Warning: The following contains major spoilers for The Boys Season 3 finals. Proceed at your own risk!
The truth cost one character their life during The Boys‘ Season 3 finale. (But at least [spoiler] got a happy ending?)
After being confronted by Homelander, Black Noir admitted that he had known that Soldier Boy was Homelander’s father. But Noir was adamant that they still needed to kill Soldier Boy because he is “BAD,” Noir emphasized in all caps on a piece of paper. Homelander, however, was upset about Noir’s betrayal, even tearing up.
“F–k. Why didn’t you tell me?” Homelander asked before almost reluctantly driving his arm through his friend’s chest. Noir’s cartoon animal friends then consoled him, assuring him that he would soon be “in the sweet embrace of Christ the Lord.” (For more on Noir’s animated backstory/animal pals, click here.)
The decision to kill Noir was “scary because I know what a fan favorite he is,” showrunner Eric Kripke tells TVLine. “But it’s one of those things where you have to let the characters tell you what they’re going to do.”
“It starts to feel fake if you have that level of betrayal, with how unhinged Homelander is, and he just pats him on the back or something like that,” Kripke continues. “You have to let the characters lead the way. It was just so obvious that that’s what [Homelander] would do.”
Despite the supe’s currently deceased state, there is a glimmer of hope that viewers will see him again — albeit with one big change. “Here’s what I will say for any Black Noir fans that are mourning his passing: A completely silent masked superhero is super easy to recast,” Kripke notes. “And there’s a reason they haven’t told the public that Noir is dead. So this is not the last we’ve seen of Noir. This is just the last we’ve seen of that version.”
And hey, Homelander did place Noir’s mask on a table in front of A-Train, The Deep and Ashley, so it seems he’s preserved the most important part of the supe’s costume for whoever should wear it next.
The Boys fans, what did you think of Noir’s tragic fate? Grade the finale, then hit the comments!