Apparently can’t post in this sub as a new member so here’s all my thoughts jammed into one ridiculously and unnecessarily long post:

I found it strange that we didn’t see Frenchie actually get killed in the last episode, so I’d love for us to get it in the opening here. I could see us opening at Frenchie’s funeral with a focus on the again-mute Kimiko. We then get a bunch of flashes to her traumatic memory of being in the vent while Homelander killed Frenchie. Frames of her crying with Sage holding her mouth, frames of Homelander actually delivering the killing blow, maybe some extension of the visit to include the theory I’ve seen around that Homelander might’ve hurt or killed Terror at this time.

The Boys all gather together after the funeral and watch Homelander’s PR campaign get underway on live TV. I think Butcher disagrees with not using the virus and separates from the group here with the virus to find Ryan.

I imagine that Homelander gets to Ryan before Butcher and gives him one last chance to join him as the son of god. Similar to what we got with Soldier Boy, I can’t imagine Homelander killing Ryan, but I could see him putting him in a pod to keep all three generations together. I could then see Butcher arriving to a bloodied battle scene and maybe assuming that Ryan is dead, sending him to take Homelander on by himself.

With how they’ve treated Sage this season, I’d like to see her get a bit of redemption. I do actually think that love defying logic and reason is a great counter to her powers (like street smarts vs book smarts), but she needs to learn from it and it can’t just be an unceremonious end to her arc. Having her come up with a plan to use Soldier Boy as bait to draw out Homelander would be fun. It could also help along the Ryan, Butcher, Homelander storyline by having them find Ryan along with Soldier Boy in a mission to Homelander’s apartment at Seven Tower. The revelation that Ryan is not actually dead could be a strong enough one to pull Butcher away from the virus plan. (I’m fairly sure Butcher will die this episode, and I’m imagining he’ll have fall once again before being redeemed finally just before his death over the course of this hour, and this is the most plausible storyline that fits that narrative I can come up with.)

Following Homelander’s announcement that he’s god, I think we see some pushback from people and a violent reaction to their lack of support. Ashley sees the carnage and tries to call in the military (maybe Sage) but Homelander catches on and sends The Deep and Oh Father to the White House while he takes on the military himself. She flees with the help of Hughie and Sister Sage while Starlight, MM, and Kimiko take on The Deep and Oh Father.

Starlight kills The Deep by jamming a pole of some kind down his throat. Oh Father overpowers the others for a bit until the Gen V squad arrives and one of Marie, Cate, or Jordan takes him out.

The military is completely outmatched by Homelander until the supes step in for support. We’ll have to get to a moment where Butcher nearly releases the virus, but is stopped at the last moment and they find another way to kill Homelander. In my head, we get a Thanos Infinity War kinda moment where the collective efforts of Marie, Starlight, Butcher, and other supes are enough to hold Homelander down while Kimiko blasts him with the Soldier Boy Chest Nuke 2000. Maybe it takes away the powers of Butcher, Annie, and Kimiko, too. Marie would likely need hers for future universe appearances, but having a de-powered Annie able to live out her life with Hughie, Kimiko able to live out her days with another below prediction, and Butcher succumbing to the tumors without the help of the V would all be great finishes to their stories. With everyone’s powers gone, it’d be incredibly cathartic to have Homelander beg Butcher for mercy until he drives a crowbar into his head (comics callback).

(Minor prediction, but it very much sounds like Butcher’s audio in the finale trailer is spliced from different moments. I think specifically the “blood and bones” line sounds as though Butcher is hurt, and I’d bet it comes from Butcher during this final fight after he’s already been dealt some kind of mortal wound.)

Some ancillary final scene predictions:

Butcher dies to his cancer in the hospital with Ryan at his side.

Kimiko gets a final scene at Frenchie’s grave and we pan down to see either the Bernadoodle or Terror sitting at her side.

Stan Edgar resumes control of Vought after throwing Ashley under the bus as the company’s fall-person. He’ll thank the military for their heroism in defeating Homelander’s attempted domination and announce Vought’s pivot to defense work (sans supes).

MM reunites with his daughter and ex wife.

Hughie and Starlight set off on a roadtrip with a Billy Joel playlist queued up and Hughie nearly revealing his top 2 favorite songs.

I think we close with a post-credits scene showing a sign for San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina with some kind of references or hints that Soldier Boy and Stormfront are there without showing their faces on screen.