Contains spoilers for this episode and earlier episodes.
The Boys attempt to assassinate Victoria Neuman, but her daughter Zoe discovers the intrusion and attacks with powers of her own. Butcher ignores his assigned role to speak with Ryan, whose father quickly intervenes. Hughie's attempt to kill Neuman also fails, confirming how little the team understands her durability. Butcher is visibly declining from Temp V and increasingly isolated from the group now led by Mother's Milk.
Homelander is tired of followers who only tell him what he wants to hear. He recruits Sister Sage for her intelligence, hoping she can help him take power beyond Vought. Her first operation turns his murder trial into a trap for his opponents. The Deep and the replacement Black Noir kill Todd and two other devoted supporters, while Sage prepares to make those deaths appear to be the work of Starlight's movement.
Homelander is acquitted, and Sage provokes a confrontation outside the courthouse. A-Train deposits the bodies amid the crowd, giving Vought the accusation it wants against the Starlighters. Mother's Milk has photographs connecting Sage to the earlier meeting, but the staged violence has already shaped the public story. Hughie learns his father has suffered a stroke and finds his estranged mother at the hospital. Butcher considers a deal with Neuman, then refuses after a vision of Becca urges him away from it.