train, which could have also played a factor in his decision. The combination of getting a chance to hit A-Train for the first time, coupled with the uncertainty of when he might get another opportunity, led to Hughie's attack.
Elsewhere, Reddit user u/Ingloriousbaxter32 was similarly understanding of Hughie's punch, saying, "All Hughie has had to run on for the past couple [of] years is anger and revenge. A-Train sincerely apologizing strips him of that, and he doesn't know how to handle it."