7 of the Worst Things to Happen on The Boys Season 1 – And They’re All Homelander's Fault

It’s revealed during the course of the season that Queen Maeve and Homelander had once been in a relationship. Although Homelander still seems to harbor some lingering feelings toward her, Maeve doesn’t feel the same way. That being said, he views her as his property, even stating that he wouldn’t know what he’d do if she loved someone else.

It’s during Flight 37 that he truly pushes her to her breaking point by forcing her to let the plane go down. Maeve is clearly afraid of what he might do to her and the people she loves if she doesn’t go along with what he says. Toward the end, we see Maeve start to get her fight back by standing up to him.

When Homelander reveals Hughie’s identity to The Seven, chills ran down my spine. Starlight tries to defend herself against Homelander and he absolutely tears into her. At first, he chalks it up to her “single ladies” movement and wanting The Deep out of The Seven but he eventually becomes unhinged as Starlight continues speaking. Starlight is on the verge of tears when Queen Maeve speaks up for her. Had it not been for Maeve and her somewhat tumultuous relationship with Homelander, it’s very possible that Homelander would’ve tried to eradicate Starlight then and there.

The driving force behind Billy Butcher’s affiliation with “The Boys” is his need for revenge on Homelander. For years, Butcher is led to believe that Homelander is the reason for his wife Becca’s death as a result of a sexual assault, although Homelander claims it was consensual.

It’s not until the end of season one that Butcher discovers not only is Becca alive, she’s the mother of Homelander’s son. Rather than letting Butcher blow sky-high along with Madelyn, Homelander decides to take him to see Becca. Homelander isn’t doing this as an act of kindness, he’s doing it to rub in the fact he has a son with Butcher’s wife. With a smug grin, Homelander lets Butcher see Becca before the season ends on a cliffhanger.

Now that Butcher knows the truth, season two will see how the foes’ relationship changes.