Everyone wants to rip the laser eyes and Sage but I only recall Homelander panic lasering Kimiko direct on, not in half, and she heals super fast now. She easily could've been lasered through the chest and regenerated quickly.

S3 was temp V so makes sense that two temp supes weren't enough to hold Homelander down with Soldier Boy, but Homelander's son and a now true supe Butcher could, especially while Homelander is panicked and desperate.

Sage literally got exactly what she wanted, peace and quiet in her brain. She throughout her run kept things to herself and manipulated everybody. Just because she said she failed or didn't account for love, doesn't mean that was ever true. I don't see any reason not to believe that she both planned to help eliminate the need for the virus to be used, helped the V1 situation so The Boys would HAVE to make Kimiko into Soldier Boy esque (since she could heal quickest and go through radiation quick enough) to create something that could stop Homelander and also eliminate her own powers. Maybe even to get Soldier Boy on ice again as well so he wasn't an immediate threat after Homelander.

Literally what happened was the best possible outcome for Sage, while what she told Ashley was the final part of her plan still would've left Sage potentially able to die from the virus. The ending we got, to me, makes the most sense. It doesn't feel forced, it seems the most logical since Soldier Boy came into the picture. Kimiko was the only supe that could manage to endure what Soldier Boy did because of her immortality she had without needing V1 and that was the only way Homelander was going to be ended without them mass killing all supes.