The Boys' latest episode sees a mysterious assassin return — and implies that the primary suspect was a red herring. Here's who it could be instead.
Warning: SPOILERS ahead for The Boys season 2, episode 7.
Things took a gorily explosive turn on the latest episode of The Boys as Susan Raynor's murderer struck again — making it more evident that Cindy had been a red herring all along. Played by Jennifer Esposito, Raynor debuted during The Boys season 1. An old, sometimes-contentious flame of Billy Butcher (Karl Urban), she was revealed to have become Deputy Director of the CIA after the retirement of Grace Mallory (Laila Robins). Throughout the first season, Raynor aided the titular group with trying to bring Vought International and its superheroes to justice. After things went awry, Raynor personally saw the group's loved ones taken into government protection.
The character returned in The Boys season 2, episode 1, "The Big Ride." After it was revealed that a supe had been smuggled into the country, Frenchie (Tomer Capon), M.M. (Laz Alonso), Kimiko (Karen Fukuhara), and Hughie (Jack Quaid) arranged a meeting with Raynor. Still secretly investigating, the information sparked an epiphany regarding a wider conspiracy within Vought. Unfortunately, before Raynor could elaborate further, she was brutally killed by an unseen assailant. The Boys managed to escape with their heads intact and were left with no choice but to call Butcher back into the fold and turn to Mallory for assistance.
The thread has since largely simmered in the background. Though Raynor's death received the occasional allusion, it was ultimately left without further official developments. That all changed, however, in The Boys season 2, episode 7, "Butcher, Baker, Candlestick Maker." Mallory successfully negotiated a deal with Congresswoman Victoria Neuman (Claudia Doumit) and a hearing against Vought went ahead. After losing Lamplighter (Shawn Ashmore) as a witness, Butcher personally arranged for the testimony of Homelander's creator, Jonah Vogelbaum (John Doman). Unfortunately, things once again went awry. Before Vogelbaum could even begin his opening statements, he and several others in attendance were struck down in a brutal, bloodsoaked massacre.
The Congress Attack Hints At Raynor's Killer
Raynor was killed in a similar manner as those at the congressional hearing. After a brief nosebleed, Raynor's head was blown-up by an unseen force. The rest of her body, however, was left entirely intact. The first victim at the hearing was the Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee. His head was detonated while he was mid-sentence. The next to go was Vogelbaum himself. After that, many others suffered the same fate, seemingly at random. None of those present seemed to experience a nosebleed beforehand; however, the similarities between Raynor's death and those witnessed at the Congressional hearing are without question. Each of their headless bodies was equally seen hitting the ground otherwise intact. Furthermore, the assailant was once again able to remain unseen — suggesting that the attack is some kind of powerful telekinetic ability.
Why Cindy Didn't Kill Raynor
Amid an Ant-Man-inspired theory regarding Raynor's death, many pointed to a figure from The Boys season 2 trailer as being the culprit. The then-unnamed character has since been revealed to be Cindy, played by Ess Hödlmoser in The Boys season 2, episode 6, "The Bloody Doors Off." A resident of the Sage Grove Center, Cindy was a test subject in Vought's efforts to stabilize Compound V for use on adults. As a more successful attempt than some, Cindy developed telekinetic powers. After Cindy was accidentally released from her cell, she wasted no time utilizing those powers on the center's staff. The results were eerily similar to those exhibited by Raynor's death. As such, it was easy to see why Cindy was the primary suspect.
However, the congress massacre had the opposite effect and seemed to expose Cindy as merely a red herring. Firstly, Cindy's powers seemed to have the effect of crushing things down and caving them in rather than exploding them outwards. That fact is most prominent when they defended themselves against the gun-toting guards. Cindy's telekinesis tended to affect the person's entire body rather than just the head. Secondly, Cindy seemed to exert a lot of effort in accessing and utilizing her powers. That manifested in a tense expression and clenched fists. It wasn't dissimilar to Kimiko's brother, Kenji, implying that their powers were relatively new and not yet as well-honed. As such, Cindy would have been pretty conspicuous at the congressional hearing — even if now free of their Sage Grove outfit and disguising the signature short hair with a wig.
Equally, her rampage at the Sage Grove Center indicated that Cindy wasn't one easily controlled. Though it's plausible that she was forcibly taken out and made to assassinate Raynor, the same can't be said for the congressional hearing. Whoever the culprit is was clearly, in part, defending the interests of Vought. Cindy would have had no such compunction. Also, they would no doubt have seized the opportunity to try and vengefully execute Homelander and Stormfront (Aya Cash) — who was known as the overseer of Sage Grove and personally tortured Cindy with her lightning. Therefore, Cindy is likely either completely removed from the attacks or, having similar powers caught on Sage Grove cameras, somebody that the real culprits can potentially use as a scapegoat. So, if it wasn't Cindy, then who?
The Boys Theory: The Church Killed Raynor
The Church of the Collective has been a group that's largely remained unconnected with the main central conflict between The Boys and Vought. Instead, they have been focused mainly on helping The Deep (Chace Crawford) rehabilitate his image. In the process, they have emerged as an allegory for Scientology with Deep being their Tom Cruise. However, that distance from the main storyline would make them perfectly placed for a surprise reveal. It would also serve as an interesting way to weave together the disparate threads.
As outlandish as it sounds, there have actually been some clues that could point to them as the masterminds of all the assassinations. Alastair Adana (Goran Visnjic), made a specific note of his Church's ability for discretion. Therefore, it wouldn't be a stretch for them to have some supes that aren't publicly known. They also indicated to A-Train (Jessie Usher) that they have access to top-secret information from within Vought. That could potentially include samples of Compound V from which to actively make their own supes. Unlike Cindy, the indoctrination of the Church would make such supes more willing to kill designated targets without risk of deviation. Such a supe would also more easily be able to attend the congressional hearing undetected.
The Church of the Collective would also have a vested interest in disrupting the proceedings and taking out such damning witnesses as Vogelbaum and Raynor. As successful, wealthy, and powerful as the Church is, they clearly want to expand upon that by latching onto Vought. Adana even implied that The Church was on the verge of that, having arranged a meeting with Vought CEO Stan Edgar (Giancarlo Esposito). The massacre in congress could have been an effort to preserve that fledging parasitic union by keeping Vought from collapsing. Most telling of all, however, was that one of the random targets was Shockwave (Mishka Thébaud). The character had been poised to take A-Train's place on The Seven. However, shortly after Adana stated he could facilitate A-Train retaining his spot, Shockwave is conveniently killed in the attacks. As such, the Church could have been literally killing multiple birds with one superpowered stone.
Other Possible The Boys Characters Who Might Be Responsible
Another surprising option could also see Congresswoman Victoria Neuman also emerge as the killer. Her political position would mean that she could potentially have had access to what Susan Raynor was investigating. Equally, nobody would question her presence at the judiciary hearings. In fact, some of her eye-lines did match up with some of the kills — with some literally only exploding when she turned to look at them. Neuman also didn't leave the room until the carnage was basically complete. Throughout the season, she has been very outspoken against Vought. However, that seeming goodness could easily belie a much more corrupt and power-hungry core. Such a twist would indeed fit firmly within the world of The Boys, where actual heroes are very few and far between. The mere fact that she survived when several deemed a threat to Vought were dispatched in the massacre could, in itself, be construed as a red flag.
Her mission against Vought could be merely a way to drum up passionate support in a way not dissimilar from Stormfront's own. Though she would be more a pragmatic opportunist than a Nazi, her being (or otherwise in control of) the secret supe assassin would still make her and Stormfront as much both sides of the same coin as Homelander and Billy Butcher. That would explain her not allowing Vought to be officially defeated, since Neuman would now be able to continue her beneficial crusade. Equally, by taking out such Vought employees as Shockwave and others, she has gifted the company deniability. As such, they'd be able to symbiotically feed each other while rallying and consolidating power from their respective bases. Then again, it could also give them cause to publicly bring those sides together in a truly corrupt union. As Stormfront said, "Nothing unites bases like a common enemy." If Neuman is indeed responsible, she will have achieved that by offering a mysterious threat that's equally against the government as it is against Vought.
Either way, Neuman would, at the very least, have opened up some potential career paths. After all, as mentioned, one of those killed was the committee Chairman, which she would be primed to take over now. Conversely, her ambitions could extend beyond that. The sympathy that would come from surviving the ordeal and the strength to continue fighting would no doubt help to carry her to wherever she wants to go next. During the aftershow for The Boys, Doumit even stated that Neuman is somewhat of an "end justifies the means" kind of person. That was why she aligned with the group the way she did. It could also be why her involvement in more corrupt machinations could make sense. Such revelations would also produce some interesting conflicts with Billy Butcher and co since they had put their trust in her.
Then again, it could just turn out to be Stormfront with an as-yet-undisclosed power. After all, everything with Raynor began with her investigating Liberty, Stormfront's previous identity. Raynor also warned of a coup from within the company, which Stormfront has been visibly leading. A final option could be Stan Edgar himself. As the head of Vought, it is plausible that he would have given himself powers with Compound V. And that he would use them to maintain the company's secrets. It would explain why he seemed to exhibit no fear, even when dealing with such all-powerful beings as Homelander. If he knew he had the ability to explode their heads anytime he wanted, there would be no need for such emotions. The fact he seemed not to be in attendance at the hearing could easily be considered by a sign of guilt or innocence on his part. Of course, given that Compound V isn't always successful in adults, it would need to be revealed that he was dosed as a baby. Whatever the case may be regarding the head-exploding assassin, Victoria Neuman and the Church have surpassed Cindy as suspects, and all will likely be revealed next week in The Boys season 2 finale.
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