The Boys introduces us to the Seven, a group of superheroes managed by a company named Vought International. Although it might sound pleasant, it becomes quickly apparent that the Seven are obsessed with their own powers, egos, and have committed some truly heinous acts that are more fit for supervillains than heroes. Homelander, at the helm of the group, is particularly bad, with enough horrible acts in his past to give the Joker a run for his money.
But not all members of the group are heartless. One particularly complex character is Queen Maeve. A seemingly morally corrupt version of Wonder Woman, she goes along with the acts the Seven commit but often seems to have doubts about whether or not they're justified (spoiler: they're not). A lot of the times, we find ourselves disgusted with what she's willing to get up to, but there have been times she's tugged on our heartstrings too.
8 Felt Bad: When She Talked About Who She Once Was
Maeve has a moment with Starlight when she sees her very beaten down and comments that she used to be just like her, implying that Starlight should not let herself become who Maeve has. It's a touching moment, and a reminder that Maeve can clearly see the difference between right and wrong and see that Annie January is actually a good person behind the supe mask — she just is too far gone to even think about stepping away from what the Seven want. It's frustrating that she feels so trapped, but does make us feel a bit sympathetic towards her, because she's obviously going through her own struggles with her identity.
7 Felt Bad: The Plane Scene
The plane scene was... harrowing. One episode shows us Homelander and Maeve taking over a hijacked plane to take down the terrorists and return the passengers to safety. Unfortunately, the plane is beyond repair and it seems as if the whole thing is going to crash. Maeve asks Homelander if he can fly a plane and when he points out that the damage means it'd be impossible, she asks him to try and save the passengers some other way.
Homelander says it's impossible, but it's implied that he's simply too lazy. When she asks him to simply save a mother and child, he walks away from her and says they can't risk them telling the world that they left people to die. Maeve has no choice but to abandon them to their deaths, though she's clearly absolutely devastated to do it whereas Homelander doesn't seem to have the slightest bit of remorse. Yikes.
6 Unforgivable: Letting Homelander Murder Innocents Without Protest
Maeve, however, goes along with Homelander far too much. There's a scene in which he murders some criminals — okay, so not quite innocent, but not necessarily people deserving of a gory death. He tells Maeve to lie and inform Vought and the press that they struck first and although there's the barest flicker of disquiet in her eyes, she seems very used to lying for him and doesn't raise a protest.
Most of the audience definitely wanted her to tell Homelander where to stick his lies.
5 Felt Bad: When She Stuck Up For Starlight
She seems to come to her senses and stand against Homelander when he threatens Starlight, though. He rounds on her unfairly and seems to be threatening a slow, bloody death when Maeve stands up and tells him to back off. She slides up to him, borderline seducing him — and it works. He tells her Starlight is her responsibility, but he backs off.
It seems that Maeve does have a little bit of influence she can exert over Homelander. Perhaps this could be used in season two, Maeve?
4 Felt Bad: When She Visited Her Ex
There's one night where Maeve seems to be at her wit's end with the Seven. Drunk, she shows up to the apartment of an ex-partner and is visibly distraught. Her partner initially tells Maeve to leave but, seeing her upset, ends up comforting her. It's a sobering reminder that the tough attitude Maeve puts on is probably just so she can get through her days with Vought International without having a breakdown, and that she's definitely struggling with the morals of the company as much as anyone else.
3 Unforgivable: Brushing Her Off Afterwards
But when her partner attempts to check up on her later, Maeve brushes her off because they're near cameras and she can't have her image ruined. As much as we understand, it's still frustrating to see her take a step towards understanding that she needs to get away from the influence of the Seven and then two steps back towards Vought. Especially since, by this point, it's obvious Maeve isn't necessarily a bad person.
2 Felt Bad: When She Snapped At Homelander
After the plane incident, Homelander gives a speech full of lies and false sympathy, and Maeve powerfully tells him he's boring her before she storms off. It's a cover up for how upset she is, but it's still perhaps the only time we see her completely disrespect Homelander to his face and walk off.
Notably, she does it without consequence too, and it's another sign that she may actually be able to have an influence over him — or at least get away with more than the rest of the Seven. Perhaps it's because they used to be romantically involved, or perhaps it's just because she's been there the longest? At least more than many of the members.
1 Unforgivable: Continuously Going Along With The Seven
All in all, though, it's pretty unforgivable that Maeve is continuously going along with the Seven. Whatever her doubts and fears, however good her heart is beneath it all (or was), she's let people die time and time again — even been the cause of their deaths — and is still sticking with Vought International and Homelander through all of it.
Maybe season two will be her time to break away. We hope so.