The Boys season 5, Episode 7, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk," sets up what's sure to be a tense series finale but forgets at times to be a great episode in its own right. There are certainly some great moments in the installment, but a few scenes come across as a little meandering or unsure of their place in the larger storyline.
With Antony Starr's Homelander now more powerful than he's ever been in Episode 7, thanks to the last-minute development in the previous installment, this week's effort (which we'll call "The Frenchman" for convenience's sake) was implied to be centered very strongly around him. However, in one of the episode's several missteps, Homelander has a confusingly muted role. Let's dig into why else "The Frenchman" could have been better.
FULL SPOILERS for The Boys season 5, Episode 7, "The Frenchman, the Female, and the Man Called Mother's Milk" ahead!
"The Frenchman" spends too much time explaining characters we should already know by heart
After spending five seasons with the core cast of The Boys, the Prime Video show should be focusing on approaching its endgame in its penultimate episode. While it does fulfill that duty a little, "The Frenchman" is also full of filler material that feels like it's been cut from much earlier in the show's run. Most notably, we get a long monologue from Synapse (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) about the dangers of following Butcher (Karl Urban). It was a great way to involve Morgan again before the show ends for good, but it felt gratingly unnecessary as a concept. Sure, it's vaguely interesting, but the speech doesn't teach us anything about Butcher that we haven't already figured out from context.
Another example is Mother's Milk (Laz Alonso) explaining to Starlight (Erin Moriarty) how he got his nickname. In an episode less pivotal to The Boys' closing stages, I'd probably have enjoyed hearing this story. Sadly, with so many more pressing subplots trying to find room to unfold, that entire sequence had me scratching my head due to how shoehorned-in it felt at that moment. Colby Minifie's Ashley and her rise to becoming the US president were at least well-handled by "The Frenchman," and the brief contextualization of her troubled past was covered more efficiently.
The Deep's subplot sets up a fascinatingly unclear role for him in the upcoming finale
Chace Crawford's Aquaman rip-off has felt surplus to requirements throughout The Boys season 5, but it took until Episode 7 for it to become clear that this was sort of the point. Homelander has had no real need for the Deep, which the latter has been struggling to cope with as he tries to find meaning elsewhere. With his fall from what little grace he had left in "The Frenchman," I have no idea how the Deep will slot into the finale.
I don't mean that in a bad way, either. The writers clearly have something very specific in mind for him after he loses everything – including permission to re-enter his own personal sanctuary of the Earth's oceans. His storyline surely can't end with slipping out of the public eye as he did in this episode. But if not, how can he come back into play? Siding with the protagonists would seem a little too sudden and forced, but it is still possible. I guess we'll need to wait and see.
Homelander wasn't in The Boys' penultimate episode anywhere near enough
As mentioned earlier, Starr's character had very little to do in "The Frenchman." He contributed to a strong start and ending to the episode but was otherwise used very little. The fact that his highlight was forcing Soldier Boy (Jensen Ackles) back into cryostasis speaks volumes about how strange it is that the writers couldn't find Homelander a more substantial role in the show's penultimate installment.
I also can't help but feel like the unfinished promotional video starring Homelander was supposed to be funnier than it came across. It was snicker-worthy, but probably went on a little too long for what it was. My only hope is that Homelander is so central to the final episode that holding him back from the fans like this is a way of making his role in the finale even more impactful.
Frenchie's death was perfectly executed
Speaking of Homelander, one of his biggest moments in Episode 7 is arriving at the Boys' hideout and, ultimately, killing Frenchie (Tomer Capone). Thankfully, Starr's performance, which usually dominates any scene he's in, allows Frenchie's exit to take center stage. With Frenchie spending most of the episode essentially preparing himself for settling down with Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), it comes as even more of a gut punch when one of the show's longest-serving characters meets his end just before crossing the finish line.
Although there would understandably have been a temptation to let French go out in a high-octane blaze of glory, that wouldn't have really made much sense. The more low-profile and intimate approach to orchestrating his death allowed all the big emotions to breathe more freely. It's obviously a huge shame to see him go, but hopefully The Boys will cash in on its heroes' freshest need for revenge next week.
Episode Rating: B-
The Boys season 5 is streaming now on Prime Video.
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