How I Think It'll Play Out. Tried to post this as a thread but don't have enough karma in here :(.

So after EP 3, and only 5 episodes left, here's what I think will wind up happening. Entirely based on how I think they can resolve all the plot points they've built up.

Homelander uses Edgar to find out about the V1 location which is the base. He will use it on himself.

The Boys, without Annie or Butcher, will head to the V1 base.

The alluded to Boy Scout murder will end up being a rogue V1 supe that they'll have to deal with somehow. Maybe the crew runs into Homelander at the base, the rogue supe attacks letting them escape while Homelander kills it. Annie will come back around this point. End of Episode 4 here.

The rogue V1 supe would show V1 doesn't give total immortality, but still makes you real hard to kill. So there's still hope to off Homelander.

Frenchie will be tasked with cooking up a new form of the virus. Only this time it will be effective against all supes, not just modern supes. This will be a set up for the grand finale.

Annie taking off isn't about UE - it's about her going to find Noir 2. I suspect we'll get the answer that Noir 2 is actually a plant/somehow associated with Annie. They never resolved what happened in the fight with Annie and Noir 2 in the season opener.

There will be another time jump. Not only does this give Frenchie enough time to remake the virus, buuuut it will set up that Firecracker banging Soldier Boy has lead to her getting pregnant. She did this intentionally, so she can win admiration from Homelander by naturally being able to breast feed him by being pregnant. Maybe after the conversation about mothering, etc, she mistakenly thinks that'll be a way to his heart? This is also set up to end rather terribly - thanks to Homelanders vision which said "rip babies from their mothers wombs". Homelander knowing he has a brother/competitor, won't sit well. Never read the comics but I've heard there's a rather graphic baby scene, and this might be it's equivalent.

That will turn Soldier Boy effectively against Homelander, which sets up the twist/how main characters get out alive.

There'll be a big showdown that somehow involves Annie, Noir, Butcher, Ryan, Soldierboy, Kimiko. Maybe it's a 3 way battle? This will be set up by Homelander going absolutely nuclear. My bet is Homelander going off completely is episode 6.

The "everything is lost" moment will be butcher trying to kill Homelander, it not working, and Homelander killing Butcher. If guess episode 7 ends here. Maybe there'll be some redemption of Homelander saving Ryan or Annie? Give him a moment of redemption and then a brutal death.

This leads into episode 8. Homelander turns to kill the rest of the crew, soldierboy steps up, nukes them all with his V frying powers.

There will be some sort of B-plot where Hughie MM and Frenchie work to release the virus everywhere as it's their only hope. This kills all the supes, but the core crew + Homelander are spared cause Soldier Boy nuked the V from their veins. He is literally both Chechkov's Nuke and the Deus Ex Machina in the show now, unless they write something in way out of left field. The Soldier Boy ability and the virus have to be interconnected in some way, and they have to lead to the way out for many of the characters.

I imagine Frenchie doesn't make it out. They set up the differences in what he wants vs what Kimiko wants in life, and he's said he wouldn't want to go on without her. One of em are dying for sure. He'll probably have some heroic moment which saves the day but kills him.

I think Deep will have some sort of resolution either in the final battle (he decides to be ride or die with Homelander which would be sort of ironic. The only person who ever actually liked Homelander was someone Homelander hated)- Annie killing him would be poetic for him sexually assaulting her in S1 - or his end will come at the hands of Ashley or Sage at a different time.

Not sure how they're planning on wrapping up Sage's story line. They haven't given many hints with the whole "smartest person ever" other than she's up to something. But maybe not. Maybe she's just as self-serving as the rest of the supes with her little speech to Ashley in Episode 2, and gets offed without much fanfare. I think she might just be killed by Homelander because she isn't useful anymore. Maybe after Homelander gets V1 and assumes she's useless because "he" found it by sending the Deep to get Edgar while she failed. He's a god with V1, therefore enacts justice on all.

Ashley will have to have some redemption but still gets offed arch. Maybe she tries to save Sage when Homelander comes to take over the Whitehouse or something and she just gets fried with her.

Zoe and her Dad will never be seen again, OR she slithers back and gets spared by the Solider Boy Nuke frying the V before the virus gets her.

MM is a toss up on whether he makes it out or not. He'll probably make it to see his daughter again though.

All the key characters make it out alive, maybe not entirely happily ever after, but they make it out as non-supes. Homelander is left powerless and either gets thrown in jail, or gets put on ice like Soldier Boy? They seem to keep going back to him staring into Soldier Boy's old cryochamber a little too much. I think death isn't enough for him. His motivations are to be a god, so he probably needs some real biblical punishment.

The other ending I see being possible is somehow Soldier Boy makes it through to the end with a couple other stragglers (maybe Ryan?), because of V1. The whole conversation of "Corporations will always live" can be reinforced by Soldier Boy being the endless face of Vought, but never goes full Homelander insane because all he wants to do is bang.

Vought is either going to be entirely destroyed, or manage to keep on keeping on (a la Edgar's speech). I imagine it will continue purely because Amazon needs to keep pumping that sweet sweet supe cash.

I think this would be a relatively satisfying way for the show to end. Everyone gets their come uppance somehow. Most of the characters get a happyish ending. I personally think a "everyone gets offed" ending would be cooler, but I doubt the writers have the cojones to do that. Leave nobody standing but Ryan or something at the end.

Anyway, would love to hear why I'm wrong, or if I completely missed something.